From Jewish Spiritual Direction: An Innovative Guide from Traditional and Contemporary Sources, edited by Howard A. Addison and Barbara Eve Breitman (Jewish Lights, 2006) Is the practice of Spiritual Direction authentically Jewish? The question arises because the...
From Torah Queeries, edited by David Shneer, Greg Drinkwater, and Joshua Lesser, New York University Press, 2009 When Ezra returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile, he brought a version of the Torah virtually identical to the one we have today. All...
One thing I ask.[1] And another thing: let my thyroid, please, function with sufficient vigor, lest days drift by without focus. And if I catch the flu this winter, may it not become bronchitis. Night coughing and codeine keep me groggy all day long, and...
Come, my beloved, let’s greet the source of blessing.[1] I recognized you during the fifth stanza. Your neck flushed red, and the hairs on mine tingled as I heard your voice distinct above the effervescent chorus singing, “Arouse yourself! Arouse!” I’d been...
Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come.[1] You should have known. The ladder can be ascended by the wounded. You who had seen the intersection of heaven and earth could not discern: your heirs were not prisoners of your...
The book of Psalms says, “God supports all those who fall.” It doesn’t say, “God supports those who don’t fall.” In order to fall, you need to let go.
Our view of reality can be transformed when we ask, “Where is God/the Holy in this?” and “What is the invitation/opportunity at this moment?” Gradually, we can build a relationship with what is beyond our ability to conceive.
How do we work to make things better? This interpretation of the morning Shaharit offers a way in: to act in spiritual alignment with creation for a more equitable and just world.
In this piece from 2001, Rabbi Jacob Staub wrestles with the arguments around inclusion of patrilineal Jews, and explains why the inclusion and celebration of patrilineal Jews are crucial to the Jewish future.
How seriously should the Zionist reading of Jewish history affect the way we interpret the meaning of the Jewish past and the significance of contemporary events?
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