The Rising Life

Parshas Terumah In this week’s parsha Hashem tells the Jewish people. “Asu Li Mikdash, v’shachanti b’tocham” “Make Me a temple, and I will dwell within them” The way the verse is written indicates that when we create a space for Gdliness, we will merit to have Gdliness dwell within us. This week we usher in the new month of Adar which is all about joy! Our sages tell us that Gd does not dwell in a place of depression. If we aim to be that temple in which the Divine dwells comfortably, it needs to be a happy place. “Happy wife, happy life.” “If ain’t mama happy, ain’t nobody happy!” Truisms are called that for a reason! A happy woman builds positive relationships and a happy home, which

This week's parsha tells us of the Laws. The day to day workings of a Torah driven life. At the end of the litany of laws we say as one, "na'aseh v'nishma." "We will do, then we will listen" It's a uniquely Jewish approach. We don't begin with meditation and contemplation high up on a mountaintop separate from society. First we DO. Through the motions of life, even while engaged in the most mundane of activities, we begin to understand the depth of our connection and our capacity for holiness. "Chal"/Mundane, becomes "Challah" with the addition of the Hei- that original breath of life that connects us at each moment to our Source. The motions of nurturing life may feel repetitive and oh-so