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Bibliomancy: Seeing Clearly in Tevet?

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Here’s a little bit of deep spiritual practice, disguised as light fun, for Tevet.  This month of Tevet, which began at sundown on December 26th, 2011 and ends at sundown on January 24, 2012, is associated with the concept of seeing.  The letter associated with the month, according to Inner.org, is the Ayin (ע) — the eye.   Over at PeelaPom.com I used this concept to explore the lighting of candles as a practice for the month.  Then I had a flash of inspiration or insanity right before Rosh Chodesh services at OneShul.org — a little divination for the month of seeing!

Now, before you panic, yes — many kinds of divination are … frowned upon in Jewish tradition.  Of course, if it’s the BESHT doing it — it doesn’t count.  But I’m not the BESHT. Several sources, including the Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Supersitiion,  call the Jewish tradition of bibliomancy “Sheilat Sefer” (שאלת ספר).   Sheilat Sefer simply means, “Question a Book.” This makes sense since dream interpretation is often called Sheilat Halom – Question a Dream (שאלת חלום).

Techniques like Sheilat Sefer allow us to tap into our deep intuition, and open ourselves to the wisdom of the Divine. They allow us to move beyond our rational minds to finds ideas, answers, or inspiration. Technically you could use any book for this practice, but traditionally it’s done with either a Chumash (The Five Books of Moses) or The Book of Psalms.  But there’s a host of other amazing Jewish (and not Jewish) texts that can provide a powerful experience.  Personally, as the folks at OneShul found out, I like to use the Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols by Ellen Frankel.  I think the Perek Shirah, the Song of Nature, is another fabulous Jewish text to use for this practice

Curious?  Want to give Sheilat Sefer a try?  It’s pretty easy.  Just grab a book, and flip randomly to a page. Then either without looking put your finger on something and read, or use whatever your eyes first fall upon.  Don’t cheat — that’s really not the way to go.  Just read and see what thoughts,  feelings, or images  the words bring up for you. This all works a bit better if you clear your mind, maybe state your Kavanah (intention) or question, and even give a little prayer to center yourself.  Be sure to also give a prayer of thanks for the wisdom received — even if you don’t feel like you got much!

Want to learn more?  Check out these articles

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Ketzirah is a Kohenet, Celebrant, and Artist. She works with individuals and groups to explore, discover, and create meaningful rituals and ritual artwork to mark moments in life.

Hanukkiah: Symbol of Kislev

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In thinking about Kislev, I went right to the dreidel and the Hanukkiah.  I decided that if I had to pick one, it’s the Hanukkiah (but I may explore the other dreidels later in the month!)  The Hanukkiah is the nine-branched menorah that we light on Hanukkah.  Even though we generally just call it a menorah, not all menorahs are for Hanukkah!  The menorah, which is an ancient symbol of the Jewish people is actually seven branched.

If the menorah is considered  “the most central role of all the sacred vessels, for it is the symbol of light,” and a symbol of spiritual illumination — then it’s safe to assume that this is also the role the Hanukkiah plays.  Hanukkah is a strange holiday because it’s not only post-biblical, but also two holidays smooshed together.  I guess we have a lot of holidays that are two smooshed together, though.  Most commonly Hanukkah is the holiday that celebrates the victory of the Maccabbees over the Greeks, and the “miracle of the oil.”  It’s also a Winter Solstice (Tekufat Tevet) holiday, that acknowledges the darkness of the year and returning of the light.  That’s actually found in ancient midrash, it’s not just some modern “new agey” thing.  It’s even one of the stories I included in the Hanukkah Haggadah!

The lighting of the Hanukkah menorah offers wonderful opportunities for spiritual refreshment and renewal.  This year, toss away the annual debates over whether or not Hanukkah is important or just a reaction to Christmas.  Don’t worry about the ethics of celebrating the victory in a war (and that the Maccabees were total zealots, who probably would have killed many of us too…).  Embrace our own holiday of lights at its root level — light.

What do you want to light up?  What areas of your life, your heart, your soul need light?  Dedicate your entire Hanukkiah to bringing light into an area in your life.  Let each candle represent a step along the way, and watch the light grow over the eight days!  Take this time to rededicate yourself — to whatever you need to rededicate yourself.  Bring back the light in your own life, and rejoice in our very special holiday of lights!

