What's New
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Distancing Closeness: A New Way of Mourning
November 5, 2020
Gathering in grief gives us a window into the blessings of life. Jewish tradition does this so well – which makes it all the more difficult to cope with loss in the time of COVID-19.
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Finding My Way Home: How and Why I Returned to My Judaism
October 6, 2020
Not knowing if I would be shunned or accepted, I decided to give my religion another chance. I was not prepared for the warm and welcoming atmosphere I found at temple, where being gay was as acceptable as having brown hair.
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With Wounds Still Open, We Ask: Where is God?
September 23, 2020
I do not believe that God sent us COVID-19, and I do not believe God will cure it. That is for humans to do, using our God-given intellect and ambition to develop the vaccines and treatments that will help stop the spread of this natural virus.
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3 Steps to Hitbodedut: Talking to God on Your Own Terms
Although we associate prayer with liturgy that our rabbis and sages developed over the centuries, the act of unscripted prayer is equally important and authentic to the Jewish experience.
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This Daily Jewish Practice Is Changing My Life for the Better
Just like that, I’d committed to reading a page of Talmud every day and formed a group of more than 1,000 women, which has become one of the kindest, most welcoming and respectful places I’ve experienced on the internet.
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3 Jewish Reminders When the World Seems Overwhelming
Rather than relying on God to repair the world, Judaism compels us to take action and do it ourselves – which means that there can be a real sense of empowerment that comes with living a Jewish life.
What is Kabbalah?
Kabbalah (also spelled Kabalah, Cabala, Qabala)—sometimes translated as “mysticism” or “occult knowledge—is a part of Jewish tradition that deals with the essence of God. Whether it entails a sacred text, an experience, or the way things work, Kabbalists believe that God moves in mysterious ways. However, Kabbalists also believe that true knowledge and understanding of that inner, mysterious process is obtainable, and through that knowledge, the greatest intimacy with God can be attained.
Musar
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Practice, Practice, Practice
This Musar practice involves both external and internal reflection and action. To develop desirable traits in ourselves, we must work toward improving the lives of others--as one great Musar teacher puts it, we must "bear the burden of the other."
Reform Jews in congregations across the continent are now embracing a Jewish spiritual practice formulated in 19th-century Lithuania.