This morning I received an email from a guy over at the Awakened Heart Project (AHP) telling me about their new website. I decided to check it out and WOW, I am impressed with what I saw. It’s basically an online resource with the stated aim of enhancing peoples understanding and experience of Jewish meditation and prayer.

Here is a blurb from their about page.

The mission of Awakened Heart Project is to promote the use of Jewish contemplative techniques that foster the development of a heart of wisdom and compassion. Cultivating an awakened heart leads to acting in the world with loving-kindness towards all beings recognizing them as manifestations of the Holy One of Being.

The AHP provides opportunities for a focused effort at refining contemplative Jewish practices, such as meditation and prayer, as well as creating opportunities for intensive practice.

Also here is some of what the site offers, as listed on their welcome page.

• • Regularly updated podcasts
  • Essays and articles on Jewish meditation
  • Jewish meditation events calendar
  • Meditation and contemplative Jewish resources

I haven’t spent a whole bunch of time going through these resources yet but they do look good. So I’m sure to be, a frequent visitor to this site. If your interested in the contemplative side of Judaism this site is a must see. If you don’t know anything about contemplative Judaism but are curious, this site will get you up to speed in no time, so check it out.

Technorati tags: Contemplative Judaism, Online Judaism, Jewish Meditation, The Awakened Heart Project, Jewish Audio

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A couple of days ago I stumbled upon this short interview clip in which Reb Zalman is asked if he could impart one thing about Teshuvah to his grandchildren what would it be.

Reb Zalman replied with a lovely little snip it taken(I believe) from some Hassidic teaching tale which went something like this.

G-D is more angry that we don’t take advantage of Teshuvah then he is over the sin.

Actually it’s so short and easy enough for me to embed into this post why don’t you watch Reb Zalman tell the story himself.

I can’t really speak for anyone other than myself but I feel this simple and pithy statement hits the nail right on the head. I’m often able to realize when I’ve made a mistake (after the fact that is). I can even take such insights and integrate them into my conscious mind so that I’m less likely to fall into the same trap in the future. However I don’t really like copping to my mistakes so much.  I mean I’m good with learning from the past and do my best not to repeat mistakes but I have a hard time stopping myself once I realize I’ve screwed up and then go apologize to the person.  I think it’s often a combination of pride and embarrassment.

Reb Zalman’s thoughts on the subject really hit home in that I unfortunately all too often engage in the exact opposite of what he’s suggesting. Anyhow I guess there’s always room to grow and improve. I think that I will end this post with a Thank you to Reb Zalman for gently and accurately shining a little light on one of my many blind spots.

Be well

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I stumbled across this great video of Reb Zalman yesterday and thought it was worth sharing with others. It’s hard not to love this guy and by that I mean relate to him at a heart level. There are certainly things about Renewal that I have a difficult time accepting but Reb Zalman is not one of them. I don’t know if the Judaism which Reb Zalman speaks of is authentic but it certainly comes off as honest.

Please do check these two clips out and share your thoughts.

In this 1st clip from what I’m assuming is some kind of documentary on Reb Zalman and/or Jewish renewal . Zalman manages to cover a fair amount of ground and make some rather interesting points. Including the role of covenant and the importance of the ego in Jewish spirituality.

I often have a hard time with what I perceive as leftist mob rule within organizations such as Jewish Renewal. That’s not to say that they are always like that but simply that I’m often hit by that kind of a vibe when interacting with those involved in Renewal. However I don’t get that from Reb Zalman in the least and this video clip is worth watching just for the fact that he makes it clear that Jewish Renewal needs to be open to people of the right as much as it has been to people in the left. Listening to him I didn’t get the sense it was one of those we will save the people from the right but rather that a true Jewish Renewal is something which needs to be flexible enough to accommodate true diversity.

Anyhow after having seen these two short clips I’m definitely curious about checking out the whole documentary. If anyone has seen the entire thing please let me know what you thought of it.

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