“The presence of the Divine is manifest within a place of joy.”
Jewish Wisdom and Wellness
Jewish wisdom has an immense amount to teach us about being well. From ancient teachings to modern-day practices, we are encouraged to cultivate qualities to enhance our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.
The ancient kabbalists describe a system of Four Worlds—Assiyah/עֲשִׂיָּה (physical/world of action), Yetzirah/יְצִירָה (the heart/world of emotion), Beriah/בְּרִיאָה (the mind/world of intellect), and Atzilut/אֲצִילוּת (the intuitive world of spirit)—as a template for the divine world and the human experience.
Aligning all of these worlds/levels in our self-care brings us to shlemut/wholeness and well-being. Thus, Jewish wisdom teachings and practices support us to live flourishing, resourced, integrated, resilient lives with a joyful sense of balance and well-being. Guided by this understanding, the Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC) and Embodied Jewish Learning, created Shalem: A Jewish Wellness Initiative as a way to provide people with podcasts of practices for well-being infused with Jewish wisdom. Below is a taste of our work for the quality of simcha/joy.
In this (second) month of Adar, we celebrate the holiday of Lit. "Lots." A carnival holiday celebrated on the 14th of the Jewish month of Adar, commemorating the Jewish victory over the Persians as told in the Book of Esther. Purim is celebrated by reading the megilla (Book of Esther), exchanging gifts, giving money to the poor, and holding a festive meal. At the megilla reading, merrymakers are dressed in costumes, people drink, and noisemakers (graggers) are sounded whenever the villain Haman's name is mentioned. and we are invited to experience the deepest and fullest simcha, joy. This is not merely a feeling of relief at overcoming our enemies or the revelry accompanying the reading of the Lit. Scroll Usually refers specifically the Scroll of Esther (Megillat Esther) read on Purim, telling the story of how Esther saved the Jewish people. Megillat Ruth is read on Shavuot.. For the Jewish mystical teachers of the early hasidic movement, opening one’s heart to simcha was the foundation of a spiritual life. The Zohar, the central book of Jewish mystical teaching, says, “The presence of the Divine is manifest within a place of joy.”
Mindfulness Practice for Simcha
In Jewish wisdom, simcha is the joy of being. It may arise in a moment of stillness in the presence of beauty or amazement, or even in the day-to-day experiences of being present to the mundane activities of life—doing the dishes, the rising and fading away of emotions, the awareness of passing thoughts—noticing it all without struggle or judgment. As the 16th-century Mussar work Orchot Tzaddikim teaches, “The trait of joy comes to a person through the enjoyment of great tranquility.” In the podcast below, we invite you to engage in a meditation practice and experience with us the joy of relaxing into the luminous awareness in which everything is happening.
Embodied Practice for Simcha
Of the many words for joy in Hebrew, simcha connotes happiness, cheerfulness, festivity and joviality—an energetic feeling of lifting up the spirit. Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, a hasidic rebbe in the 18th century, speaks of divinity in the body as a life-force, hiyyut, in our hearts, which spreads out to all of our limbs. We can also think of simcha in this way, as a free-flowing joyful energy, or life-force, that expresses itself through all of our being. In our podcast on simcha, we invite you to engage in a physical practice of energetic movements and to experience our bodies as a source of fluidity, playfulness, and joy.
Subscribe to our podcasts on Itunes or listen here for meditations and here for embodied practices related to Middot/character traits. Or join us in California this spring for Cultivating Equanimity on May 10–12, 2019, a weekend retreat offered by the Peninsula JCC, Embodied Jewish Learning and the Addison Penzak JCC.
Rabbi Lavey Yitzchak Derby serves as Director of Jewish Life at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center and brings with him a distinguished background as a former rabbi of Congregation Kol A ram's horn that is blown on the High Holidays to "wake us up" and call Jews to repentance. It is also said that its blast will herald the coming of the messiah. in Tiburon, California, a past faculty member of the Wexner Heritage Foundation and CLAL, and as a graduate of the Rabbinic Leadership Institute of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Lit. City of peace From the time of David to the Roman destruction, Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and the spiritual and governmental center of the Jewish people. During the long exile, Jews longed to return to Jerusalem and wrote poems, prayers, and songs about the beloved city. In 1967, with the capture of the Old City, Jerusalem was reunited, becoming "the eternal capital of Israel." Still, the longing for peace is unfulfilled.. He has lectured extensively across the country on subjects ranging from rabbinic and Jewish thought to The tradition of Jewish mystical interpretation of sacred texts. The foundational kabbalistic text is the Zohar., Hasidism and contemporary Jewish spirituality, and is trained as a Jewish mindfulness meditation teacher by the Institute of Jewish Spirituality. Lavey is the eighth generation descendent of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, for whom he is named, and comes from a family line of rabbis that traces back to the 16th century.
