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Welcome to “Open My Heart: Living Jewish Prayer” from the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Each weekday people associated with the Institute will offer a short prayer-practice, inviting you to join them. From one day to the next, the practice, the content, the words, and the voices will be different. No one presenter, and no one prayer, will necessarily work for everyone. But, our hope (and expectation) is that over time, joining in these prayers will lead you to find your own authentic an ...
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We are blessed to be invited into the personal process of listening deeply to the words of Psalm 27 to open our hearts with Rabbi Debra Robbins. Her book and its practices are so rich, it is helpful to have it modeled for us, so that we can engage with the Psalm ourselves, beginning on 1 Elul (August 8, 2021), to open our own hearts along the way.…
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The period of time from the start of Elul to the end of Sukkot is about the same length of time from Passover to Shavuot. The former period is given focus through the recitation of Psalm 27 (and the chanting/recitation of selichot, or penitential prayers). Rabbi Debra Robbins provides us with tools to make the practice of reciting Psalm 27 a richer…
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Prayer does not have to be complex, and we don't have to go looking for it up in the heavens or over the sea. Sometimes it is just in our mouths and our hearts, in simplicity and directness. Rabbi Denise Eger shares her lifelong practice of reciting the Shema at night, when going to sleep.Von Rabbi Denise Eger, Rabbi Jonathan Slater
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There are so many ways to open up prayer. The most effective, and most important, is to connect deeply to one's own life, one's own heart, and to see oneself. From that clear seeing -- or the desire to do so -- we can express our deepest desires, most overwhelming fears, greatest joys, and significant commitments. That has inspired the flourishing …
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Do you think you could have an "I-Thou" connection to a tree? Well, not sitting in your house you can't! And, likely just walking up to a tree and saying "HI" won't work either. Rabbi Mike Comins offers us a practice to help us cultivate our capacity to be outdoors and really BE there, perhaps ultimately to meet it as a "Thou".…
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The Rabbis speak of the letters of Torah as being black fire on white fire. Rabbi David Stern understands this as the events of our life, and our ability to find space and spaciousness around them, to make meaning, and to find peace. He invites us into three meditation-based, poetry-infused prayers.Von Rabbi David Stern, Rabbi Jonathan Slater
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Is prayer poetry? Is poetry prayer? What is the orientation of mind and heart that one needs to bring to be able to do one, the other, or both? Rabbi Karyn Kedar -- author, poet, spiritual director, and IJS alumna -- invites us into her investigation of these questions through her recent book.Von Rabbi Karyn Kedar, Rabbi Jonathan Slater
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Just as there are varied prayer traditions in different communities, so there are many ways to enter into prayer. Rabba Dina Brawer and Rabbanit Leah Sarna, Orthodox rabbis, have created a podcast of curated, thematic offerings for personal, contemplative prayer. We have a wide-ranging conversation about prayer, to prepare us to listen to one of th…
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Rabbi Jill Hammer is the co-founder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, which is a training program in earth based embodied feminist Jewish leadership and spiritual life. She invites us to join in a davvening practice rooted in the Kohenet community, and which she would engage in herself, sitting in Central Park, or at home on Shabbat.…
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Particularly in the West, body and soul exist in two different domains. This is true for classical Judaism, as well. But, they are not separate, they live in one, intimate unity. It takes work to awaken to that truth. Prayer -- particularly through breath in song and chant -- can be a means toward inner and outer unification. Rabbi Margot Stein inv…
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Often, when a book is placed before us we think we have to read it. But, that is not what we are supposed to do with the prayer-book. We're supposed to use it to open our hearts to prayer. Rabbi Ruth Sohn shares her personal practice of morning prayer, using the words of the siddur to prompt her own heart to prayer. Join her!…
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Spiritual life is all encompassing, and there is no dimension of our lived experience that is outside of its concern. In the same way, most spiritual traditions intuit and focus on shared awareness and experience. Cantor Louise Treitman brings together the healing sensation of Reiki, the energy of the Sefirot, and the experience of singing Adon Ola…
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How do you start your day? What does it mean to "get out on the wrong side of the bed"? What prepares you to meet the world fully, with the whole of your being? Cantor Bat-Ami Moses offers us a practice of bringing Netzach -- energy and determination -- and Hod --acceptance and receptivity -- into balance in heart, mind, body and soul to begin our …
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So much of our lives can feel scattered. What should I be doing now? Is there somewhere I should be (or not be)? What am I feeling? How is my heart? We pray "Unify our hearts to love and reverence Your Name" -- and through this prayer, we may find our own inner wholeness. Chant and pray with Cantor Lizzie Shammash in this moving practice of unifica…
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We often think of prayer as coming in prescribed times or in specific places. But, often the most profound prayers come at those "in-between" moments, when things can go this way or that, or when we sense those important (but not necessarilly unusual) transitions in our lives. Dasee Berkowitz shares her "in-between" prayers, and invites us to live,…
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"Ayeka", "where are you?" is the first question in the Bible, address to Adam after he had eaten of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That's a question every parent probably asks their child -- in some form -- when the child does something out of bounds. But, do parents ask themselves the same question? Dasee Berkowitz invites us…
