This meditation connects Aharon’s stance of demamah, of stillness, at the death of his sons, to the “still, small voice” of God that Eliyahu experienced, understanding stillness as a divine point implanted in each of us that can hold any pain, no matter how intense. We work first on developing a sense of this stillness […]
MEDITATION: The Stillness that Can Hold Pain (Parashat Shemini) Read More »
In this meditation, we imagine the war with Amalek with all its tenuousness and feel inside us the fear and hopelessness that come from a cruel unprovoked attack by the powerful upon the weak. We allow ourselves to feel that gnawing doubt that evil will triumph in relation to Amalek, and in relation to the
MEDITATION: Amalek, Ukraine, and Moshe’s Strong Arms of Faith (Parashat Zakhor) Read More »
We see and honor each of our internal parts as having a place insde us, just as Moshe saw and anointed each of the vessels of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). (Click image to read more and listen)
MEDITATION: All Parts Have a Place (Parashat Pekudei) Read More »
In this meditation, we explore the feeling of being held in the cleft of the Rock of Life as a response to the shakiness which the people experienced upon awaiting Moshe’s return, and which we all regularly experience.
MEDITATION: The Cleft in the Rock (Parashat Ki Tisa) Read More »
In this meditation, we work together to access the Ner Tamid (eternal light) inside us, to feel its glow spread through us, to know its steadfastness, and to spread its light to the other parts of us that are needing light. Photo by Pixabay at Pexels
MEDITATION: Our Inner Ner Tamid, Eternal Light (Parashat Tetzaveh) Read More »
In this meditation, we focus on the Aron, the ark, as the meeting place for Divine Presence in the Mishkan, and we find that meeting place inside ourselves in our hearts, and specifically in the hole (like the open space above the Aron between the angels where God spoke) of our vulnerability. We find in
MEDITATION: Becoming a Mishkan, a Dwelling Place for Divine Presence (Parashat Terumah) Read More »
One theme running through the parsha’s laws is taking care of the vulnerable in society — the stranger, the widow, the poor, the slave, . . . In this meditation, we look inward to our own vulnerable parts, we get to know them and the shame and judgment surrounding them, we listen to them and
MEDITATION: The Vulnerable Inside you (Parashat Mishpatim) Read More »
This meditation considers the entire universe as a world of praise to God, and explores our ability to enter and join that praise. The meditation is based on a study of Ashrei we did together in my Psalms group, and plays with the words מהולל, mehulal, “praised,” and כל, kol, “everthing,” which both appear often
MEDITATION: A World of Praise (Ashrei) Read More »
In this meditation, we explore the intense feeling contained in the Shabbat song, Tzama Nafshi, “My soul thirsts for God.” (Click image to read more)
MEDITATION: My Soul Thirsts for God (Tzama Nafshi) Read More »
This week’s parsha begins, Vayechi Yaakov, “Yaakov lived,” but it is a parsha about Yaakov’s death. In this meditation, we work on expanding our notion of aliveness in two ways: 1) As Yaakov had a very difficult life, but still vayechi, still loved, so we experiment with seeing our most difficult emotions as manifestations of
MEDITATION: On “Chayut,” Aliveness (Parashat Vayechi) Read More »