Shalom! At Wellsprings of Wisdom, I aspire to help readers connect to the soul by connecting to the beauty of the natural world and Jewish and world wisdom about nature. Just as the earth has her seas, gardens, rivers, and mountains, inside each of us is our sea of the unconscious, our garden of toil and pleasure, our streams of flow, and our peak experiences. Our inner world is a reflection of the planet and of ancient teachings left for us by our ancestors. I’m passionate about sharing my love of nature and wisdom in all kinds of formats. You can now you can also find me on substack as “GPS for Your Inner Landscape.” I’m publishing a short newsletter about once a week, and other short inspirational notes. Subscribe now for free!
As this New Year 5785 takes flight, may we care for our environment, spread love and compassion, and most of all, seek peace. Sending you blessings for a good and sweet new year, fill with excellent health and abundant happiness, and may your heart’s prayers be fulfilled for good.
Snowy Egrets in Flight at Bombay Hook National Wildlife refuge, photo Julie Danan
L’Shanah Tovah, Tikateyvu! May you be inscribed for a good and sweet New Year! We are about to embark on the Jewish New Year 5785, a day also known as the “birthday of the World,” and so a day to contemplate how to honor and steward our natural environment and all its creatures. Elul, the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, is a great time to get outside and connect with nature, letting her be your guide. I share here a class that I taught on this subject back in 2021 (approaching Rosh Hashanah 5782). We discuss sauntering in nature and learning from its creatures and living symbols. There are lots of nature photos and questions to ponder, to inspire your own nature connection in the New Year.
Shalom! My latest blog post was announcing class that I taught on Spirituality at the Seashore. I taught the class twice: for ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal and for Seaside Jewish Community. Here’s a video of the latter, combining nature photography, ancient sources, guided meditaiton, and ideas for action. (posted here August, 2024)
In a sense, this whole site is about your inner landscape, how you are a part of nature, not apart from nature. I’m grateful that ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal has invited me to teach on the subject. And since I now live near the seashore, that will be my topic for this very interactive and visually enaging class. Here’s the information:
DATE: Monday, June 24, 2024 TIME: 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT LOCATION: Zoom
Join Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan to connect to your soul by connecting to the beauty of the natural world and Jewish wisdom about nature. Just as the earth has her seas, gardens, rivers, and mountains, inside each of us is our sea of the unconscious, our garden of toil and pleasure, our streams of flow, and our peak experiences. Our inner world is a reflection of the planet and of ancient teachings left for us by our ancestors.
In this interactive class, we will explore “the shore” in nature, Jewish wisdom, and your own life: from sea caves to sand, seashells, and life on the edge of mystery. We will experience media including stunning original nature photography, text discussion, ritual, guided meditation and mitzvah ideas. The practices we will learn may lead not only to a richer inner life and a heightened sense of awe, but to a deepened commitment to stewardship of the Earth and its inhabitants as the dwelling place of Shechinah.
Shalom! Due to a transition in my website management, several of my posts over the holiday season, plus one about recent events in Israel, have disappeared. Sorry for the inconvenience and I plan to update soon!
I just reposted “Be a Lighthouse,” an invocation that I gave for Maritime Day in Lewes, Delware this May (the post was lost when my site went off line for a few weeks.) You can find it right here!
Learn more about Jewish lore and lessons of the Sea in the Gateway of the Sea.
I’m sharing the Invocation that I offered at Maritime Day 2023 in Lewes, Delaware. The Overfalls is a historic lightship lovingly restored by a large crew of volunteers, that has become a celebrated Delaware landmark. Lightships were like floating lighthouses that kept other ships safe by use of lights, horns and eventually radar. Read more about the amazing history here.
Here’s my invocation:
The creation story of Genesis begins in a state of chaos: “Darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.”
This Hebrew word for “the deep,” Tehom, is used many times throughout the Hebrew Bible to represent the depths of the Sea, as well as the primeval forces of chaos hovering at the edges of human civilization. Tehom can also represents the great and awesome mysteries of existence beyond our knowledge or control.
Much of the time our lives are like a stroll on the beach, concerned with the things of everyday, like the seashells that catch our eye or the ephemeral sandcastles we built as children. But every now and then we look out in awe and sense the vastness of the ocean just beyond, recognizing all along that we have been dwelling on the edge of a powerful mystery.
