As the Spirit Moves Me

It’s so easy to let the changes of modern day life eat away at tradition. Change happens, it seems, whether we like it or not. More often than not, however, we allow it to happen. I had reason last night to consider this. My family went to see Fiddler on the Roof with Harvey Fierstein. I’ve seen [...]

February 20th, 2010 | Tags: change, observance, tradition | Category: Judaism, religious practice, ritual, spiritual practice | Comments (2)

In my last post I talked about the Sukkot rituals of both building a sukkah and shaking the lulav, and then I promised I’d explain how and why anyone-Jew and non-Jew alike-might want to consider taking on these Sukkot rituals. Today, I’d like to make good on that promise. You don’t have to be Jewish [...]

October 6th, 2009 | Tags: ancestors, blessing, economic issues, etrog, Gratitude, homeless, joy, lulav, rituals, shaking the lulav, Sukkah, Sukkot, tabernacle | Category: Gratitude, happiness, joy, ritual, Sukkot | Comments (1)

I’m determined to put spiritual practice back into my life. I’ve been struggling for a year at least to find the time for a sustainable practice. I know…I teach and write about practical spirituality, by which I mean short, easy, sustainable practices that fit into our busy lives. However, I have failed to practice what [...]

August 12th, 2009 | Tags: chanting, chants, connecting with God, how to fit spirituality into life, Kabbalah, kirtan, meditation, mezzuzah, practical spirituality, Prayer, Rabbi David Cooper, Rabbi Shefa Gold, spiritual practice, too busy for spirituality, Yofiyah | Category: balance, consciousness, Prayer, religious practice, ritual, spiritual practice | Comments (1)

While I was at the Aleph Kallah I had the opportunity to participate in a Red Heifer ritual led by Rabbi Shefa Gold. This ritual is not one normally performed…at least not that I know of, and it likely has not been performed since the days of the temple. We, of course, in Jewish renewal [...]

July 7th, 2009 | Tags: chok, faith, fear, Golden Calf, idol worship, Moses, moving through fear, Mt. Sinai, purification ritual, Rabbi Shefa Gold, Red Heifer, ritual | Category: creating change, human potential, intention, living fully, moving through fear, personal growth, priestess, ritual | Leave a comment

Just as most Jews are finishing up their spring cleaning and getting ready to burn the last of their chametz, which we do on the morning before the first night of Passover, we get a chance to stop and do something totally different. It’s something we haven’t done for 28 years. Actually, it’s something we haven’t [...]

April 6th, 2009 | Tags: 2008, 28-year cycle, Abbaye, April 8, Birkat Hachamah, creation, spring equinox and sun blessing, sun, sun blessing, vernal equinox | Category: blessing, Passover, Pesach, ritual | Leave a comment

Tonight begins the festival of Sukkot. This year, I find myself thinking very different thoughts about his holiday. Normally, I am focused on shaking the lulav and holding the etrog while praying with my whole body in all directions with a pure soul, cleansed during the High Holy Days…well, that is still there for me this year. [...]

October 13th, 2008 | Tags: Divine energy, getting in the flow, lulav and etrog, Sukkot | Category: Jewish holidays, Judaism, ritual, Sukkot | Leave a comment