Julie Emden, RYT-500, Halprin Practitioner, is the Founding Director of Embodied Jewish Learning in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is passionate about awakening the body as a gateway to inner knowing and guides others in somatic explorations of Jewish wisdom teachings as a resource for living in balance and wholeness. A graduate of five fellowship and teaching certification programs related to her work as a Jewish educator, Iyengar-based yoga instructor and movement/expressive artist, Julie has two decades of experience guiding others in exploring Jewish wisdom, text and practices via the body in a variety of settings. Embodied Jewish Learning offers classes, workshops, online learning, retreats, teacher trainings, individual coaching and strategic guidance for Jewish Wellness Initiatives throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
"Uwepo wa Mungu unaonekana katika mahali pa furaha. ""Hekima ya Kiyahudi na Afya"" Hekima ya Kiyahudi ina kiasi kikubwa cha kutufundisha juu ya kuwa na afya." Kutoka mafundisho ya kale hadi mazoea ya kisasa, tunatiwa moyo kukuza sifa za kuboresha afya yetu ya kimwili, kihisia, kiakili, na kiroho. Kabbalists wa kale kuelezea mfumo wa Dunia Nne <unk> Assiyah <unk> (kijeshi <unk> ulimwengu wa hatua), Yetzirah <unk> (moyo <unk> ulimwengu wa hisia), Beriah <unk> (akili <unk> ulimwengu wa akili), na Atzilut <unk> ( intuitive dunia ya roho) <unk> kama template kwa ajili ya ulimwengu wa kimungu na uzoefu wa binadamu. Kuunganisha ulimwengu huu wote katika huduma yetu ya kibinafsi hutuleta kwa shelmut, utimilifu na ustawi. Kwa hivyo, mafundisho na mazoea ya hekima ya Kiyahudi yanatuunga mkono kuishi maisha ya kusitawi, yenye rasilimali, ya ushirikiano, yenye nguvu na hisia ya furaha ya usawa na ustawi. Kwa kutegemea uelewa huu, Kituo cha Jumuiya ya Kiyahudi cha Peninsula (PJCC) na Mafunzo ya Kiyahudi ya Kuingizwa, waliunda Shalom: Mpango wa Ustawi wa Kiyahudi kama njia ya kuwapa watu podcasts za mazoea ya ustawi uliotiwa hekima ya Kiyahudi. Chini ni ladha ya kazi yetu kwa ubora wa simcha/shangwe. Katika mwezi huu (wa pili) wa Adari, tunaadhimisha sikukuu ya Lit. "Mengi". Karnevali ya Wayahudi ya Adari (A.D. 14), ni sikukuu ya kukumbuka ushindi wa Wayahudi dhidi ya Waajemi, kama ilivyoandikwa katika kitabu cha Esta. Purimu huadhimishwa kwa kusoma megilla (Kitabu cha Esta), kubadilishana zawadi, kuwapa maskini pesa, na kufanya mlo wa sherehe. Katika usomaji wa megilla, wafurahishaji huvaa mavazi, watu hunywa, na wafanya-ngurumo (waganda) hupigwa kila mara jina la mwovu Hamani linapotajwa. "Tunaalikwa kufurahia ""simcha"" kamili na ya kina zaidi." Hii si hisia tu ya kitulizo katika kushinda maadui wetu au furaha inayohusiana na kusoma Lit. Kwa kawaida, kitabu hicho kinarejelea hasa kitabu cha Esta (Megillat Esther) kilichosomwa wakati wa Purimu, ambacho kinasimulia jinsi Esta alivyowaokoa Wayahudi. Megillat Ruth inasomwa kwenye Shavuot.. Kwa walimu wa Kiyahudi wa fumbo wa harakati ya mapema ya Hasidic, kufungua moyo wa mtu kwa simcha ilikuwa msingi wa maisha ya kiroho. "Zohar, kitabu cha msingi cha mafundisho ya Kiyahudi ya kichawi, inasema, ""Uwepo wa Mungu unaonekana ndani ya mahali pa furaha."" - Utafiti wa Mindfulness kwa Simcha." Inaweza kutokea katika wakati wa utulivu katika uwepo wa uzuri au mshangao, au hata katika uzoefu wa kila siku wa kuwapo kwa shughuli za kawaida za maisha - kufanya vyombo, kuongezeka na kupungua kwa hisia, ufahamu wa mawazo ya kupita - kugundua yote bila mapambano au hukumu. "Kama vile kitabu cha karne ya 16 cha Mussar, Orchot Tzadikim, kinavyofundisha, ""Utamaduni wa furaha huja kwa