Rosh Hashanah is the time when we take stock of our lives and consider new beginnings. Perhaps the most significant and meaningful change that Jews should consider this year is a shift away from diets that have been having devastating effects on human health and the health of our increasingly
by Rabbi David Jaffe ~ Born at home on a Shabbat morning, my son spent his first few hours on this planet snuggling against his mother’s warm chest. One of the most striking visual images of that first day was the moment our midwife cut the umbilical cord that physically
by Rabbi Judy Weiss ~ Rabbi Dr. Judith Hauptman, professor of Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary, taught a passage from the Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 54b-55a, in a study session for the Israeli Knesset in 2014 (listen to her re-teach it at Mechon Hadar, here). In this passage, the rabbis conclude
by Janna Diamond “I would like to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.” – John O’Donohue What happens when we begin to awaken to what is in front of us, around us, and meeting us? Whose truth are we waking up to? Is
by Maggid David Arfa “Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” R. AJ Heschel A riddle: Lily pads are doubling on a pond every day, Day 1- 1, Day 2- 2, Day 3- 4, Day 4- 8 and
by Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein “I dare you to do it!” So I was challenged by Yosef Abramowitz. Yosef and his wife, Rabbi Susan Silverman made aliyah to Israel 10 years ago. Last year he ran for president of Israel and he has a company selling solar panels. He
by Thea Iberall, Ph.D. ~ Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” I think about this statement every time I do climate change activism. We must wean humanity off of fossil fuels before the seas rise too high and before
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen ~ When we don’t know what to do, it can be difficult to sit still. When we are deep in grief or despair, it can be painful to stop moving. When we are angry or hurt, allowing silence into our lives can feel almost impossible.
by Moshe Givental ~ Every year on Tisha b’Av we begin a 7-week journey of preparation for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Like most significant experiences in life, for the Jewish Holy Days to have the potential for transformation, they require preparation. So we started a few weeks ago by
by Rabbi Robin Damsky I am sitting with the concept of brokenness as it relates to Tisha B’Av and the ensuing unfolding of the High Holy Day season. We often have trouble connecting with this day; our lives are so distant from the First and Second Temple periods, but its central theme
text by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen photos by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen and Gabi Mezger May your new year be filled with peaceful rest… amazing vistas from high places… glory and grandeur… emerging from tight places… living off what
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Days are like scrolls: Write on them what you want to be remembered. –Bahya ibn Pakuda A Torah scroll is a spiral, when stretched out it forms one continuous stretch of parchment. Its handwritten text is complex, not easy to decipher
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen I have been visiting hospice patients and their families, and at each visit, I speak aloud the fact that Rosh HaShanah is only a few days away. From the secular to the more observant, the impending juxtaposition of the holiday to the loss of their
by Judith Felsen, Ph.D. There is much weeding needed in the fields now overgrown by chemical abuse and steadily polluted with our toxic waste. Will we still meet amidst our tainted crops? My King, I come to greet You with a glad and saddened heart, my knees now bent
by A. D. Gordon translated by Katy Z. Allen I feel that life, it is narrow like Sheol, and my soul is within it as within a press, crushed, broken pounded; my life is frothing also within my soul, and causing havoc within me, I shake myself violently with
by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Ephemeral… always moving… constantly changing… untouchable.. beautiful… and also impactful… productive… important… connected… …like life. Earth Etudes for Elul are a project of Ma’yan Tikvah – A Wellspring of Hope.
by Moshe Givental I have had the privilege of spending a lot of time outside this summer at the sacred grounds of Pickard’s Mountain Eco Institute. In my deep yearning to reconnect this one Adam (Earth-ling) with Adamah (Earth) I have tried to listen a bit more deeply than usual, and
by Carol C. Reiman May I be as steady as the oak, ocean, owl’s gaze; Flexing as the bird’s wing, cattail in the breeze, stream around the stone; Patient as the long daylight,path to the horizon,journey to my core; Gliding back and forth, Inner, outer, values mirroring my
