A Time to Act (Yitro 5786)
It has always been easy for me to know how old the United States is. I was a “Bicentennial Baby,” born in 1976. Add 200 to my age, and you get the age of the country. With God’s help, I’ll turn 50 in May, and my country, in turn, will be 250 in July. I don’t know about you, but to me it doesn’t feel like a very happy birthday year for the nation. Two and a half centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson and his comrades, however imperfectly, planted into the Western world’s collective political consciousness the ideas of human equality and government by the consent of the governed. (As David Graeber and David Wengrow demonstrate in their wonderful The Dawn of Everything, Jefferson and his European...
Walking Through the Waters (Beshallach 5786)
This week I'm thinking about three walks. I'll talk about them in reverse chronological order. The First WalkOn Tuesday I was walking the dog and listening to a talk by Gil Fronsdal, which he had given two days earlier. Gil prefaced it by saying that it would be a challenging talk, and it was clear he was going to address questions of citizenship and activism in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. I was struck by a Buddhist poem Gil started with: Others will be cruel. We will not be cruel.Others will be violent. We will not be violent.Others will kill. We will not kill.Others will steal. We will not steal.Others will engage in sexual misconduct. We will not engage in...
An Evening of Music with Joey Weisenberg
We are grateful to Joey Weisenberg for joining us on Tuesday, July 20, 2021 for a special evening. In conversation with Rabbi Josh Feigelson, Joey shared his music and insights. Joey Weisenberg is a virtuosic multi-instrumental musician, composer and teacher. He is the Founder and Director of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, cultivating grassroots musical-spiritual creativity in Jewish...
It’s a Wrap
Episode 55: It's a WrapIn the course of seven months, we've offered 55 podcasts featuring a variety of prayer practices. These programs have been downloaded nearly 30,000 times. It is time to celebrate, and to take time to envision what might come next.Read the episode transcript
May I be safe
Episode 54: May I be safe This week we get to visit with Elana Arian, whose "Ken Yehi Ratzon" has closed our podcast. She shares her background, how she came to write Jewish music, her work as guest-artist in congregations and how that shapes her work, and how she came to write our closing tune. Read the episode transcript
Meet the Composer of “Open”
Episode 53: Meet the Composer of "Open" Each week we have been blessed to hear the first moments of the composition "Open" by Judith Silver. This week we meet her, and learn about how she came to write Jewish music, and how "Open" came to be. A true blessing! Read the episode transcript
Practicing with Psalm 27
Episode 52: Practicing with Psalm 27 We are blessed to be invited into the personal process of listening deeply to the words of Psalm 27 to open our hearts with Rabbi Debra Robbins. Her book and its practices are so rich, it is helpful to have it modeled for us, so that we can engage with the Psalm ourselves, beginning on 1 Elul (August 8, 2021), to open our own hearts along the way. Read the...
Opening Your Heart with Psalm 27
Episode 51: Opening Your Heart with Psalm 27 The period of time from the start of Elul to the end of Sukkot is about the same length of time from Passover to Shavuot. The former period is given focus through the recitation of Psalm 27 (and the chanting/recitation of selichot, or penitential prayers). Rabbi Debra Robbins provides us with tools to make the practice of reciting Psalm 27 a richer,...
The Nighttime Shema
Episode 50: The Nighttime Shema Prayer does not have to be complex, and we don't have to go looking for it up in the heavens or over the sea. Sometimes it is just in our mouths and our hearts, in simplicity and directness. Rabbi Denise Eger shares her lifelong practice of reciting the Shema at night, when going to sleep. Read the episode transcript
Mishkan Ga’avah: Where Pride Dwells
Episode 49: Mishkan Ga'avah: Where Pride Dwells There are so many ways to open up prayer. The most effective, and most important, is to connect deeply to one's own life, one's own heart, and to see oneself. From that clear seeing -- or the desire to do so -- we can express our deepest desires, most overwhelming fears, greatest joys, and significant commitments. That has inspired the flourishing...
