33 results for author: Earth Etudes Elul

Earth Etude for Elul 10

Climate and the Sh'ma by Leah F. Cassorla Ph.D. ~One of my amazing 7th graders said to me that the second paragraph of the Sh’ma (the V’hayu) says, in his words, “if we follow the commandments, we will have plenty to eat and be safe, but there are people who don’t have enough food.” He’s right. There are people who don’t have enough food. I explained it’s because we bow down to other gods. The V’hayu is either completely redacted or read silently in most liberal Jewish communities in North America. It feels a bit icky to us. It describes a system of punishment and reward that we in the West can sometimes feel relies on ...

Earth Etude for Elul 9

I COME HOME by Lisa M. Miller ~walk my wild rocky woodland—indigo bunting familieskatydids, a woodpecker,the rushing creek timbre.God. In tones solstice goldmoss thick, hardwood sentries and baby sapsline my edgesway far out. I’m bigger here, resilient, and only a speck.Soaring thank yous with feet.I know myself. I knowhow to find my way—homeanywhere. Lisa M. Miller is an inclusive, community-building, mind-body health specialist and social justice advocate. Her workshops help women in every life-chapter integrate physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. She serves a wide demographic through support groups and ...

Dropping Our Leaves

Earth Etude for Elul 8 by ©Rabbi Robin Damsky ~In his book, This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared, Alan Lew, of blessed memory, teaches us that the arc of the High Holy Days begins with the grief of Tisha B’Av, even before we approach Elul. As we mourn the destruction of the Temples, we acknowledge loss, brokenness, a sense of unfathomable exile. We feel this so preciously this year, as it has been perhaps the greatest year of grief and loss to us in the Jewish community since the Holocaust. And the grief remains, persists. I think of a deciduous tree as August turns to September, October, November. Its leaves turn color, ...

Earth Etude for Elul 7

Love Psalm from Elohim by Judith Felsen, Ph.D. Dear Ones,This Elul we greet and meet in fields of anguish,barely chanting salutations trapped in unrequited prayerswaiting to be mourned…our hearts engorged with grief and rage beat haltingly,our bodies weary cartons holding our debacle, filled withsymptoms screaming for attention and unknown revenge… Dear Ones,Within this dark abyss, quagmire of all unsafe,do not shut down to holiness presiding on the edge of emptiness;be with the speech of Elohim, the wind, the seas, the sparkle of the stars;let Hashem’s nature carry you on wings, walk with you in gardens, gaze with you at skies and ...

Earth Etude for Elul 6

Repentant and Grounded: AllyShip in Elul by Rabbi Mike Moskowitz ~One of the reasons that we are called “Earthlings,”1 b’nei adam in Hebrew, is because our ability to return to a pristine state of purity can be achieved through our connection to the Earth. Our rabbis teach “טומאה מקבל אינו לקרקע המחובר - anything that is attached (m’chubar) to the ground can’t become impure.”2 The Earth reminds us of God’s nature as Creator, who formed us from the Earth, and our role as a partner in co-creating goodness. When we separate ourselves from that relationship, the void is filled with ritual impurity. ...

Why is Despair So Compelling?

Earth Etude for Elul 5 by Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner ~The Chasidic Rabbi Nachman of Braslav (1772-1810) was a lifelong sufferer of what was likely depression. When, towards the end of his life, he told his followers that “it is forbidden to despair” (Likutei Moharan II 78:7), it was because he understood the siren call of hopelessness. What is so tempting about hopelessness? It’s the sense of certainty that comes with it. When things feel uncertain, it means we’re holding multiple possible futures that could range from terrible to wonderful. Carrying that wide an arc of possibility and the emotional responses that follow it can feel ...

Arise

Earth Etude for Elul 4 by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Arise / לָקוּם Enough!Too long have youstood still. Arise! Draw nearand walk the verdant woodland trailswith Me. אָז רַבלָכֶם שֶׁבֶתלְבַד. עַכְשָׁו לָקוּם. בֹּאוּ לְתוֹךְ חֹרֶשׁ קָסוּםאִיתִי. Inspired by Devarim 1:6 Rabbi Katy Z. Allen is the founder and spiritual leader of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, an outdoor congregation in Metrowest Boston, the co-founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network, the instigator of the Earth Etudes for Elul, and the author of A Tree of ...

