T’shuvah: Time for a Tune-Up

T’shuvah: Time for a Tune-Up  The buzz word during these days of preparation for the High Holy Days is the Hebrew word t’shuvah. Most translations render the word “repentance,” but that is, at best, a pallid attempt to convey the richness of the Hebrew original. The English “repentance” means “feeling...

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Jewish Simplicity

Jewish Simplicity A lion can actually capture, kill, and eat a field mouse. However, it turns out that the energy to do that is greater than the caloric content of the mouse. So, if a lion spent the whole day hunting and eating field mice… it would slowly starve itself...

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How to Experience G!d

How to Experience G!d It is important to realize that G!d is to be experienced. It is equally important to understand that G!d cannot be captured in any one thing, nor reduced to a single moment or phenomenon. We sometimes think we can contain G!d in a thing, and thereby...

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Torah: A Minute to Learn, a Lifetime to Master

Torah: A Minute to Learn, a Lifetime to Master By Maayan Lev Shavuot commemorates when Moses received the Torah from G!d on Mt. Sinai. It’s a joyous holiday, but if you said that to a non-Jew, they would probably be very surprised at how we express that joy. The hallmark...

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Light In the Darkness

Light In The Darkness by Student Rabbi Maayan Lev  Though the holiday itself does not start until the night of December 18, Hanukkah has officially begun! How do I know? Because my favorite radio station, KOST 103.5, has started playing solely Christmas music, which they will continue doing until shortly...

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Building a Sukkah As a Metaphor for Change

by Maayan Lev As a child, Sukkot was a very big holiday in my family. In fact, it may have been the biggest holiday of the year for us. This is because we had dinner in the sukkah together every night, usually inviting a different family to join us each...

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