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…)
Rabbi Avin the Levite said: All who try to force the moment (literally, “the hour”) the moment forces them,
and all who yield to the moment, the moment yields to them.
כל הדוחק את השעה שעה דוחקתו וכל הנדחה מפני השעה שעה נדחת מפניו
“Water rocks!”
–for Standing Rock Sioux and all sacred life
(Micah 6:8)
by Stephen Jurovics, Ph.D.
Each of the seasons of the year can evoke, for many of us, an image of what we most enjoy about that period. It may be the sequence of warm spring days with clear blue skies during which the outside world exerts a strong pull and diminishes our commitment to work or study, that period we call “spring fever.”
For others, it’s the summer days of sunshine and high temperatures when many leave work to vacation at the beach and enjoy the water, sand, and sunshine.
The familiar images and anticipated enjoyment are inexorably moving towards the remembered and unpredictable. Climate change is transforming everything, including our experiences of the seasons, and those changes will challenge our physical, visual, and emotional lives.
When it comes to water, air, and climate, there really are no national borders. Learn about some great Tikkun Olam organizations that focus on Rivers in the US, Mideast and Worldwide. (more…)
Join the Sharing Circle of Flowing Water to explore any of the themes in this Gateway.
How do you achieve a sense of flow? Is it something you do consciously? What activity in your life gives you the greatest sense of being in the flow?
I would also love to hear about your personal and spiritual experiences related to the flowing water of rivers and creeks.
Please share in the comments and get the dialogue flowing.
A haunting ancient Jewish melody with lyrics in Hebrew and English, chanted by the late Cantor Richard Kaplan. Dirges (kinot) of Tisha B’av, the summer fast to commemorate the destruction of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem, are here combined with visuals of our planet’s beauty, the ravages of climate change, and hopes for the future. Made and introduced by Barak Gale.
Do you have a favorite season? What do you love about it?
I’m fascinated by birds and they are probably my most sought (and most challenging) subjects to photograph. Here are some favorite bird photos that I took, mostly at Rockefeller State Park Preserve. Learn more about birding (birdwatching) and conservation from the Audubon Society. For more of my bird and nature photography, check out my other website: Inspired Images.
Learn a song about birds as a symbol of faith, or return to the Gateway of Wings.
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