Related Blog Posts on Spirituality

tteokguk Korean soup with beef and sliced rice cakes

Honoring Korean Lunar New Year (Seollal)

Shayna Han
Last year, I spent Seollal, or Korean New Year, with my family in Busan. The symbolism, the spirituality, and the elaborate order of charye remind me of Jewish holidays and rituals.
Person wearing a purple prayer shawl and holding a prayer book

The URJ Reflection Project: Go Deeper on “The Spiritual”

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
Rabbi Leora Kaye
As part of the URJ Reflection Project, a new set of offerings and experiences for the High Holidays in a time of social distance, we’ve also developed three short essays that allow you to go deeper into the essence of Jewish wisdom that grounds these rituals. 
Shot from the ground up of a group of Black men and women holding hands as if in friendship or support

What is Juneteenth to a Black Jew?

Chaim Harrison

Even though the Emancipation Proclamation declared all enslaved people free on January 1, 1863, it was not fully enforced until two and a half years later.

Small silhouette of a person standing against the night sky as if to represent the enormity of the universe

My Big Question: God, The Milky Way, Miracles, and More

Richard Reiss
The enormous question for me, then, has always been: Is God watching? When I began to understand computers, I realized that, yes, one thing could follow billions of people if those people were nothing more than data points on a revolving planet with polar icecaps.
Ornate gold hamsas on a black background

Kabbalah, Tarot, and Delving into Mystical Judaism

Chaim Harrison
Some Jews have extended their mystical journey into the world of tarot – like Heather Mendel, a Jewish mystic, author, artist, and speaker who has spent her life exploring this connection and has written extensively about it.
Sad woman sitting on a wooden floor holding her head in her hands as if in grief

Distancing Closeness: A New Way of Mourning

Rabbinic Pastor/Cantor Lisa L. Levine
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.
Outside of a white synagogue building with a Star of David stained glass window

Finding My Way Home: How and Why I Returned to My Judaism

Dr. Gary M. Levin
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.