Anger Transformed

Anger transformed can repair a world and heal a universe.

We Are All Adam

We are all Adam, part of the same cosmic body, reaching out from one end of the universe to the other.

Chaos

Chaos is always lurking behind sturdy structures, offering the possibility of change and thus transformation.  This is the story of Genesis and of our world today.

Justice

Where do we find justice? Only by pursuing it. (Deut 16:20)

Jacob’s Ladder

Where is Jacob’s ladder now? Inside each of us.

Honey

“Suckling honey from a rock” (Deut. 32:13): In difficult moments, that’s what we have to do.

Humor

To be really funny, you have to have suffered.

Transforming Destructive Impulses

Transforming destructive impulses into something good is a key part of shalom (wholeness) for human beings.

Bad Can Lead to Good

Sometimes doing the wrong thing leads to good: Gen 50:20.

The Mistakes the Spies Made in Numbers 13:30-33

What was the mistake the spies made when they scouted the land of milk and honey?  They allowed fear to overcome trust.

What was another mistake the scouts made?  They focused on what others thought rather than on what there were to do.

What was another mistake?  They assumed that size was more important than wits.

What was another mistake? They acted like slaves rather than free persons.

What was another mistake? They were there to figure out how, not whether.

What was another mistake?  They exaggerated rather than coolly assessing.

What was another mistake?  They could not leave the past and move forward.

What was another mistake? They could not envision an alternative to their current situation.  They preferred the familiar and the customary to change.

What was another mistake?  They quit.  They just gave up.

Creation Never Stops

Gen 1:1: “When God began to create . . . “: Creation never stops.

Carrying Our Ancestors with Us

Ex 13:19: Just as Moses carried the bones of Joseph out of Egypt, we all carry our ancestors with us wherever we go.

Isaac Meditates

“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at sunset”: Gen 24.63.

(Meditation means both “meditate” and  “study” in Jewish interpretation and bears both connotations here, along with “stroll.”)

Learning Lessons

How many lifetimes does it take to learn a lesson?  As many as it takes to learn the lesson.

Free Will

Free will means the choice to be who we are.

Judaism in Indonesia

Judaism thrives in a sliver of Indonesia: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/world/asia/23indo.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

Our Destiny

Our destiny is not destruction, chaos, and an end, but wholeness, hope, and a future (an interpretation of Jer 29.11).

Abraham and Isaac

On Mt. Moriah, the Source offered Abraham the chance for a mystical ascent to heaven. But Abraham understood the path as going upward to hell (Gen 22).

Eating in a Sukkah

Eating in a sukkah (hut), we realize we are all Adam, beloved creatures of the earth.

We Are All Wanderers

We are all wanderers searching for a home that ultimately exists inside ourselves (Num 33.1).

What is the Wilderness?

What is the wilderness? The best place to encounter ourselves and the Source. Where is the wilderness? Inside us. Why is there a wilderness? To transform us.

Who Are the Egyptians in the Exodus Story

Who are the Egyptians in the Exodus story? They are not only outside us, but inside us. Most of the time we enslave ouirselves. That’s why the Jewish people wanted to return to Egypt rather than deal with uncertainty and choices in the wildnerness (Ex 14.12).

Our Lives as Sacred Stories

Each of our lives is a new story to add to the book of Genesis.

Creation Never Ends

Gen 1.1: “The Source (God) began to create”: As long as the universe exists, creation is a process that rests periodically, but never ends.

Rest from Creation on Shabbat

The Source rests from creation every shabbat. So should we. Then, on the next day, we join hands to continue creation (Gen 2.3).

The Woman Was Not Expelled in Eden

Did you ever notice that the Source explicitly expelled Adam, not the woman, from the garden of Eden?

The First Adam

Gen 1:27: The first Adam was both female and male, bi-gendered, whole, integrated, one.

Creation Rests on Shabbat

Creation rests on Shabbat, but recommences the next day.

Close Reading

Close reading does not mean just words, but images and experiences as well.

Who Are the Temple Priests

Who are the Temple priests? Those who light the Temple menorah. The only way to drive out darkness is with light. (Num 8.1-3)

Breath, Words, Creation

Breath + words = creation (Gen 1)

Rest

We all need to rest, and so does the earth. That’s why we have shabbat and why the earth has a sabbatical year.

“God is in the Details”

Someone once said, “God is in the details.” That’s why observation, research and scholarship, and study are fundamental.

Each Person Under a Banner

Num 1.52, “Each person under his or her banner”: Each person is uniquely himself and herself.

Love Your Neighbor

Lev 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself” actually reads in Hebrew: “You shall show love to your neighbor as you would (show it to) yourself.” In other words, love is not simply a feeling state, but also an act of doing.

Jacob’s Ladder

Gen 28:12: Why do the angels first go up the ladder and then down it in Jacob’s dream? Because some of us are the angels.

Shabbat

Spend some time doing nothing. That’s what allows you to do something worthwhile. Shabbat.

Letting Go of Your I

Ironically, when we let go of our I, we feel a deep connection to others and understand Lev 19.18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Connecting to Our Ancestors

After Jacob and Joseph died, Jews became slaves in Egypt. Why? Because they lost track of their ancestors, their home, their Source. Roots let us grow and thrive. They are the ties that both bind and liberate. We cannot help but be products of generations past to the beginning of time. The question is: Do we sever ourselves from the past, simply reuse the past by forgetting that we are each born anew, or integrate the past into a new creation?

Repair the World

We Jews are haunted by the cries of Abel’s heirs from the earth. The specter of annhilation has a way of improving your hearing. Hence tikkun olam, repair of the world.

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