Bereshit (Genesis)
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 »
Goshen is the land of connection, the place where we arrive following all the strife of the book of Breishit, a place where we can glimpse the possibility of real connection and coming together. (Click image to read more)
WOW (Word of the Week): Goshen (Parashat Vayigash) Read More »
On that day, the earth shook with sorrow/ and the farmer who was seeding, paused mid-row (Click image to read more)
POEM: The Great Cry (Parashat Vayigash) Read More »
In this meditation, we explore the emotional complexity of the first scene of the parsha . . . (Click image for more)
MEDITATION: Glimpsing Goshen: the Land of Connection (Parashat Vayigash) Read More »
חלום פרעה אחד הוא
Pharaoh’s dream is one.
(Click image to read more)
WOW (Word of the Week): אחד, One (Parashat Miketz) Read More »
(Originally published in December 2020) The Chanukah menorah is a kli, a vessel, to hold the oil or the candles that bring light into the world. Light needs a container. In order for blessing to enter this world, it needs a container. In the book of Kings (II Kings 4), when a destitute woman
SHORT ESSAY: Becoming a Vessel (Chanukah and Parashat Vayeshev) Read More »
ויהי ה’ את יוסף, “And God was with Yosef” (Click image to read more)
WOW (Word of the Week): את (Parashat Vayeshev) Read More »
You are capable. Go out and conquer the world. (Click image to read more)
WOW (Word of the Week): ותוכל (Parashat Vayishlach) Read More »
Yaakov struggles with the angel and is told, vatukhal, “you have prevailed.” In this meditation, we work with our own struggles and fears and find the strength and resililence to meet them face to face and feel our capacity to handle what is difficult. Photo by Snapwire from Pexels
MEDITATION: “You have Prevailed”: Feeling Our Own Strength (Parashat Vayishlach) Read More »
(Originally published in December 2020) Yaakov’s struggle with a “man” the night before he meets up with his brother Esav can be read as a rebirth. It is a transformative experience at the end of which he receives a name change, as if born anew with a fresh way of being in the world.
SHORT ESSAY: Yaakov’s Rebirth (Parashat Vayishlach) Read More »