Jewish Meditation for Everyone Institute for Jewish Spirituality

This episode of our podcast features a teaching and meditation by Rabbi Josh Feigelson, CEO of IJS. On the upcoming Jewish holiday of Shavuot we commemorate and re-enact the Israelites receiving of Torah at Mt. Sinai, seven weeks after the liberation we marked on Passover. In this meditation for the week leading up to Shavuot, Rabbi Feigelson helps us prepare our inner ground for that spiritual experience of receiving Divine wisdom by reminding us of a Jewish tradition that in order to receive Torah, each of us needs to make ourselves like a midbar, like a wilderness—open, receptive, and listening deeply for the still, small voice. Join Rabbi Josh Feigelson now for a powerful practice to open ourselves wide, to dwell for a few moments in our inner wilderness.

This episode of our podcast features a teaching and meditation by Rabbi Shefa Gold. She offers a practice to open ourselves up through the expression of praise. She teaches how we can notice the life force moving within us, lifting us out of our “small separate selves” into a larger self that is united with the Divine. As that life force praises its Source through us, we are able to bless and celebrate the simple fact of existence, given to each of us in the “dawning light of day,” and the “steady beat of our heart,” united with the One, losing ourselves in the larger mystery. Join Rabbi Shefa Gold now for a powerful practice of liberation through praise.

This episode of our podcast features a teaching and meditation by Rabbi Dorothy Richman. Her teaching focuses on how, as we navigate these fearful, challenging times in our lives and our world, we can use the sacred quality of Netzach, our ability to endure, so we can persevere in our capacity to receive and transmit Chesed, to manifest love. Rabbi Richman shares powerful words from two authors of children's literature -- Matt de la Peña and Kate DiCamillo. These authors observe that literature for children can include painful, even heartbreaking experiences and emotions by enveloping them in love. Join her for this beautiful meditation to strengthen our capacity for holding our broken hearts with tenderness and love.

This episode of our podcast features a teaching and meditation by Alison Cohen, an outstanding mindfulness teacher. It’s a teaching and meditation she offered for Shevet: A Jewish Mindfulness Community for Young Adults, which offers a weekly Jewish mindfulness sit for anyone in their 20s and 30s, every Monday at 8 pm ET, 5 pm PT.

This meditation focuses on the Divine quality of Netzach, a Hebrew word which literally means "victory," but which also connotes the sacred energy enabling us to commit ourselves, to keep showing up for ourselves and others in the arenas that matter to us, with curiosity, care, and self compassion. The soul trait of Netzach is the theme of the fourth week of the Omer, the seven week period between Passover and Shavuot. Even when we are challenged and meet with resistance in our lives, Netzach can nurture our innate resilience and our ability to endure — and even to thrive.

This episode of our podcast features a teaching and meditation by Sarah Waxman of the At the Well Project. It’s a teaching and meditation for welcoming the new Hebrew month of Iyyar, the theme of which is healing. We hope you enjoy and find it meaningful.

This episode features a teaching and meditation by Rabba Mira Neshama Weil which she offered on Yom HaShoah vehaGevurah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. It includes the traditional prayer for the deceased, El Malei Rachamim – God, full of Compassion. In the meditation, Rabba Mira invites us into the challenging spiritual practice of cultivating compassion for those with whom we may disagree, based on the teaching in the weekly Torah portion to avoid hating others in our heart, and instead loving others as ourselves. In these especially contentious days, it is a difficult but essential practice for keeping our hearts open and maintaining our humanity in the face of enmity.