Bøger af Rachel Barenblat

Writing daily poems is a discpline designed to prime the pump of creativity and to hone attention to the ideas, phrases, and everyday miracles which are a part of every life. This chapbook collects daily poems written during the spring of 2013 and 2014. Parenthood, prayer, Jerusalem, Hebron, a rooftop New York city bar, a walk to the beaver dam, Iron Man and the golem of Prague, and more. An experiment in playful attention.

The lunar month of Elul (leading up to the Days of Awe / Jewish high holidays) is a time for self-examination, contemplation, and the inner work of teshuvah, repentance or return. Here are 29 poems, one for each day of Elul, which aim to open the reader up to awe, reflection, and the spiritual experience of being truly seen.

From the creator of the Velveteen Rabbi's Haggadah, a new siddur for the day of Shabbat.Renew Our Hearts balances tradition with innovation, featuring liturgy for morning (shacharit and a renewing approach to musaf, the "additional" service of Shabbat and festivals), afternoon (mincha), and evening (ma'ariv and havdalah), along with curated works of poetry, art and new liturgies from across the breadth of Jewish spiritual life.In the trans-denominational spirit of Jewish renewal, Renew Our Hearts is for individuals and communities across the Jewish spiritual spectrum. In service of maximum accessibility, every word of Hebrew is paired with transliteration and with clear, pray-able English translation.Renew Our Hearts is designed for use in homes, in congregations and independent minyanim, on Shabbat hikes, in contemplative Shabbat settings: wherever you experience the rhythms of Shabbat day, from morning until night.Includes work by: Trisha Arlin, Rabbi Rachel Barenblat, Ze'ev Barkan, Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Rabbi Daniel Brenner, Rabbi Lewis John Eron, Rabbi Shir Yaakov Feit, Rabbi Lev Friedman, Jonathan Gibbs, Rabbi Jill Hammer, Rabbi Burt Jacobson, Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan, Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman, Rabbi Evan Krame, Rabbi Janet Madden, Rabbi David Markus, Mark Nazimova, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z"l, Susan R. Schorr, Kohenet Taya Shere, Rabbi Jennifer Singer, Donna Tukel, Rabbi Shohama Harris Wiener, and Rabbi David Zaslow.

"Waiting to Unfold" offers an unflinching and honest look at the challenges and blessings of early parenthood. Poet and rabbi Rachel Barenblat wrote one poem during each week of her son's first year of life, chronicling the wonder and the delight along with the pain of learning to nurse, the exhaustion of sleep deprivation, and the dark descent into -- and eventual ascent out of -- postpartum depression. Barenblat brings her rabbinic training and deep spirituality to bear on this quintessential human experience. She also resists sentimentality or rosy soft-focus. While some of these are poems of wonder, others were written in the trenches. These poems resist and refute the notion that anyone who doesn't savor every instant of exalted motherhood deserves stigma and shame. And they uncover the sweetness folded in with the bitter. By turns serious and funny, aching and transcendent, these poems take an unflinching look at one woman's experience of becoming a mother.

