THE WISDOM DAILYABOUTSUBMISSIONSOUR TOPICSSPIRITUALITY & FAITHRELATIONSHIPS & FAMILYNEWS & POLITICS We can’t explain why or how, but we can sense the impending trouble. Some call it intuition. Behavioral Economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky might term it “thinking fast,” with our subconscious outpacing the centers of rational reasoning; bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell might call it “thinking without thinking.”. WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity. THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history BREATH IS LIFE: THE FASCINATING HISTORY OF THE IRON LUNG Vintage comic, by Helen L. Gillum, detailing the history of the iron lung. The first human test took place at Boston Children’s hospital on October 12, 1928. The testee was an 8-year-old polio sufferer on the verge of death due to respiratory failure. Once encased in the iron lung, the young patient’s breathing rapidly improved; sadly

ARE YOU A BEARD?

A “beard” is an antiquated slang term for someone whose social presence serves to mask aspects of someone else’s true self from the public. In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girlfriend or female companion who acted (wittingly or not) as social cover for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

THE WISDOM DAILYABOUTSUBMISSIONSOUR TOPICSSPIRITUALITY & FAITHRELATIONSHIPS & FAMILYNEWS & POLITICS We can’t explain why or how, but we can sense the impending trouble. Some call it intuition. Behavioral Economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky might term it “thinking fast,” with our subconscious outpacing the centers of rational reasoning; bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell might call it “thinking without thinking.”. WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity. THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history BREATH IS LIFE: THE FASCINATING HISTORY OF THE IRON LUNG Vintage comic, by Helen L. Gillum, detailing the history of the iron lung. The first human test took place at Boston Children’s hospital on October 12, 1928. The testee was an 8-year-old polio sufferer on the verge of death due to respiratory failure. Once encased in the iron lung, the young patient’s breathing rapidly improved; sadly

ARE YOU A BEARD?

A “beard” is an antiquated slang term for someone whose social presence serves to mask aspects of someone else’s true self from the public. In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girlfriend or female companion who acted (wittingly or not) as social cover for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

THE WISDOM DAILY

We can’t explain why or how, but we can sense the impending trouble. Some call it intuition. Behavioral Economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky might term it “thinking fast,” with our subconscious outpacing the centers of rational reasoning; bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell might call it “thinking without thinking.”. MOURNING A DIFFICULT PERSON A Jewish person dies. How is he or she to be mourned? The short answer is that the family engages in age-old rituals that include sitting shiva, chanting prayers, lighting candles, and other activities pegged at seven days, thirty days, a year, and annual yahrzeit anniversaries.

HOPE VALLEY

Hope is a much-needed, often used, and often little understood concept. Haviva Ner-David is not only an accomplished rabbi, she is a rebbe of hope. Real hope, not naiveté, and not simply self-soothing, but bold, sometimes uncomfortable, and genuinely compassion-filled hope. Her newest book, Hope Valley, shares and inspires that kind of hope in the frame of a beautiful novel about two women REBELLION FOR THE GREATER GOOD Parshat Korach Rabbi Julia Appel. What a time to be reading Parashat Korach, the classic tale of questioning authority, of argument over who gets to lead and represent a people. MISSING THE TREES FOR THE FOREST We’re all familiar with the expression about missing the forest for the trees, and its wisdom about not being distracted by smaller details that undermine our appreciation of the “big picture.” No doubt, that’s often good advice. After all, who among us hasn’t gotten bogged down in the details of a situation or a relationship, to the point that we lose touch with the larger purposes THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY As the work of spiritual direction reminds me, God (if that term is loaded for you, perhaps substitute “holiness” or “meaning”) is often found precisely in uncertainty. In the not-knowing. In the sense of mystery that can suffuse the world in which we live, if we allow ourselves to be open to it. Precisely because I so cherish my THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

