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I’ve had a request for more poetry on Wellsprings of Wisdom. Here’s an original poem by a fellow traveler on the spiritual path, student Cantor and expert birder, Steve Margolin. His dream of finding an elusive bird far from its natural habitat parallels his spiritual search. Thank you, Steve, for sharing your poem AGAMI on the new and growing Gateway of Wings.
A new pathway (post) on the Gateway of Wings explores doves and eagles and key symbols in the Torah and later Jewish tradition. These two very different birds offer two contrasting ways to relate to the Divine.
Two of the most prominent birds in biblical tradition are very different in nature: the dove and the eagle. (more…)
I just posted a personal favorite video of Swallows as they dive and soar, below and above 5 Mile Bridge on Big Chico Creek in Bidwell Park, Chico, California (my former home). I love the way that their flight melds heaven and earth in this video. It’s the second post (and first new one) on the new and growing Gateway of Wings.
Egret at Rockefeller State Park Preserve, Frank Becker
Pssst! Just because you are exploring Wellsprings of Wisdom on your own and not waiting for an update from your guide, you’re among the first to take a sneak peak at the new Gateway under construction: the Gateway of Wings. If you love birds and other flying creatures, I think that you will enjoy watching as this Gateway unfolds into a multi-media exploration of the meaning of wings and flight in nature, ancient Jewish tradition, and our own lives.
I’m especially appreciative of friends who are sharing content for this page. Thank you to Frank Becker, a generous photographer whom I met on my walks in Rockefeller State Park Preserve. He took this amazing photo of an Egret in flight that also graces the Gateway of Wings. When you look at the Gateway, be sure to click on his photo to enlarge and open it in a lightbox.
Rock Dove by Cuatrok77 via Flickr
Things may seem very quiet at Wellsprings of Wisdom just now, but actually a lot is going on behind the scenes. I am busy talking to various individuals and organizations about providing content for Wellsprings. I am also working on the next Gateway (content page), which will soon be revealed as a “Gateway in Progress” in the Portal of Air! It will center on a nature symbol that I have been thinking of for a long time, and I don’t have a strong preconception of how it will turn out, so it will be an adventure.
Let’s just say that we will take flight! Stay tuned.
I’m excited to keep finding a growing number of new Jewish organizations dedicated to environmental, farming/gardening, and spiritual goals. I just updated Wellspring’s Web Resource Guide to include the Jewish Farmer Network (which is just what it says), Grow Torah, an organization that creates Torah learning gardens for schools and 
communal organizations, and At the Well, a women’s spirituality and wellness project. Wellsprings of Wisdom also has a separate Resource Guide to Retreat Centers and Outdoor Adventures, to help you find your next outdoor spiritual experience. I look forward to sharing the work of some of these organizations in greater depth in upcoming posts.
If there are resources you would like to recommend for inclusion, please contact Wellsprings.
On a technical note, apologies for sporadic difficulty in leaving comments on posts. It is due to a stubborn WordPress setting that automatically closes comments after a certain number of days. Hopefully things are working again now!
With permission of Nocturne, a podcast series about night, I have added a podcast with night sounds from around the world to this Pathway (post) in the Gateway of Darkness! Enjoy and try out the rest of the series. 
As Passover approaches, be sure to check out these Wellsprings Pathways (posts) that relate to themes of the season:
Splitting the Sea With Wind looks at the Biblical account of the Exodus and invites us to explore the nature of miracles.
MIriam’s Well explores a famous legend related to the Exodus, of MIriam’s miraculous desert well. After you read it, you can enjoy a Guided Meditation on the theme of Miriam’s well and finding your inner resources, and consider having a Cup of Miriam at your Seder.
And also related to the Seder, explore this pathway about the Bitter and the Sweet of the Garden for your Passover table. Learn about different customs and interpretations of the Passover bitter and sweet symbols, and how to make them from locally grown foods.
Enjoy a video of Passover in the Desert, a new-old way to celebrate Passover with an outing with Wilderness Torah, an organization devoted to discovering Jewish spirituality in the outdoors. And journey with Rabbi Barry Leff to explore Israel’s Negev Desert, Finding God in the Wilderness like our ancestors.
Speaking of the outdoors, here are a couple of pathways that focus on the spring itself:
Passover celebrates freedom and the rebirth of spring. Experience a bit of springtime in Israel with this Gallery of the Mediterranean Sea in Israel in Spring by Daphna Rosenberg.
Finally, for a fresh perspective on the organic cycle of the Jewish Year, The Reason for the Season, by Rabbi David Zaslow, shares the story of his trip to Brazil with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and a consideration of when the “Festival of Spring” should be celebrated in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wishing you a joyful and liberating Passover season!
Before I start the next Gateway page on Wellsprings, I’m busy adding in some resource materials to the different Gateways and Resource Guides. I love to discover new organizations and media and to share them with you! Tonight I’ve added a new pathway/post about Podcasts that I like to listen to about night or at night, as well as a guide to good Jewish podcasts. You’ll find it in the Gateway of Darkness.
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