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.
Recent Comments