“From the mystical perspective, reality is always both broken and perfect all at once,” Rabbinic Pastor Estelle Frankel says in an allusion to Isaac Luria’s Tikkun Olam, Repairing the World.
This week we celebrate Tu B’Shvat, which in contemporary times signifies the birthday of the trees. Even here in Chicago in February there is potential for spring, for becoming, as tree sap begins to rise […]
When you find yourself amidst the soul-searching Jewish holidays, your personal narrative can offer contemplative passage. Bring awareness to your narrative. Does your self-talk, your story, lean toward self-criticism or towards an inflated sense of self-worth. Perhaps your narrative is somewhere in between and also offers room for both growth and self-compassion in the New Year.
Rabbi Alan Lew, Jewish meditation ‘guru’, views our identity, […]
Hebrew Seminary President Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer teaches that each of us has the opportunity to create a Prayer Vision in preparation for the High Holidays. “We need to visualize, think, and write down all the wonderful things that we want to happen to us in the New Year … and this is what I’m going to do for God in return.” Below we […]
Part II, by Hebrew Seminary President Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer
During the month of Elul, our Kabbalah teaches us that each of us needs to create a Prayer Vision. That is we need to visualize, think, and write down all the wonderful things that we want to happen to us in the New Year. When we create a prayer vision, our Kabbalah encourages us to […]
You’ve Got Your High Holiday Tickets, but Before You
Consider What to Wear, Check Your Vision.
By Hebrew Seminary President Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer
The month of Elul, the last month before the Jewish New Year is the most important theological month of the Jewish year. In the month of Elul, God is closer to us than at any other time and our prayers are more […]