Torah is a Living Tree

Torah is a living tree (etz chayim), never staying the same, always changing and growing.

Life Grows as a Tree

Life grows as a tree. Slowly the roots extend and descend, while the trunk rises and expands into branches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqc6t711zn8&feature=related
This is excellent (not political). It’s an Israeli advertisement for investment that highlights Jewish commitment to learning, entrepreneurship, high tech, and the collaboration of business and government:

Healing the Pain of Our Ancestors and Parents

Torah teaches us to heal the pain of our ancestors and parents: Abraham for Terah, Jacob for Isaac and Rebecca, Joseph and his brothers for Jacob, Moses for Abraham and Sarah, Joshua for Moses, and we for our own.

Life is a Classroom

Life is a classroom with a never-ending series of pop quizzes. That’s why we’re here.

True Prophet

A true prophet speaks not for him- or herself, but for the Source (Gen 41:15-16).

The Budding Prophet

While others sit, will I stand? While others are silent, will I speak? While others acquiesce, will I challenge? Am I ready to travel a lonely road? Questions for the budding prophet.

Loving Your Neighbor

“Love your neighbor as yourself” and “made in the image of God” means: Loving your neighbor takes you on the path to loving the Source.

Authentic Energy

No matter where we go and with whatever people we are spending time, we carry with us the authentic energy that makes us who we are.

40 Years in the Wilderness

40 years in the wilderness. Enough time passed for Jews to unlearn slave habits.

Our Flawed Ancestors

The Source stayed with Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, and Joseph no matter how many mistakes and foolish judgments they made

Awe and Reverence

Awe and reverence are my spiritual touchstones.

Life Unfolding

Allowing life to unfold takes courage, flexibility, and patience.

YHWH

YHWH, “Lord” (adonai), actually means “that which brings into being.” In other words, YHWH is the Source, the source of all that is.

“God” is a Label

‎”God” is a word, a name, giving us the illusion that we somehow control whatever “God” is. We don’t. That’s why Jews have no name for “God.” That’s why most Buddhists have no “God” at all.

Breath

Breathing is life. Breathing is words. Conscious breathing draws us closer to creation.

A Mitzvah

In Hebrew, a mitzvah (often translated “commandment”) is not an order, but a commitment to be aware of what is holy and to act accordingly.

Self-Interest and World Repair

The Source implanted self-interest in humans in order that they might be able to repair the world.

Meet the Sloths

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/211/kims-picks-meet-the-sloths

Very cute.

Take Off your Shoes

Every moment of life is holy. Acknowledge it. Say a prayer and meditate. Take off your shoes.

The Road We Travel

While on the way, we often delay or rush or wish we were on another road. But this is the way appointed for us (Gen 45.24).

We are Energy

We are energy, body and soul, a stream of light in the body and soul of the universe.

Ruach

Often translated “wind” or “spirit”, ruach in Genesis 1:2 refers to the underlying force of existence and the universe: ” “Energy.”  It’s gender is feminine and is frequently understood in Jewish tradition (especially mysticism) as a feminine counterpart to a more masculine organizing creator.  Whether or not these gender connotations are useful or accurate in some way, they offer a picturesque and poetic way of describing the ultimate.

Ruach

Ruach is pregnant energy, partner of the Source in creation (Gen 1.2).

Dreams and What Matters

Instead of getting caught up in the trivia of day-to-day life, we may glimpse at what really matters through dreams.

We are Adam’s Kin

We are Adam’s kin, born out of earth’s womb, ready to return to her loving warmth.

Symbols and Meaning

Symbols are the path to meaning. They help makes us human. They allow us to connect to one another and to the universe.

Symbols

Symbols express the core of who we are.

Hermit Crabs as Social Networkers

http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2010/05_2/features/02/

This is pretty cool: Hermit crabs and human beings as social networkers.

Joseph and his Brothers

Joseph seeks his brothers (Gen 37:15-16). He does not really find them until they find one another at the end of Genesis.

Walking inside Ourselves

When we walk through a familiar building, our home or workplace, we are also exploring the pathways of our unconscious and of the Source.

Symbols Let Us Experience Life

Symbols are the vehicles through which we experience life. Daily activity gives us the illusion that events are tangible and symbols are codes. Dreams allow us to see symbols as they are: the force that channels energy into form.

Jacob Wrestles Again

Jacob wrestling with No-Name: Can we really put a name to most of our struggles? (Gen 32:23-33)

Jacob Wrestles

Jacob wrestling with No-Name. That’s what we all do most of the time, isn’t it? (Gen 32.23-33)

10 Tragic Moments in Food Propaganda

http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/06/10/food_propaganda/slideshow.html

“From Freedom Fries to Mecca Cola, a slide show of sadly politicized food to embarrass all eaters…”

Symbols and Feeling

Symbols express feeling at the most profound levels. If we do not interpret symbols, we are not fully in touch with our feelings. Without symbols, history describes people as automatons, stick figures empty of life.

Learning from each Person

There is always something to learn in every place and from every person.

Waking Anesthesia

Under waking anesthesia, life moves as a dream does. Time contracts. Moments take on greater meaning. Events do not flow from one to another, but from symbol to symbol, forming a poem and a painting.

Oskar Schindler Museum

http://jta.org/news/article/2010/06/09/2739531/exhibit-at-schindler-factory-site-recalls-nazi-era-krakow
Krakow (Poland) opens Oskar Schindler Museum at site of his factory.

Truth’s Wrinkles

Seeing Truth’s wrinkles helps me to stop making the same mistakes.

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