The spirit of the heart
The spirit of the heart The invitation of Judaism has always been to uncover the sacred in the mundane moments of life by paying attention This is Jewish Mindfulness Practice. At Or HaLev, we believe that Judaism is a precious resource for crafting a meaningful life. Every day, we teach Jewish mindfulness practice because as […]
Senseless Hatred
On Tisha B’Av we mourn the destruction of the Temple. What does it mean to mourn the destruction of the temple in our days? What does it mean to affect the repair that might allow the rebuilding of that which was lost? The Talmud provides a whole list of reasons for the destruction of […]
Climbing the Ladder
Come and journey with me. Let us climb the ladder together. The limbs, like rungs. Ascending toward the heavens. Together, let us find God. It is not the natural state of a human being to see ourselves in our wholeness. We are masters when it comes to analyzing the various parts of us, chopping ourselves […]
Footnote
* From a neurological perspective, the medial prefrontal cortex may go off line in an evolutionary regression to the survivalist instincts and powers of the reptilian and mammalian brain.
Quaking
One of the earliest Jewish mystical works, Sefer Yetzirah, the book of Creation, offers us insight into the essence of the month of Tevet, the current Hebrew month. According to Sefer Yetzirah, the month of Tevet is endowed with the quality of רוגז, anger. Many people would be quick to classify anger as a “negative” […]
Warriors of the Heart
We are in the month of Kislev, the month of Hannukah, the festival of lights. The story of Hannukah is a story of bravery, of rediscovering and reclaiming who we most deeply are as Jews, and finding the courage to live that truth, despite opposition, fear and disapproval. We can also read the story of Hannukah as […]