I took some time today to go out and look at and appreciate a few trees in my yard. I have a lot of trees because I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. Some of them are very old and tower over our house. Others are small and struggling to stay alive during the hard conditions under which they live.

I did this because today Jews celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish New Year for the trees. This holiday is celebrated on the 15th of Shvat, a Hebrew month that usually falls between mid-January and mid-February.

Originally this holiday served to calculate the age of the trees for tithing. Leviticus 19:23-25 states that no fruit may be taken from a tree during its first three years of life. Fruit from the fourth year was given to God as a burnt offering, and in the fifth year the fruit could be eaten. Trees aged one year on Tu B’Shvat, so in many ways Tu B’Shvat is the birthday of the trees.

The holiday is also celebrated at a time when the sap in trees begins to rise within their trunks unnoticed. The trees, still leafless in most places in the world, are beginning to grow, bud and come back to life. They are getting ready to leaf out and bear fruit once again. (Although here in California some trees, like my orange tee, are heavy with fruit!)

As I looked at the trees in my yard, I thought about these things. How much growth goes on within us unnoticed? When does our creative nature begin to rise up and flow? Is it the same for each person?  And when are we ready to give the fruits of that growth to the world?

I firmly believe we all have a God-given purpose in this lifetime. Our desire to create in the world often comes from that purpose, like my own desire to write. But I think first we must want to create for a higher purpose. The ancient rabbis and Kabbalists would say we must create for God—everything must be done for God, given to God—just as the first fruits taken from the tree in the third year were sacrificed. Only then, when we are clear about the true purpose of anything created in this world can we offer it to mere mortals, thus fulfilling our purpose on Earth.

Does that happen in the fourth year of our life? Probably not. Does it happen when we are forty? Maybe. Can we put an age on it as we Jews do for the trees, I doubt it.

I think , however,  when we become clear about our purpose, how that connects us to something greater than ourselves, and the fact that we want to fulfill it  our ability to create happens as naturally as the leaves burst forth, the blossoms open, and the fruit grows on trees.

What do you think?

I’ve been trying to figure out what to write about as a Yom Kippur, Day of Repentance topic. This Jewish High Holy Day typically brings up issues of forgiveness. I didn’t really want to delve into that once again.

Then I watched an Oprah Winfrey Master Class video about surrender, and I knew. That’s my topic: surrender. If ever there were something for a Jew to forgive himself or herself for during the High Holy Days–or for anyone to forgive themselves for any time of the year–its for not surrendering.

More than that, simply commit TO SURRENDER. It’s one of the most powerful things you can do. Seems ironic since it’s actually a passive action. When you surrender you “let go and let God,” as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous. Then amazing things happen. Your path and your purpose are revealed.

In the Master Class video (link below) Oprah talks about jogging and talking to God and singing and praying. This has been my practice–my hitbodedut. Rebbe Nachman told us to walk in the fields and talk to God, to tell hand our problems over to God, to have a conversation with God. To listen to God. I don’t run, but I walk and I cycle. I often talk, plead, pray, chant, sing, ask questions, cry, listen…try to hear or see  the plan God has for me while walking or cycling. This is just what Oprah describes.

And while she focuses on what she wants, she lets go and surrenders. She allows Something Greater to bring her “this or something better… for the highest good of all concerned.” Those are the words are was taught to offer up as I asked for something–a way to surrender my desires to the Universe. And because she is aligned with the energy, sure enough her thoughts, her focus, her intention lines up with her desire and with God’s plan for her.

As always, Oprah just says it all. I couldn’t say it better even if I keep trying.  Her message is the message I take to heart today, for the upcoming High Holy Day, for the year, for my life. I pass it on to you, my friends. Surrender to something larger than yourself. There’s a plan. You have a purpose. Let it unfold.

Watch the video…(I couldn’t find the video anywhere to updload it–sorry–so follow the link).

My computer crashed a week and a half ago. It required that I take it into the shop and have it checked out. There was nothing wrong with the hard drive. The technician said it passed the diagnostics test. The actual computer worked fine. It had a software problem.

To solve the software problem the technician had to “wipe my computer clean.” In other words, he had to erase all the data off it.

Of course, I panicked. My whole business and all my writing projects exist on that laptop, not to mention years of accumulated files and data. Who knows what all is on there…not even me. Then I realized everything was backed up through an on-line program. I could download it all back onto my laptop…a slow process, but I could get all the data once again.

