Can teshuvah – repentance, renewal, and return to God – change the past? In Parshat Haazinu (Deut. 32:1-32:52) Moses speaks to…
Category: Jewish Practices
A Rosh Hashanah Ritual Riddle: How are dessert and liturgy alike?
Your Rosh Hashanah ritual riddle: how are sweet fruit crumble and the liturgy of Unetaneh Tokef alike? I’m asking for…
Elijah came to Vancouver to test us. Did we pass?
You know the stories. Elijah crouches on the street corner, begging. She bangs on your door at midnight, fleeing an…
Eicha? How do you approach the Book of Lamentations?
Each year on Tisha B’Av, practicing Jews reflect on Eicha, the book of Lamentations. What is the book of Lamentations? Lamentations is a…
Jacob's Crossings—and Yours
At the first meeting of a class, discussion, or spiritual direction group, I invite people to introduce themselves. Sometimes, I’ll ask…
Mystical Fruit: Tu BeShevat
Enter the world of Pri Etz Hadar, the first published Kabbalistic Tu BeShevat Seder (c. 17th century). We learn that…
Judith: Hanukah Heroine in Art & Imagination
Judith. A story written 2100 years ago, set in the time of the Maccabean revolt… General Holofernes and his army…
Our Name is Gratitude
When Leah’s fourth son is born, she names him Judah. In Hebrew, that’s Yehudah: gratitude. Yehuda‘s name honours the miraculous…