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Worlds, Souls, Divinity–Inspired by the Komarna Rebbe

This is a teaching about prayer as conveyed by the Komarna Rebbe (R. Yitzchak Eisik Safrin, 1806 – 1874). It is only tangentially related to Purim, though it does appear in his commentary on Megillat Esther. Furthermore, since Purim is a most propitious time for prayer, it is an appropriate teaching for the occasion. But mostly, it is a subject I wanted to broach, and this concurrence of commentary and prayer focus provides an opportunity to do so.
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SHADOWS AND LIGHT–CHANUKKA 5783/2022

There’s an elephant in the room, though I think most readers are unaware of its shadowed presence. It’s the portion of the Chanukka story that occurs after the victorious restoration of the Temple that we celebrate with our chanukiyot.
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Purim 2021–Who is Charvonah…

Charvonah is a seemingly insignificant character in the Purim story. He is one of the king’s attendants who appears at the beginning with those who convey the kings fateful summons to Vashti and then again at Haman’s demise. It is here, in this second mention, that he delivers his single line:
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Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women–2

We are Inviting women from around the world to join the actual Jerusalem-based event via zoom (enabled by Shifra Hendrie who has offered her expanded zoom link for the occasion). And… Sharing the nusach/script of the ceremony so you can prepare for the event and, if you are unable to join our Jerusalem ceremony, you can create your own High Council, either on your own or with friends.
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Purim High Council Prayer and Meditation Happening for Women

We are Inviting women from around the world to join the actual Jerusalem-based event via zoom (enabled by Shifra Hendrie who has offered her expanded zoom link for the occasion). And… Sharing the nusach/script of the ceremony so you can prepare for the event and, if you are unable to join our Jerusalem ceremony, you can create your own High Council, either on your own or with friends.
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Our Fruit Tree and Vegetable Kingdom Role Models

On Tu B’Shvat we celebrate our generous and magnificent fruit trees that selflessly nourish the world for no other reason than that it’s what they are designed to do. May we honor them back by preserving their habitat, mulching their soil, protecting their pollinators, providing fresh water, repelling their pests and (on their new year’s day) praying for them to enjoy a healthy, lush and fruitful year.
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The Chinukh of Chanukka

Since Chanukka and Purim reference toward the future, R. Luria associates them with Mashiach ben David, and the 7th marriage blessing when “the woman of valor becomes the crown to her husband.” R. Luria brings fascinating evidence of the gender shifts that weave through the messianic lineage and narrative.
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The Seder as a Meditation on MATZAH

The matzah itself is a neutral object.  It is simple flat bread that sits at the center of the table and doesn’t talk or move and yet, even still, it goes through changes.  As we evolve and enlighten in the course of the evening we project a whole string of meanings and transformations onto that matzah, just like we do in real life vis a vis the world around us (and also vis a vis our conception of G-d).
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Turning Noga into Chashmal

Chashmal thus becomes the codeword for embracing paradox by skirting back and forth between opposing perspectives and admitting the truth that’s present in each. This kinetic approach to truth-seeking jiggles the mind open to higher awareness. It is not just a mental exercise, it’s a spiritual practice …and it’s the one that Esther employed to enter the King’s sanctum unawares. Her alternating-chashmal-current jammed the psychic “radar” of the guards blocking her way.
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A Short Tribute to Etrog for Tu B’Shvat

The word for etrog (אתרוג) relates to the Hebrew root, רגג, which means, “to long and desire.”  For this reason etrog corresponds to to the heart area, the center of conscious emotion and desire.
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Chanukka—Harbinger of Messianic Gender Shifts to Come

Since Chanukka and Purim reference toward the future, R. Luria associates them with Mashiach ben David, and the 7th marriage blessing when “the woman of valor becomes the crown to her husband.” R. Luria brings fascinating evidence of the gender shifts that weave through the messianic lineage and narrative.
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Fifteen Stages of the Pesach Seder

The Fifteen Stages That Form the Backbone of Our Pesach Ritual and trace the soul’s journey from conception, birth, childhood, maturity and, finally, enlightenment.
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Keter – Malchut

Purim 2019 / 5779 Sarah Yehudit Schneider Based on R. YYYY Safrin of 
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ZOT CHANUKKA–A TRIBUTE TO THE SHEKHINA

The kabbalists read into Chanukka’s eight days, a journey of progressive tikun down through the sefirot from Binah to Malchut. Curiously, Binah associates with the higher Shekhina called Ima (literally, Mother) and Malchut associates with the lower Shekhina called Nukba (literally, Woman). Chanukka thus begins and ends on a feminine note. The first candle (of Binah) accompanies all the subsequent lights, and its last candle (of Malchut) gets honored with a name of its own—Zot Chanukka­—(in part) because it enacts the last frame of the Shekhina’s moonlike odyssey (as we shall see).
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Chanukka and the Feminine

by Sarah Yehudit Schneider In Jewish symbology, the masculine archetype conflates with the
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