Bereshit (Genesis)
What we are being asked to do is move from the starting place of our small, situated human selves toward a self that is a part of the vast groundless blessedness of the divine. (Click image to read more)
ESSAY: The Journey Toward Our Own Vastness (Parashat Lekh Lekha) Read More »
We are so much larger than we think! We contain the whole universe inside us. In this meditation, we work on opening up some space around our contracted parts by breathing in the extra letter “Heh” from Avraham’s new name along with the vastness of the earth and the stars in his divinely granted vision.
MEDITATION: Adding the “Heh” of Spaciousness (Parashat Lekh Lekha) Read More »
In the face of a physical flood, God instructs Noah to build an ark. Perhaps this is what we need to do for our emotional flooding as well, to create a space of safety inside us where we can ride out the storm. (Click image to read more)
SHORT ESSAY: A Shelter in the Flood (Parashat Noah) Read More »
We are all at times flooded emotionally. — by overwhelm, anxiety, fear, distress. In this meditation, we work on constructing an inner ark to weather the storms. (Click image to listen)
MEDITATION: A Shelter in the Flood (Parashat Noah) Read More »
(Originally published in October 2020, in honor of my father’s seventh yahrtzeit). In this essay, I explore the meaning of a song I learned from my father as a child — koh amar Hashem. (Click image to read more)
SHORT ESSAY: A Song For My Father about חן — Grace (Parashat Noah) Read More »
Why is God’s first creation light? We talk a lot about compassion, but often in addition to or maybe even before compassion, we need clarity. (Click image to read more)
SHORT ESSAY: First Comes Clarity (Parashat Bereishit) Read More »
I have never understood the Rashi at the beginning of this week’s parsha. Rashi is responding to theTorah’s lengthy way of telling us Sarah’s age at death — vayeheyu hayei Sarah me’ah shanah ve’esrim shanah . . . . ”Sarah’s lifetime was 100 years and 20 years and 7 years — this was the span
SHORT ESSAY: A Post-humous Celebration of Sarah (Parashat Chayei Sarah) Read More »
When God appears to Avraham in the beginning of this week’s parsha, what is Avraham doing? He is yoshev petah ha’ohel , “sitting in the opening of the tent,” ready to greet and welcome and honor whoever happens to come by. He sits in a posture of openness towards the world; if war comes,
Parashat Vayera: Inviting in Whoever Comes Read More »
The Torah portrays a world in which God does care about a single person, no matter how messed up. (Click image to read more)
SHORT ESSAY: You Matter! (Parashat Vayetze) Read More »
I was taking a walk the other day, feeling a little glum, when I noticed the ginkgo tree up the street. The sky was blue and the sun was shining on it just so, making its yellow leaves radiant and aglow. I stopped in wonder and thought, “Thank you, God, for this gift today.” I
SHORT ESSAY: The Sun Rises Just For You (Parashat Vayishlach) Read More »