spirituality

close up on translucent poppy

10 Day Mindfulness Challenge – Day 1

Today is Day One of our 10-Day Jewish Mindfulness Challenge. Welcome! Here’s how it will work: When you sign up for the challenge,  you will receive an email from me each morning for ten days, as a reminder to meditate or practice mindfulness. Each day I will recommend a kavannah or guidance for the day and …

Read More

woman knitting on large needles with very colorful yarn

Hanukkah Night #7: What Brings You Joy?

Tonight’s question for this 7th night of Hanukkah is: What seven things or experiences bring you joy? Reb Nachman of Bratzlav taught: “Joy is not merely incidental to your spiritual quest, it is vital.” Despite Reb Nachman’s periodic bouts of severe depression, he stressed the importance of seeking joy.” Having a regular spiritual practice of …

Read More

Bo

Hanukkah Night #7: Grateful

Tonight we light the 7th candle of Hanukkah. All throughout this holiday, we have been collecting the ways we actively bring light into our lives, or how we recognize the light. Every night we light one more candle, following the principle of gradually increasing the light (Talmud, Shabbat 21b:5)  The experience of being grateful fills …

Read More

Bo

Chanukah Night #7: Grateful

Tonight we light the 7th candle of Chanukah. The question today is: For what 7 things are you grateful?   Here are mine (not in order): Creativity –  the constant flow of ideas and projects that stimulate and give me a zest for life. This takes the form of putting lesson plans together or knitting or …

Read More

Find Your Place

I remember one clear moment when I knew I had found “my place.” In my 4th year of rabbinic school I participated in a 5-day Jewish spirituality retreat.*  We studied the Zohar’s interpretation of the Torah portion “Lech Lecha.” The Zohar, Judaism’s mystical interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, has a fascinating read on this text …

Read More

Prayer for Yom Kippur

In the next 25 hours, as you gather together to participate in Yom Kippur prayer services, in-person or online – Or perhaps you take silent time at the beach to contemplate your last year – Reflect: What & from whom did you learn? Who did you hurt, intentionally or otherwise? What amends do you need …

Read More

Love Yourself On The Way To Wholeness

High Holy Day Soul Work, Part 5 As Rosh Hashanah comes closer, our prayers become more urgent, because ready or not, the holy days are upon us. We reflect more deeply on our misdeeds of the past year, and where we have fallen short of being our best selves. Part of the powerful ritual we …

Read More

Do The Cosmic Turn: Teshuvah

High Holy Day Soul Work, Part 4 The cosmic principle of the entire High Holy Day season is teshuvah – to turn. Unfortunately, it is often translated as “repentance” which sounds severe and judgmental. However, teshuvah actually means “to turn, return, restore.” My teacher, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner writes of teshuvah: “All God ever says is …

Read More

Prepare Your Soul: Brokenness & Wholeness; Part 2

High Holy Day Soul-Work, Part 2 The overarching theme of the High Holy Days is acknowledging brokenness and seeking wholeness. In last week’s blog post, I wrote about how essential it is for each of us to “do our own soul work” during the month of Elul, the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah. Several core …

Read More

© PATH WITH HEART COMMUNITY | PRIVACY

Path With Heart Community is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization - Tax ID: 99-1257263