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.
Book Talk with Jeremy David Engels
Thank you Jeremy David Engels for joining Rabbi Josh Feigelson for this insightful conversation about his book: On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World. Please enjoy the recording below.
Jeremy David Engels is the author of six books, including On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World (Parallax, 2026), as well as a Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State University, co-founder of Yoga Lab, and a mindfulness and yoga teacher. You can find him in the classroom, lecture hall, on a meditation cushion, or a yoga mat, sharing his insights on how to become capable, compassionate, and engaged democratic citizens.
Book Talk with Rabbi Caryn Aviv
We are grateful to Rabbi Caryn Aviv for speaking to us about her new book, Unlearning Jewish Anxiety: How to Live with More Joy and Less Suffering. Please enjoy the conversation recording below.
Rabbi Caryn Aviv (she/her/hers) serves as Rabbinic and Program Director at Judaism Your Way, as well as Director of Studies at ALEPH. Caryn loves to create and facilitate transformative Jewish experiences that spark joy and meaning for Jews and loved ones. Prior to becoming a rabbi in 2020, Caryn earned a PhD in sociology from Loyola University Chicago in 2002. She taught, mentored students, and published research in Jewish Studies and sociology at University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Denver from 2003-2013 before entering the ALEPH Ordination Program. Caryn loves spending time with her family, hiking in the Rocky Mountains, singing with Denver Women’s Chorus, hugging trees as a spiritual practice, organizing for justice, and making art.
Torah from the Mountain, Torah from the Well: Attuning to the Kol Demamah Dakah (The Subtle, Silent Murmur)
In this video teaching, we begin by contrasting the earth-shaking revelation at Sinai in Exodus 19 and 20 with the subtle, silent murmur of I Kings 19. This distinction serves as a map for our meditation, guiding us past the noise of the ego toward a sanctuary of inner quietude. Here, we connect with the source of divine wisdom to receive a fresh transmission of inner Torah—revealing that the voice of the Divine is still speaking to us, here and now.
This video originally appeared as part of a week-long IJS Daily Sit series in 2021, titled: Standing (or Sitting!) at Sinai, Here and Now: A Week-Long Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Intensive. Click here to access the entire series.
A Note on Language and Inclusion
I created the content before I began my personal journey of growing in awareness about my own disability and my unconscious use of ableist language. I apologize for using metaphors that assume specific physical or sensory abilities. As you engage with this teaching and practice, I invite you to adapt my language to your own experience—perhaps replacing words like “see” or “hear” with “notice,” “observe,” “perceive,” or “tune in.”
May this teaching support all of us to tune into the Torah we need right now – for our own benefit and the benefit of all beings,
Sam.
What Sustains Us?
What sustains us during periods of transition? Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell’s teaching on the meaning of the matzah during Passover invites us to explore these questions as we move out of the narrow place in search of liberation.