Or HaLev - Center for Jewish Spirituality & Meditation

16/06/2025

Grounding Together: Join the Or HaLev worldwide community for a special practice in these days 🧘‍♀️🧘

In these extraordinarily challenging days, our hearts are with the people of Israel. We send our strength and prayers for well-being and for peace.
You are warmly invited to join us tomorrow, Tuesday - June 17, to come together and find grounding and stability within our open weekday practice group, Ground and Center.

The special session tomorrow will be led by Zac Newman, and will include a sit with guidance, chanting and time for sharing.

📅Tuesday, June 17 at 10:15am PST / 1:15pm EST / 6:15pm UK / 8:15pm IL // On Zoom

This offering is free and open to everyone 🫶
To receive the Zoom link please register in advance >> www.orhalev.net/ground-and-center

Weekday Community Meditation

12/06/2025

What do we do when we're overwhelmed?

Weekly Wisdom on parshat B’halotkha by Carrie Watkins, US Community Manager:
"Two years into their sojourn through the desert, when Moshe had just said goodbye to his dear father-in-law and trusted advisor Yitro, the Children of Israel once again began to complain. `Moshe heard the people crying out clan by clan, each one at his tent’s opening` (Numbers 11:10). They cried for cucumbers and melons and garlic and fish, wistfully reminiscing about Egypt. God, hearing them, began to get angry.
For Moshe, it was too much.

We’ve all experienced overwhelm, that shut down that happens when it feels unbearable. Moshe’s words encapsulate the feeling perfectly.
`לא-אוכל אנכי לבדי לשאת את-כל-העם הזה כי כבד ממני`
`I cannot bear all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me` (11:15).

Moshe, holding the weight of a struggling nation, calls out in desperation.
God might have responded out of anger, a feeling already burgeoning in relation to the people. Instead, God responds in a moving display of attunement and action.
`Then the Lord said to Moshe, Gather for me seventy of Israel’s elders, whom you know to be the people’s elders and officers, and bring them to the Tent of Meeting. Let them stand there with you . . . I will take some of the spirit that is on you and place it upon them; they will share the burden of the people with you, and you will not have to bear it alone.`(11:17).

God reflect’s Moshe’s words and responds with supportive action. This moment recalls other moments of Moshe’s overwhelm. At the burning bush, when Moshe doubted himself, God told him Aaron would accompany him. When the people had just been freed and Moshe was worn out from judging disputes, Yitro, Moshe’s Father-in-Law, advised Moses to set up other leaders to serve as judges. In fact, Yitro used the language:
'כי-כבד ממך הדבר לא-תוכל עשהו לבדך'
`It is too heavy a burden for you. You cannot carry it alone` (Exodus 18:18).

Two years later, Moshe used almost exactly the same language he’d heard from Yitro. In this moment of grief after he said goodbye to his Father-in-Law, he recalled his same words. It was too heavy. He couldn’t carry it alone. God, remarkably, responded in much the same way Yitro had responded. Bring in others. You don’t have to do this alone.

It’s a lesson for all of us, how to respond in the midst of our own overwhelm.. We live in societies that place high values on self-sufficiency and individualism. How supportive it can be to remember that even Moshe, the paragon of leadership and humility, fell into despair when he felt alone. We cannot do it by ourselves. When we’re overwhelmed, the best thing we can often do is ask for help."

Shabbat Shalom from Or HaLev 🫶

B’halotkha

12/06/2025

Join us for our annual Women’s retreat in Israel 🌷

In the heart of the Galilee, we will take a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life and turn our attention to the stillness within.
Together, in a supportive, enabling, held and open women's environment - where there is time for quiet individual practice as well as time for guided practice, learning, prayer, chanting, and movement - we will explore the transformative power of Jewish mindfulness and open the door to renewal, healing, and growth.