Ketzirah is a Kohenet, Celebrant, and Artist. Her mission is to help others experience the best life possible by connecting with the Divine presence, physical resources, creative expression, and communal ritual experience.

Originally posted here: Hanukkiah: Symbol of Kislev | Peeling a Pomegranate http://www.peelapom.com/wheel-of-the-year/chanukah/hanukkiah-symbol-of-kislev/#ixzz1fPdj3kkP

Cheshvan: A month to explore something new

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Photo: Calm Sea by Hans Kylberg, used by CC-A permission
Photo: Calm Sea by Hans Kylberg, used by CC-A permission

Cheshvan is a month with no holidays, which makes it “Mar Cheshvan,” or bitter Cheshvan to some (there’s also the reading of the Flood — but we’ll save that for another time).  For me, I think it’s a great time to breath and take stock after the whirlwind of high holiday season.  In Cheshvan we’ve finished with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah and all the days in between!

In thinking about how to best use the “time off” in Cheshvan, I thought it seemed like the perfect month to explore one of the myriad of Jewish practices that we haven’t adopted into our lives.  If you’re Orthodox, there’s even room for you to explore some of the more modern adaptations of traditional practices.   For the rest of us, I’m guessing there’s plenty of practices we’ve heard about, thought about, and maybe even studied —  but really haven’t tried out for ourselves.

To act as a guide to these practices and where to even begin, I highly recommend The Rituals & Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook for Personal Spiritual Renewal.  I first read this book a couple of years back and decided to read it again a few weeks ago.  I find it to be a very good guide to Jewish practice, and especially for how to even get started with many of these practices that can seem like a life commitment or nothing.

If even this seems overwhelming, then pick one of these two:

  1. Weekly Shabbat
  2. Daily Prayer
Both of those are really a cornerstone to Jewish spiritual life.  I also put them in this order for a reason.  I really believe that a weekly Shabbat practice is the true gateway to enhancing Jewish spiritual life.  Don’t make it complicated.  Don’t put barriers in your way.  Just make it happen.    Find a bakery to buy your challah — that’s the biggest challenge. Then every week get to that bakery and buy your challah.  Then when you get home — whenever that is.  Set up your candles, kiddush cup, and challah — and say the prayers.  If you already do that, then consider adding additional blessings or Torah study. If you can do it for a month consistently, you’ll be amazed at how it can change your worldview.
Daily prayer is a second place to start.  Thanks to Jewish prayer being three times  a day, you have several choices.  You can start by waking up with a single prayer from the Shacarit, or morning prayers. Pick just one to start, and consider the prayer for gratitude — Modah Ani/Modeh Ani.  If you’re comfy in Hebrew, rock it!  If you aren’t, then pray in English.  What matters is committing to the act and seeing it through.   I’d also recommend adding the Sh’ma in, because it’s the cornerstone of Jewish prayer.
If mornings aren’t your thing, then try Mincha (afternoon) or Maariv (evening) prayers.  For Mincha, pick out a prayer from the prayerbook — or just take a moment and say the Sh’ma.   For Maariv, again — you can just say the Sh’ma, but there’s also a host of other great bedtime prayers to choose from, or you could go crazy and do the whole thing!  Needless to say, Ahava Rabbah: The OneShul Community Siddur 5772 has plenty of great options to help you along.
Whatever you do, use this break we find in Cheshvan to explore a new practice, and then tell us about your experience!
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Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links and purchases provide a few pennies to Ketzirah.  For any purchases made directly from links on PunkTorah posts, Ketzirah will make a $1 donation back to PunkTorah.
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Carly Lesser (a.k.a. Ketzirah – קצירה) is Kohenet, Celebrant and Artist whose  passion is helping Jews who are  unaffiliated, earth-based or in interfaith / inter-denominational relationships connect more deeply with Judaism and make it relevant in their every day lives. She is an active blogger and prayer leader on OneShul.org andPeelaPom.com.

Amy Wachtel: God Is More Of An Energy…

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpfQ_zbrkHo

God doesn’t have a persona (or gender). The G-d Project is the world’s first social media platform dedicated to Jewish spirituality. We bring God back to the conversation. www.theg-dproject.org

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