From the Rabbi – August 2023
We’re on the runway: the Days of Awe are approaching. We’ve entered the Limbering Up time.
Entries by Rachel Barenblat
Guest Post: Getting “Unstuck”: Moving from Awareness and Knowledge to Action
This guest post is the D’var Torah that CBI member and cantorial soloist Ziva Larson offered at Shabbat Morning Services on Saturday, July 22, 2023.
The Journeys: Matot-Masei 5783 / 2023
“…Torah’s list of stops along our journey is a metaphor for the journey of an individual soul. The forty-two stops evoke the twists and turns of every human life: leaving Mitzrayim / places of constriction, seeking sustenance and purpose and our hopes fulfilled. And for us as for our ancient ancestors, the trajectory of the journey probably won’t be linear…”
From the Rabbi – July 2023
July is upon us. All winter long I anticipate summer’s long daylight: the luscious green curves of our hillsides, how the pollinator garden behind the synagogue becomes a riot of color and leaf. And we’re here! We made it! This place where we are blessed to live is beautiful in all seasons, but this is the season I love the most. And… spiritual life never stands still. The wheel is always already turning toward the holidays to come.
Taking Turns Holding Hope: Shlach 5783
“…When we despair we need someone to walk with us, to feel with us, and to remind us that when we feel most stuck, change can be waiting in the wings – even (or especially) if we can’t see it….”
From the Rabbi – June 2023
“We have fallen into the place where everything is music.” These are words from the Sufi mystic poet Rumi, whose work I love. In the translations I’ve seen, he is one of the most profound spiritual poets there is. For another version of those lines, here’s how western-Mass-based folksinger Kris Delmhorst sings them: “Now we’ve come to the place where everything is music — everything is music, (so) let it play!”
Ready to Receive: Bamidbar 2023 / 5783
“‘And God spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai,’ — the place of revelation; ‘in the ohel mo’ed,’ — both the tent of community meeting, and a sacred fixed point in time. That’s where this verse places us: in the wilderness, in the middle of nowhere — which is where God speaks (or maybe where we hear), where we’re receptive as satellite dishes, at the nexus of holy space and holy time…”
“Love the stranger…”
“…A northern Berkshire host team of volunteers has come together to support a young family fleeing from Haiti, a married couple with two young children under the age of three…”
Touching Eternity: Emor 5783 / 2023
“This week’s Torah portion, Emor, gives us a roadmap for the spiritual flow of the Jewish year….”
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