Observing the solemn season around Tisha B’Av, we think of the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, and the Jewish exile from our ancient homeland. T
oday many Jews find new meaning in Tisha B’Av by taking this fast and this season as a time to ponder contemporary issues like the plight of today’s war refugees as well as the destruction of natural habitats on Planet Earth. At my synagogue observance, we added some poetry from The Shalom Center as a dirge for the destruction of natural habitats, such as many of the world’s precious coral reefs.
As we conclude this season of remembrance, which began three weeks ago on the very day said to be the day on which Moses broke the first set of Tablets of the Covenant, I offer this reflection on Torah and Coral in the Gateway of the Sea, based on a teaching of my late Talmud teacher, Rabbi Judith Abrams. It includes a wonderful video about Coral Reefs and a link to an organization where you can get involved.
My son Charl
es Haviv went on a solo trek in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State this summer. I’ve posted his panorama of Glacier Peak Wilderness in the Gateway of Mountains, just beneath the introduction. The air is so clear, it’s almost 3-D!
I’ve been outside snapping photos so much this summer, and just had to add some photos to my Gallery of the Four Seasons in the Gateway of Seasons.. The photos are from Rockefeller State Park Preserve here in Westchester, New York. When I’m there I 
am often moved to say a blessing for the beauties of nature as I sense the glory of the Shechinah, the Divine Presence manifest in nature, all around us.
For more frequent updates, I invite you to follow @wellsprings on Instagram for a fresh look at the world around us!
Check out the Gateway of Gardens where I have updated the section on Community Gardens to link to an article and website about an amazing synagogue urban farm in Chicago. Plus new photos have been added to the gallery of a growing synagogue farm in Westchester, New York.
In this new post in the Gateway of the Sea, I share a favorite image from the Midrash of the sea filling a cave, offered as metaphor for how divinity fills our world–and us. It is a message that I find echoed in Jewish mysticism and as well as in an article by a secular climate activist who loves the sea.
The whole is in the part and the part is in the whole.
I just got back from a few wonderful days near the sea, so here’s a new post in the Gateway of the Sea, on a special blessing (berachah) that is said upon seeing the sea!
Finally, I’m on summer vacation and turning my attention back to my passion of creating this website! It seemed appropriate to start with a Tikkun Olam post, which you will find in the Gateway of the Sea, about the plight of today’s refugees at Sea and some groups that we can support to help them.
Tikkun Olam: “Repairing the World.” This term has a long history in rabbinic and mystical thought. Today it is often used to mean Social Action, making the world better. It is said that Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, starts with Tikkun HaLev, repairing the heart. (From our page on Sacred Words.)
Sometimes I just have to pass along a wonder of nature shared by a friend or colleague. Check out an amazing Instagram video of a rainbow in the falls at Yosemite National Park, from Rabbi Naomi Levy.
Shalom! In honor of Shavuot, the holiday of the Giving of the Torah, visit the Gateway of Mountains, where you will learn about mountains in the Bible, especially symbolized by the Theophany (appearance of the Divine) at Mount Sinai. Learn about mountains as symbols of peak experiences in the 
Bible, and listen to a guided meditation based on Moses encounter with God’s presence at Sinai.
Once again, thanks for your patience in waiting for new content on the site, as my congregational and seminary teaching duties have needed my full focus during the seven week Omer period from Passover to Shavuot. As we enter the slower summer months, with God’s help I hope to add new Gateways (content pages) and many Pathways (posts) for your enjoyment and learning.
Wishing everyone a very happy and meaningful Shavuot!
Have you listened yet to the guided meditation on Miriam’s Well? It is found on both the Gateway of Wilderness and the Gateway of Water from Underground. It’s a great five minute interlude if you are feeling a little spiritually dried out or need some refreshment. The narrative is one that I wrote and read, based on ancient lore about Miriam’s miraculous and life-giving well in the Sinai desert.
Shalom! Apologies that I have not posted anything new to Wellsprings since the eve of Passover, due to a busy season at my work as a congregational rabbi. Plus I am happy to share that I will be teaching a summer trimester course at the Academy for Jewish Religion on, “Ruah Ha-Qodesh (the Holy Spirit) in Rabbinic Literature,” and this has also required a lot of preparation time and taken me away from the website. But have no fear, I have many more posts in the pipeline and God willing you will be seeing more very soon!
