Practicing Awareness
by Melanie Gruenwald Last December 31st, Salomon, Hannah, Micah and I spent New Year’s Eve together. We each took a moment to write a personal note to our future self, reflecting on hopes and dreams for 2022. I was sifting through a kitchen drawer this morning and found these letters. I can’t wait to bring […]
Naming Rights: What Name Will You Adopt for 2018?
Have you ever had this thought: “I am never going to get those 30 minutes back?” It may be more time or less time, and the regret may be over watching a video or reading a blog, engaging in a conversation, argument, or fight that went nowhere, or choosing to take the other highway only […]
Evening the Evening: A Practice For Winter’s Darkness
Have you ever been in a desolate area, on a cloudless night, enveloped by darkness and look skyward at the vast expanse of stars? Darkness is a contrast to light. Despite it being counterintuitive, darkness is an illuminating highlighter in the same way that absence makes the heart grow fonder. The Book of Radiance, Zohar […]
Humaneness
Leave it up to humans to language benevolence toward animals as “humane” and a lack of compassion as “inhumane.” It reflects that tendency humans have to see things (only) from a human-centric point of view. Knowing what we now know of the benevolence and compassion of many animals for other animals, species-specific or for other […]
Never Doubt the Power of One
Kabbalah entreats us to look for origins, to journey back and discover the source—the seed that starts the flow which results in an outcome. When you square a number, it has an “exponential” effect (32 x32 =1024) but when you square the number one you return to the source—back to “square one” because 1×1 still […]
Colorful Vibrations
Kabbalah is a study of unseen reality and unseen potential. If we limit ourselves to experiencing the senses of the physical body we perceive only a fraction of the world that we can connect with, feel and know. Science has been an incredible tool to uncover what is beyond our normal senses. When early humans […]
Racist Uniformity
We learned that Nazi websites had posted a call to burn our synagogue. A frail, elderly woman approached me as I stood on the steps in front of our sanctuary, crying, to tell me that while she was Roman Catholic, she wanted to stay and watch over the synagogue with us. At one point, she […]
A Tough Act to Follow
It was the 66th commencement for graduates of Brandeis University, my younger son getting his Bachelor degree. Graduations can be rather tedious for graduates, family, and friends and then again you can be moved by a speaker. The commencement address at Brandeis was delivered by her honor, Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, […]
Final Week! Counting of the Omer: Week 7 Malchut – Realizing Change
Week 7 Malchut: Realizing Change The definition of Malchut is sovereignty and represents the final stage of the flow as reflected in manifestation or expression. It is the stage of coming into actualization. Our way of looking at the Sefirot flow has been the creation of a plan for change. Malchut then is actualizing our […]
Counting of the Omer: Week 6 Yesod – Truth or Distortion
Week 6 Yesod – Truth or Distortion Over the past two weeks, we have been challenged by obstacles that need to be overcome (Netzach) and surrendered to or at least suspended our notions of what the outcome of our plans need to be (Hod). Yesod is the foundation. Yesod is also defined as “truth” or […]