open yourself to all the ways you are closed for the gates only tremble when you close yourself to all the ways you believe you are open. give to others by refusing to give of yourself, for the gates only part when you quiet yourself to receive the expressed need of another and at last, … Continue reading shaarei tefilah or why we ought to turn away from the gates
Omer, Day 43: Love of Sovereignty
kindness does not enter the house newly built, with wet paint still, white picket fences and the softness of chimes rocking little children to bed. rather, kindness enters the house whose baseboards have broken, whose wallpaper is yellowed and faded and whose roof is one small crack from the ruin of caving in. kindness billows … Continue reading Omer, Day 43: Love of Sovereignty
You are Your Seder Table
Sometimes, the table is not wide enough. There are so many guests that There is hardly space for you. Or maybe there isn't a table. You didn't grow up at one. So, you don't quite know how to recline. Or sit comfortably at a stranger's. In the absence or presence, may you find the strength … Continue reading You are Your Seder Table
To Ascend Does Not Mean to Not Speak: Blessing for an Intersectional Hanukkah
To ascend does not mean to not speak Of the dead and the dying And the insidiousness of silence that stamps out women in the realm of the living. And to ascend does not mean to pour oil over the living dead Of anointing our joy over our starvation And the draping of miracles over … Continue reading To Ascend Does Not Mean to Not Speak: Blessing for an Intersectional Hanukkah
Elul: The Shofar
The sound of the shofar calls to us from the realm of ancient longing. Which though seemingly back there. Is actually, here. In the moment we remove the veil of forward and back And decide, instead to face life as is. Yes, all of it. New Moon New Year and mourning. Each of these like … Continue reading Elul: The Shofar
Choose Life: A Slichot Blessing
What of our lives, when our brother's blood cries out from the ground? Do we remain clean-shaven? A peaceful shepherd? Or do we spend our days, "few and evil," trying ceaselessly to steal what was never ours to claim? As we prepare to trace the world's beginnings, may we choose life. As we greet the … Continue reading Choose Life: A Slichot Blessing
Devon Spier 