Turning
The journey of teshuvah begins like a seed dropped into welcoming earth,the soul yearning to return to its root-source.
In this season of spiraling growth, aspiration shoots up like a strong stalk.Heart-leaves unroll. Desire buds, swells and unclenching, opens:the soul a disc-flower cradling its blossoms,bright ray-petals its joyous beacons.… Read the rest
For many years the wider Jewish community has come together to honor the annual process of teshuvah during Elul while reflecting on the Earth. This collection, Earth Etudes for Elul, returns again on August 14 / 1 Elul. Sign up below to receive daily emails with a poem or short … Read the rest
Thank you for reading this year’s Earth Etudes for Elul. We hope these musings on teshuvah and the Earth supported your journey into the High Holy Days of 5786. This is the final musing, a reflection for Yom Kippur, the Day of Mourning.
It has been an honor to share … Read the rest
Shana Tova! May your year be filled with unexpected blessings.
May you remember that we all belong.
May you notice the subtleties.
May you be transported by wonder.
I speak fluent Cat. For most of my life, I’ve lived with these furry companions, learning to read the complex signals in the turn of an ear, the flick of a whisker, the brush of a tail. From our cats, I learned that true listening can be done with eyes … Read the rest
On the head of the year We stand and blow The curved horn That once stood proud On the head of the ram
Each blast, each sound, each alarm, each calling Awakens our souls To act, to protest, to rally So that it may be a year Of goodness. Of … Read the rest
Eight weeks postpartum with my first child—an unlikely miracle, given that I’m 42—I watch my daughter wake in the dawn light. She arches her back extravagantly and raises her arms high above her head. Later, she slumps heavy on my chest, napping. Later still, she brushes her fingers back and … Read the rest
The rain comes down. I turn away. I do not bless the end of day.
And when the light comes back to me, I do not thank the world I see.
These are the gifts that I forget. Without remorse. Without regret.
The leaves now fall, and all is still. … Read the rest
Light candles now, In your home For the homeless.
For the displaced With no place They can afford;
For the first peoples Whose lands and cultures Were stolen or degraded;
For the animals Invading your backyards. How dare they walk where they once lived;
For those on islands Swamped by … Read the rest
We all understand that our individual efforts to improve ourselves (t’shuvah) will fall short of solving the climate crisis. Our society, after many decades of avoiding disruptive, transformative change, must act drastically to ratchet back the worsening environmental devastation.
It is tempting, in our culture, to associate an eschatological “end … Read the rest
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