In July, I had the opportunity to spend a week participating in the Beit T’Shuvah Immersion Program for Clergy and Educators in Los Angeles. Beit T’Shuvah is a Jewish residential addiction treatment center that focuses on recovery and spiritual wholeness through a comprehensive program of Jewish spirituality, psychotherapy, and the 12 steps in a caring, Continue Reading »
Among the many revolutionary ideas of the Torah is the practice of the sabbatical year — an extrapolation of the weekly Sabbath day as a time for renewal and rejuvenation. The Torah’s vision of the sabbatical is a year in which the land is allowed to lie fallow so that it can regain its vitality Continue Reading »
First, a little Hebrew. The three root letters of shavu’ot are shin-bet-ayin — the same root that yields the word sheva’, “seven, sevenfold, seven times.” (In the language of the Bible, sheva’ can also mean the less specific “many times.”) Sheva’ appears frequently in Jewish tradition. The sheva b’rachot, “seven blessings,” are recited at a Continue Reading »
