Water at Sycamore Pool Dam
Gazing into water can foster a meditative state. If you can’t get out to see some right now, here is a view from the small dam that makes a swimming pool in the creek at Bidwell Park, Chico California.
The Book of Wilderness
On a psychological level, “wandering in the desert” can represent a state in which we have become unmoored from our lives and are living in a state of uncertainty, whether through a positive choice to free ourselves from the constraints of the past, or whether we are thrust into a new state through circumstances beyond our control.
Make Yourself a Desert Wilderness
Freed from slavery in Egypt, our people entered the Midbar, the desert wilderness. Far from civilization, in the shadow of a mountain, we received divine revelation amidst the sparse landscape of earth, air, fire, and water.A beautiful Midrash teaches that the open wilderness experience was essential to receiving the Torah.
Desert Oasis
The desert oasis is an important biblical image. The beauty and life-giving power of water in the desert suggest a source of spiritual as well as physical refreshment. Ein Gedi, Spring of the Goat Kid, an oasis near the Dead Sea, is known as the place that future king David hid out from King Saul (I Samuel 24:1-2).
Building a Sukkah, symbol of desert wanderings
The week-long fall harvest festival of Sukkot is celebrated by building a temporary outdoor hut, the sukkah, and spending as much time as possible living in it. This annual ritual re-enacts the lives of our ancestors as desert wanderers (more…)
Eco-Meaning of the Sukkot Plants
by Rabbi David Seidenberg
The four species of the lulav [waved in blessing and praise on the holiday of Sukkot] represent the four types of ecosystems in the land of Israel: desert (date palm), hills (myrtle), river corridors (willow), and sh’feilah or lowlands (etrog – agricultural). (more…)
BeMidbar: Finding God in the Wilderness
“My time in the desert has helped me understand why God so often seems to speak to people when they are in the wilderness.”
Rabbi Barry Leff (more…)
Guided Meditation: Miriam’s Well in the Desert
Enjoy this guided meditation on your inner Wellsprings, based on the legends of Miriam’s Well, written and read by Rabbi Julie Danan. The imagery in the meditation is based on teachings from the Midrash and ancient Jewish lore.
Learning to Love the Desert
Long ago I learned to love the desert. I never saw myself as a desert person, much prefering the verdant trees and rivers of the Texas Hill Country or the piney slopes of the Rocky Mountains to what I saw as the dry ugly plains of West Texas.
Light as a Feather
I was in the car from the airport to my annual rabbinic conference in Colorado. Whenever I go to an event like this, I try to set an intention, a kavannah, to guide me during the experience. At the time, I was feeling a heavy preoccupation with career and personal concerns. Suddenly, an intention came to mind: “I would like to take myself more lightly.”
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