Wellsprings
Of Wisdom

Wellsprings of Wisdom is a site for your soul, an island of quiet contemplation in a sea of noisy information. Pause here to refresh your soul, re-enchant your world, and renew your inner life.

Meet The Nature Rabbi

Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan is a student and teacher of Jewish wisdom, who finds her inspiration in nature as well as in ancient texts. She serves as rabbi of Seaside Jewish Community in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Rabbi Julie grew up in South Texas, has lived in Israel, and has also  served congregations in Texas, Northern California, and the Hudson Valley of New York.

Rabbi Julie was ordained through the ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal Rabbinical Program where she was a student of  the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement. Rabbi Julie holds a PhD in Hebrew Studies (Rabbinic Literature and Culture) from the University of Texas at Austin and has taught for universities and seminaries. 

Rabbi Julie loves nature photography and took the photos on this home page, as well many others throughout the site as noted. You can see more of her photos and also purchase prints and downloads on her photography site: Inspired Images

Newest Points of Interest

Browse the most recent journey points that have been added to the virtual retreat center.

Lessons of the Exodus for This Moment

Right now, Jews around the world are reading each week from the book of Exodus in the Torah. The story of our Exodus from enslavement in ancient Egypt is not a distant one that happened in a mythical past. It’s a story that is always happening, in countless...

A Hanukkah Message for 2025

This message was sent to my congregation and I offer it to anyone who needs to light a candle of hope right now. Hanukkah is meant to be a time of joy and light. This year, the holiday began under the shadow of a horrific terror attack against Jews celebrating...

Let there be Light! -Why Lighting Candles Feels so Spiritual

As a nature photographer, I’m hyper-aware of the shifting light throughout the day, including the magical “golden hour” just before sunrise and sunset. The right lighting can make a big difference to photo quality. Even before I got into photography, I’d always loved...

Feel the Spirit

Invisible, powerful, essential to life, close as our breath within, and vast as the heavens above: the Air can be a metaphor for the divine. Ruach As a rabbi who finds inspiration and solace in nature as well as ancient texts, I love to share Jewish wisdom insights...

Going With the Flow

Growing up spending time in the Texas Hill Country, I found joy and peace in rivers and creeks. Often seen as symbols of time and life, rivers represent change and flow. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “No one ever steps in the same river twice, for it is...

Getting Grounded

How are you staying grounded these days? I use the term advisedly, since for many of us, our overly-digitized lives can lead to living in our heads, bombarded by alarming headlines on our smartphones. Judaism has long known that connecting to what’s under our feet can...

My Personal Journey as a “Nature Rabbi” – Rabbi Julie Danan

As a rabbi, I find inspiration in nature as well as ancient texts. I believe that the earth is our sanctuary, our precious garden of Eden in the vastness of space. In my work, I use nature photography, Soul Strolls, and more to inspire love of our planet so that we...

What Shape is Time?

At last! Spring has officially begun (in the Northern Hemisphere). The seasonal wheel is turning toward warmth, light, and life renewed. Did you ever ponder the shape of time? Is time an inexorable linear march, or a continually returning circular dance? In synagogues...

Hide and Seek with the Shekhinah: Thoughts for Purim and Beyond

Babies love to play peekaboo, as a parent or caregiver hides their face for a moment and then pops out again to the baby’s delight. At six to twelve months, infants are developing “object permanence,” the crucial concept that just because someone or something isn’t...

A tribute to the Moon

Since I started this website, I've been doing a lot more of my own photography, so to enhance the Gateway of The Moon, here's my lunar photo gallery of some of my favorites (click on each photo to enlarge), with a video Reel link at the end. [gallery columns="1"...