Mindful Judaism – Jewish Meditation and Contemplative Judaism
A Living, Breathing Judaism for Today and Tomorrow
There is no way around it. No one can outfox God. No matter how smart we think we are or how hard we try, there is no outsmarting the Divine. Yet… we try! And try we do! Perhaps even must?!
Continue reading “Outfoxing God: The Tail End of Amends and a Warm Welcome to the Human Race”
Lately, I have been thinking about the Jewish New Year and High Holiday season akin to a mindfulness meditation intensive. In the Zen and other Buddhist traditions, monks and nuns training in monasteries spend summers and winters in intensive meditation practice periods lasting about three months long each. In the Zen tradition, this is called an ango. The Jewish tradition doesn’t really have an ango or something similar, though we can and should. Continue reading “From Ashes to Atonement: An Annual High Holiday Mindfulness Intensive”
Rosh Hashanah is one of the most special and sacred holidays in the Jewish liturgical calendar. It is the Jewish New Year and the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays, but what is it really about? And how do mindful Jews understand this special and most sacred new beginning?
Rosh Hashanah is a holiday of waking up. We awaken from the deep slumber of selfishness, conceit, and putting ourselves above others – perhaps one way of understanding traditional notions of sin – and awaken to something different.
On Rosh Hashanah, the Divine calls out to wake us up from the darkness of ignorance Continue reading “Rosh Hashanah: A Jewish Mindfulness Holiday of Waking Up”