Time for Myself (Israel)
A weekend of Jewish mindfulness practice
With Rabbah Dr. Mira Neshama Niculescu & Dafna Arnoni
July 3 - 5, 2025 // Kibbutz Parod, Israel

This retreat will be conducted in Hebrew.
It is open to all self-identifying women - from religious to secular, and to all levels of practice 🫶 Special rates available 🫶

To find out more >> https://bit.ly/4iCfmpC

11/06/2025

"I discovered how much I needed silence to fully tune into my inner thoughts & feelings. I also realized the power of being in a supportive community where everyone is committed to personal growth & healing.”
- Mira B.

✨ This is just one example of the wonderful feedback we received following Awakening the Divine Retreat 2025! ✨

Thank You to everyone who attended 🫶
Your presence and practice on retreat created a truly transformative experience ✨
Thank you for your open hearts and beautiful dedication!

As you return home, we hope you carry the renewed energy, clarity, and deep insights from the retreat and integrate them into your daily lives.

Thank you to the amazing team leading this retreat: Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels, Rabbah Dr. Mira Neshama , Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell & Kohenet Shamirah (Sarah) Chandler

We are so grateful for our time together and can't wait to see you again soon!

08/06/2025

As we emerge from Shavuot & enter the rest of the month of Sivan, we are also coming down off the mountain of revelation & looking to integrate that peak experience into our everyday lives. Integration, as such, is really about making Shalom between seeming opposites. We could also call this holding paradox. Shalom, while often translated as peace, comes from the same root as shalem or wholeness. So the question then becomes, how do we make wholeness from two seeming opposites?

In our meditation practice, we often find that the mind is racing with thoughts about what happened yesterday, what might happen tomorrow, & whatever else is percolating on today's "what could go wrong" or "what I need to fix" list. Then we have the heart which is wanting stillness, presence, calm & simply to love & be loved.

In our practice, we create space for both the heart and the mind to express themselves, yet we remain unswayed by either equally. Our awareness in the seat of the witness remains firmly in the center of our being. This is how we reach Shalom; this is how we come down from the mountain & bring revelation back with us.

Click to stay updated with our practice opportunities >> https://did.li/sEJlC

05/06/2025

Where do we place our attention?

Weekly Wisdom on parshat Naso by Ariel Hendelman, the Or HaLev Team:
"The title of this week’s Torah portion of Nasso can mean `lift up` or `count` (i.e. take a census). The pshat or literal meaning of the text is in line with the latter, as God is instructing Moshe to take stock of a certain household of Am Yisrael – B’nai Gershon. But perhaps if we look more deeply, these two definitions of Nasso are the same, pointing us to a theme that can guide us in this week of coming down from Mount Sinai and integrating our experiences of revelation from Shavuot.

Because what we elevate is what counts, and so too, what raises us up enables us to form a higher perspective about what really matters. We live in an attention economy in modern society. Now more than ever, there are a thousand notifications, alarms, and ads vying for our attention. Where we place our energy matters.
By turning towards something, we affirm that it’s worth counting. We have more choice in this than we’ve been led to believe.

The practice of meditation enables us to touch into a little more stillness and silence. When we meditate, we raise our consciousness up to the top of the mountain, each inbreath another step up, each outbreath another affirmation of our commitment to waking up. From this more elevated perspective, we can witness our looping thought patterns and habitual reactions and make choices about where we place our precious attention.

This just might be the promise hidden within the formula of the priestly blessing that is given to Aharon in this parsha:

יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יְהֹוָ֖ה וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ
יָאֵ֨ר יְהֹוָ֧ה ׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ
יִשָּׂ֨א יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם

May YHVH bless you and protect you
May YHVH make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
May YHVH bestow favor upon you and grant you Shalom (Num 6:24-26).

