Reflections

While Yom Kippur is a holy day set aside for atonement, each and every day can be a day of atonement. When we sit in meditation, we practice atonement. We practice returning to who we really are. When I first started practicing meditation, I was blessed to spend time with and learn from Rabbi Don … Continue reading “Yom Kippur: The Practice of Meditation and Atonement”

Lately, I have been thinking about the Jewish New Year and High Holiday season akin to a mindfulness meditation intensive. In the Zen and other Buddhist traditions, monks and nuns training in monasteries spend summers and winters in intensive meditation practice periods lasting about three months long each. In the Zen tradition, this is called … Continue reading “From Ashes to Atonement: An Annual High Holiday Mindfulness Intensive”

Rosh Hashanah is one of the most special and sacred holidays in the Jewish liturgical calendar. It is the Jewish New Year and the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays, but what is it really about? And how do mindful Jews understand this special and most sacred new beginning? Rosh Hashanah is a holiday of … Continue reading “Rosh Hashanah: A Jewish Mindfulness Holiday of Waking Up”