Even in these hazy lazy days of summer, our days are full of doings – of many kinds and for many reasons. Why do we do what we do? Answers vary with circumstance: hopes of getting ahead, fears of falling behind, family commitments, laws, goals, traditions, love, pain and more. This week's Torah portion (Eikev)… Continue reading The Foundation of Our Lives
Author: velveteenrabbi
R. Rachel Barenblat has been blogging as the Velveteen Rabbi since 2002.
How to take a real vacation
It's summer, and 58% of Americans are likely to take vacations – some by plane, most by car. Vacations have countless motivations: visit friends or family, change scenery, change pace, have fun, relax, seek adventure, (re)kindle romance, find ourselves or get away from it all. Sometimes vacations work their magic: we return refreshed – at… Continue reading How to take a real vacation
Our Sacred Cows
We all have "sacred cows" – ideas, habits and commitments seemingly so core to who we are that we might hold them nearly inviolate. Often they seem like the bedrock of our lives – how we know ourselves, how we want others to know us, how we shape our identity, and how we arrange our… Continue reading Our Sacred Cows
In Cloud’s Shadow: Spirituality and Darkness
Is it just me, or lately do there seem to be more clouds of confusion and despair obscuring hearts, minds, communities and public discourse? As I write these words, even my East Coast home is shrouded in a bizarre meteorological June gloom more reminiscent of coastal California. Amidst literal and metaphorical cloudy skies, what should… Continue reading In Cloud’s Shadow: Spirituality and Darkness
The reason for patience
If patience is a virtue, then I tend not to feel especially virtuous. Often I want (now) to fix (now) what's wrong in the world (now) – and rush hour traffic can seem like ironically named torture. From feeding our hunger to speaking our minds, it's a very human impulse to indulge each arising desire,… Continue reading The reason for patience
What Judge Abdus-Salaam’s Death Teaches Us About Assumptions
On April 12, 2017, the New York Police Department found Sheila Abdus-Salaam, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, floating dead in the Hudson River. She was eulogized on May 26, 2017, as an exemplary jurist of intelligence and compassion, and a trailblazer – the first African American woman to serve on New… Continue reading What Judge Abdus-Salaam’s Death Teaches Us About Assumptions
Passing the Flame Forward: A Letter from Rachel and David
In early 2015 it was announced that we would serve as the next co-chairs of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Today we announce that we are stepping down. Our term will end in July. When we began, we saw four key goals. First, to help steward ALEPH through the complex aftermath of the death of… Continue reading Passing the Flame Forward: A Letter from Rachel and David
A Missing Friend is a Holy Clue
We all know how it feels to be sick. What I didn’t realize until recently is that what scientists call “sickness behaviors” – lethargy, self-care and social withdrawal – can have vital social and spiritual purposes, if we pay careful attention. “Sickness behaviors” are among the ways that bodies are hard-wired to protect themselves. For… Continue reading A Missing Friend is a Holy Clue
Shabbat, renewal, and you
A d'var Torah offered at Congregation Bet Ha'Am in Portland, Maine. Offered aloud by Rabbi Rachel; jointly written by R' Rachel and R' David. Welcome home. Why am I welcoming you home when you live here and I'm the visitor? I don't mean welcome home to Bet Ha'Am; I mean welcome home to Shabbat – or more… Continue reading Shabbat, renewal, and you
Lessons learned from saying yes to a differently-abled bar mitzvah boy
“They” said “Jon” couldn’t possibly manage a bar mitzvah. Jon is a teen with physical, cognitive and emotional special needs, whose parents heard “can’t” countless times from countless people in so-called authority. “They” are some well-intentioned members of a spiritual community, similar to many communities with needs exceeding the capacity of valiant but over-extended volunteers. When… Continue reading Lessons learned from saying yes to a differently-abled bar mitzvah boy
What’s Pure?
It's been awhile since I heard the word "pure" except to describe olive oil and Ivory soap – maybe also mountain spring water and 24 carat gold, but not much else. What sense we have of "pure" concerns just a few things, and mainly to mean a lack of impurity. A circular definition – "pure… Continue reading What’s Pure?
The Healing Sound of Silence
He was hurting. He had shared with me bad news about his personal life, and now it seemed my turn to speak. The seconds of silence while he waited were pregnant, deafening, heavy like lead. Thickness hung in the air and seemed to freight his breath. His pain in waiting seemed almost desperate. “Say something,”… Continue reading The Healing Sound of Silence
Your Holy Uplift
Some values are timeless, but how we express them can change over time. This week's Torah portion (Tzav) uplifts this idea through the example of how we handle shame and guilt. What Torah calls us to do – uplift shame and guilt – often isn't our first impulse. Torah expresses this truth with "sacrifices," the… Continue reading Your Holy Uplift
A Seder for Israel?
The idea of a seder (“order”), using a haggadah (a “make-telling” text) to tell a spiritual story, is wired into Jewish life. Jews call ourselves a “People of the Book,” but first we’re a “People of the Story.” For countless generations, Jews self-defined partly by a universally human Master Story – creation, bondage, liberation, revelation, journey, redemption, continuity, change – told through the… Continue reading A Seder for Israel?
Smashing Success: Democracy and Discontent
"Democracy," quipped Winston Churchill, "is the worst form of government except for all the others." This week's Torah portion (Ki Tisa) couldn't agree more. While awaiting Moses' return from atop Sinai, the people felt afraid and abandoned. Seized with fear, they rebelled against the Ten Commandments they just received: they wanted Aaron to make them… Continue reading Smashing Success: Democracy and Discontent
Jewish Renewal, our Judaism, and parashat Terumah
Temple Beth El, Stamford CT Shabbat Terumah March 4 2017 * 6 Adar 5777 Shabbat Shalom. Rabbi Josh, Matt, Stuart and the Men's Club – thank you for your warm welcome and for inviting me this morning. I'm delighted to be with all of you today. I'm here as co-chair of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish… Continue reading Jewish Renewal, our Judaism, and parashat Terumah
In a lonely world, virtual gatherings can provide comfort
Jennifer was in Florida mourning her mother's death. Friends and colleagues were literally around the globe – from Israel, to all four continental U.S. time zones, to New Zealand. Geographically so far away, what could we do? Enter the Internet of Compassion. We met by video, at a time corresponding to Florida evening (Israel wee… Continue reading In a lonely world, virtual gatherings can provide comfort
Truth and Consequences
There's the old TV game show "Truth or Consequences," and the New Mexico city by that name, originally named for the eponymous NBC radio show. But how about "Truth and Consequences"? This week's Torah portion (Mishpatim, or "Judgments") is named for Torah's first major description of civil and criminal laws. On the heels of Sinai,… Continue reading Truth and Consequences
Who is Worthy to Lead: The Torah of Modern Politics
This week’s Torah portion (Yitro) offers a key lesson for today’s politics. It comes just before the fateful Ten Commandments scene at Sinai. Moses father-in-law, Yitro, teaches his son-in-law how to delegate power and – even more importantly – who is worthy to lead. I first experienced this teaching, without fully realizing it, while a… Continue reading Who is Worthy to Lead: The Torah of Modern Politics
The value of acknowledging misperceptions
Here’s a true story about false impressions – and the wisdom (and holy risk) of voicing them aloud. In my day job, I preside in hundreds of judicial proceedings. I take seriously a judge’s ethical duty to avoid partisan politics, so that all can feel that they get a fair shake. For this reason, I don’t… Continue reading The value of acknowledging misperceptions
David Evan Markus 