It’s been a rough—weird—week. I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt like I haven’t been able to just be still; to sit and let myself expel the pent up pressures, to release the tears that need to flow, to enjoy the quiet of the morning, to allow myself to just be. You would think I’d remember to do it on Shabbat, but even that has become a day of “work” due to specific obligations, sacrifices, required of me for now. So much of my life right now is dictated by Time, I am trapped between ...
Judaism
New Year Reflections
We spend so much time reflecting in preparation for the High Holy Days, I often found myself reflecting throughout the celebrations. Rosh Hashanah came and went without a major glitch, which isn't difficult to do. Often the problem is making sure I get all the food cooked in time whilst making sure I’m still maintaining some sense of the looming New Year approaching in a few hours, that I might greet it with the reverence it deserves. It was on Yom Kippur, though, I noticed the greatest ...
Lovesick
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I think it’s desperation. Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, or an unattractive perspective. After all, are we not enough on our own, a whole person without need of another to complete us? Why then is there this agonising desperation that comes along when someone you’re close to—whether spouse or friend—is missing? If we are complete, why feel the sting of loss? Why desire? Why need? Why love? These musings come to me after enduring ...
The Quest for Holiness
This past Sunday, we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Elul. For those of you who don’t know, this is the final month of the Jewish calendar, and Rosh Chodesh is our celebration of the beginning of a new month. Thus, when we reach the month of Elul, things get crazy. Basically, imagine that you started getting ready for New Year’s Day (the January one) on December 1 by celebrating its upcoming arrival with a huge party. Then throw in a bunch of religious observances through the rest of December ...
Existential Loneliness
This past Shabbas my rabbi shared about his experiences at a conference, and this sparked a memory of mine, one which might be worth sharing here. To contextualize, said rabbi of mine met with fellow clergy and leaders of like-minded philosophies and practices, and the hot topic which seemed to be on everyone's lips was this new concept of "existential loneliness." What is this existential loneliness? Well for starters, they used it in the context of clerical service. It wasn't some ...