HOW THE EMPTY BOAT PARABLE CAN HELP CONTROL YOUR ANGER The Taoists have a parable they tell about anger. It appears in the Zhuangzi, a formative philosophical work from the 4 th Century BCE, and goes something like this: A man’s riding his boat in a river. Suddenly another boat strikes his own–but there’s nobody in the other boat. It’s an Empty Boat. The man doesn’t get irritated or A PRAYER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT There’s a particular line of Jewish liturgy that has long resonated with me, mostly because I took some interpretive liberties with it. The line, from the end of the Amidah prayer, reads “all who think bad about me, let their thoughts be quickly nullified.” Presumably, the intended meaning is a prayer for protection against wicked schemes of enemies – which, in my innocent youth URSULA K LE GUIN: ACTIVIST OF THE IMAGINATION Ursula K Le Guin: Activist Of The Imagination. Having that real though limited power to put established institutions into question, imaginative literature has also the responsibility of power. The storyteller is the truth-teller. So said Ursula K LeGuin (1929-2018), the “colossus of literature” (China Mieville) and “deepest and

smartest

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. IRWIN KULA – THE WISDOM DAILY Irwin Kula. Irwin Kula is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Irwin's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Washington Post. He is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and a co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices. Irwin has appeared on NBC's The

Today Show

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY As the work of spiritual direction reminds me, God (if that term is loaded for you, perhaps substitute “holiness” or “meaning”) is often found precisely in uncertainty. In the not-knowing. In the sense of mystery that can suffuse the world in which we live, if we allow ourselves to be open to it. Precisely because I so cherish my THE SHORT FILM ‘GIFT’ TEACHES APPRECIATION OF ALL WE’RE Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC's Nightline UpClose, PBS's Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, "For God's Sake," for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. A PRAYER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT There’s a particular line of Jewish liturgy that has long resonated with me, mostly because I took some interpretive liberties with it. The line, from the end of the Amidah prayer, reads “all who think bad about me, let their thoughts be quickly nullified.” Presumably, the intended meaning is a prayer for protection against wicked schemes of enemies – which, in my innocent youth THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste. WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. IRWIN KULA – THE WISDOM DAILY Irwin Kula. Irwin Kula is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Irwin's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Washington Post. He is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and a co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices. Irwin has appeared on NBC's The

Today Show

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY As the work of spiritual direction reminds me, God (if that term is loaded for you, perhaps substitute “holiness” or “meaning”) is often found precisely in uncertainty. In the not-knowing. In the sense of mystery that can suffuse the world in which we live, if we allow ourselves to be open to it. Precisely because I so cherish my THE SHORT FILM ‘GIFT’ TEACHES APPRECIATION OF ALL WE’RE Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC's Nightline UpClose, PBS's Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, "For God's Sake," for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. A PRAYER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT There’s a particular line of Jewish liturgy that has long resonated with me, mostly because I took some interpretive liberties with it. The line, from the end of the Amidah prayer, reads “all who think bad about me, let their thoughts be quickly nullified.” Presumably, the intended meaning is a prayer for protection against wicked schemes of enemies – which, in my innocent youth THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste. MOURNING A DIFFICULT PERSON A Jewish person dies. How is he or she to be mourned? The short answer is that the family engages in age-old rituals that include sitting shiva, chanting prayers, lighting candles, and other activities pegged at seven days, thirty days, a year, and annual yahrzeit anniversaries.

HOPE VALLEY

Hope is a much-needed, often used, and often little understood concept. Haviva Ner-David is not only an accomplished rabbi, she is a rebbe of hope. Real hope, not naiveté, and not simply self-soothing, but bold, sometimes uncomfortable, and genuinely compassion-filled hope. Her newest book, Hope Valley, shares and inspires that kind of hope in the frame of a beautiful novel about two women REBELLION FOR THE GREATER GOOD Parshat Korach Rabbi Julia Appel. What a time to be reading Parashat Korach, the classic tale of questioning authority, of argument over who gets to lead and represent a people. WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity.

ARE YOU A BEARD?

A “beard” is an antiquated slang term for someone whose social presence serves to mask aspects of someone else’s true self from the public. In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girlfriend or female companion who acted (wittingly or not) as social cover for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

HOW THE EMPTY BOAT PARABLE CAN HELP CONTROL YOUR ANGER The Taoists have a parable they tell about anger. It appears in the Zhuangzi, a formative philosophical work from the 4 th Century BCE, and goes something like this: A man’s riding his boat in a river. Suddenly another boat strikes his own–but there’s nobody in the other boat. It’s an Empty Boat. The man doesn’t get irritated or MOTHER OF SORROWS: A REFLECTION ON MARY MOURNING THE DEATH Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history URSULA K LE GUIN: ACTIVIST OF THE IMAGINATION Ursula K Le Guin: Activist Of The Imagination. Having that real though limited power to put established institutions into question, imaginative literature has also the responsibility of power. The storyteller is the truth-teller. So said Ursula K LeGuin (1929-2018), the “colossus of literature” (China Mieville) and “deepest and

smartest

THE SHORT FILM ‘GIFT’ TEACHES APPRECIATION OF ALL WE’RE Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC's Nightline UpClose, PBS's Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, "For God's Sake," for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek IRWIN KULA – THE WISDOM DAILY Irwin Kula. Irwin Kula is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Irwin's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Washington Post. He is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and a co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices. Irwin has appeared on NBC's The

