Teachings by Rabbi Jill - Path With Heart Community

Endings #BlogElul Day 24

Endings are difficult. When we were at the last retreat of our Institute for Jewish Spirituality rabbinic cohort – 2 years of study, practice, and deep friendships, Rabbi Nancy Flam taught, in the name of Rachael Kessler (z”l) to really pay attention to what we do when we are at the end of something: do we …

Awaken #BlogElul 17

On the 17th day of the month of Elul, we are now on the other side of the full moon, leaning into Rosh Hashanah. Will we be ready? More than preparing the menu or our new clothes, we still have time to awaken our souls from the sleep we may have been in. It’s not …

Forgiveness #BlogElul day 13

As we walk our way towards the new year, today’s Elul topic is FORGIVE. It’s absolutely one of the most significant things we can do in spiritually preparing ourselves for the High Holy Days. Let’s just say that this is easier said than done, especially when we’ve been hurt badly. It involves digging deep, taking …

Elul day 10: Seeing — #BlogElul

When we “see” how wide is our frame ? For ex, if a loved one is impatient with us, do we also see (and remember) all the times s/he is patient? The Hasidic mas ter s often talk about “narrow consciousness – mochin d’katanut” vs. “expanded consciousness – mochin d’gadlut.” Yes, we see what we …

Are You Ready? A Roundup of Elul Inspiration and Resources #BlogElul

The Hebrew month of Elul begins one month before Rosh Hashanah (in 2013, that means it begins August 7.) For some, the High Holy Days represent a time to gather with family and friends, eat apples and honey and wish each other a Happy New Year. For others, the High Holy Days, and the 30 …

Connecting with Breath and Spirit

Every living being breathes. From our first breath to our last, we are given this unasked-for gift. Our breath arrives for us each moment like a miracle. And then our bodies answer, with our exhale out into the universe – letting go, releasing a bit of who we are to the All. It is the …

Blessing Practice

As we begin to turn toward the season of forgiveness, for ourselves and others, there are several practices, we can learn that help soften our souls.

Life lessons from the saddest day of the Jewish year

On Tisha B’Av – the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av – we commemorate and mourn the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem. For modern Jews, how might we make sense of this? A profound teaching may be uncovered from this little-known day: the fall of the Temple reflects …

Gifts everywhere

“Awe enables us to see in the world intimations of the divine, to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple, to feel in the rush of the passing the stillness of the eternal.” Abraham Joshua Heschel Anything that stops us in our tracks and helps us experience …

Mary Oliver on Awe

Instructions for life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. Mary Oliver (from her poem “Sometimes”) This photo was taken on a walk around our neighborhood in Mar Vista (Los Angeles) – You can just be walking, and come upon such beauty! Click on the photo to really see how amazing this flower is.