Right now we are in the midst of Counting the Omer, a sacred practice of counting the days between Passover and Shavuot, viewed by many as a time to work on personal growth, as each day of the Omer brings a new divine quality for reflection. Courtesy of Rabbi David Seidenberg at Neo Hasid, here are two Omer Counter widgets, including one in English and a special Omer Counter (in Hebrew) that features a different native plant from the Land of Israel for each of the 49 days. That seemed particularly appropriate for the themes of Wellsprings of Wisdom!
Check back here each day until Shavuot for a new illustration! And hopefully as you check you’ll see some new posts growing, too.
(Note: the Native Plants of Israel Omer Counter is not visible after the count ends with the Shavuot Holiday.)
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Before I finish preparing for Passover, here are two more Pathway posts to enhance your Passover experience, or throughout the season: some delicious ideas about symbolic Passover foods from the earth in the Gateway of Gardens, and a 
new Guided Meditation on Miriam’s Well in the Gateway of Wilderness (Miriam’s well and Miriam’s cup are already the subject of a couple of posts in the Gateway of Water Underground). For your convenience, you can find all Passover-related posts collected here.
If you are counting the Omer (a spiritual practice of counting the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot), you might enhance that with a look at Counting the Omer of your life, in the Gateway of Seasons.
If you can’t take a Passover retreat, take a break this week and explore Wellsprings of Wisdom!
In honor of Passover, I have revised a post on the Parting of the Sea. which is now on both the Gateway of Wind and the 
Gateway of the Sea! What is a miracle? How does the story of the Sea parting inspire us to help others and to grow as people? Hopefully there are some good questions here for personal reflection or to discuss at a Passover Seder. Enjoy and Happy Passover!
Also, since I’ve been asked, a reminder that photo credits are visible on hover (or light touch on a smaller device), except for featured images, which are credited at the bottom of each post. I am also gradually linking reposted photos from websites like Flickr back to their original location as possible. Photos by “JHD” are my own. Photos not by me, my family or friends (with their permission) are public domain or Creative Commons License.
Spring is coming, slowly but surely! In honor of springtime and Passover, a big thank you to Rabbi David Zaslow of Ashland, Oregon, for sharing “The Reason for the Season,” from his new book, Reimagining Exodus, in the Gateway of Seasons. He explores how the changing seasons affect our moods, and poses an intriguing question raised by our teacher, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi of blessed memory, about whether the Hebrew calendar and its holidays should be reversed for Jews living in the Southern Hemisphere.
In case you haven’t visited the seashore lately, there is a new pathway post about the sand at the shore on the new and growing Gateway of the Sea, where you will also find videos, images, and Torah study about oceans and seas.
With my birthday coming up, I like to take stock. I’ve added a new Pathway (post) to the Gateway of Seasons: Sephirah: Reviewing Your Life in Seven-Year Cycles. It’s all about counting and understanding your life in 7 year cycles, and you don’t have to wait for your birthday to put it into practice.
I’m so honored that Stephen Jurovics, author of Hospitable Planet: Faith, Action, and Climate Change, has contributed a thought-provoking post about Seasons and Climate Change, which you will find in the Gateway of Seasons. The Torah’s message of a spiritual connection to our earth, and our own imperative of survival require us to be guardians of our planet.
I’ve added a gallery to the Gateway of Gardens, featuring photos from a neighboring synagogue that has its own farm and even raises chickens! They’ve promised me more photos from the growing season. Please comment to let me know about other synagogues or Jewish organizations with great community gardens. (Click on title to view this post with comment section.)
I have just opened a new Gateway: The Sea, devoted to the spiritual symbolism of oceans, seas, and lakes. At the same time, posts continue to be added to existing Gateways, so check this page to find out what’s new, and subscribe to our monthly email for updates. Wellsprings of Wisdom is kind of like the “Slow Food” movement for your soul. Enjoy watching new Gateways open and fill with new pathways (posts) over time, and seeing this site unfold.
Your comments, especially in the Sharing Circle in each Gateway, are welcome to make this site more interactive and communal.
Tu Bishvat, the Jewish New Year of the Tree(s), coincides with Shabbat, February 10-11, 2017. You can learn about Trees in Jewish tradition at the Gateway of Trees, where you will also find resources for Tu Bishvat and a new post with a video on the Rainforest Alliance.
Happy Tu Bishvat!
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