Today Show

THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history A PRAYER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT There’s a particular line of Jewish liturgy that has long resonated with me, mostly because I took some interpretive liberties with it. The line, from the end of the Amidah prayer, reads “all who think bad about me, let their thoughts be quickly nullified.” Presumably, the intended meaning is a prayer for protection against wicked schemes of enemies – which, in my innocent youth THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE SHORT FILM ‘GIFT’ TEACHES APPRECIATION OF ALL WE’RE Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC's Nightline UpClose, PBS's Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, "For God's Sake," for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste. URSULA K LE GUIN: ACTIVIST OF THE IMAGINATION Ursula K Le Guin: Activist Of The Imagination. Having that real though limited power to put established institutions into question, imaginative literature has also the responsibility of power. The storyteller is the truth-teller. So said Ursula K LeGuin (1929-2018), the “colossus of literature” (China Mieville) and “deepest and

smartest

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek IRWIN KULA – THE WISDOM DAILY Irwin Kula. Irwin Kula is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Irwin's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Washington Post. He is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and a co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices. Irwin has appeared on NBC's The

Today Show

THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history A PRAYER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT There’s a particular line of Jewish liturgy that has long resonated with me, mostly because I took some interpretive liberties with it. The line, from the end of the Amidah prayer, reads “all who think bad about me, let their thoughts be quickly nullified.” Presumably, the intended meaning is a prayer for protection against wicked schemes of enemies – which, in my innocent youth THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE SHORT FILM ‘GIFT’ TEACHES APPRECIATION OF ALL WE’RE Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC's Nightline UpClose, PBS's Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, "For God's Sake," for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste. URSULA K LE GUIN: ACTIVIST OF THE IMAGINATION Ursula K Le Guin: Activist Of The Imagination. Having that real though limited power to put established institutions into question, imaginative literature has also the responsibility of power. The storyteller is the truth-teller. So said Ursula K LeGuin (1929-2018), the “colossus of literature” (China Mieville) and “deepest and

smartest

THE WISDOM DAILY

Rashi (11th c. French rabbi) picks up on this, noting: “Because the Israelites were so dear to God, God counted them every now and then.” (Rashi on Numbers 1:1) Just as the act of revelation was borne of love, so, too was the act of ordering the census. Unfortunately for today’s Jewish community, while Shavuot continues

to bring people

HOPE VALLEY

Hope is a much-needed, often used, and often little understood concept. Haviva Ner-David is not only an accomplished rabbi, she is a rebbe of hope. Real hope, not naiveté, and not simply self-soothing, but bold, sometimes uncomfortable, and genuinely compassion-filled hope. Her newest book, Hope Valley, shares and inspires that kind of hope in the frame of a beautiful novel about two women HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. IRWIN KULA – THE WISDOM DAILY Irwin Kula. Irwin Kula is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Irwin's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Washington Post. He is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and a co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices. Irwin has appeared on NBC's The

Today Show

THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY As the work of spiritual direction reminds me, God (if that term is loaded for you, perhaps substitute “holiness” or “meaning”) is often found precisely in uncertainty. In the not-knowing. In the sense of mystery that can suffuse the world in which we live, if we allow ourselves to be open to it. Precisely because I so cherish my WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity. THE SHORT FILM ‘GIFT’ TEACHES APPRECIATION OF ALL WE’RE Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC's Nightline UpClose, PBS's Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, "For God's Sake," for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. HOW THE EMPTY BOAT PARABLE CAN HELP CONTROL YOUR ANGER The Taoists have a parable they tell about anger. It appears in the Zhuangzi, a formative philosophical work from the 4 th Century BCE, and goes something like this: A man’s riding his boat in a river. Suddenly another boat strikes his own–but there’s nobody in the other boat. It’s an Empty Boat. The man doesn’t get irritated or WHAT MADE KING DAVID A GREAT LEADER WAS HOW HE HANDLED David ordered Uriah back to battle, accompanied with a message to his commanders. “Put Uriah at the front and then withdraw from his position.”. Uriah was killed. Batsheva observed the mourning rituals. She and David were then married. The secret remained with the king and his advisors. Enter the prophet Nathan. He confronts David. URSULA K LE GUIN: ACTIVIST OF THE IMAGINATION Ursula K Le Guin: Activist Of The Imagination. Having that real though limited power to put established institutions into question, imaginative literature has also the responsibility of power. The storyteller is the truth-teller. So said Ursula K LeGuin (1929-2018), the “colossus of literature” (China Mieville) and “deepest and

