Melanie’s Blog: Podcasts, Books and TikTok
by Melanie GruenwaldThe spring weather in Denver has inspired me to walk to work as much as possible. It gives me time to get some steps in and listen to interesting podcasts.This week, I was inspired by two podcasts- Micah Goodman’s interview on the Times of Israel, and Ezra Klein Show- Will AI Break the Internet […]
Humble Warriors
by Dr. David Sanders To keep months aligned with the earth’s rotation around the sun, an extra day was added in the Gregorian calendar every four years to February, the month with the least number of days. A larger discrepancy between a yearlong calculation of lunar months and the earth’s rotation around the sun necessitated […]
Connecting at Woolworth’s
by Melanie Gruenwald On Monday, I stepped into an Uber in North Carolina, with a lovely driver who was warm and welcoming. I am on my first business trip since 2015—with great anticipation and also a little bit of jitters. The driver was telling me about his work. He recently retired from a career […]
Convicted: Aleksei Navalny
by Dr. David Sanders Both criminals and saints are convicted and both may wind up in prison. The criminal is convicted for their anti-social or illegal behavior. The saint is convicted of their strongly held beliefs. The dissident, Aleksei Navalny will be interred tomorrow. The funeral service is to be held in his hometown […]
The Other Trap
by Dr. David Sanders A response to Rabbi Irwin Kula’s Trapped in Trauma: Transcending the Dragon’s Gaze I have a traveling companion who I have never planned a trip with, let alone visited anywhere with. We have gone places. Our journeys are in the world of thought about preserving and evolving what is the […]
A New Redemption Song, in memory of Koby
by Melanie Gruenwald January 19, 2018- the 3rd day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, my 13 year old son, Koby, died from a glioblastoma (brain tumor). Koby brought me to Kabbalah Experience. We began taking classes here, and I later became faculty and the ED. This post is a reflection I have been sitting […]
Out of Context
by Dr. David Sanders As students of Kabbalah we strive to become adept at “taking” things out of context. Mastery of metaphor, seeing the parallels between the abstract and the concrete underlies our spiritual awareness. Notice that the phrase “taking things out of context” is already using metaphoric language because “taking” though related to objects […]
How Brokenness Manifests Wholeness
by Melanie Gruenwald The other day, my husband, Salomon, asked me to pick up some new drinking glasses for our kitchen. Somehow our collection from the past 22 years of marriage has diminished due to lots of “oops moments,” and my 16- year-old son’s habit of hoarding glasses in his bedroom. I bought […]
Held Hostage
by Dr. David Sanders “Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I’ve earned what all of you have done for me.” These […]
All Endings are Also Beginnings
by Melanie Gruenwald A Primer on Holding Opposites Today we concluded our Kabbalah of Mitch Albom class with a teaching he shares in both The Five People You’ll Meet in Heaven and The Next Person You’ll Meet in Heaven. All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time. ~ Mitch […]