Tonight's service had a few technical glitches... the worst is that somehow two different Zoom links went out. So some of you were on one Zoom link, waiting for the service to start, while others of you joined on the Zoom link that I was on... For everyone that was waiting in a different Zoom … Continue reading Tonight’s Shabbat Service: Decolonizing our imperfection to find holiness and blessing
Tag: #restorativejudaism
Decolonizing Leil Shavuot: A Torah of Healing Liberation
By popular request, I am sharing a recording of the virtual study session I offered this morning, as the sun came up, as part of the all-night global Shavuot 28 hour learning event (to learn more, click here). In this PowerPoint presentation, I talk about the spiritual healing practices of this holiday which celebrates revelation, … Continue reading Decolonizing Leil Shavuot: A Torah of Healing Liberation
Shabbat Service for Omer #25
Tonight is the 25th day of the Omer, which corresponds to the "netzach of netzach" or the victory over victory. True victory lies in decolonizing the idea of victory, to realize that winning requires someone else to lose. The Hebrew word netzach does not just mean victory but also Eternity/that which endures. Colonial concepts of … Continue reading Shabbat Service for Omer #25
Preparing for Shabbat: Learning to Rest
This past Tuesday, a wonderful and exciting new group gathered together for our new monthly Darshei Ohr/Light Seekers Group where seekers came together to talk and learn, meditate and reflect, seeking to decolonize hasidic teachings and consider real life practical applications of ancient spiritual and traditional practices. This new monthly spirituality group will meet every … Continue reading Preparing for Shabbat: Learning to Rest
Introducing The Light Seekers: New Monthly Jewish Spirituality Group
I am excited to announce a new monthly spirituality study and discussion group- for people thinking of joining the Jewish people, people who recently have and for people who are born Jewish but who are searching for new ways for it to be meaningful given their progressive critical thinking stance on life. I am calling … Continue reading Introducing The Light Seekers: New Monthly Jewish Spirituality Group
Decolonizing the Omer Counting: Day 5 Reflections on Healing
Today is day 5 of the Omer count as we seek to integrate the following two spiritual qualities: hod (humility) and hesed (loving-kindness or compassion). The theme of this week is to begin integrate "hesed" or Loving-Kindness into every aspect of ourselves and, in so doing, in the Universe. In this we understand the idea … Continue reading Decolonizing the Omer Counting: Day 5 Reflections on Healing
My six month prayer for healing
It has been six months since October 7th. Six months ago: everything changed. Our broken, traumatized/traumatizing and divisive world became even more terrifying and polarizing. We have turned on one another and on ourselves and against others in ways that are splitting and dissociative and lethal. Our hearts and souls have been crushed... our trauma … Continue reading My six month prayer for healing
Praying in the midst of an eclipse
The world has eclipse fever: even conspiracy theorists have gotten in on the fun! Next week, passing through the communities that I support in Kanata (Canada) and in Kentake (Kentucky), there will be a solar eclipse passing over Turtle Island (Mexico, USA, Canada). Much has been said about this phenomenon, with many believing that it … Continue reading Praying in the midst of an eclipse
The Shabbat Before Purim: Praying for tikkun/spiritual alchemy
Today is the lesser known Jewish holy day of Ta'anit Esther: the fast of Esther before the festival of Purim that celebrates the transformation of the threat of genocide into the moment of revelation as Queen Esther found the courage to speak out. But today, it became one of the most observed holidays of the … Continue reading The Shabbat Before Purim: Praying for tikkun/spiritual alchemy
My sermon at a Baptist church in Kentucky on how Hebrew Grammar can heal us all
I often talk about the deep theological teachings of Hebrew Grammar, as understood through the mystical teachings of Kabbalah. Hebrew, like many Indigenous languages, is verb-based and focuses upon relationship and fluidity in a way that English, as a noun-based language, is unable to convey. There is so much about Judaism's ancestral values and teachings … Continue reading My sermon at a Baptist church in Kentucky on how Hebrew Grammar can heal us all
My Article on Interfaith Marriage: A Blessing Waiting to Be Blessed
Due to popular request, I am resharing this article that I wrote. It was first published in 2009 and then again in 2013 in The Reform Advocate, which was the publication of the Society for Classical Reform Judaism, an organization which I helped to start in 2008, as part of my long-held advocacy for an … Continue reading My Article on Interfaith Marriage: A Blessing Waiting to Be Blessed
My Two-Eyed Prayer for Peace
This blog post reflects my ongoing prayer for peace, and my attempts to advocate for it. First, I want to explain (for all those who live south of the colonial border that divides Turtle Island/North America) some concepts about Truth and Reconciliation that are less well-known in the United States. Then I am sharing a … Continue reading My Two-Eyed Prayer for Peace
Emerging Torah as Rabbi Nachshon emerges 