Hearing the Divine, in Silence
The holiday of Shavuot, commemorating the revelation of Torah at Mount Sinai, begins this year Sunday night, June 1. It is striking that despite the cacophonous scene of revelation described in the Torah in Exodus 19, there is a stream within Jewish tradition that emphasizes silence as the context for intimate encounter with the Divine. Rabbinic tradition offers an interpretation that at Mount Sinai, the people heard only the first two of the Ten Commandments: "I am YHVH your God" and "you shall have no other gods beside Me.” A Hasidic tradition asserts that at Sinai the people “heard” only the first letter of the first word—that is, the silent letter aleph.¹ We can understand the...
First Cohort of 28 Spiritual Directors Graduate from Kol Dodi
In a famous Hasidic saying, the Kotzker Rebbe was once asked: “Where does God dwell?” to which he replied, “Wherever you let God in.” Spiritual direction is the practice of letting God in, of noticing the sacred thread woven throughout everyday life. Spiritual direction is a contemplative practice that invites one to grow in awareness of the sacred dimension present in every moment, no matter how mundane. In this practice, we assume that we all have a spiritual dimension and a need for meaning-making, whether or not we believe in God. Spiritual directors act as companions on this journey, holding space for seekers to connect with their spiritual longing, discover and explore their inner...
Mindfulness Practice for Election Night
I remember election night 2016, which coincided with an IJS meditation teacher trainingretreat. At first glance, it might seem dissonant to bring an election with all of itsemotion, spin, and hype into the retreat experience. However, at the Institute we havethe conviction that if our practice is going to be real it must be accessible and operativein real life--no matter what the...
Embodied Practice: The Breath of Life
In times of stress, it may be harder for us to access the full sense of aliveness that comes with taking a deep breath. In this video, Rabbi Myriam Klotz leads you in an embodied practice that focuses on the breath of life, nishmat chaim.
Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue
The pursuit of justice, tzedek, is a central pillar of Jewish spiritual practice. In this video, Rabbi Marc Margolius shares a meditation on tzedek as a synthesis of two other middot (spiritual qualities), zerizut (energetic response) and hodeya (gratitude).
Prayers to Recite Before Voting
Below we offer three prayers for you to choose from, to be recited before voting. We recommend reciting your prayer(s) of choice immediately before casting your ballot as a way to ground your kavvanah (intention) for voting. The first was written by Rabbi Sam Feinsmith of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. The second, an improvised variation on the Kaddish, was composed by the...
Reflections on Sukkot
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about dwellings and about containers -- about the temple whose destruction we mourn on Tisha B’av at the start of the holy day arc and about the sukkah that we celebrate at its end. About the houses and apartments we’ve all been largely cooped up in these past many months, and about the way we can lock up our emotions, especially the painful ones, in our bodies.A...
The Shofar Project Adds Four New Partners
We are pleased to announce that ALEPH, the American Conference of Cantors, Cantors Assembly, and Torat Chayim have joined The Shofar Project as our newest partners.These four organizations join the Central Conference of American Rabbis, International Rabbinic Fellowship, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Union for Reform Judaism, and the...
The Institute for Jewish Spirituality Collaborates with Movements in Historic Cross-Denominational Spiritual Partnership
In an historic cross-denominational partnership, the Institute for Jewish Spirituality today announced the Shofar Project, a program of spiritual preparation for the High Holidays in collaboration with the Central Conference of American Rabbis, International Rabbinic Fellowship, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Union for Reform...
Rabbi Myriam Klotz Joins IJS Staff as Senior Program Director
The Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS) announced today that Rabbi Myriam Klotz will join the organization’s staff as Senior Program Director effective August 17. Klotz, a major figure in Jewish yoga and embodied practice for decades, has been a faculty member at IJS since 2003. She has taught in the organization’s flagship clergy leadership training programs and recently helped to launch...
IJS Welcomes Maidelle Goodman Benamy as Director of Development
The Institute for Jewish Spirituality announced today that Maidelle Goodman Benamy will become the organization’s Director of Development effective July 22. Benamy joins IJS after an already distinguished 35-year career in philanthropy and Jewish communal work. She has previously served as Vice President of Development at the Educational Alliance, Executive Vice President at the Jewish National...
Awareness in Activism: Jewish Spiritual Practice for Personal Change and Social Justice
During the COVID-19 pandemic and the current uprising for racial justice, I have been teaching an online program for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS) in mindfulness and character development, “Awareness in Action: Cultivating Character through Mindfulness and Middot.” Through this program, participants have applied tikkun middot practice -- mindfully cultivating innate...
IJS Welcomes Michal Fox Smart as Chief Program Officer
The Institute for Jewish Spirituality announced today that Michal Fox Smart will become the organization’s first Chief Program Officer effective July 1. She will serve as the leader of the program team, overseeing the Institute’s faculty and program staff and coordinating the work of its rich roster of instructors, and will be responsible for developing and delivering all of IJS’s programmatic...
IJS Executive Director Josh Feigelson’s Conversation with Author Sarah Hurwitz
From 2009 to 2017, Sarah Hurwitz served as a White House speechwriter, first as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and then as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. Prior to serving in the Obama Administration, Sarah was chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign. Sarah is the author of Here All Along: Finding Meaning,...
Mindfulness Practice: An Ark in the Storm
In Genesis, God instructs Noah to build an ark to protect his family and two of each species on earth from the floodwaters that God will bring. “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood: make it an ark with compartments and cover it inside and out with pitch” (Genesis 6:14). The implication is clear: if the ark is to be a true refuge from the coming floods, Noah must pay close attention...
Living and Leading with Courage, Resilience, and Sacred Purpose
Dear friends and colleagues,When I started in my position just a month and a half ago, the world was a different place. My big ambition for my first year was to lead us through a strategic planning and business modeling process that would result in a rearticulated vision, mission, and strategy with a multi-year business plan. My assumption was that we would secure new funding for...
Intentional Communities
The phrase "community of practice" is one of those bandied-about terms that seems particularly suited to Jewish spiritual groups: Community and practice - how obvious and how obviously beneficial! And yet, it's also not so simple. Just because you happen to share a profession, a craft or a practice with a group of other people doesn't mean that the group will in fact be supportive or a good...
Rage and Love: Reaching Out
Last week we offered a meditation retreat for activists from across the country, thanks to a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation in memory of Rabbi Rachel Cowan. At the end of a few days of cultivating a loving heart through meditation, prayer and silence, the participants shared their thoughts and experiences of connecting contemplative practice with their work as activists. Several of...
Hey Big Talkers: Shhh
We Jews are known for being big talkers. We are stereotypically a people of a lot of words, of arguments, of big ideas, of strong opinions. I remember once speaking to a Catholic boys’ school in Missouri. The first kid raised his hand and said, to his teacher’s mortification, “Our science teacher is Jewish and she talks fast, too. Do all Jews talk fast?” (I quickly said, “Yes!”) It’s not...
Facing Our Vulnerability
In our people’s mythic calendar, this is the time of year that we are journeying from the Red Sea to Sinai, from Passover to Shavuot. For me the annual pilgrimage started, as it does most years, when I made the journey to my parents’ home for Passover. And as usual, each time I boarded the plane, coming and going, I whispered the traveler’s prayer to myself. I love tefillat haderekh, the...