smartest

THE WISDOM DAILYABOUTSUBMISSIONSOUR TOPICSSPIRITUALITY & FAITHRELATIONSHIPS & FAMILYNEWS & POLITICS Rashi (11th c. French rabbi) picks up on this, noting: “Because the Israelites were so dear to God, God counted them every now and then.” (Rashi on Numbers 1:1) Just as the act of revelation was borne of love, so, too was the act of ordering the census. Unfortunately for today’s Jewish community, while Shavuot continues

to bring people

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste.

ARE YOU A BEARD?

A “beard” is an antiquated slang term for someone whose social presence serves to mask aspects of someone else’s true self from the public. In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girlfriend or female companion who acted (wittingly or not) as social cover for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars HOW A CAR ACCIDENT EXPOSED MY SPIRITUAL LASSITUDE October 19, 2016. Just minutes after picking me up to drive us to lunch not long ago, my nephew tried to swerve to avoid a car making an ill-timed left turn across two lanes. As I saw the vehicle approaching in the passenger side mirror, I instinctively leaned my upper torso to the left and braced for impact. The metal-on-metal crunch confirmed THE WISDOM DAILYABOUTSUBMISSIONSOUR TOPICSSPIRITUALITY & FAITHRELATIONSHIPS & FAMILYNEWS & POLITICS Rashi (11th c. French rabbi) picks up on this, noting: “Because the Israelites were so dear to God, God counted them every now and then.” (Rashi on Numbers 1:1) Just as the act of revelation was borne of love, so, too was the act of ordering the census. Unfortunately for today’s Jewish community, while Shavuot continues

to bring people

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCED Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste.

ARE YOU A BEARD?

A “beard” is an antiquated slang term for someone whose social presence serves to mask aspects of someone else’s true self from the public. In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girlfriend or female companion who acted (wittingly or not) as social cover for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars HOW A CAR ACCIDENT EXPOSED MY SPIRITUAL LASSITUDE October 19, 2016. Just minutes after picking me up to drive us to lunch not long ago, my nephew tried to swerve to avoid a car making an ill-timed left turn across two lanes. As I saw the vehicle approaching in the passenger side mirror, I instinctively leaned my upper torso to the left and braced for impact. The metal-on-metal crunch confirmed IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek MISSING THE TREES FOR THE FOREST We’re all familiar with the expression about missing the forest for the trees, and its wisdom about not being distracted by smaller details that undermine our appreciation of the “big picture.” No doubt, that’s often good advice. After all, who among us hasn’t gotten bogged down in the details of a situation or a relationship, to the point that we lose touch with the larger purposes HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. IRWIN KULA – THE WISDOM DAILY Irwin Kula. Irwin Kula is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Irwin's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Washington Post. He is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and a co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices. Irwin has appeared on NBC's The

Today Show

THE NUNS OF SILICON VALLEY The numbers of nuns there used to be higher — as many as 40 lived at the monastery in the 1950s and 60s. Then and now, the monastery helped support itself by baking communion wafers for mass. But in the years after WWII, the Catholic Church saw a decrease in the numbers of people who decided to become either priests or nuns — and the EMBODYING SOUL: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND HOW THEY INSPIRE Musical instruments appear in this context in biblical narratives, poetry, and legal sections.”. Exodus 15:20 states that after the parting of the Red Sea, “Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.”. This was a celebratory form of praise, worship, and joyful MY NONVERBAL LEARNING DISABILITY: WEIRD, WACKY, AND (MAYBE It also described my issues with coordination — my inability to manage the complex movements necessary to play sports, for instance. My diagnosis was a nonverbal learning disability, which, according to learning specialist and psychologist Binyamin Goldman, has been estimated to affect somewhere between 0.1% and 1% of the overall

population.