This is the second edition of Shifrah Tobacman's unique and inspirational poetic meditations for counting the Omer or turning toward a new year. These poems will open your heart and spirit! ABOUT OMER/TESHUVAH "This book invites us to breathe the air and taste the nectar of the holy, moving through multi-dimensional time, encountering the sacred in the daily. It can be read from one end or the other, offering for our delight, in the words of Gate 38, "a rainbow of colours, a delicious sip of possibilities"! -Professor Dr. Ibrahim Farajajé, Provost and Professor of Cultural and Islamic Studies, Starr King/Graduate Theological Union "Each of the 49 gates of wisdom through which we walk during our seven-week journey from Pesach to Shavuot, and rather innovatively also during the seven weeks leading to Rosh HaShanah, are explored with poetic depth and insight by Shifrah Tobacman. Allow these daily gems to inform and enrich your pilgrimage! You will not be disappointed!" -Rabbi Marcia Prager, Dean of Students, Aleph Ordination Programs, Author of Path of Blessing. The poetic meditations in this collection are drawn from the author's own practice of counting the Omer. The Omer is a forty-nine day period between the Jewish holiday of Pesach, which celebrates freedom, and Shavuot, a time of revelation. The practice also has agricultural origins linked to the spring harvest in ancient Israel. The communal and agricultural roots of the Omer period make it an excellent opportunity for considering our relationship to each other, to the Earth that sustains us, and to the Source of All Life that blesses our own lives each day. In 2006, author Shifrah Tobacman attended a seminar taught by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. He mentioned the idea of counting in a similar fashion for the seven weeks that lead up to Rosh Ha-shana, the Jewish new year. He had heard of this idea from Cantor Michael Esformes, who recommended counting down from forty-nine at this time. As Shifrah began to engage in this practice, she found herself writing these poems, which turned into meditations, and finally became the substance of this book. The meditations here are well-suited for either counting the Omer, or in preparing spiritually for a new year. Shifrah is using the term Omer/Teshuvah or Omer Teshuvah for the practice of counting down to the new year. This counting begins immediately following Tisha B'av, which commemorates the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. The Hebrew word "teshuvah" refers to turning or returning. It is used to describe the process of soul-searching and forgiveness that Jews engage in, particularly during the High Holy Days in the Fall, and during the weeks which precede them. One of Shifrah's teachers, Rabbi Shawn Zevit, offers these thoughts on Omer/Teshuvah. "Raising up the motifs of each day and adding to our spiritual practice, this collection guides the reader from a mindset of scarcity and tentative self- realization through the sea of distraction and self-doubt to a mountain of possibility and spiritual vibrancy. Read these and help make each day count!"

Each of the poems in Seventy Faces arose in conversation with the Five Books of Moses. These poems interrogate, explore, and lovingly respond to Torah texts-the uplifting parts alongside the passages which may challenge contemporary liberal theology. Here are responses to the familiar tales of Genesis, the liberation story of Exodus, the priestly details of Leviticus, the desert wisdom of Numbers, and the anticipation of Deuteronomy. These poems balance feminism with respect for classical traditions of interpretation. They enrich any (re)reading of the Bible, and will inspire readers to their own new responses to these familiar texts.

The Omer is the period of 49 days between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot. Through counting the Omer, we link liberation with revelation. Once we counted the days between the Pesach barley offering and the Shavuot wheat offering at the Temple in Jerusalem. Now as we count the days we prepare an internal harvest of reflection, discernment, and readiness. Kabbalistic (mystical) and Mussar (personal refinement) traditions offer lenses through which we can examine ourselves as we prepare ourselves to receive Torah anew at Shavuot. Here are 49 poems, one for each day of the Omer, accompanied by helpful Omer-counting materials. Use these poems to deepen your own practice as we move together through this seven-week corridor of holy time. Rachel Barenblat has gifted her readers with a set of insightful poems to accompany our journey through the wilderness during the Counting of the Omer. Deft of image and reference, engaging and provocative, meditative and surprising, this collection is like a small purse of jewels. Each sparkling gem can support and enlighten readers on their paths toward psycho-spiritual Truth. -- Rabbi Min Kantrowitz, author of Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide Rachel Barenblat comes bearing a rich harvest. In Toward Sinai, her series of poems to be read daily during the counting of the Omer, a poem chronicles every step between Exodus and Sinai. The poems exist in the voices of the ancient Hebrews measuring grain each day between Passover and Shavuot, and also in a contemporary voice that explores the meaning of the Omer in our own day. Together, the poems constitute a layered journey that integrates mysticism, nature, and personal growth. As Barenblat writes: "Gratitude, quantified." -- Rabbi Jill Hammer, author of The Omer Calendar of Biblical Women