mtu kupitia kufurahia utulivu mkubwa."" - Mwalimu wa Uislamu, Dr. Robert A. S. Tzadikim, ""Kujishughulisha na mazoezi ya kutafakari na uzoefu na sisi furaha ya kupumzika katika ufahamu wa mwanga ambao kila kitu kinatokea." Mazoezi ya Simcha Katika maneno mengi ya furaha katika Kiebrania, simcha ina maana ya furaha, uchangamfu, sherehe na uchangamfu - hisia yenye nguvu ya kuinua roho. "Menachem Mendel wa Vitebsk, aliyetumia neno ""Hasidic"" katika karne ya 18, alisema kwamba ""uungu katika mwili ni nguvu ya maisha, hiyyut, katika mioyo yetu, ambayo inaenea kwa viungo vyetu vyote.""" Simcha ni nguvu ya furaha inayotiririka kwa uhuru, ambayo hujieleza kupitia kiumbe chetu chote. Katika podcast yetu ya Simcha, tunakualika kushiriki katika mazoezi ya mwili ya harakati za nishati na kugundua miili yetu kama chanzo cha mtiririko, uchezaji, na furaha. Kujiunga na podcasts yetu kwenye iTunes au kusikiliza hapa kwa ajili ya kutafakari na hapa kwa ajili ya mazoezi embodied kuhusiana na Middot tabia sifa. Kujiunga na sisi katika California hii spring kwa kukuza Equanimity juu ya Mei 10-12, 2019, mwishoni mwa wiki retreat zinazotolewa na Peninsula JCC, Embodied Jewish Learning na Addison Penzac JCC. Rabbi Lavey Yitzchak Derby, Mkurugenzi wa Maisha ya Kiyahudi katika Kituo cha Jumuiya ya Kiyahudi cha Peninsula, na ambaye amekuwa Rabi wa zamani wa Kanisa la Kol A Ram, amekuwa akipiga pembe ya kupigia sauti katika sikukuu za Sherehe za Juu ili "kuamsha" na kuwaita Wayahudi kwa toba. Pia inasemekana kwamba mlipuko wake utaitangaza kuja kwa yule msaliti. Shule ya Uongozi ya Shalom Hartman, Shalom Hartman Institute, Shalom Hartman Institute, Shalom Hartman Institute, Shalom Hartman Institute, Shalom Hartman Institute, Shalom Hartman Institute, Shalom Hartman Institute Jiji la amani: Tangu wakati wa Daudi hadi uharibifu wa Waroma, Yerusalemu lilikuwa mji mkuu wa Israeli na kituo cha kiroho na kiutawala cha Wayahudi. Wakati wa uhamisho huo mrefu, Wayahudi walitamani sana kurudi Yerusalemu na wakaandika mashairi, sala, na nyimbo kuhusu jiji hilo walilopenda. Mwaka 1967 mji wa Yerusalemu ulipokamatwa, mji huo ulipatikana tena na kuwa mji mkuu wa milele wa Israeli. Hata hivyo, tamaa ya amani haijatimizwa.. Ametoa hotuba nyingi nchini kote juu ya mada mbalimbali kuanzia mawazo ya kiarabu na Kiyahudi hadi mapokeo ya tafsiri ya Kiyahudi ya maandishi matakatifu. Kabbalah ni msingi wa Zohar, Hasidism na kiroho ya Kiyahudi ya kisasa, na amezoezwa kama mwalimu wa kutafakari kwa akili ya Kiyahudi na Taasisi ya Kiroho ya Kiyahudi. Lavey ni mzao wa kizazi cha nane cha Rabbi Levi Yitzchak wa Berditchev, ambaye alipewa jina lake, na anatoka kwenye mstari wa familia ya marabi ambao unarudi nyuma hadi karne ya 16. Julie Emden, RYT-500, Mtaalamu wa Halprin, ni Mkurugenzi Mwanzilishi wa Mafunzo ya Kiyahudi ya Embodied katika San Francisco Bay Area. Yeye ni shauku juu ya kuamsha mwili kama lango la kujua ndani na anaongoza wengine katika uvumbuzi wa somatic wa mafundisho ya hekima ya Kiyahudi kama rasilimali ya kuishi katika usawa na utimilifu. Baada ya kuhitimu katika mipango mitano ya ushirika na vyeti vya ufundishaji zinazohusiana na kazi yake kama mwalimu wa Kiyahudi, mwalimu wa yoga wa Iyengar na msanii wa harakati, Julie ana miongo miwili ya uzoefu wa kuongoza wengine katika kuchunguza hekima ya Kiyahudi, maandishi na mazoea kupitia mwili katika mazingira mbalimbali. Kujiingiza katika Mafunzo ya Kiyahudi inatoa madarasa, warsha, kujifunza mtandaoni, mapumziko, mafunzo ya walimu, mafunzo ya kibinafsi na mwongozo wa kimkakati kwa Maendeleo ya Ustawi wa Kiyahudi katika eneo lote la San Francisco Bay.