THE ANCIENT ENGLISH PRAYER METHOD THAT WAS STRANGELY The first pose, Await, is a posture of receiving, held with cupped hands extended at the waist to receive the presence of God. The second pose, Allow, is a posture of opening, reaching up with the hands open to the coming of God’s presence. The third pose, Accept, takes in whatever comes, standing with hands cupped at the heart. TRUMP: HOW HE MASTERED MEDIA SPIN BY FIXING AN ICE RINK We best understand the world through compelling narratives. Here’s one that helps us process the phenomenon known as Trump for President: Once upon a time there was an ice skating rink in Central Park that could no longer make ice. No one could figure out how to fix the skating rink. Years went by and millions of dollars were spent and still no ice. One day a white knight wearing a bright BREATH IS LIFE: THE FASCINATING HISTORY OF THE IRON LUNG Vintage comic, by Helen L. Gillum, detailing the history of the iron lung. The first human test took place at Boston Children’s hospital on October 12, 1928. The testee was an 8-year-old polio sufferer on the verge of death due to respiratory failure. Once encased in the iron lung, the young patient’s breathing rapidly improved; sadly THE WISDOM DAILYABOUTSUBMISSIONSOUR TOPICSSPIRITUALITY & FAITHRELATIONSHIPS & FAMILYNEWS & POLITICSSCIENCE A2Z THE WISDOM

SEGMENT

Rashi (11th c. French rabbi) picks up on this, noting: “Because the Israelites were so dear to God, God counted them every now and then.” (Rashi on Numbers 1:1) Just as the act of revelation was borne of love, so, too was the act of ordering the census. Unfortunately for today’s Jewish community, while Shavuot continues

to bring people

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCEDCELTIC MYSTICISM BELIEFSCHRISTIAN MYSTICISM PRACTICES Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste. HOW A CAR ACCIDENT EXPOSED MY SPIRITUAL LASSITUDE October 19, 2016. Just minutes after picking me up to drive us to lunch not long ago, my nephew tried to swerve to avoid a car making an ill-timed left turn across two lanes. As I saw the vehicle approaching in the passenger side mirror, I instinctively leaned my upper torso to the left and braced for impact. The metal-on-metal crunch confirmed

ARE YOU A BEARD?

A “beard” is an antiquated slang term for someone whose social presence serves to mask aspects of someone else’s true self from the public. In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girlfriend or female companion who acted (wittingly or not) as social cover for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars THE WISDOM DAILYABOUTSUBMISSIONSOUR TOPICSSPIRITUALITY & FAITHRELATIONSHIPS & FAMILYNEWS & POLITICSSCIENCE A2Z THE WISDOM

SEGMENT

Rashi (11th c. French rabbi) picks up on this, noting: “Because the Israelites were so dear to God, God counted them every now and then.” (Rashi on Numbers 1:1) Just as the act of revelation was borne of love, so, too was the act of ordering the census. Unfortunately for today’s Jewish community, while Shavuot continues

to bring people

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE LEAVING THE CHURCH? In the 90s the cultural shift from the 70s showed itself in churches and early in the 21st century, the decline opened the doors for thousands to leave the church. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote: Deep into the 20th century, over nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to organized religion, with the great

majority of

IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek THE WISDOM IN CARROLL’S NONSENSICAL POEM, THE WALRUS AND The two plunge into the sea to coerce the oysters to join them on an “adventure.”. While the baby oysters are warned by the eldest oyster not to go with the Walrus, it seems that they are unanimously taken in by the chorus of the poem: The time has come,’ the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and

sealing-wax —.

