My Garden of Eden–And Yours
My own Gan Eden was not in the East by the Tigris and Euphrates, but 90 miles west of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country near a small town with the improbable name of Utopia, on the cool, green Sabinal River. (more…)
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…)
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…)
A Guide’s Perspective: It’s Not Always Easy Being a Dove
Bird metaphors as old as the Bible are still evocative today. When someone is favors fierce military actions, they are often called a “hawk,” while one who prefers diplomacy and peace is called a “dove.” The Dove has been a symbol of peace and security throughout the centuries, since the Biblical story of Noah and the Ark, in which the Dove returns to Noah with an olive branch in her beak.
But while the fierce hawk symbolizes courage, the gentle dove often needs it too. Peacemaking is often an unpopular path.
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