Nina Amir's Thoughts on Human Potential, Personal Growth and Practical Spirituality
On Friday night during our Passover seder, someone mentioned that Mercury was moving out of retrograde. I was happy to hear this, since that typically means the things that are stuck will get unstuck. I don’t normally follow astrology. I like it, don’t get me wrong. I believe it. I just don’t read about it [...]
I’m about to go downstairs and start our Passover seder. The sun is setting over the ocean. I can see it from my office window. Seder means order. The service we conduct on Passover has a specific order. However, it strikes me that life has an order, too. And that much like the Israelites as [...]
People come into our lives in all sorts of ways. Some are born into our lives. We are born into the lives of others, thus they become part of our lives. And some walk into our lives due to the places we go and and the experiences we have. In all cases, we have to [...]
Each year during the Passover holiday Jews tell the story of how the Pharaoh in Egypt enslaved the Israelites. Sometimes we talk about what modern day pharaohs exist in the world. I, however, think most of us live with personal pharaohs every day–those in our minds. I know I struggle with the chains put on [...]
It’s almost Passover, and for me this always makes me feel squeezed. Actually, it just makes me more aware of the areas of my life that give me that sense of the walls closing in or getting tight. You don’t have to be Jewish to understand this even though Passover is a Jewish holiday. Passover [...]
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 [...]
Do you count the Omer? If you are Jewish, you may know about this practice. If you aren’t, you likely have no idea to what I’m referring. However, anyone can count the Omer, and in the process you can refine your character. The process of receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai began 49 days before [...]
Today marked the last day of Passover. I think of the week of Pesach like a seven day birth period during which I have the chance to be reborn free of at least one the things I feel constrain me. We are told that the Israelites left Mitzrayyim, the Hebrew word for Egypt, which all [...]
Today, I will look at the last seder plate symbol: maror. These are the bitter herbs that represent slavery. Of course, during Passover the issue of slavery comes up big time. We discuss how the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and how Moses asked the Pharaoh to let free them. When Pharaoh said, “No,” God [...]
Here in Northern California it does not feel like spring. It’s 40 degrees and rainy. However, it’s April and the lilies and daffodils are blooming, so I know spring has sprung. So, it’s appropriate that the next seder symbol I’m going to look at is karpas, the green vegetables that remind the seder participants that [...]
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