Here Is Wonder

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov would chant the following mantra:  “Ribono shel Olam”.  Whilst we often translate “olam” as “universe” or “world” the Hebrew root connects to notions of “concealment” and “hiddenness”.  Therefore, we might understand “Ribono shel Olam” as meaning  “Sovereign of that which is Hidden”.  Chanting this mantra can be a humbling experience as it draws one's attention to the limitations of their own knowledge.  No matter how much I know, there will always be more for me to discover. Over the course of my lifetime I will only reveal a tiny fraction of all that is even theoretically knowable.  With this in mind I must use my time wisely, in order to reveal a singular truth:  That everything in existence is connected.  That everything has within it the Divine spark!

This week’s Torah portion - the excerpt from the Hebrew Bible that Jews will read this week - is called Vayishlach . This story sees Jacob experience several key moments of transition and focus which help him to strengthen his, and his family’s, identity. Jacob’s estrangement from his brother Esau is finally reconciled allowing the two to depart, not as strangers, but as friends. For Jacob, this is the much needed antidote to fear and anxiety that have overshadowed him since the day he was born. A short while later, and finally able to stop running, Jacob wanders alone and wrestles with a stranger - wrestles with his own identity and the next steps to take on his journey. As he looks to the future, he wonders what the next chapter of his life will hold and ponders the short and long term decisions he must now make. Through this wrestling Jacob eventually emerges as ‘Israel’ - a name acknowledging that, with Divine guidance, he will have the ability to plot a new course.   Late...

As part of my journey to correct the tragic deficit in women’s voices on my bookshelf I asked people for the authors & books that most enriched their Jewish learning and living. These were their recommendations: Rachel Adler’s Engendering Judaism Judith Antonelli's In the Image of God Ada Rapoport Albert's Hasidic Studies: Essays in History and Gender Sue Elwell & Nancy Fuchs Kreimer's (Eds.) Chapters of the Heart: Jewish Women Sharing the Torah of Our Lives Rabbi Jill Hammer and Holly Shere's Siddur HaKohanot Marcia Falk’s The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival Rabbi Emily H. Feigenson's Beginning the Journey: Toward a Women's Commentary on Torah Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb's She Who Dwells Within Rachel Beth Gross'  Beyond the Synagogue Aliza Lavie's (Ed.) A Jewish Woman’s Prayer Book Naomi Levy's Talking to God Simi Peters's Learning to Read Midrash Renee Levine Melammed's Heret...