Traditional & Contemporary Approaches

How to Create a Meaningful D’var Torah
Как сделать Двар     Тора интересной    [with gratitude to all our translators; any corrections please write publisher@reclaimingjudaism.org]  To view chapter in English only start here

There are many approaches to Torah study. My favorites are Remez - finding hints to meaning and Sod (samech daled in Hebrew, pronounced Sohd) - when the text becomes a portal of expanded, seemingly mystical, awareness.

The following visualization that reveals the Godliness of each person was learned in person from Tzeitl Locher of Ameland, The Netherlands:

The Thirteen Attributes of God, as interpreted by Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank, zt"l, in line with the Jewish meditation method of Rabbi Abraham Abulaffia [1240-@1291]. The breathlessness that occurs is part of this practice.

To be recited without stopping, then remain in silence and allow awareness to arise from the power of the terms.

-Emet. Authentic, Emet.

--Emet, v'yatziv, Authentic and Stable, Emet.

---Emet, v'yatziv, v'nakhon, Authentic, and Stable, and Aligned, Emet.

How are Tefiillin made?

Tefillin are a set of two leather boxes filled with parchments on which a scribe has written specific verses from the Torah, then attached the boxes to leather straps, each knotted so that one can go around your head and one around your weaker [non-dominant] arm. It is quite complex to make Tefiillin, and one is best served by buying good quality ones made by a scribe. The term tefillin (Aramaic) shares the root of tefillah, prayer.

The vision quest is an ancient part of Jewish practice, documented in the Bible. Again and again the primary metaphor of Moses’ adult life is that of climbing a mountain in order to speak his heart and receive the insight and guidance he needed to sustain a meaningful life for the people in his charge. The importance of being able to reach out beyond yourself in this way, to pour out your soul and be able to listen for guidance is something youth deserve to experience and know how to do.

For me God expresses the oneness of the evolving Cosmos. God is that to which I cry out when I am in pain. God is a direction for my praise of the stunning creation of which we are a part. God is that which you and I resemble..........in our creative and destructive nature.

God is everything unfolding, seeking all possibilities, becoming what it is becoming. God is the encoded consciousness of the cosmos which is aware of Its needs and deploys every one of us as an important part of the present and future.

Focusing, a technique developed by Dr. Gene Gendlin, synergizes beautifully with many forms of Jewish spiritual practice and allows us to amplify our spiritual authenticity and depth of experience. This paper cites some of the traditional texts and teachers that seem to have a felt-sense in their spiritual practice and teaching and also two examples of the application of focusing in Judaism.