Summertime Meditation: Suspending Disbelief
We invite you to unwind with a simple, powerful practice. Step outside for a summertime meditation led by Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell.
At the Crossroads, on Tisha B’Av: Mindfulness, Suffering, & Redemption
As we move in the Jewish year towards Tisha b’Av, the nadir of the Jewish year, how shall we confront the reality of pain and suffering spiritually? Given the cataclysms of our world, where is there any space to allow for the real possibility of redemption or repentance? Where is there room for empathic, mindful practice in a harsh world that seems so utterly distant from it all? Commenting on the concluding verse of the Book of Lamentations, the great Hasidic teacher Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev offers a mesmerizing take:Another explanation for “take us back, YHVH, to You, and we will return; renew our days as of old.”¹ What is the explanation of the words, “of old,” in the context...
Nahafokh Hu: The Upside-Down Wisdom We Need Right Now
There is a phrase at the heart of the Purim story: nahafokh hu, “it was turned upside down.” The very moment when destruction seemed certain became the moment of redemption. Everything reversed, inside became outside, and the hidden became revealed. These days, we don’t have to stretch our imaginations far to feel the resonance of this theme — we can simply turn on the news. In our country and...
Practicing Joy in Terrible Times
Mi-shenichnas Adar, marbim b’simchah. When the month of Adar begins, one increases in joy.Babylonian Talmud Ta’anit 29a Mitzvah g'dolah l'hiyot b'simchah tamid. It is a great mitzvah to be joyful, always.Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlov, Likutei Moharan II: 24 How do we nurture simchah through spiritual practice – especially in such challenging times, when joy seems hard, maybe even unjust, to access?...
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...
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...
IJS is here for you
When emotions are running close to the surface, IJS is here for you. Rabbi Josh Feigelson shares his reflections below.
Our Fine Furry Friends (Bo 5786)
I don't know about you, but for me it's been a stressful time of late. Not at work so much, but in life. There have been the normal stresses that come with being the "sandwich generation"—parenting kids, caring for aging parents. It's been oppressively cold in Chicago, which means spending less time outside, and thus feeling more cooped up. And then there's witnessing what's happening in my...
New Year of the Trees
by Laura Hegfield (Educators Cohort and JMMTT graduate)Tu Bishvat, the Jewish "New Year of the Trees," is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat -- which this year begins the evening of Sunday, February 1 and continues throughout the day on Monday, February 2. On or around that date, we invite you to engage in a beautiful tree-based contemplative practice led by Laura Hegfield, a graduate of...
Seder Tu BiShvat: A Seder for the Festival of the Trees
by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat (CLP6) and Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser (R2)[T]he 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, the full moon of the month, is the New Year of the Trees; we pause to mark the passage of time measured in their rings. The Talmud established this as the New Year’s Day for all trees, so that we could observe the commandment “When you enter the land and plant any tree for food...three...
Book Talk with Sarah Hurwitz
We are grateful to Sarah Hurwitz for speaking to us about her new book, As a Jew. Please enjoy the conversation recording below. We have two versions of the recording available, with and without ASL interpretation, thanks to Lisa Pershan.For nearly 15 years, Sarah Hurwitz built a career finding just the right words. She served as a White House speechwriter from 2009 to 2017, first as a senior...
The Price of Chicken (Vaera 5786)
There's a classic Yogi Berra-style Jewish joke that goes something like this: A woman walks into her local butcher shop and sees a sign for chicken at $1.50 a pound. (Note: You can tell just how old this joke is by the prices mentioned here.) She looks at the butcher indignantly and says, "A dollar-fifty? The butcher across the street is selling chicken for only 30 cents a pound!" The butcher...
Homes of our Heroes (Shemot 5786)
In the last few months, my wife Natalie has launched a new business called The Story Archivist. (This is not meant as a promotional email, I promise--you get plenty of those from me for IJS courses already!) Natalie is a journalist by training, a published author by experience (five young adult novels), and an educator by career. Her work today brings that all together by helping families...
Lighting the Way Forward
Earlier this week we held a beautiful celebration of IJS's first 25 years. Below is a recording of Rabbi Josh Feigelson's speech from the event.
An Evening of Light 2025
What a night! An Evening of Light was joyful, spiritual, and full of connection. Together, in the sanctuary at B’nai Jeshurun and across the country via livestream, we celebrated 25 years of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, welcomed Hanukkah, and honored Dorian Goldman and Marvin Israelow for their extraordinary leadership and generosity. The music, the reflections, and the energy in the...
Vayeshev 5786: “You’re Still Here!”
Many years ago, during my first job out of college, I wound up at a meeting in the Fifth Avenue apartment of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. It's a long story for another time. But this was roughly 2000, and according to the internet that means they had been married for 42 years. The meeting was with Joanne (she was the board chair of the Westport Country Playhouse, and I was on a consulting...
Lighting with Intention
Thank you to IJS Core Faculty, Kohenet Keshira HaLev Fife, for a beautiful teaching and intention setting for lighting the Hannukah candles this year.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see our full series of practices for lighting your Hannukah candles with intention!
IJS Winter Course Lineup
Registration is now open for our winter courses! Use Code WINTER20 for $20 off RegistrationCheck out our full winter course lineup!
Cultivating Bitachon, Trust: The Practice of “Knowing our Roots”
“Knowing our roots” means cultivating conscious contact with a deeper source of nurture and support. This core Jewish spiritual practice is embodied by Joseph, the protagonist in the Torah reading cycle which coincides with and follows Hanukkah, and which concludes the Book of Genesis. Throughout the story of Joseph and his brothers, he manifests the middah (spiritual/ethical quality) of...
Vayishlach 5786: Snowy Day
Last Shabbos was a snow day in Chicago. A big storm moved through and dumped nearly a foot on us. The weather folks said it was the biggest November snowfall in a decade. On Sunday I dug out the snow blower from the back of the garage (we've had pretty light snow in recent years) and joined the lovely civic ritual wherein neighbors say hello to one another, commiserate a little bit, and help...