However, that left the other issue: software. The software had failed me. Somehow one piece of it had become corrupted. And now I would have to reinstall all of it piece by piece. While the hard drive – the internal workings of the computer – its body and soul – was working fine, the part of the programs, computer that tells it what to do – the mind and emotions – had failed.  Now I had a chance to add brand new programs.

Each fall we have a chance to wipe clean the computers of our personal lives – maybe not of all the data but at least of the programs that aren’t working. When the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur roll around, we are asked to look at which “programs” – which ways of thinking, acting, and feeling – have failed us in the past year. And we are asked to commit to changing out those programs for new or changed ones. We acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with the basic workings of our computer. Indeed, our souls are pure. Elohai neshama shenatata bi t’hora hi. “Oh God, the soul you have given me, she is pure,” we pray each morning when we wake up. It’s the programs – the programming – we give that computer that mucks up the workings.

You don’t have to even be Jewish to participate in the High Holy Days. Take advantage of the time and the energy. (Check out my book for help using the 10 day period.) Jews and non-Jews alike can wipe clean their “computers” and install new programs, new thoughts, new actions, new feelings for the New Year. They can commit to thinking more positively, feeling more loving, peaceful, joyous, moving towards the targets they set more diligently every day.

What programs (and data) will you take off your computer this year and what new ones will you install? Will you actually run those programs and use them? Let me know.

Rosh  Hashanah begins at sunset tomorrow, Wednesday, 9/27/11. You then have 10 days to wipe your computer clean and install the new programs you want to use in the New Year. Good luck with your restore process.

On Erev Yom Kippur, my rabbi, Eli Cohen, gave a moving sermon about Psalm 23. This psalm is most often read after someone dies, so for most of us it bears a negative connotation. Yet, it is meant to offer us consolation during difficult times in general, not just when someone has passed on.

If you don’t remember the words, here is just one translation (there are many):

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He causes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

For most of us, this prayer holds little true meaning. Reb Eli, however, dissected the psalm line by line until he came up with a totally new translation (below). I won’t go through his whole sermon, although would like to mention two parts I found most meaningful.

First, the line “You prepare a banquet before me in the presence of my enemies” when truly understood gave this psalm an every-day relevance to me that brought tears to my eyes. Reb Eli explained, “In Hebrew, neged tzor’rai.  Neged means “in the presence of;’ but often with the connotation of ‘parallel to.’ You prepare a table before me in the presence of, parallel to tzor’rai.

“But tzor’rai is not ‘my enemies,’” he continues. “There is a different word for that. Tzor’rai is from the same word as tzar, narrow, tight, or restricted.  Like Mitzrayim, Egypt, the narrow place. Or tzuris, the Yiddish word for troubles. Or as we sing in the El Maleh Rachamim prayer, u-tzror bi-tzror ha-chayim, to be bound up, in the bonds of life.  Tz’ror. Bound, constricted. The same as the word for a ‘pebble,’ as a pebble in one’s shoe, that which oppresses.”

Thus, the word in Psalm 23 so often translated as “enemies” actually is a word for “those people or things which oppress or distress me.” According to Reb Eli, the line really means, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of, parallel to those people and those things that cause me my greatest distress.”

The next line of the psalm and Reb Eli’s explanation struck me poignantly as well. The question to ask at this point in the psalm is: “How do I respond when at the table and faced with these things that distress me most in my life?” How do we respond to life’s challenges?

The Psalm says:  ‘You anoint my head with oil; my cup runneth over.’  Reb Eli explained that this means we have the opportunity to respond like the best of our ancient kings—even in the manner befitting the Messiah. We realize that we can rise to the occasion; we can take the opportunity to respond from our most noble selves, our best or highest selves, and see that we and the situation overflow with possibility.

Reb Eli’s mother, of blessed memory, died this summer of breast cancer. He shared with us that she liked to say, “Everyone is dealt a full shissel, a full dish”—of blessings and of troubles.  The psalm reminds us we can behave at the most difficult times—when faced with life’s challenges—as if anointed as kings and that are cups are always full.

Later on Yom Kippur during the yizkor, or memorial service, we all read Psalm 23 together in its original translation. I still remembered Reb Eli’s translation and the meaning behind each line. I cried all the way through, not because I was mourning anyone in particular. Instead, I cried because the psalm suddenly offered me the consolation it is meant to offer. Here is Reb Eli’s translation; I hope it offers you daily consolation as well. (If you pass this along, please attribute it to Rabbi Eli Cohen.)

