Malkhut/Shekhina
by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn
Shekhinah is She Who Dwells Within… Shekhinah is God as the Presence, mother, nurturer, protector, Sabbath Queen, the Moon…the Torah, compassionate one and so much more…Rabbi Leah Novick notes that She “hovers over all creation as the guardian of truth and justice”
Yesod – The Promise of Perfection
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
This year I am watching the dance of the sefirot through the Omer counting. As we arrive at the week of Yesod [foundation], the attributes we’ve encountered all come together once again. They are like circle dancers drawing together toward the center of the circle. They form the foundation on which the world, as we know it, is built.
Hod on the Tree of Life
by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn
The Sefira of Hod on the Tree of Life is fascinating, and non-binary. It is vibrant and engaged, yet other times quiet in its brilliance; deliberative in its self-reflection; prophetic yet humble. It has the capacity for spiritual leadership, yet is able to acknowledge others’ contributions and step back when needed.
Netzach is Eternal
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
Netzach literally means perpetuity, everlastingness. I remember a conversation with Reb Zalman where I was expressing my judgment about the practice of naming spaces and whole buildings after the donor – wondering aloud if they would give as much if they weren’t rewarded in that way. Reb Zalman looked at me with such loving concern and asked …
Tiferet
by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn
Tiferet is another beautifully multi-faceted, divine, and human attribute on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It represents and embodies balance, harmony, beauty, compassion, truth, the heart and more. Tiferet also plays a role in creating divine union with Shekhinah, the Presence, Sabbath Queen on Friday nights, as we enter the holy temple in time…
Cultivating Gevurah
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
Why does Gevurah get such a bad rap? When people are first introduced to the Tree of Life, this is often the Sefirah that they love to hate.
It’s no wonder. The Wikipedia entry for Gevurah reads, in part:
Gevurah is understood as God’s mode of punishing the wicked and judging humanity in general…
Choosing & Cultivating Chesed
by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn
How do we develop more love when reserves run dry, when hatred would rather stay put, or love cannot overtake our disdain, resistance, and fear? Can we address the source of the hatred? Can we find a way to meet the person or situation and open dialogue…
Tisha B’Av – First, We Grieve
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
My last posting to this blog was in the final week of the Omer count. I left us all in Malchut/Shechina – the manifest world. There, we confronted the truth of an imperfect Creation, acknowledging the essential design flaw that occurs when this realm…
Shavuot/Pentecost: Forever Revealing
by Hazzan-Maggid Steve Klaper
Starting on the second day of Passover, traditional practice requires Jews to begin counting seven weeks, 49 days, which conclude with the celebration of the festival of Shavuot [weeks]. Originally an agricultural holiday, the idea of …
Living the Omer – Manifestation
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
And so we come to the close of our counting – at the end of this week, we will have completed seven cycles of seven and followed the pathways of creation, carrying the divine attributes on the Tree of Life into the manifest world.
In Yesod, we found the complete ..
Living the Omer – Foundation
by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn
Yesod, you ground me, bring me back into balance. Every time I call on you, I sink into you as Foundation, Rootedness, Stability; I am brought back, at least for a few moments, into alignment. Although one of your attributes is Ego, you often take me out of my egoic Self and into …
Memories of Lag Ba’Omer
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
My earliest memories of Lag Ba’Omer take me back to grade school in Israel. There was a grove of trees that we walked through to get to school. On that day, following the lead of the older kids, we all gathered fallen tree limbs as we returned home at the end of …
Living the Omer – Splendor
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
I love the attribute of Hod. As a human being, I am in co-creative partnership with the Creator and all of Creation. Furthermore, I love to create rituals that transform energy and create sacred space. I often turn to Hod for guidance. This week the flow of creative energy ..
Living the Omer – Perseverance
by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn
This has always been one of my favorite sefirot, the divine/human attributes on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Netzach is an energy I thrive on – that has also gotten me into trouble. Its laser focus on a particular goal has caused me to at times throw caution..
Living the Omer – Compassion
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
Our journey began in overflowing love, the attribute that makes everything feel possible and good: Chesed – on the right hand. Yet the energetic flow on the Tree of Life teaches us that the love must be contained and given direction so that it remains healthy and does not overwhelm.
It Could Be Any Night…
by Maggid Amitai Gross
As Imams stare into the sky, watching the clouds pass over the moon, interpreting the cycle and declaring, with pious certainty, that the Ummah [community] has entered the last ten days of the holiest month, they know that one of these nights will be Laylat al-Qadr, …
Living the Omer – Discernment
by Kohenet Ruach D’vorah Grenn, Ph.D
In the second week of our journey, we engage with the sefirah (attribute) of Gevurah (discernment, strength). I used to see this sefirah on the Tree of Life and never liked it. It meant judgment, and I already had judgmental people in my life; why would I invite an attribute…
Living the Omer – Loving-kindness
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
On Seder night(s), we celebrate freedom. One of the questions we asked at our Seder was: “Freedom from…” or “Freedom to…”? We explored how freedoms come with responsibilities, and how the exercise of “my freedom” can become the enslavement of another if …
Determined to Live in the Light
by Pastor Larry Block
The unholy residue of our human experience. We are wounded and we wound. We are complicit in the suffering of humanity, in the injustice and darkness of this physical world. In Lent through Holy Week, we acknowledge our participation, intended or unintended,…
The Promise of New Life
by Reverends Janet and Phil Kettering
Through the gift of deep ecumenism birthed from our relationship with Rabbis Victor & Nadya and the Pardes Levavot Jewish Renewal Community, our lives of faith and understanding continue to be deepened and transformed. Resonating with Rabbi Nadya’s recognition of ….
From Calumny to Transformation
by Rabbi Victor Gross
Today is spy Wednesday. For one side of the equation a spy is a hero. On the other side a traitor. It references the story found in Matthew 26:14-16 where Judas “went to the chief priests, and said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they game him …
Like a Kernel of Wheat
by Rabbi Nadya Gross
One of the images that Reb Zalman used in teaching Deep Ecumenism was a group of circles overlapping in the center, each circle representing one of the world’s religions. We mostly see our differences – the outer parts of the circles – and focus on …
Cleansing the Temple
by Maggid Amitai Gross
This year, Holy Week and the lead-up to Pesach coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This convergence is a unique opportunity for a “Spiritual Spring Cleaning.” Each day of this week, we offer you a brief teaching on this auspicious occasion.