Author Archives: mstreiffer

“The Earth God Has Given” – Blessings as Mindfulness and Gratitude

The practice of saying blessings is very ancient in Judaism. In this Talmudic text, the sage Rabbi Levi gives a beautiful explanation and meaning for the practice: Rabbi Levi raised a contradiction between two texts in the Psalms: On the one hand, it is written: “The earth and all it contains belongs to the Eternal”ContinueContinue reading ““The Earth God Has Given” – Blessings as Mindfulness and Gratitude”

The Unity of All Things: Shabbat with Spinoza

Sometime in the mid 1600s, the young philosopher Baruch Spinoza – recently excommunicated from the Jewish community for his “radical” ideas – wrote about what is fleeting vs. what is lasting. Here are his words (much excerpted): Most things people think to be the highest good may be reduced to these three: wealth, honour, andContinueContinue reading “The Unity of All Things: Shabbat with Spinoza”

From Will to Gratitude: Celebrating Shabbat with Maimonides

The V’shamru prayer says: “For in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day God ceased from work and was refreshed (vayinafash).”           Exodus 31:17 Maimonides (the great 12th century philosopher) explains: The word vayinafash (here translated “to be refreshed”) is derived from nefesh (soul), which means it contains the meaningContinueContinue reading “From Will to Gratitude: Celebrating Shabbat with Maimonides”