though not as originally billed "Six texts that support a spiritual life," the weekend with Rabbi Karyn Kedar went very well. the product was our "thesis statement" of principles to live by. i'm working on how to present it here in blogland. Karyn gave us a copy of the book, "God in All Moments: Mystical and Practical Spiritual Wisdom from Hasidic Masters," edited by Or Rose, Jewish Lights Publishing. These are recently translated from 18th century texts and presented very nicely with context on the left page. at the end, there are two sets of more modern texts, from Hillel Zeitlin who died in the Warsaw Ghetto, and Rabbi Arthur Green, a contemporary Jewish theologian. These small writings are called "Hanhaggot." We read them aloud and discussed them, shared personal experiences, and had several timed writing assignments. Karyn is quite an enthusiastic teacher. She brought her iPod and dock to play us several pieces (Barbra Streisand, India Arie, Stacey Beyer). She also shared some of the exciting work going on to create a new building for her congregation Bnai Jehoshua Beth Elohim (BJBE) and what the new synagoguge will be like.
one of the members of the group wrote some small sentences. that looked good. crisp, concise. i tried to get it even crisper.
we also discussed the morning blessings that traditional Jews say...one that appreciates being awake (having the soul returned), one for the body (that things work .. things that are supposed to be open are open and things that are supposed to be closed are closed( because without a body one cannot act in the world, and my favorite, "Elohai," the soul that God has given me is pure.... So the weekend dealt with the physical, emotional, spiritual aspects of life. there is one more but it escapes me at the moment.
more later. very late. i'm wired but tired.
