Rabbi Amichai’s new weekly video series, dismantling patriarchy – one word at a time.
Today I’m wrapping up the year-long journey of the Weekly Word – passwords to the riddles of our lives, shared each Friday online, since October 16, 2020.
Head to the link in our bio to read my full reflection on this journey, and what the future holds.
Wishing us all a meaningful holy day and night as we end these Days of Awe, and begin this year, and this Torah cycle, with hopes of healing, responsibility, release and renewal.
Rabbi Amichai
Chai // Alive
Want to live forever? Or: What does it mean to be fully alive?
HA’SHMITA // The Year Of Release
What will you be willing to release this year?
Right on time, on the first shabbat of this new Shmita year, this week’s word reminds us what’s it like to pay attention to the cycles of the earth and to decenter our own needs in favor of a healthier and thriving planet.
Ready to release?
Po // Here
Want a tip for more calm + present + now?
Nitzavim
Taskilu // Wise Up
Ki Tavo
What will it take to get over our greed and get on track to save our planet?? (+ other questions as we near the new year and the season of atonement)
Kadesh // Sacred Sex Worker
Ki Tetze
How can we sanctify our sexuality and celebrate the Body Erotic?
The Taliban remind us of the hardest line when it comes to honoring all bodies and celebrating sexuality, women’s rights and queer dignity. Hard to imagine, but our ancients, pre patriarchy, knew that all sex was sacred and used the same word for the most sublime – as the term for those who taught people how to be erotic and sexual, sometimes hired to do so, in holy temples.
Who were the Kadeshim and Kadeshot and how do we honor them now?
Ashera // Ishtar (Godx)
Shoftim
Did you know our ancient semitic deity was a tree?
You’d never know it from the English translations of Torah but the Sacred Tree of our ancestors is the Godx, demolished by patriarchy. We are here to celebrate her/them/us BACK. Go hug a tree today. Seriously.
Ha’makom // Destination
Re’eh
Travel restrictions aside, ready for the annual pilgrimage to the utmost sacred?
What was once the most sacred destination on the jewish map is now the annual destiny not in space but in time. Our ancient pilgrimage lives on in our calendar, collective journey and personal path of renewal. Ready for a 40 day journey into the holy that will transform your life?
Ekev // If
What IF? Can we reimagine God to be full of Unconditional love no matter what? That’s not the God of the Bible.. Or is it?? Don’t we deserve to live and love with that level of divine empathy? If so, then… ??
Love // V’Ahvata
“Love is a verb, not a permanent state of enthusiasm” says Esther Perel, paraphrasing the penultimate biblical instruction: learn to relove, again snd again. Starting with yourself.
Eycha // How
How can I handle the sorrow of isolation and sadness of loss?
In The first chapter of the fifth book of the Torah tired old Moses asks the ultimate question that echoes off the burnt walls of the Jerusalem Temple: how can we handle all the burdens and the terrors of the world – all alone? The answer is tender.
Biza // Loot
Which of our collective shadows will you dare look at, handle and hear to help and to heal?
B’not // Daughters
Six women changed history in this week’s story, fighting for equality.
Who’s your justice shero?
Can you name at least one woman in your life who taught you that daughters are just as valuable as boys if not better?
Baal-Peor// God-of-Holes
Pride special!
Is it time for sex-positive semites to pledge allegiance to another, ancient god of love?
Mayim// Water
Will we hoard or quench each other’s thirst for joy and justice?
Rav // Enough
Enough is enough! But how can we balance better between ideal and real?
Lots of protests demand justice and change – enough is enough! Oddly, the same Hebrew word “rav” – ‘enough’ Or ‘excess!’ is the same for ‘teacher’, or ‘rabbi’ — how do leaders model virtue – and what happens when we don’t??
This week in the Torah – protest turns lethal and serious questions must be asked.
Efes // Nullify
Can our opinions differ without nullifying each other’s truth or worth? Life is not a zero sum game. Or… is it?
Refa // Heal
As we yearn and struggle to return to post pandemic normal, who & what will help our spirits heal?
Taking a cue from our scriptures, a surprising social role and a tragic chant echo as meaningful modes for what the world may need right now, on the path to recovery.
Shalom // Pieced-Together
Shalom means aspiration towards being whole. What’s one small step we each can take today towards less hate and much more peace?
Ketzef // Rage
Today’s word invites us all to breath within the wave or righteous rage, fear and fire, finding ancient ways to calm so we can heal and not fan flames of hatred.
What helps you lower the flames of fury and contain your own rage so that we can co-create the sacred work of justice and repair, so we can see each other eye to eye as people and as partners for peace?
The cracked bell proclaims liberty, but we all know that it’s a broken promise. Can Babylonian laws echoed in the Bible help us reimagine social norm.
DROR// Release
What can we release to realize our wildest dreams of justice?
The cracked bell proclaims liberty, but we all know that it’s a broken promise. Can Babylonian laws echoed in the Bible help us reimagine social norm.
