What is Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)? It’s a work of existential philosophy, about the meaning of life. A political critique, looking realistically at life under monarchy, and how one can safely resist abuses. And a work of spiritual wisdom, teaching about equanimity under stress. Traditionally, Jews read this Biblical book each fall, during the holiday of Sukkot.…
Category: Wisdom
Neighbourhood Tensions Rise
COVID-19 has thrown some of us closer together. But not always for the best. At least, not in my neighbourhood. I live in Vancouver, Canada, in a trendy urban neighbourhood. Here, small one-family homes crowd close together. Old trees and thick hedges surround them. Crows, ravens, woodpeckers, and songbirds fill the landscape. So do racoons,…
From Judgment to Love
Day of Judgment Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment. But in real life, every day is the Day of Judgment. Every day God places a new challenge in our paths. Every day we get to decide how we are going to respond. Every day is the Day of Judgment, but some days are…
Teshuva Builds Community
Social scientists say: People who belong to spiritual communities are happier. Why? More opportunities for connecting. Giving. And learning, through ritual, how to be with others. Including the Ten Days of Teshuvah, a Jewish New Year ritual for healing ruptures between friends and family.
Creative Meditation
A creative meditation. Designed to connect you with the creative resources in your own psyche. It’s based on a creative reading of the Bible’s donkey stories. The typical donkey scene in the Bible stars a human character who isn’t sure where they are going or what they will do when they arrive. But, they saddle…
Forest: Cooperation, Not Competition
How do you see the forest? Is it a site of cooperation? Or competition? There’s just three letters difference between the words. But they are a whole world view apart. It can be weird to read an author with a different world view. They get all the facts right, but organize them oddly. It’s as…
Land: One Indigenous Lens
Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Canada. A good day to share Indigenous teachings. And also to take them to heart. Use them to see differently. That, I hope, is a kind of de-colonizing. So, today, I’ll talk about sustainability. And about the spirituality of land. With a bit of Torah thrown in, too. Recently, I took…
Hope & Solidarity
Hope and Solidarity. Antidotes — we hope — to uncertainty and anxiety. Across Canada, religious communities have come together. How could this solidarity change us for the better? Contribute to a resilient society? Provide better support for those most vulnerable? In this 30-minute panel discussion, three religious leaders explore those questions. This webinar series is…
Love, if I die today...
My love, if I die today, I want you to know. I love you. I’ve loved my life. And I want you to love yours. So, I offer you this ethical will. A letter from the heart. Just a few idealistic thoughts about a few precious values. A little wisdom to guide you on your…
Emor: Community with room for disability
Priests and sacred offerings. Disability and defect. Also, the death penalty. These are the themes of Parshat Emor, this week’s Torah reading. Emor may seem straightforward. But its view of disability is strange. Because it seems to contradict last week’s parsha. Last week, Parshat Kedoshim said: make sure everyone counts. Rich and poor. Native and immigrant. Mother and father. Landed and landless.…