Meditation practice does not guarantee miracles or sustained enlightenment. What it offers is the ability to raise us up above the habitual tightness and loopings of the mind, to witness the blessings that are already present in our lives, and to protect the sacredness of our attention so that we might be able to inhabit the present moment, just as it is. Our practice offers us the opportunity to see the Divine face shining through every face we see, every leaf, every conundrum, and it offers us the ability to respond to whatever we meet from our whole self rather than a smaller, reactive part. That is truly a blessing."

Shabbat Shalom from Or HaLev 💐

Naso

01/06/2025

We have been on a journey, all of us, for 50 days, from the second night of Pesach to the night of Shavuot, the 6th of Sivan. On this journey, we have left our places of constriction and confinement, found increased expansion, and are now on our way to revelation. But this revelation requires commitment. We don’t just climb to the mountain top and receive; we first declare that `we will do and we will hear.` We declare a commitment to the process of being in relationship with our Creator, with the Mystery, and in the face of that we say that we will do whatever is required of us, even before knowing what that might be. This is the kind of commitment that begets true revelation.

In our meditation practice, we encounter very much the same. We climb the mountain of patterns and thoughts and emotions within, built up by wounds as much as by wisdom - and we declare that we will stay sitting and silent through it all. We do this because we know that a true commitment to the practice is what makes revelation possible.

On this Shavuot, how can we commit more fully to our relationship to the Infinite One, to the Mystery that holds all of creation together? How can we commit more whole-heartedly so that when revelation comes, as it surely will, we are ready to receive it?

Chag Shavuot Sameach 🍇🌾💐

Click to stay updated with our practice opportunities >> https://did.li/sEJlC

29/05/2025

What do we encounter when we go within?

Weekly Wisdom on parshat Bamidbar by Ariel Hendelman, the Or HaLev Team:
"This week, we enter into the book of Bamidbar, which in English is called Numbers, but actually means `In the Desert.` In truth, both titles are fitting. In the first portion, Am Yisrael is being counted, with God telling Moshe to take a census of the 12 tribes. We are also still in the desert. We often describe our time in the desert as `wandering,` but the movements are actually quite precise. The Levites are the ones to dismantle and carry the Mishkan, and then reassemble it at the next camp. The Kohanim carry the ritual objects from one camp to the next. So too, the placement of each tribe's tents are set in a specific direction and order surrounding the mishkan itself. Even though Am Yisrael may be displaced, and are still on their way to the Promised Land, there is a sacred order to the journey.

Meditation practice can feel a lot like wandering through the desert, with uncertainty as the constant landscape. The desert is a place stripped of frills. It has no billboards or high-rises. It does not even have the comfort of swaying trees or rivers that promise the sustenance of life. The desert is bare, wild, and raw, much like what we encounter when we go within, and dare to return again and again to the still quiet place that exists just between those racing thoughts: that memory, that future aspiration. The desert is where trust and devotion are our compasses.

If we look deeply enough, if we stay committed to the journey, we realize and remember that there is a sacred order to the journey. We are heading somewhere after all, to the land that was promised to us. We see glimpses of it when we touch into the compassionate and loving presence within, when we feel that we are home, when we understand that it's been inside us all this time."

Shabbat Shalom from Or HaLev 🫶

Bamidbar

28/05/2025

Explore the healing opportunities that lie within the period of Tisha B'Av - A New Series Starting July 13 📅

We are all holding profound grief and uncertainty in these extraordinarily challenging times, each in our own ways.

How do we practice wisely in times of grief?
How do we find our ground in the wake of loss?
How might our pain become a guide which leads us home?

Our upcoming 3-part series and mini-retreat will offer you honest, connecting and compassionate ways of being in the midst of a world on fire.
You are warmly invited to join us in the weeks approaching and culminating in Tisha B'Av, as we explore, feel, grieve, resource, and move towards healing together.

