Reform Judaism - Mindful Judaism - Jewish Meditation and Contemplative Judaism

May 18, 2018June 7, 2018

What is Jewish Enlightenment? Kan VeAchshav! Here and Now!

You may have heard or read stories about enlightenment in Buddhism. Much like Jewish midrash, these stories are filled with wonder, miracles, and awe. Is there such a thing as Jewish enlightenment? And what is our enlightenment story?

This upcoming Saturday, we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot (what is celebrated in Christianity as Pentecost). On Shavuot, we celebrate the giving and receiving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. Shavuot is also called Zman Matan Torateinu – or the Time of Giving our Torah – and is a commemoration of the gift of receiving the entire Torah. Yet what does this have to do with enlightenment? Continue reading “What is Jewish Enlightenment? Kan VeAchshav! Here and Now!”

March 11, 2018March 12, 2018

The Pew Study: Why Jewish Meditation, Contemplative Judaism, and the Necessity of Innovation

The Pew Research Center published its landmark study on A Portrait of American Jews in 2013. This important research – commonly called the Pew Study – presented a series of contradictions and what felt like an ever unfolding series of “bad” news for the American Jewish community. The Pew Study felt to many as a punch to the gut of American Jewry! But where does Jewish meditation and contemplative Judaism fit in? Any why now?! Continue reading “The Pew Study: Why Jewish Meditation, Contemplative Judaism, and the Necessity of Innovation”

February 26, 2018August 2, 2018

Meditation and God: Is There Room for Both?

With the Purim holiday coming up, I have been reflecting on the tides and turns of Jewish history against the backdrop of the larger world and great civilizations as celebrated, mourned, and honored in the Jewish Holiday cycle. With this in mind, I thought of the relatively recent contact between Buddhism and Judaism and about the practices and language of meditation and God, wondering, “Is there room for both?” Continue reading “Meditation and God: Is There Room for Both?”