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Wilderness Spirituality
Does wilderness matter?
Ask a person where they feel God's presence, in a sanctuary or on a mountain, most will prefer the natural setting to even the most beautiful of buildings. Ask whether they are moved more by a synagogue service or a day walking in Yosemite, most will choose the latter. Of course, the comparison is unfair and does not rule out a positive experience in shul. Nevertheless, the Jewish people suffers when its leaders do not understand the implications of these facts. Continue
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Elijah and the "Still, Small Voice"
A Desert Reading |
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Does reading a biblical story in the place it occurred affect one’s understanding of the text? I have had the privilege of guiding groups comprised largely of rabbis and rabbinical students through the central Sinai mountains. With their help, I have repeatedly studied the story of Elijah at Horeb/Sinai while sitting under the shadow of present day Mt. Sinai. The interpretations of this episode in Elijah’s life are endless, and none has achieved definitive status. The story, as we shall see, is too complex for that. Each reading leaves a thread or two or three untied, as does the midrash/interpretation offered here. It is my hope that this reading will contribute, quite literally, a new perspective to the discussion: the view from Sinai.
To understand the climatic chapter of the Elijah narrative, we briefly review his story from the beginning. Continue |
| Prophets, kings, monks – they have all gone to the desert. Some as political refugees, some as spiritual seekers. Some have searched for God, some have been accosted by burning bushes. Today, more and more people are following our ancestors into the desert, but it is hard to see the desert they experienced. The ancients did not tour in air-conditioned jeeps or hike with state of the art camping equipment at their disposal. To follow our predecessors spiritually, we must try, at least, to feel the desert as they did. Continue
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Jerusalem: A Border Town Looking north towards the Old City from the Haas Promenade in Jerusalem (in Hebrew, the tayelet), one sees what perhaps one has heard: Jerusalem straddles the high ridge of the Judean Hills. The crest runs north to south, from the antennae near French hill to the ridge immediately to our left. Rain falling to the west flows towards the Mediterranean and waters the coastal plain, the breadbasket of ancient and modern Israel. To the east: rain drop and salt cemetery, the Dead Sea. Vegetation is sparse; the population nomadic. Continue |
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