The Tides of Teshuvah

Earth Etude for Elul 3 by Rabbi Janet Madden Midrash Tehilim 65:4: “Teshuvah is like the sea which is never barred, so that whoever desires to bathe in it can do so whenever they desire.” As the moon draws the tides,so this month pulls our souls to the way of our ancestors,to teshuvah.Return is always possible. But in Elul, resistance dissolves,Desire engulfs us like a swelling wave,and we, made mostly of water,carried on currents of time and memory,sea-change, returning to ourselves.Rabbi Janet Madden, PhD, is a ritualist, poet, herbalist, grief specialist, ordained animal chaplain and lover of texts.

I walked on the Pier above the Saint Lawrence River

Earth Etude for Elul 2 by Enid C. Lader ~I walked on the pier above the Saint Lawrence River It happened to be across the street from a grand cathedral built in honor of Saint Anne… To become a saint, people must attest to miracles performed… As you walk into the cathedral’s sanctuary, crutches and walking sticks and canes are gathered into two displays— We can walk! It’s a miracle! Walking back from the river, the wind was quite strong- everyone held on to their hats… The undulations of the river were then carried forward to the tall grasses of the marshland shore… an amazing and beautiful ripple effect - no ...

Earth Etude for Elul 1

Waves by Louis Polisson Written after a visit to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, native lands of the Waccamaw Siouan, Lumbee, and Catawba (Iswa) peoples The sound of waves Breaking on the seashore Heralding The coming of the time for return The sound of a wheel That rolls Like our fools in prophecy[1] said Open and closed The voice of the Shekhinah Over the waters [2] In the midst the sea [3] Within the heart The voice of my heart Saying: “Seek My face” Your face, Eternal, I will seek [4] גלים מאת הרב לואיס פוליסון נכתב לאחר ביקור בחוף רייטסוויל, צפון קרוליינה, ...

Earth Etude for Rosh Hodesh Elul

Turning Earthward by Rabbi Asher Chaim Sofman ~ I sit in my backyard on a cool and beautiful August day. Cicadas and crickets buzz. It’s a workday, but if my laptop’s on, even hours I spend lounging outside can be productive. I’m working, of course. I have multiple programs open and I’m typing away. What I’m not sure I’m doing is “producing.” Our scraggly food garden lies to my left. Mostly what’s growing there are weeds, but not everything. The plot also hosts two melon vines that sprouted from my compost pile. They have flowers now; there’s a chance I’ll see cantaloupes this year. I see a handful of tiny ...

All the Earth Etudes for Elul–5784

Connecting the Meaning of our Lives to the Spirit of Judaism: Tikkun Olam - Repairing our World Elul is almost here--by Rabbi Katy Allen: The moon is waning once again, this time telling us that we are approaching the Jewish month of Elul. READ MORE... ~Earth Etude for Rosh Hodesh by Rabbi Asher Chaim Sofman : Turning Earthward...I sit in my backyard on a cool and beautiful August day...READ MORE... ~ Earth Etude for Elul 1 by Rabbi Louis Polisson: Waves: The sound of waves…Breaking on the seashore…Heralding…The coming of the time for return… Read More ~ Earth Etude for Elul 2 by Enid C. Lader: I Walked on the Pier above the ...

Intro to Elul

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Elul is almost here! The moon is waning once again, this time telling us that we are approaching the Jewish month of Elul, and this year, the American holiday of Labor Day. It’s tough to let the summer go, but the sun keeps rising and setting, and the days go by, sunset arriving earlier earlier, Shabbat evenings getting longer and Shabbat days shorter, the nights may be cool, and we know in our minds, even if not our hearts, that summer cannot go on forever. We may think about the heat waves that have marked the summer. What do they mean for us? What kind of message are they sending about our global future? ...