The Eternal G-d is my constant shepherd; I shall not lack for anything. 2 G-d brings me to rest in green pastures; and leads me beside calming waters, 3 refreshing my soul; leading me in the winding paths of right action, so that all will come to know G-d’s ways. 4 Though I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, may I fear no evil, knowing You are with me; Your callings and Your proddings are of comfort to me. 5 You prepare a table before me corresponding to my greatest challenges; You call me to my most noble self; my life overflows with possibilities. 6 Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Sacred for the length of my days.

Copyright 2010 Eli Cohen

For Jews, fall always arrives with the High Holidays—sometimes early in September, like this year, sometimes as late as mid October. For most other people it comes with the autumn equinox. This year, they came at the same time.

Interestingly enough, this year’s autumn equinox corresponded with the beginning of Sukkot, the fall harvest festival. This holiday began on September 22 at sundown. The equinox occurred at 03:09 (or 3:09 a.m.) Coordinated Universal Time on September 23, 2010, marking the official beginning of autumn season.

To add to the auspicious occasion, the harvest moon rose at sunset on the 22^nd in the United States. A harvest moon occurs when a full moon appears on the last day of summer.  This phenomenon hasn’t occurred since 1991.

Typically the lunar glow has an orange color, and the moon appears much larger in the sky.  The name comes from the ability of farmers to use the moon as a source of light while they continue their fall harvests.

I admired the moon from my car as I drove along the 280 highway from San Francisco to the Santa Cruz Mountains where I live.  Here, the moon hung huge and white and low in the sky long before the sun set. I could have driven without my headlights much of the way. In the sukkah, it felt as if God had provided a Divine light for the small booth. The moon beams came in through the gaps in the roof.

Do you ever wonder about those times when the sun is up at the same time as the sun, as if day and night have overlapped? It’s an odd time of day. It makes me wonder about the times when heaven and earth, the Divine and the human realm overlap. It’s said that just a thin film lies between us and the “other” realm and that sometimes that film, that veil can be pierced…or becomes thinner, almost nonexistent. Maybe it’s at times like last night when so many different events come together: a holiday, an equinox, a lunar event.

When an auspicious event occurs, you should stop and take note and wonder if God’s hand isn’t in that event, and if God’s hand isn’t a bit nearer, a bit easier to reach. And then reach out.

Happy Sukkot. To learn more about Sukkot, click here.

For other interesting Sukkot posts, try these:

The Symbolism of the Lulav and Why Anyone Should Consider Shaking One

Why Anyone Can and Should Participate in Sukkot’s Rituals

Season of Our Fear

Photo: Wikimedia

As I prepare dinner for Erev Yom Kippur’s meal and think about going to services tonight, I remember the liturgy of the High Holy Days and of the Day of Repentance. I always feel I have death sitting on one shoulder and life sitting on the other.

What will this year bring for my family and me? What does God have in store for us? At this time of year, these are questions Jews ask, especially tonight and tomorrow as we are told we must complete our prayers of repentance, we must end our process of seeking forgiveness, and we must hope that God has sealed us in the proverbial Book of Life.

And so I turn to a wonderful YouTube video that reminds me well… may it also serve as a reminder to all my blog readers, Jewish or not…that we must always be grateful for every day of life and live it as if it could be our last. Plus, we should be grateful to God for all that we have and for our time here on Earth and in these bodies. We should use them well, fulfilling our purpose, caring for each other and the Earth.

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Last year I ran a series of 10 posts during the High Holy Days to help people with the t’shuvah process, the process of returning to their best selves. I have compiled those posts into an ebook called 10 Days and 10 Ways to Return to Your Best Self, A T’Shuvah Guide, that is now available on my website for the low cost of $7.

The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Repentance, are called the High Holy Days or the Days of Awe. They are a time for Jews–or anyone–to go inward and consider how to “do t’shuvah,” to turn back to God and to their best self.

This e-book provides 10-days of exercises to help you go through this introspective process. It gives structure to the Days of Awe so you can truly consider not only your sins and how to rectify them but how to achieve your full human potential.

Use this human potential tool that crosses religious lines to return to your best self–and to source–in just 10 awesome days. It’s a great tool for Jews, but, like most of the products I create, it’s applicable for anyone.

If you would like to order a copy of 10 Days and 10 Days to Return to Your Best Self, A T’Shuvah Guide, please click here. Please be patient if your e-book doesn’t show up immediately. I am handling fulfillment personally at this point. It is not an automated process  but a human one. Forgive me!



