I wish I could be simply consumed with the glories of spring this year, her sensual explosions of color and fragrance. Normal Passover preparations, laborious as they are, would be a lighthearted relief. But my spring attention is diverted this year, even eclipsed by the news. How to encompass the scale of violence that is ongoing in the Middle East? Across the world, this is a precipitous time. For Jews this Passover season, how can we hold Seder as usual?   Of course, we could stay comfortable and nostalgic, fixing our gaze on Judaism through the rearview mirror. We can sing the famili ..read more

We are living through days of profound heartbreak. As I write these words, the violence in the Middle East burgeons and the number of innocent dead and injured soars. Multitudes of families grieve their loved ones, and many more live in fear of what is to come. Here, beyond the zone of direct conflict, as we struggle to comprehend the immense ongoing destruction, and the danger of a far larger war, I sense that this is a time when we must use every strong prayer, spiritual tool, and practice that we have stored in our quiver over our lifetimes. What are your practices now? How are you ..read more

Here is an excerpt from my sermon on Kol Nidre, given at Metivta Center for Contemplative Judaism on September 24, 2023 (10 Tishrei, 5784) in Los Angeles, California: The greatest Chasidic masters taught that God, the consciousness of the universe is not only alive; it looks at us. And more, it needs us: Bakshu Phanai, God says, Seek my face. Look for me. I come in so many forms and guises. I show up in the faces of your children, as the face of your friends; in the face of tragedy and death. Above all in the face of kindness. You will find me in your heart. Bakshu Phanai, I formed you over ..read more

I’m thinking it’s time for a sacred pause. Already? you say. We’re barely out of pajamas, busy seeing every friend around town.  There’s a bright full moon out, it’s midsummer, we’ve had enough of Covid-19, and the world is gorgeous and beckoning! But the past year’s shadows are sticky and long. Let’s be cautious and harvest the lessons we’ve painstakingly learned while in our caves this past arduous and uncertain time. Speaking of caves… reminds me of the zealous 2nd century rabbi, Shim’on bar Yochai, who hid in his cave for 12 years, a fugitive of the Roman empire. When he fi ..read more

In this beautiful conversation, two impassioned trauma specialists and authors, Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone and Dr. Gabor Maté, shared personal experiences and professional challenges working with the burgeoning field of trauma healing across generations. They discussed their families, what propelled them to the work they do, and the transformation that is possible in ourselves and the world when we heal the wounds of the past. Rabbi Firestone’s award-winning book, Wounds into Wisdom, newly released in paperback, and Dr. Maté’s best-selling The Myth of Normal have both been lauded as foundation ..read more

This is an excerpt from the Kol Nidre drash given by Rabbi Tirzah Firestone to the congregation at Metivta Center for Contemplative Judaism on Kol Nidre, 10 Tishrei 5783, October 4, 2022. Watch the video above for the full talk. I want to talk about faith, and what has happened to our faith this year. How it sputters, and trickles and leaks away with the nightly news. I’m not even talking about faith in God. I’m talking about faith in life itself, and How our culture feeds us a diet of dystopian film and fiction, violent video, gory games online, and the very real news of encroaching climate ..read more

As the summer wanes — hot and besieged with heavy news — and I begin planning my fall events (including a first-ever practitioner cohort), I’ve been pondering the question: How does a person stay awake and steady as the world reels with crises of all kinds? A helpful Hassidic story came to mind. It was the end of a long winter, the ground both muddy and slick with ice. Robust and sure footed, nevertheless, Rabbi Meir of Premishlan, (1783–1850) trekked down a treacherous slope to the spot in the river where he and his Hasidim would do their sacred immersion (mikveh). Slipping and falling thems ..read more

A short 9-minute meditation to tune your nervous system so it can send energetic help to others: First Quarter of Adar II March 7, 2022 Just when I started to come up for air, remove my mask, feel a bit of sanity returning, the horror of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. The devastation is shocking and fast moving. I have an urge to play ostrich, but I know I dare not look away.  For those of us who have roots in Ukrainian soil, the cellular memory of ancestral traumas vibrates in our bodies. And for all of us, the implications of Russia’s high-stakes aggression are unmistakable.  ..read more

As we approach the 2-year anniversary of Covid’s arrival I've been sensing a deepening weariness that many of us are feeling. Just looking around, we see a landscape transformed: Many of our old ways of life—department stores, big parties, crowded restaurants, concerts and conferences settings— are now ghosts of what they once were.  These losses are made harsher for many of us by a crumbling sense of faith in our institutions—replaced by a daily swirl of news and revelations about our government leaders, courts, and regulatory agencies—whose job it is to look out for us. And then there ..read more

As we (in the Northern Hemisphere) approach the dimmest part of the year, I’m reaching out to all of you around the globe with wishes for Light, inner Peace and Centeredness. We definitely need it as another wave of virus-anxiety ripples through the world! A teaching from Kabbalah may be helpful: During this darkening time (which is by nature contractive and somewhat scary) there is an unusual emergence of primal Light, the brilliant light of Creation.* If we can get still and focus inwardly, we begin to receive its healing power. Any kind of meditation, prayer, or rituals, like lighting ..read more