A Way In Blog
Rabbi Yael Levy | Thu, 5/17/12
Crossposted at Huffington Post Omer liveblog:
The wellspring rising from deep within the Mystery. The rock that supports, sustains and brings forth our lives.
Yesod calls us to feel ourselves grounded in the Mystery and to feel the Mystery rising within us. Yesod calls us to encounter the fire, the sacred sparks at the core of creation.
We honor all that guides and sustains us. And we ask ourselves: how can I bring my truest self into the world for good?
Hod sh'b'Yesod: Presence Within...
Rabbi Yael Levy | Thu, 5/3/12
Everything passes, changes and becomes something else
And everything remains alive and present always
Rabbi Yael Levy | Wed, 5/2/12
Everything that ever was created this very moment,
And everything that will ever be flows forth from here
May our awareness inspire our love.
Rabbi Yael Levy | Mon, 4/30/12
A robin returns to the nest
With a piece of long grass in her mouth.
She sits on the blue egg
For as long as it takes.
The circling hawk casts a moving shadow,
A yellow butterfly opens and closes her wings,
And the river sings as it glides over the stones.
Eternity in each moment.
A Way In | Fri, 4/27/12
As Rabbi Ezra Weinberg says in this blog on the Huffington Post, the kabbalistic translation of tiferet as a synthesis of chesed and gevurah never quite captures its essence. Weinberg's take on its meaning demonstrates how it can be relevant and insightful in our lives today.
Tiferet allows us to hold tension as an act of grace. It doesn't hit us over the head, but it can throw us (for a loop) because of its comfort with contradiction and paradox. Tiferet is the of holding...
Rabbi Yael Levy | Thu, 4/26/12
Take notice of the sky and the glorious luminance of the day.
Listen to the silence.
Forgive yourself, forgive others.
Remember that everything changes and unfolds in its own time.
Rabbi Yael Levy | Sun, 4/22/12
The month of iyar begins as we enter into the third week of the omer—the week of tiferet. Iyar radiates light, healing and the continual opportunity for second chances.
The light of iyar is illuminated in the spring days which grow longer all month, it glows from its Biblical name ziv which means radiance and it shines from its name, iyar.
The healing of iyar comes from the crossing of the sea. After the Israelites stepped into the waters and made it to the shores of a...
Rabbi Yael Levy | Fri, 4/20/12
Let’s go as deep as we can
Into the hard ground,
Softened now by shoots of green
And delicate white flowers.
Let’s go as far as we can
Into the earth
Among seeds planted
By fallen leaves.
Let’s call each other into places
Where roots grow and life takes form
So each of us,
And all of us together
Can rise in love
And blossom in strength.
Rabbi Yael Levy | Thu, 4/19/12
Hod sh’b Gevurah the 12th day of the omer
The sacred vessels that are our lives.
How to be with limitations
And to keep ourselves open
To receive and be,
To trust and give thanks.
A Way In | Wed, 4/18/12
For each week of the Omer, the Institute for Jewish Spirituality offers short podcasts -- one for meditation and another for embodied practice from two wonderful teachers, Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg and Rabbi Myriam Klotz. They are yet another entry-way into awareness and insight during these special 49 days.
For the second week of the Omer, Gevurah, the podcasts focus on the middah (ethical value/character trait) of hagbalah, (restraint.)
Rabbi Yael Levy | Wed, 4/18/12
The strength to see beyond the limitations
We’ve erected out of fear or habit.
The endurance to persist in the face of
Challenge and despair.
The practices that inspire us to see beyond
Our wildest imagination
And step into a realm where seeds of hope, peace and healing
Will be planted,
Will be nourished
And will grow.
Here is a video I found on a post by Rabbi Daniel Brenner of Moving Traditions. It is a great inspiration for this day. The song, Bukra Fi Mishmish (Arabic for "...
Rabbi Yael Levy | Tue, 4/17/12
What if we could see the beauty in each other—within those we disagreed with, within those we have been taught to disregard? What if we could use our strength and discernment to let harsh judgments fall away? What would shine forth?
Joan Osborne—singing “One of Us”… What if…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIJEHcDhnVc&ob=av2n
A Way In | Sun, 4/15/12
Two years ago, D'vorah Horn Greenberg created a series of paintings for each of the 49 days of the Omer -- they have been printed on individual cards that are available for purchase.
The theme for today, Day 8, Hesed Sh’ B’Gevurah (Compassionate Love in Strength and Discernment," is "It's Hard to Know When To Stop."
“The Omer Series," says D'vorah, "takes the viewer on a journey 'out of the narrow place', from liberation to...
Rabbi Yael Levy | Sat, 4/14/12
May we know ourselves as sacred vessels,
Holding and bringing forth
Sacred generosity and love.
May we cultivate the capacity to view each other with kindness,
Knowing each of us is doing the best we can in each moment.
Rabbi Yael Levy | Fri, 4/13/12
This 6th day of the omer and the 7th day of Passover we remember the people in our lives who have died. We feel their love and support and honor all those who have given us the courage to live into our fullness and strength.