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It’s been a while since I’ve added new content to this website, but happy to say that summer vacation has allowed me some time to continue working on the new and developing Gateway of Holy Land. Each new Gateway (content page focused on one symbol from nature) is a kind of spiritual adventure, as I’m not sure quite where the paths will lead me! The newest pathway (post) in this Gateway builds on the tradition that King Solomon could talk to the animals and plants. One of Wellspring’s Facebook readers asked for more on that subject, which resulted in this new post on talking and (more importantly) listening to our fellow creatures.
Waxing Crescent Moon, Niculina Archer
I’m very excited to be taking an online (live) course on the Zohar from Professor Daniel Matt, who translated this epic classic of Jewish mysticism into English. Its mystical meditations on the inner levels on the Bible often identify the Shechinah, the feminine divine presence, with the moon. That motivated me to update a post on the celebration of Rosh Hodesh, the new moon. I changed to a new featured image, a moon photo that I took myself. I also added a button link that takes to you At the Well, a new organization that uses Rosh Hodesh as a venue for women to connect with their spirituality and health. Explore the imagery and symbolism of the moon in depth, in Wellspring’s Gateway of the Moon.
Spring is here and new growth is everywhere! Spring comes a little slowly (but steadily) in the US Northeast. And so it is with the new Gateway of Holy Land here at Wellsprings of Wisdom. I’ve opened the Gateway and it has two posts, a Gallery of the Sea in Israel (also posted on the Gateway of the Sea), and a meditation on Natural sanctuary, which is a version of the post I recently shared on this page, from my rabbinic blog). The header for the whole Gateway of Holy Land is a photo that I took last fall at Brandeis-Bardin, an educational and retreat center that was originally built to create the atmosphere of an Israeli Kibbutz in southern California.
Keep checking back; I’ll be adding introductory content and more posts soon.
Winter Sunset, Rockefeller State Park Preserve, Julie Danan
Shalom! Like the dormancy of winter, this site has been quiet for a while. The quiet of the site is the mirror opposite of my busy life: leading a small congregation, teaching two classes for the ALEPH Rabbinic Program, traveling (to Israel, Colorado, and Florida in the past 3 months) and being involved with my family. It’s all wonderful and gratifying, but hasn’t left any time to work on this website (or on the book that I am slowly building from the site). However, with the awakening of spring, I have recently begun a new Gateway that I hope to launch soon, on the theme of “Holy Land,” to be accessed through the Portal of Earth. You can get a sneak peak at the type of content I plan to share there but checking out this post on my Rabbi’s Blog, “Finding a Sanctuary in Nature.”
Meanwhile, please keep in touch by following me @Wellsprings on Instagram, where I post daily original nature photography, often with accompanying spiritual reflections. Much of this content, along with other environmentally oriented posts, can also be found on the Wellsprings of Wisdom Facebook page.
And please continue to enjoy exploring the 14 Gateways (content pages) already on this site. Each Gateway explores an ancient symbol from Nature as a path to personal growth and action. In addition, three Resource Guides will help you continue your explorations of Jewish spirituality in nature.
Jerusalem View from Haas Promenade, JHD
In December, my husband and I (and two of our grown children) visited Israel for the first time in nearly a decade. I’ll continue reflecting on this journey and our experiences in my Rabbi’s Blog. Please check it out if you would like to learn more. Meannwhile, I’ve added a Gallery of Seashore in Israel to the Gateway of the Sea. In Israel, I exchanged wintry walks at the woods of the Hudson Valley for sunny walks on the shores of the Mediterranean. The sea enraptured me with it’s light, color, and warmth. The rhythm of the waves and the sea air filled me with a sense of peace/Shalom and well-being. I hope that my photos will share those feelings with you.
For daily nature photography interspersed with some spiritual reflections, please follow Wellsprings on Instagram.
Cellist and humanitarian Yo-Yo Ma speaks about the “edge,” the natural or cultural place where environments intersect, as one that always has more life forms and new life forms. Bach taught him to balance going to his center and to the edge. In cultural interactions and dialogue, it’s good to be centered and it’s also good to reach out, edge to edge, to touch something new. Photos by Julie Hilton Danan, Israel, 2018. Return to the
Gateway of the Sea.
More and more people around the world are learning that walking* in nature can be a spiritual practice. It was surely known to our biblical ancestors, and today intentional time strolling in nature has become an international movement known as Shinrin Yoku or Forest Bathing.
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Shalom! Just checking in to let you know that this site is active, even if it’s not like a blog with continual updates. I haven’t added a new Gateway (themed content page) to Wellsprings of Wisdom this fall, but I’m continuing to add some new posts to current Gateways, update existing posts,and add to the resource guide. I also post daily content (my own nature photos and some inspirational messages) on Instagram @wellsprings. I hope to continue to add content to Wellsprings of Wisdom over time, but I’m turning much of my creative attention–when not working at my job as a rabbi or teaching classes or being busy as a mom and grandma!–to writing a nature-centered spiritual memoir on the same themes as Wellsprings of Wisdom.
I recently attended a workshop by the Jewish Book Council and that gave me a lot of encouragement. I wrote one book years ago, then went off to graduate school and rabbinical school and wrote a dissertation. Since then, the publishing world has changed so it’s good to get a refresher! Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the existing content. Feel free to write to me through the website if you have any questions. Your comments on any posts and your posts in the Sharing Circles in each Gateway are much appreciated, and I’m looking into different ways to get together by offering classes online. Let me know if that interests you.
Happy Thanksgiving! This is a wonderful time to cultivate gratitude. One thing I’m grateful for, since moving the Hudson Valley from California (and Texas before), is the amazing fall foliage in this part of the country. In honor of the season, I’ve added a new Autumn Gallery to the Gateway of Seasons. I hope you enjoy it.
I know that I’ve being growing as a photographer since my “Seasonal Scenes” gallery, and it’s developed into a real hobby. I also purchased an second hand camera (to upgrade from phone photos alone) and took a photography class.
I try to use my photography for mitzvot (good deeds), for example my current fundraiser of greeting cards and tote bags with my photos from Chico, California, all profits going to NorCal Wildfire Relief.
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