Beyond Hope
Dayenu, the popular Passover song’s theme is about gratitude—“if only this then that would be dayenu (enough). The earliest Passover memory I have is of my Uncle Pesach (that was his name) discovering the Afikomen (matzah that is hidden) by stepping on it. My guess is that whoever hurriedly hid it had not anticipated […]
The Counting of the Omer 2014 Getting our Identity Back
For the past few years we have “counted the Omer” together—a 50 day count from Passover to the holiday of Shavuot. Following the tradition in Kabbalah—the weekly and daily counts relate to the Tree of Life—the sefirot from Chesed (loving kindness) down to Malchut (expression). The contribution of Kabbalah (and Chassidut) to our observance […]
Unpacking Ritual
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. The rhythm of spring is about new beginnings—actualizing potential. The preparation for Passover, the festival of the spring, includes creating the space for new growth. In contrast to the new beginning of Rosh Hashanah—the New Year in the fall, Passover is […]
Random Acts of Synchronicity
Legend has it that in 1982 Anne Herbert scrawled the words “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” on a place mat in a California restaurant and from there it randomly spread. About 10 years later Chuck Wall, a professor at Bakersfield College, recalls hearing about “random senseless acts of violence” and […]
The Films in Our Eyes
The first film I went to see was at a drive-in. It was the animated Disney classic Bambi. My mother has since recalled that I cried profusely when Bambi’s mother is killed. I don’t remember going to the movie or having cried but it certainly fits my knowing me. I cry at movies. I have […]
Shades of Beauty
It’s not the word itself, it is the way she says it. Lorell Frysh who has been a friend and fellow teacher at Kabbalah Experience was born in South Africa. When she talks about people that move her she refers to them as lovely. It’s the way she says “lovely”. For many though “lovely” […]
The Risk of Love
A number of our students went to hear a spiritual teacher last week on the topic of Intimate Relationships and Authentic Awakening. This mystic teacher hails from Vienna and is currently living with his wife in Tel Aviv. Thomas Hubl is his name and he is relatively young. Some of those who attended added up […]
Bode and Soul
“Some of Chelone’s ashes were scattered at Mammoth Mountain in California, the hub of his snowboard escapades in recent winters. Others were spread on Mount Kinsman, some high in the sugarbush where he roamed as a child while the thrush and warblers sang and life seemed as sweet as the maple sap on his lips. […]
A Look in the Mirror
I thought of a trivia game (perhaps it is already on the market) where you have names of characters an actor played in films and you have to guess who the actor is. For instance, if the following sequence of names were read out loud, after which name would you guess Marisa Tomei: Natalie Hegalhuzen, […]
Because Who Is Perfect
There are stories that stick with you and this one about Moses Mendelssohn has been in the file system of my brain for some 30 years. It took just three words to find it on google: Moses Mendelssohn love. I relayed the story last week in class and enjoyed finding it with a bit more […]