From the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, until the end of Yom Kippur, the Day of Repentence, Jews have 10 days to return or turn back–t’shuvah–to their best selves. How do you do this? Here’s an excerpt from my workbook, Get Ready, Aim, Shoot, and Hit Your Bull’s Eye This Year that will help.

To begin the process of t’shuvah answer the following questions. As you answer them, you will be developing your focus for the coming year and improving your aim.

1. Look back over the past 12 months.  How did you live, play, work, love, and behave? In general, what would you have changed about how you lived your life last year?
2. How could you have been a better you last year?
3. What would you like to do more of this year
4. What would you like to do less of this year?
5. How can you live your life fully this year?
6. What can you  do to reach your fullest potential this year?

Next, write down at least three new goals – targets you want to hit – for this New Year

For each goal, list three things you can do to help move you closer to achieving that goal.  These might be specific actions you can take or habits you can form that will bring you closer hitting that bull’s eye – accomplishing your goal.

Finally, write an intention statement to go with each of your goals. Make the statement quantifiable. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds in the next 12 months you might write, “I intend to be fit, trim, and 10 pounds lighter by this time next year.”

To order this workbook, click here.

Last year during the Jewish Days of Awe, or High Holy Days, which extend over the 10 days from Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to Yom Kippur, the Day of Repentance, I wrote a series of 10 blog posts that discussed different ways to use each day for introspection. I’d like to simply call your attention to these posts today, on Rosh Hashanah, so you can begin following them and making use of them. The first post can be found here. You can follow the posts from that day forward. (Most of the others can be found here.)

Anyone can use these posts at this time of year; you don’t have to be Jewish.

May you find them useful and though provoking, and may they bring you closer to God and to your best self.

Over the last two weeks I’ve spent a lot of time with my daughter preparing her for college  and helping her deal with leaving behind a boyfriend she cares about deeply. These two teens maturely choose to end the relationship to allow each other freedom while they live on opposite coasts and experience life in college. I’ve also been helping my son figure out where he will continue his dance training this year, and I’ve been listening to his pain over a summer relationship that ended in much the same way as my daughter’s only his girlfriend has very quickly moved on to a new boyfriend.

In the midst of this, I’m struggling to acclimate myself into my own life and marriage after almost two months way with my son. I’m also attempting to find meaning and purpose in all that I do as I find that I have lost myself and much of what has made me feel passionate and happy over the years.

Midlife crisis? Maybe. Possibly just a reality check.

The emptiness I have been feeling was driven home as I watched my children so filled with emotion–sadness, fear, excitement, sorrow. They are leaving things behind and staring anew. They have their lives stretched ahead of them. They are growing and changing. So much awaits them.

As I cried with them, felt their pain and sorrow, trembled at their fear, I realized their emotions resonated so much with me because I wanted to feel as passionately…about anything….about something…about someone.

I haven’t read or seen Eat, Love, Pray, but I recently saw the movie trailer. I cried my way through that, too. I realized I must go at least see the movie. (I won’t give myself the task of buying another book I have no time to read…) I am that woman…well, maybe not in all ways, but in many. No wonder the book was such a big hit; how many women related to the story?

This week I got out my Tony Robbins 30-day tape series once again. I’ve never once finished it. I only completed one tape this week, but I’ll plug away at it and allow him to try and motivate me to change. On that first day, I swore I’d exercise more; I only managed one day. I will do two next week at least, and even one day is better than none. I promised myself I’d write more often (on my books), and I didn’t manage to do so even once…but I will! I will.I started reading Byron Katie’s Loving What Is, which has been on my shelf for years. Maybe her questions will help me stop struggling. I also put one of the spiritual books I started a while ago on my nightstand…

The Jewish High Holy Days are fast approaching. This is a good time for introspection and considering how to improve oneself and one’s life as well. The energy of change is in the air in the autumn. It’s time to turn over a new life and to turn back–to return–to your true self, your best self. That’s what I need. I’ve almost forgotten who she is.

I may not follow through with all of these new “programs”; of course, I have too many and not enough time for them all. Maybe one of them will inspire me…or even two. Maybe something will stick and help me create some change or spark a bit of passion within.

Change comes little by little. It’s a process. But when we realize it’s time to make a change, we must follow the call. We must DO something to help it along, to fan the fire so it doesn’t smolder and go out.

I see the changes in my children’s lives–even the painful ones. I’m willing to even feel pain, but change must come. And change always begins within. The time has come.

Has it come for you?