THE DEEP MYSTICISM OF THE CELTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCEDCELTIC MYSTICISM BELIEFSCHRISTIAN MYSTICISM PRACTICES Avellina Balestri. Avellina Balestri (aka Rosaria Marie) is a Catholic freelance writer from the scenic and historic Penn-Mar borderlands. She the editor-in-chief of Fellowship & Fairydust, a literary magazine inspiring faith and creativity and exploring the arts through a spiritual lens.In addition to her regular contributions to The Wisdom Daily, her writings on matters of world history WHO ARE THEY, REALLY? THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUZE Reincarnation is a key belief of the faith. The Druze do not fear death, because they believe that as soon as they die they are immediately reborn into another body. Reincarnation continues until one achieves purification and unities with the Divine. Hell is the failure to reach this level of purity. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSURRECTION AND BLM PROTESTS The narrative on the Right seems to have coalesced into two primary defenses: 1) the invasion of the Capitol was actually an Antifa false flag, 2) that whatever happened yesterday is morally offset by the BLM protests that occurred over the summer. The first defense, that it’s actually an Antifa false flag, to me just indicates that the THE MEZUZAH, THE DOORBELL, AND THE DESIGN OF A RITUAL “Inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9. A rabbi, a poet, and a designer walk into a bar. The rabbi orders a drink, says a bracha (blessing) over it, and then gratefully imbibes it. The poet orders a drink, savors the taste for a moment, swallows it, and then eloquently declares to the others that the libation produces an exquisite taste. HOW A CAR ACCIDENT EXPOSED MY SPIRITUAL LASSITUDE October 19, 2016. Just minutes after picking me up to drive us to lunch not long ago, my nephew tried to swerve to avoid a car making an ill-timed left turn across two lanes. As I saw the vehicle approaching in the passenger side mirror, I instinctively leaned my upper torso to the left and braced for impact. The metal-on-metal crunch confirmed

ARE YOU A BEARD?

A “beard” is an antiquated slang term for someone whose social presence serves to mask aspects of someone else’s true self from the public. In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girlfriend or female companion who acted (wittingly or not) as social cover for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars IS VIOLENCE EVER OKAY? Generally speaking, I abhor violence. I’d like to think that if I was an adult back in 1967, I would have joined the Flower Power movement and stuck flowers in the rifles of national guardsmen at the National Mall as a protest of war. For as long as I can remember, I have trusted the wisdom which teaches that one should not meet violence with violence. We should “turn the other cheek MISSING THE TREES FOR THE FOREST We’re all familiar with the expression about missing the forest for the trees, and its wisdom about not being distracted by smaller details that undermine our appreciation of the “big picture.” No doubt, that’s often good advice. After all, who among us hasn’t gotten bogged down in the details of a situation or a relationship, to the point that we lose touch with the larger purposes HOW TO DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO WATER These were only gestures, of course, but even as a boy I knew a gesture might mean life or death and I believed the universe was similarly triggered.”. Try these five gestures to see how they affect your universe. 1. Drink and use fresh water with mindfulness. Give it your deepest respect. IRWIN KULA – THE WISDOM DAILY Irwin Kula. Irwin Kula is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Irwin's writing has been featured in The Huffington Post and the Washington Post. He is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and a co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices. Irwin has appeared on NBC's The

Today Show

THE NUNS OF SILICON VALLEY The numbers of nuns there used to be higher — as many as 40 lived at the monastery in the 1950s and 60s. Then and now, the monastery helped support itself by baking communion wafers for mass. But in the years after WWII, the Catholic Church saw a decrease in the numbers of people who decided to become either priests or nuns — and the EMBODYING SOUL: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND HOW THEY INSPIRE Musical instruments appear in this context in biblical narratives, poetry, and legal sections.”. Exodus 15:20 states that after the parting of the Red Sea, “Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.”. This was a celebratory form of praise, worship, and joyful MY NONVERBAL LEARNING DISABILITY: WEIRD, WACKY, AND (MAYBE It also described my issues with coordination — my inability to manage the complex movements necessary to play sports, for instance. My diagnosis was a nonverbal learning disability, which, according to learning specialist and psychologist Binyamin Goldman, has been estimated to affect somewhere between 0.1% and 1% of the overall

population.

THE ANCIENT ENGLISH PRAYER METHOD THAT WAS STRANGELY The first pose, Await, is a posture of receiving, held with cupped hands extended at the waist to receive the presence of God. The second pose, Allow, is a posture of opening, reaching up with the hands open to the coming of God’s presence. The third pose, Accept, takes in whatever comes, standing with hands cupped at the heart. TRUMP: HOW HE MASTERED MEDIA SPIN BY FIXING AN ICE RINK We best understand the world through compelling narratives. Here’s one that helps us process the phenomenon known as Trump for President: Once upon a time there was an ice skating rink in Central Park that could no longer make ice. No one could figure out how to fix the skating rink. Years went by and millions of dollars were spent and still no ice. One day a white knight wearing a bright BREATH IS LIFE: THE FASCINATING HISTORY OF THE IRON LUNG Vintage comic, by Helen L. Gillum, detailing the history of the iron lung. The first human test took place at Boston Children’s hospital on October 12, 1928. The testee was an 8-year-old polio sufferer on the verge of death due to respiratory failure. Once encased in the iron lung, the young patient’s breathing rapidly improved; sadly

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HOLD DUALITIES TOGETHER

/ 14 MAY 2021

HOW I’M EXPLAINING THE CONFLICT IN ISRAEL TO MY CHILDREN How do we explain something we don’t understand ourselves?

