Oil that Sparkles
No matter how sophisticated we get, no matter where our science and technology boldly goes, there is a principle of physical reality that will never change. The lyrics of the song are: You can’t start a fire without a spark. You also can’t start a fire without something to burn. Whether you use wax candles […]
Chanukah
Chanukah means dedication—the Macabees who were priests (re)dedicated the Temple and its vessels including the Menorah (the candelabrum). As legend goes the Macabees found one small cruise of oil. Once lit, the Menorah is to be continuously lit. Lighting it, though they assumed the oil would run out, is the basis of the miracle of […]
Kabbalah & Tim Tebow
Tebow did it again. Whether he and the Broncos win or lose from here on, I want to share what I experienced in the ending moment of last week’s game. It contained so many basic teachings from the Kabbalah.
Coming and Going
“And write these on the doorposts of your house and your gates.” The basis of placing a Mezuzah on exit and entryways is to affix the central teaching of Judaism (the Shema prayer) wherever and whenever we come and go. Our movements can be conscious or unconscious—purposeful or unintended. When we come from the public […]
Uncontrollable Laughter
First a request: Someone mentioned to me a while back that they either knew the author Jonathan Safran Foer, they were related to him or knew his relatives in Denver? Please let me know if you are the one who mentioned the connection. In last week’s Torah portion Abraham and Sarah are informed that they […]
11/11/11
The very first question I was asked about gematriyah (the numerology of Kabbalah) was the significance of the number 11? In class we teach about your “awake number”—a number that signifies and signals to you that your are following your destiny—connecting with the fragments of your puzzle. We find the number 11 in the spices […]
Growth With Empty Space
“For the listener, who listens in the snow, / And, nothing himself, beholds / Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.” Wallace Stevens Tomorrow night we start our third season of Kabbalah Live! This year the theme is Aha Moments. As I sit looking out at the second snowfall of the season […]
Spirited Dialogue
“Come and hear: The father of Samuel had some money belonging to orphans deposited with him. When he died, Samuel was not there and did not ask his him where the money was kept. People derogatorily called him, ‘The son who consumes the money of orphans’. So he went after his father to the cemetery […]
How Does One Chase A Thousand?
The letter Alef, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet has the numerical value of one. With different vowel points, the word Alef is pronounced Elef which means one thousand. In the system of gematriyah (numerology) proposed by Kabbalah the letter Alef can be assigned either the value of one or a thousand.
Practice in Consciousness
The sound of a door being closed consciously I have been waiting for the ‘right time” to recommend to you an important practice in consciousness that we can all equally and easily participate in: When entering and exiting Kabbalah Experience be mindful of opening and closing the door gently. The feedback loop to your consciousness […]