Parsha

MEDITATION: “You have Prevailed”: Feeling Our Own Strength (Parashat Vayishlach)

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

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SHORT ESSAY: Yaakov’s Rebirth (Parashat Vayishlach)

(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.   

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SHORT ESSAY: From Hamakom to Hamakom: Being Where We Are Right Now (Parashat Vayetze)

When we fully rest in hamakom, in the place of today, whatever it is, we open up access to another hamakom, to God, to the ultimate Place of the World. (Click image to read more)

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MEDITATION: Resting in “Hamakom” — This Place (Parashat Vayetze)

Yaakov stopped on his journey away from home at Hamakom, “the place.” In this meditation, we intrepret hamakom to mean where he was at that moment, the emotional space he was in, a fearful, lonely space. We imitate Yaakov’s instinct to rest in the place that he was in — in its hard rocks —

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SHORT ESSAY: Rivka’s (and Our) Emotional Journey, in Three Parts (Parashat Toldot)

Who are your inner twins, the parts of you that are in conflict, constantly pulling you in different directions? (Click image to read more)

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MEDITATION: Rivka’s (And Our) Emotional Journey, In Three Parts (Parashat Toldot)

Rivka, now pregnant with twins, feels them struggling inside her, pulling in different directions. In this meditation, we follow her emotional journey from this sense of inner conflict to collapse to seeking God. We work to feel each difficult step, and then the unifying, calming energy of focusing on our deepest desire for divine connection.

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MEDITATION: Your Power of “Elekh” — I will Go (Parashat Chayei Sarah)

Rivka said one word which changed her life and the world forever: Elekh — “I will go.” I will go to Canaan to marry Yitzhak. In this meditation, we explore the strength and power of this word and how we can inhabit that strength. If you would like to join our Wednesday parsha meditation group

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