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The transition from sleep to wakefulness can be fraught. For some, it is a time to jump out of bed and get the day going. Others just pull the covers over their heads and hide from the morning light. Rabbi Amy Grossblatt Pessah welcomes her soul back to her body and envisions being wrapped in light to set out on her day. We invite you to join her i…
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There are tons of parenting books on the market, most of which are prescriptive and often lead to self-judgment. This week and next, we meet two authors who have reflected on their own experiences as parents and found wisdom to support themselves and others in the complex but delightful and revelatory practice of parenting. This week, Rabbi Amy Gro…
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Alden Solovy spoke movingly about how poetry and prayer emerged in his life, and have sustained and nurtured him through very difficult circumstances. Now, he shares a key element of his morning prayer practice: sacred journaling. Listening deeply to his own heart, he touches on Awarnesses, Gratitudes, and Intentions to ground his life, and prepare…
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We begin a series of three interviews with authors in the field of prayer. The first is with Alden Solovy, who writes at tobendlight.com, and who has recently published "This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer". His project is to offer us all entry into expressing our own prayers, and finding our way into the prayerbook a…
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Contemplative practice -- for instance, meditation -- can settle the body and mind and help us to sense the deep Oneness of all beings. But, it can also be lonely. We human beings also need connection and relationship. Rabbi Lavey Dereby shares his personal practice of passionate, heart-felt prayer, of reaching out to the One, as Beloved. [Note: th…
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We often think of prayer as a practice of reaching out, of shifting our attention toward God "out there". But, it can also be a matter of turning inward, connecting to the divine -- and divine qualities -- in our own souls. Rabbi Rachel Gartner introduces us to her practice with the obstacles to shining the light of her soul more brightly into the …
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Rabbi Jacob Staub recalls a teaching of his "rebbe" Sylvia Boorstein: whatever is happening, however you feel, whatever you know to be true, no matter how frightening, no matter how painful, no matter how difficut -- "Don't Duck!" But, how? Jacob leans into the arms of God, who lifts all who fall -- even him, even you. He invites you to join in thi…
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When COVID-19 hit, rather than limiting religious life, Hazzan Harold Messinger (and his colleague Rabbi David Ackerman) of Beth Am Israel, created a new Zoom-minyan. Rather than bemoan not singing together, he used music on his end to engage people in their bodies and souls on their end. We invite you to have a taste of his Zoom minyan.P.S. check …
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Is it possible to be fully grateful for our lives the first thing upon waking? How might the first prayer of gratitude, "Modeh Ani", help us cultivate a life of thanks and awareness. Rabbi Danielle Upbin shares her personal practice of mindfulness and chant.Von Rabbi Danielle Upbin, Rabbi Jonathan Slater
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Many of us know where to sit in our synagogues for prayer, and allow the space to lead us into prayer. But, what do we do when we are on our own, even if joining in Zoom-prayers? Cantor Shayna DeLowe shares her personal experience of creating a sacred space for prayer, so that we might pray with her, as well.…
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Music is so evocative! In just a few notes we can be taken back in time to a far-off place, to a connection with another person. How does that work? What is added through words? Cadence, intonation, emphasis? Join Rabbi Lydia Medwin as she sits with and unpacks her experience of "Change is Gonna Come" with Otis Redding, and find your own prayer thr…
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How do we prepare our hearts to pray? What conditions our souls to know what is important? Rabbi Amy Eilberg has used the mindfulness meditation practice of metta, or lovingkindness, for this purpose. The phrases she employs to settle and orient her heart are those of the Priestly blessing (Num. 6:2-26). Join her in this prayer practice for the sak…
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The spring and summer of 2020 have been tumultuous, burdened by isolation and confusion during the pandemic, by fear and anger at systemic racism, uncertainty about the future in the run-up to an election. Hazzan Sabrina Sojourner invites us to rest in the hugs of our ancestors, In God's embrace, to find strength and hopefulness.…
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The biblical book of Proverbs refers to the Torah as a "Tree of Life" and we sing those words when we return the Torah to the Ark after reading from it. But, what does that really mean? Maor Greene asks just this question, and investigates the experience of prayer with a Tree. Go outside with them to see what it's like!…
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The traditional Jewish morning service begins with blessings acknowledging the workings of the body. But, sometimes we need to wake up more fully even before engaging in liturgical prayer. Rabbi Myriam Klotz leads us through her embodied awakening practice, inviting you to join in as well.Von Rabbi Myriam Klotz, Rabbi Jonathan Slater
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Many people approach prayer as an intellectual endeavor: I read the prayers and they say something, perhaps even what I mean. Others sense that prayer comes from the heart: when in community the sense of belonging and the invitation to connect with spirit opens the heart. Hazzan Joanna Dulkin reminds us that prayer begins in the body, and is energi…
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In many liturgically grounded communities, it is often only the first and last paragraphs of the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9; Num.15:37-41) that are recited as a community. But, what about the middle paragraph (Deut. 11:13-21)? Shouldn't it be part of our prayer? Rabbi Dan Liben thinks so, and shows us how he raises it up in a mindfulness-based prayer pract…
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In the early days of the pandemic (March, 2020), Rabbi Rachel Timoner turned to her own native prayer practice to help her ground herself, and then serve her community. Eventually, she shared her prayer practice with them, and sustained them as well. In this episode, she leads us through that practice in an intimate, personal, contemplative practic…
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