To walk the coast, to venture out onto the water or to dive beneath its surface nurtures our spirituality because it puts us in touch with that sense of awe, reminding us that the world is so much bigger than us and yet we are blessed to be a tiny part of it. Spirituality occurs when we sense the deeper dimension that is always there on the edge of our existence. Some people tend to be spiritual in nature because they embrace that mystery, they even seek to enter it.
But if spirituality is like that love and awe of the sea, faith is something else again. Faith is more like a lightship. We who are here today have different beliefs, but faith is not just identical with belief.
The Hebrew word for faith, Emunah, is basically synonymous with faithfulness. The lightships were humble vessels built to faithfully serve others. The restoration of The Overfalls by committed volunteers was itself an amazing example of faithful action. A life of faith, like service on the light ships, requires commitment, dedication, and even a willingness for self-sacrifice for the greater good.
The crews of the Overfalls and the other lightships represent a life that few of us could attain, one that we can only honor today. Yet we in our daily lives have the opportunity to be lightships out in the world, serving as a beacon for those lost in the fog of confusion or caught in a storm of life. We have the sacred opportunity to be present, to offer guidance, and to accompany others when their encounters with the Tehom of life have threatened to overpower them.
As in the words of Psalm 42:
“When deep (Tehom) calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls–I’m going to venture my own translation here –the roar of your Overfalls…when all Your breakers and billows have swept over us,”
When those challenging times arise, faith is the lightship. Faith is staying the course and knowing what keeps you anchored in a storm. Whether you place your faith in God, in your heritage, in humanity – you can make the choice to be a lightship, to illuminate a path for others, to see them back to the harbor, back to home.
In the words of Psalm 107:
Those who go down to the sea in ships,
ply their trade in the mighty waters;
they have seen the works of the Eternal
and God’s wonders in the deep.
A Prayer:
Source of Life, Author of all creation: your voice is above the thunder of ocean waters but also speaks to us from the still small voice within. May we be blessed to find wonder and spirituality in the mystery of the Sea. May we derive inspiration from those who served on this ship and many others like it, who dedicated their lives to keeping others safe from harm. And may all of us, in stormy and challenging times, find our own faithful way to be the lightship that sees one another home. And let us say, Amen.
Wellsprings of Wisdom site has been down for a few weeks due to the presence of malware. Thanks to Shaun Leber (my web designer), it’s now cleaned up and back online. However, in the process, the site lost all posts and updates since March. I can’t replace them all but will be adding some new things soon. Stay tuned!
A new Jewish environmental organization, Adamah (meaning “land” ) has been built from the merger of two great organizations, the Jewish environmental powerhouse Hazon (previously merged with the Isabella Freedman retreat center) with Pearlstone retreat center. The mission of Adamah is to “build community and cultivate a more sustainable future through immersive experiences, inspiring programs, and collective action.” They believe that in this moment of history, “we must be the bridge between our ancestors and our descendants, mobilizing the power of the Jewish people to respond to the existential crises of our time.” Learn more, find out about the Jewish climate coalition, or plan to attend a retreat here: https://adamah.org/
On the West Coast, another great Jewish environmental education/experience organization that I so admire, Wilderness Torah, is poised to grow but has encountered a financial crisis and seeks some urgent support to bridge the gap. I invite you to visit their website and consider donating, as I just did myself: https://wildernesstorah.org/.
All of these organizations have been profiled in my guide to Jewish retreat centers and organic farms on this site. I believe that the most urgent issue of today is for humanity exist in harmony with our natural environment on planet earth. These organizations offer Jewish responses to connect with our roots on the land. Please explore and support them!
On a personal note, I’m continuing with my new and gratifying job leading Seaside Jewish Community in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Life as a full time rabbi of a rapidly growing community, as well as “matriarch” of a growing extended family, has not allowed me a lot of time to update this site. But I plan to keep sharing updates here on my “What’s New” Blog. About once a month I share posts such as what’s new on this site, Jewish environmentalism and nature spirituality, and also my own work and writing. To see more of my nature photography, check out my dedicated website: https://inspiredimages.zenfoliosite.com/home.
I was honored that Zenfolio (the host of my photography site), recently highlighted my nature photography site on their blog. Check it out to see how I view nature photography as a spiritual practice.
Wellsprings of Wisdom site has been down for a few weeks due to the presence of malware. Thanks to Shaun Leber (my web designer), it’s now cleaned up and back online. However, in the process, the site lost all posts and updates since March. I can’t replace them all but will be adding some new things soon. Stay tuned!
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