Gallery of Flowing Water
Flowing creeks in Northern California, photos by Julie Hilton Danan
Torah Study: Named by the Rivers
Flowing water can be considered as a metaphor for change as it runs continually down the riverbed. It can also be considered as a metaphor for change in terms of making a crossing. In fact, the Jewish people gained two of our names from crossing rivers. (more…)
Flowing Water in the Psalms
The Psalms (Tehillim) of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) are replete with imagery from nature, including beautiful and poignant references to flowing water, both calm and stormy. Here are a few:
Flowing Song
This song by Rabbi David Shneyer is from his album “Psalm Songs from Rock Creek,” a title which evokes both Psalms and flowing water. This lively melody reminds me of a rapid, rushing brook. The lyrics, from the Jewish liturgy, ask God to answer our prayers and to “Do it for the sake of your Name…your power…your holiness…your Torah.”
Water wears down stone
How did Rabbi Akiva get started? They said at age 40 he had not even begun to study. Once he was standing at the mouth of the well and said, “Who carved this stone?” They said, “The water that drips constantly every day,” and they also said to (more…)
Flowing Water in Hassidic and Mystical Thought
In Hassidic and mystical thought, a river can be a symbol of the Shefa שֶפַע the abundance or flow from God to humanity. There is a sense that if we can serve properly and pray with true intention, we will open the faucet, as it were, to receive the divine flow into the world. Another way to see it is that the flow is always there, but through prayer and meditation we will become more conscious and appreciative of it.
Wading as a Spiritual Practice
One of my favorite meditations in summer is to put on a pair of immersible sport sandals and go wading. It forces me to slow down and be in the moment, connecting with nature in multiple senses
Take a wading meditation with me. . .
A Guide’s Perspective: Life is But a Stream
Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Being in the Flow
Psychologists have explored the concept of being in a State of Flow, when we essentially become one with our actions. I sometimes feel that the Shefa, שֶפַע the divine abundance of life is flowing freely, while at other times I feel that I am swimming against the current and getting nowhere.
Reb Zalman Teaches About the Flow of Life
My teacher, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi taught that the concept of free will can be compared to a river. Life is seldom smooth as Lake Placid, and not usually like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, but it is often more like shooting the rapids. (more…)
Tashlich: Can water carry away our mistakes?
Tashlich is a Jewish New Year’s custom that originated in the Middle Ages and is traditionally done on the first day of Rosh Hashanah
A Poem
From TODAY IS FOREVER
I stroll often in a nearby park —
old trees wildly overgrown,
bushes and flowers blooming all four seasons,
a creek babbling childishly over pebbles,
a small bridge with rough-hewn railings–
this is my little park. (more…)
Video: Moments of Eternity in the Passing Flow of Life
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.
–A River Runs Through It and Other Stories by Norman Maclean
Personal Creative Ritual: Tashlich for Letting Go
My situation had no ritual, and that nearly sent me into despair.
As a rabbi, I lead rituals to help people deal with change and loss. Joyful yet sometimes stressful occasions like weddings, brit ceremonies, b’nei mitzvah. Sad passages like funerals, shivah and even divorce. They are all laden with rituals that help ease us through the passages of life. But not every life passage has a set ritual. (more…)
Yield to the Moment and the Moment Yields to You
Rabbi Avin the Levite said: All who try to force the moment (literally, “the hour”) the moment forces them,
and all who yield to the moment, the moment yields to them.
כל הדוחק את השעה שעה דוחקתו וכל הנדחה מפני השעה שעה נדחת מפניו
Water Rocks: A Poem by a Pastor Friend
“Water rocks!”
–for Standing Rock Sioux and all sacred life
(Micah 6:8)
Tikkun Olam: River Activism
When it comes to water, air, and climate, there really are no national borders. Learn about some great Tikkun Olam organizations that focus on Rivers in the US, Mideast and Worldwide. (more…)
Sharing Circle: Flowing Water
Join the Sharing Circle of Flowing Water to explore any of the themes in this Gateway.
How do you achieve a sense of flow? Is it something you do consciously? What activity in your life gives you the greatest sense of being in the flow?
I would also love to hear about your personal and spiritual experiences related to the flowing water of rivers and creeks.
Please share in the comments and get the dialogue flowing.
Recent Comments