The Walls Fall Down: Living and Loving After Pain and Loss 💔
With Zac Newman
Sundays, July 13, 20, 27📌Mini-retreat on Tisha B'Av, Sunday, August 3, 2025 // On Zoom

Find out more >> www.orhalev.net/the-walls-fall-down

27/05/2025

Enjoy this teaching for Rosh Chodesh Sivan by Rabbi Jacobson-Maisels , Founder & Spiritual Director of Or HaLev:

“Sivan is the month of revelation, the month of Shavuot, the holiday of receiving the Torah. Each year we are meant to receive the revelation on Shavuot. But what do we do with that revelation? What is our own role and task with the revelation that we and our ancestors received? In the kabbalistic imagination, we are seen as channels which bring the divine flow into the world. When we are full of ego, or act in harmful ways, the channel becomes clogged, and the flow of divine lovingkindness is restricted. When we allow ourselves to open and soften, as the words suggest, to act in loving ways, the channel becomes open and the divine can flow through. This flow, as the Hasidic master R. Shelomo Rabinowitz explains (Tiferet Shelomo, Torah, Ekev, 4), is unceasing and unlimited.

This image of the channel and the unceasing flow invites a shift in how we approach the world and our actions in it, a shift that I have found helpful. It asks us to allow the divine flow to come through us, rather than deciding to act in a certain way. It shifts the texture and metaphor of action to one of attunement, listening, feeling, and allowing what is true and loving to come through us into the world and away from one of will, decision making, or self-ownership (I’m doing X).

Take a moment to feel the difference there. What might the result be if, before acting (which includes speech), we felt into whether we were attuned to the call of the divine moving through us? In my experience, when I remember to inquire in this way, it makes possible a more loving response, one that is less triggered and reactive. It also makes possible a braver response, one that is open to the divine moving through. It allows me to take both the action and the results less personally. In a time in the world that so needs our engagement and action, this kabbalistic metaphor can help that engagement come forth in the most loving and helpful way.

As we explore revelation this Shavuot, I invite you to explore what can and is being revealed through each one of us and how we might make ourselves a bit wider, a bit more open, a bit less clogged up, so that the divine may move through us and into the world.”

Chodesh Tov & Chag Shavuot Sameach from Or HaLev 🌾

22/05/2025

Can we release into the knowing that we are just passing through?

Weekly Wisdom on Parshiot Behar-Bechukotai by Rabbi Lauren Tuchman :

But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with Me. (Lev 25:23)

"In parashat Behar, after learning the intricate laws of the Shmita and Yovel years, we are reminded that we are but strangers, just passing through. Ultimately, the land is the Divine’s. We are temporary residents. Our sense of ownership is impermanent. We are a part of a field that is so much wider and deeper than we can possibly imagine.

Impermanence is a foundational part of our practice. Recognizing that change is ever-present allows us to become intimate with what is here and now, knowing that it ultimately will not, cannot last.

When we take our seat to practice, we might notice that the quality of body sensations is in constant flux. That annoying itch arises and passes. The temperature in the room changes. So, too, does sound arise and pass. We don’t need to get lost in the pleasurable or painful. We can instead let go, release into the deep knowing that we are but temporary residents, just passing through.

If we heed our parsha’s invitation to release and let go into this profound truth of life and practice, we might find some spaciousness, some ease and deep freedom. We are taught that the land must never be sold beyond reclaim, for ultimately it all goes back to source. As we open to this, we can let go of clinging, of wanting things a certain way, of grasping, of yearning for control over that which is beyond our control. May this deep practice of release invite us to put down our tremendous and heavy burdens, even for a moment, and allow our systems to experience some rest, as we are richly invited to do this week."

Shabbat Shalom from Or HaLev 🪷

Behar-Bechukotai

21/05/2025

Time and again we can reopen the channel to eternity.

Join Yael Shy and the Or HaLev community today in an hour of guided meditation, teaching, and Q&A.

⏰Wednesday, May 21 @ 10:15 Pacific / 13:15 Eastern / 18:15 UK / 20:15 Israel

To register ✏️https://tinyurl.com/muemyzvj