*

HISTORIC PROFILES

,

LONGFORM , UNCATEGORIZED

/ 02 JUN 2021

PREMONITIONS: PARSHAT SH’LACH (NUMBERS 13:1 – 15:41) Sometimes we can feel in our bones that something is going to go wrong. We can’t explain why or how, but we can sense the impending trouble. Some call it intuition. Behavioral Economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky might term it “thinking fast,” with our subconscious outpacing the centers of rational reasoning; bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell might call it “thinking without thinking.” One of my mentors, Hedy Peyser, LCSW, would often reiterate, “sometimes you just know.” Moses knew. It would be easy to presume that God had foreshadowed the rebellion of all but two of the spies that he sent to survey the Promised Land. But perhaps he had become such a seasoned leader, well-versed in the realities of social unrest and chronic uncertainty, that he could sense that something was not right. Perhaps he knew the character of the twelve chieftains, representing one of the Israelite tribes, whom he charged with gathering information about the population, its settlements, their agricultural produce, and the land itself. Perhaps there was just something in the way that they carried themselves. Perhaps the work carried with it too much power and the temptation to venture from the sacred pursuit of knowledge to the personal pursuit of glory or power. So much could go wrong in the nature of their report – or in their very nature. Rather than preemptively disciplining or threatening the spies, Moses chooses a path of moderation: elevating the righteous among them and accepting with an openness that much lay beyond his control. In Numbers 13:16, we read that “Moses changed the name of Hosea son of Nun to Joshua.” The additional Hebrew letter yud in his name makes it into a prayer: “May God save you” – or, as understood in Tractate Sotah of the Babylonian Talmud, “God will…

Continue Reading

*

GRIEF & COPING

/

02 JUN 2021

WHAT TO DO IN RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT LEVELS OF ANTISEMITISM How to strengthen ourselves in the face of hate.

*

THERE'S MORE TO YOU THAN YOU REALIZE

/ 28 MAY 2021

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR MIND TO BE MORE RESILIENT A silver lining exists in every situation. The question is, are we mentally flexible enough to start seeing it?

*

NEWS & POLITICS

/ 21

MAY 2021

HOW JEWISH TRAUMA AFFECTS OUR VIEW OF THE CONFLICT IN ISRAEL We are the first generations of Jews capable of healing our national

trauma.

*

HOLD DUALITIES TOGETHER

/ 14 MAY 2021

HOW I’M EXPLAINING THE CONFLICT IN ISRAEL TO MY CHILDREN How do we explain something we don’t understand ourselves?

*

HISTORIC PROFILES

,

LONGFORM , UNCATEGORIZED

/ 02 JUN 2021

PREMONITIONS: PARSHAT SH’LACH (NUMBERS 13:1 – 15:41) Sometimes we can feel in our bones that something is going to go wrong. We can’t explain why or how, but we can sense the impending trouble. Some call it intuition. Behavioral Economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky might term it “thinking fast,” with our subconscious outpacing the centers of rational reasoning; bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell might call it “thinking without thinking.” One of my mentors, Hedy Peyser, LCSW, would often reiterate, “sometimes you just know.” Moses knew. It would be easy to presume that God had foreshadowed the rebellion of all but two of the spies that he sent to survey the Promised Land. But perhaps he had become such a seasoned leader, well-versed in the realities of social unrest and chronic uncertainty, that he could sense that something was not right. Perhaps he knew the character of the twelve chieftains, representing one of the Israelite tribes, whom he charged with gathering information about the population, its settlements, their agricultural produce, and the land itself. Perhaps there was just something in the way that they carried themselves. Perhaps the work carried with it too much power and the temptation to venture from the sacred pursuit of knowledge to the personal pursuit of glory or power. So much could go wrong in the nature of their report – or in their very nature. Rather than preemptively disciplining or threatening the spies, Moses chooses a path of moderation: elevating the righteous among them and accepting with an openness that much lay beyond his control. In Numbers 13:16, we read that “Moses changed the name of Hosea son of Nun to Joshua.” The additional Hebrew letter yud in his name makes it into a prayer: “May God save you” – or, as understood in Tractate Sotah of the Babylonian Talmud, “God will…

