Parsha

Sunburst Over River

SHORT ESSAY: A Shelter in the Flood (Parashat Noah)

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)

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MEDITATION: A Shelter in the Flood (Parashat Noah)

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)

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SHORT ESSAY: A Song For My Father about חן — Grace (Parashat Noah)

(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)

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SHORT ESSAY: First Comes Clarity (Parashat Bereishit)

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)

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POEM: Let me remember You (Parashat Re’eh)

O Lord when the wind does blow, let me remember You (Click image to read more)

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MEDITATION: The City of Refuge Inside Us (Parashat Matot-Masei)

Relax and cultivate the city of refuge inside you, as a place to go where we are held in all our imperfections. Click here to listen.

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SHORT ESSAY: The City of Refuge Inside Us (Parashat Matot-Masei)

Here’s the thing:  we all make mistakes, sometimes with harmful consequences for ourselves and others.   Mostly we don’t make these mistakes out of ill will or an evil nature, but simply because we are human beings, inclined to error and imperfection by our very nature.   Our relationships are messy; we try; we do

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SHORT ESSAY: On The Olat Tamid and Eternity (Parashat Pinchas)

Included in this week’s parsha is the Olat Tamid  — the burnt offering that was sacrificed on the sanctuary altar twice a day, every day.   Tamid means “always” — not just now and then, but all the time, regularly — reminding us of the importance of constancy and steadfastness in our connection to God. 

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MEDITATION: Mah Tovu — Entering the Sanctury of goodness (Parashat Balak)

On the verse:  מה טובו אהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל How good are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Israel! (Numbers 24:5). Come relax into the goodness of the divine sanctuary.   To listen to the meditation, click here.  

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SHORT ESSAY: Act Like a Levi! (Parashat Korach)

For Korah, being a Levite is not enough — he wants priesthood as well — but I want to take a moment to honor the role of the Levite.  To be a Levite is to keep others company.   Leah gave her third son the name Levi in hopes of accompaniment by her less than

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