25-25-50 Meditation
Episode 48: 25-25-50 Meditation Do you think you could have an "I-Thou" connection to a tree? Well, not sitting in your house you can't! And, likely just walking up to a tree and saying "HI" won't work either. Rabbi Mike Comins offers us a practice to help us cultivate our capacity to be outdoors and really BE there, perhaps ultimately to meet it as a "Thou". Read the episode...
Prayer as Poetry: Making Space for Our Lives
Episode 47: Prayer as Poetry: Making Space for our Live The Rabbis speak of the letters of Torah as being black fire on white fire. Rabbi David Stern understands this as the events of our life, and our ability to find space and spaciousness around them, to make meaning, and to find peace. He invites us into three meditation-based, poetry-infused prayers. Read the episode transcript
A Morning Practice
Episode 46: A Morning Practice A spiritual practice requires "makom": a place, God (called HaMakom by the rabbis of the Talmud), and kiyyum, our own personal presence. Rabbi Karyn Kedar brings us through her personal practice of Makom, her personal evening and morning prayer practice. Read the episode transcript
Amen: Seeking Presence with Prayer, Poetry, and Mindfulness Practice
Episode 45: Amen: Seeking Presence with Prayer, Poetry, and Mindfulness Practice Is prayer poetry? Is poetry prayer? What is the orientation of mind and heart that one needs to bring to be able to do one, the other, or both? Rabbi Karyn Kedar -- author, poet, spiritual director, and IJS alumna -- invites us into her investigation of these questions through her recent book. Read the episode...
PrayerFull Guide to Prayer Practice – Part 2
Episode 44: PrayerFull Guide to Prayer Practice - Part 2 We welcome back Rabbanit Leah and Rabba Dina to reap the benefits of their work together. In this episode, we will hear their most recent PrayerFull podcast on Great Love. Read the episode transcript
PrayerFull Guide to Prayer Practice – Part 1
Episode 43: PrayerFull Guide to Prayer Practice - Part 1 Just as there are varied prayer traditions in different communities, so there are many ways to enter into prayer. Rabba Dina Brawer and Rabbanit Leah Sarna, Orthodox rabbis, have created a podcast of curated, thematic offerings for personal, contemplative prayer. We have a wide-ranging conversation about prayer, to prepare us to listen to...
Omer 5781: Seven Weeks of Exploration
From Passover through Shavuot, IJS invited its community to count the Omer with us. Each week, we shared an email with an exploration of that week’s particular middah, prepared by IJS faculty. Throughout the Omer, IJS’s free daily offerings helped us focus on the middah of each particular week, and to grow in our ability to embody it in our lives.We are pleased to share the seven...
Thank You, Shekhinah, for Blessing This Day
Episode 42: Thank You, Shekhinah, for Blessing This Day Rabbi Jill Hammer is the co-founder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, which is a training program in earth based embodied feminist Jewish leadership and spiritual life. She invites us to join in a davvening practice rooted in the Kohenet community, and which she would engage in herself, sitting in Central Park, or at home on...
A Theological Discussion with Dr. Michael Fishbane
We are delighted to share a recording of a special evening with Dr. Michael Fishbane in conversation with Rabbi Nancy Flam. This live public event sponsored by IJS, took place on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Dr. Michael Fishbane discusses his recently published book Fragile Finitude: A Jewish Hermeneutical Theology. Dr. Michael Fishbane of the University of Chicago is a well-known...
Opening, through Song and Chant, to My Body and Soul
Episode 41: Opening, through Song and Chant, to My Body and Soul Particularly in the West, body and soul exist in two different domains. This is true for classical Judaism, as well. But, they are not separate, they live in one, intimate unity. It takes work to awaken to that truth. Prayer -- particularly through breath in song and chant -- can be a means toward inner and outer unification. Rabbi...