Continue Reading

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------------------------- CELEBRATING SERENA, DEFEATING FEAR AND MORE: MUST-READ LINKS

Wisdom Warehouse

__ December 28,

2015

------------------------- EVERY STORY IS UNIQUE… AND THE SAME

Daily Life

/

Wisdom Warehouse

__ December 23, 2015

HISTORIC PROFILES

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LONGFORM , UNCATEGORIZED

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JUNE 02, 2021

PREMONITIONS: PARSHAT SH’LACH (NUMBERS 13:1 – 15:41) Sometimes we can feel in our bones that something is going to go wrong. We can’t explain why or how, but we can sense the impending trouble. Some call it intuition. Behavioral Economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky might term it “thinking fast,” with our subconscious outpacing the centers of rational reasoning; bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell might call it “thinking without thinking.” One of my mentors, Hedy Peyser, LCSW, would often reiterate, “sometimes you just know.” Moses knew. It would be easy to presume that God had foreshadowed the rebellion of all......

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BY JOSHUA STANTON

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NO COMMENTS

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GRIEF & COPING

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JUNE 02, 2021

WHAT TO DO IN RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT LEVELS OF ANTISEMITISM How to strengthen ourselves in the face of hate....

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BY BETH KISSILEFF |

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------------------------- THERE'S MORE TO YOU THAN YOU REALIZE

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MAY 28, 2021

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR MIND TO BE MORE RESILIENT A silver lining exists in every situation. The question is, are we mentally flexible enough to start seeing it? ...

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BY SARAH PACHTER |

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NEWS & POLITICS

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MAY 21, 2021

HOW JEWISH TRAUMA AFFECTS OUR VIEW OF THE CONFLICT IN ISRAEL We are the first generations of Jews capable of healing our national

trauma....

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BY ZACH FREDMAN |

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------------------------- HOLD DUALITIES TOGETHER

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MAY 14, 2021

HOW I’M EXPLAINING THE CONFLICT IN ISRAEL TO MY CHILDREN How do we explain something we don't understand ourselves?...

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BY LELA CASEY |

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------------------------- BREAKING FALSE DICHOTOMIES

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HOLD DUALITIES TOGETHER

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LONGFORM , LONGFORM

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THIS WEEK IN WISDOM |

MAY 13, 2021

ONCE-IN-A-DECADE REVELATIONS Every year at Shavuot, Jewish communities all around the world celebrate the giving of Torah with raucous gatherings, enormous slabs of cheesecake, and Torah learning from dusk to dawn. Of the many fond memories I have of my time living in Jerusalem a decade ago, house-hopping throughout the night of Shavuot sits comfortably atop the list. I learned provocative, inspiring Torah from complete strangers, danced with folks from Haredi to Hiloni (strictly Orthodox to strictly secular), and emerged from my last learning session to feel the rising sun on my face while I prayed at the......

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BY RABBI ELAN BABCHUCK

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NO COMMENTS

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LONGFORM , LONGFORM

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NEWS & POLITICS

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THIS WEEK IN WISDOM ,

UNCATEGORIZED ,

WISDOM DAILY NEWS

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MAY 12, 2021

PEW’S JEWS: FIVE FIRST TAKEAWAYS Who doesn’t love a good demographic study?...

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BY BRAD HIRSCHFIELD |

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------------------------- SPIRITUALITY & FAITH

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MAY 10, 2021

WAS THE TRAGEDY AT MERON PREVENTABLE? It is always easy to dismiss the warnings. ...

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BY BETH KISSILEFF |

NO COMMENTS

------------------------- HOLD DUALITIES TOGETHER

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MAY 07, 2021

MOTHER REALLY DOES KNOW BEST When tragedy strikes, motherly advice unexpectedly becomes a

lifesaver....

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BY JILL RACHEL JACOBS

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DAILY LIFE

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MAY 04, 2021

SIX MAJOR BENEFITS OF APOLOGIZING TO OUR KIDS A sincere apology to our children has significant benefits to their development in both the short and long term....

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BY LINDSAY RICHARDSON

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NO COMMENTS

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A video where Brad Hirschfield lists the victims names in the recent Orlando shooting. Because first we need to internalize a tragedy before we jump to speak. The Wisdom Daily View Full Site � 2014 The Wisdom Daily

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