Jacob fled from his brother Esau whom he had deceived. He left his father’s house and went toward his mother’s family in Haran. What can we learn for our lives from Jacob’s going out and going toward? And what is “the place” and his encounter with “a certain place”?
VAYEITZEI | Walking the Path of Healing in Torah Read More »
From beginning to end, Torah, like other spiritual paths, is clear that conflict will arise within families and between people. This week’s Torah portion recounts and deepens the material and spiritual journeys of Jacob and his twin brother Esau, who compete with each other for their parents’ love and attention.
VAYEITZEI | Shifting from Conflict to Shared Dilemma Read More »
This week’s Torah portion thrusts us into two dramatic encounters, one between estranged brothers Jacob and Esau, and one between Shechem and Dina, ill fated lovers or predator and victim.
VAYISHLACH | Is It a Kiss or a Bite? Read More »
In my encounter with Torah, one of my practices, inspired by the poet Rilke, is to live the questions.
One question I live with, as an object of meditation, is, “Why are the spiritual and ethical teachings I seek so buried beneath violence and hatred in the Torah?”
VAYISHLACH | The Healing of Shechem Read More »
What do we have to shed to break out of the endless cycle of rivalry, objectification, manipulation, abuse? Can we learn to be fluid with our identifications, even the most precious ones, so that we can encounter without skins that separate us?
VAYISHLACH | Wrestling with Narrative, Making Meaning of our Experience Read More »
This week’s Torah begins with “and Jacob settled.” On the story level, twin brothers Jacob and Esau have come together to bury their father Isaac. Together they take giant steps, risking their vulnerability for the sake of healing their birth trauma and making amends for their early years of jealousy and competition.
VAYEISHEV | When Settling is Spiritual Bypass Read More »
What do we have to shed to break out of the endless cycle of rivalry, objectification, manipulation, abuse? Can we learn to be fluid with our identifications, even the most precious ones, so that we can encounter without skins that separate us?
VAYEISHEV | Joseph and Tamar: Abandoning the False Skin of Privilege Read More »
For many years, I’ve been on a journey to encounter Judaism as a spiritual path. What does this mean to me? …So it is when I encounter this week’s Torah portion, Mikeitz, continuing the story of Joseph and his brothers.
MIKEITZ | Trauma-Informed Torah Read More »
This week’s Torah story, Mikeitz, presents a vision and path of expanded spiritual consciousness and the resulting successful sharing of resources between the Hebrew minority and the Egyptian majority. This is truly medicine for our time.
MIKEITZ | Partnering for a Better World Read More »
How do we reveal ourselves to be each other’s brothers and sisters? How does the revelation occur, that the person I took as my enemy or my persecutor, as foreign, is in fact my brother or sister?
Vayigash | Encountering The Other As my Brother Read More »
