Preparing for the High Holidays: Broken Spirit, Broken Heart (Ru’ach Nishbarah, Lev Nishbar)

Preparing for the High Holidays - Broken Spirit, Broken Heart (Ruach Nishbarah, Lev Nishbar)

Over the past month or two, it has taken me some time to write about Tisha B’Av and preparing for the High Holidays, the sacred Jewish liturgical period of the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe and Wonder.

This is in part because of the day to day stresses and changes of life, but also because I have been genuinely wrestling with the meaning and place of brokenness and sacredness, new beginnings and endings, and sacrifice and atonement, especially from the perspective of a contemporary 21st Century Jew and American Zen practitioner. Continue reading “Preparing for the High Holidays: Broken Spirit, Broken Heart (Ru’ach Nishbarah, Lev Nishbar)”

A Jewish Heart Sutra: The Great Wisdom-Heart Prayer – Tefilat Chochmat Lev Hanorah

Jewish Heart Sutra - The Great Wisdom-Heart Prayer - Tefilat Chochmat Lev Hanorah

I have been playing a lot recently with the roots of Jewish Mindfulness Meditation in Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and traditional Buddhist meditation. As a Zen practitioner, I am familiar with the Heart Sutra, a liturgy that is chanted daily throughout the Buddhist world. I began to play around with what a Jewish Heart Sutra would sound like. Take a look below!
Continue reading “A Jewish Heart Sutra: The Great Wisdom-Heart Prayer – Tefilat Chochmat Lev Hanorah”