Been thinking about love lately. Some new experiences have glowed in my body. In a way, these recent experiences seem familiar. Like the way I felt when I held my infant children, full of amazement that something so precious could come my way. Or the way I feel when I see my husband smiling at…
Category: Spirituality
Foosteps of Mashiach
Sometimes, when I’m not well, I feel a great mass of anxiety in my chest. And I imagine: if I could just punch myself hard enough in the right place, I could break up the mass, and it would dissolve and all the pieces of anxiety would fly away. But I don’t punch myself or…
Shadows on the Cave Wall
Recently someone I know asked me for some information about myself. I had only a vague general idea about why she was asking. But, in my thoughts, I made up a mini-story about the questioner’s benevolent motive, and gave her the information. Later that day, my friend said he had also been asked for the…
Midrash from the Inside Out
The story of the Beaver Bog is true. It is also an allegory. The meaning of the allegory can best be explained with reference to another allegory. “Let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened. Behold: human beings living in an underground cave…” (Plato, Republic, Book VII) If you…
Naked Reflection
This semester, I am teaching a course called “Midrash and the Rabbinic Imagination” at the University of British Columbia. Yesterday, students turned in the first formal paper, during a very busy midterm week. So, we relaxed with a little Bibliodrama: improvisational theatre exploring what takes place “between the lines” of the Hebrew Bible. We explored…
Philos-Sophia
Why worry about consciousness when the political world is falling apart around us? Isn’t it like “fiddling while Rome burns”? On the contrary – says Plato – it’s the only practice that will make “Rome” endure. In the Republic, Plato asks, “Who should rule?” He answers, “One who has looked at the components of her…
Praying for Presence
One day in the course of my recent work, I sat with four different people: one trying to rescue a relative lost in a foreign country, one who narrowly escaped danger alive, one making an uncertain career transition, and one hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Each one hoped for clarity, affirmation, and connection. Each one…
Gateway to Kabbalah
The Hebrew word for Sophia is chochma. In the tradition of Kabbalah, the word chochma describes the very first glimmer of insight. In the erotic imagery popular among classical Kabbalistic writers, chochma is the sperm that gets enfolded in the womb of consciousness, and nourished into a fuller understanding. Teens from Sophia Street, Vancouver, study…
Layers of Consciousness
My husband Charles is studying the history of Sophia Street. He has read books, viewed maps, scanned photographic archives, and visited the library’s Special Collections room. One of his favorite resources is a book of maps of Vancouver across the decades. He developed a special tool for reading the maps. On a blank transparency, he…
Spirit of the Bear
As late as 1910, Sophia Street was home to black bears. Today, we share the street with fellow mammals coyote, raccoon, and skunk. Last night, as we continued to learn about our street’s history, a spirit of her past joined me in my dreams: It’s my first day on the job as a new professor…