Tisperu // ReCount
Will we slow down and make each moment count a little more?
What if this ancient farmer’s tool can help us dial down fast pace digital living and reimagine deadlines? Omer. Recount. Redfined.
HOLY-ALL // Kedoshim
What if holy means everybody, everything, everywhere, including you and everything and everyone you most dislike?
Check out this week’s audacious word, with a PS by Allen Ginsberg.
Leper // Metzora
Can we heal the inner leper isolated in our mind?
Leprosy is not just an ancient infection disease – it’s a state of mind that dehumanizes people, present within our minds and hearts, societal structures and systemic abuse. Can we learn to honor, heal and love our inner leper?
Speechless// Va’yadom
How can silence heal our pains, when no words can suffice?
A father finds out his two sons die in a fire and is speechless in the face of loss. This week’s story reminds us that silence can be toxic but it can be the remedy for a world where too many words hide our true feelings.
How do you make room in your life for the healing sounds of silence?
Belief// Va’Yaminu
Seventh of Passover Special + Good Friday: Do you believe in miracles – or are our holy myths just metaphors to help us live more hopeful lives?
Moses, Jesus, The Sea of Reeds, the Risen Dead — does it even matter if these stories are not proven facts?
Matzah // Essence
Did you know that the original Matza has nothing to do with leaving Egypt?
Just in time for Passover – here’s a Gasro-Judaic history lesson in a quick bite of the oldest bread and what it means to the human experience of focusing on essence. Bring this story plus some spice to Seder…
What’s the essence of your liberation this Passover?
Shabbat Shalom — plus delicious, meaningful and powerful Passover to all.
Soul Food/ Korban
What will you give up to nourish your soul?
Let’s unpack the purpose of sacrifices – then and now. Vegan friendly.
Gather/Vayakhel What online gatherings will survive post covid?
Gathering in person will resume again, sooner/later for all on our plagued planet – BUT which of the virtual gatherings we’ve gotten used to may be here for good? Share yours..
THIRD I: ZIZ- Can we transcend our binary BS? (Purim special. Yes we can)
Today is Purim! Although many of us are still in lockdown there are lots of people of all ages celebrating, putting on masks – for fun! – and also costumes, as a way to blur the boundary between normal and abnormal ordinary and extraordinary. Fun aside – what IS the spiritual and political opportunity of Purim – can we use it to transcend the trauma and the tribal truth to heal and love? Want your own third-eye-glasses: https://www.eenyeyewear.com
Word #19 – GOLD! Sacred space and reparations: How do we transform our public pain?
This week’s password comes from the Mishkan, the first Hebrew temple – a portable fancy tent, donated and co-created by the people, literally full of gold. Where did those former Egyptian slaves get it and why did they invest it in public spirit space? The alchemy of this moment has something to tell us about our own personal work of healing and the growing call for African American Reparations. It’s more than just about the gold.
Word #18 – Ah’vati – Loving
With Valentine’s Day’s floral chocolate mass-marketed romantic manipulations happening this wknd, fun for some, pain for others, it’s time to think about the shadow side of love. Love is all we need and what a lot of us are craving, in its many forms. But what happens when it comes at the expense of personal autonomy, individual choice and our freedom to be who we really want to be? A painful reminder from the Biblical laws of slavery in this week’s torah story is today’s focus. So: Is Love the Opposite of Freedom?
Word #17 – Are Jews the Chosen – or the Purple People?
Recent archaeology discovered 3000 years old regal and religious purple fabric from the holy land confirming what Alice Walker taught us- that purple is special. But that doesn’t make purple holier or more privileged than other colors. Same for people. In this week’s Torah tale we strike a deal with the divine + 10 commandments revealed along with the notion of ‘chosen’ people that first comes up. It’s great to celebrate Jewish uniqueness but ‘chosen’ may just a mistranslation. Are we not the purple people? Aren’t all colours loved and chosen? Seriously. Game changer. Check it out.
Word #16 – Miriam – The Prophet of Pulse
Hidden in plain sight is the soundtrack to the revolution and the recipe for freedom, inner, outer, anytime. Meet Miriam, the keeper of the secret.
How do we get out of the narrow places of our mind? The song, the beat, the pulse may have the answer and the sister, barely mentioned, holds the key.
Ex:15:20
וַתִּקַּח֩ מִרְיָ֨ם הַנְּבִיאָ֜ה אֲח֧וֹת אַהֲרֹ֛ן אֶת־הַתֹּ֖ף בְּיָדָ֑הּ וַתֵּצֶ֤אןָ כָֽל־הַנָּשִׁים֙ אַחֲרֶ֔יהָ בְּתֻפִּ֖ים וּבִמְחֹלֹֽת׃
Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels.
Word #15 – Bechor // Firstborn
What makes a great leader? It isn’t always what we think… This week we explore the dark weird mystery of the first born and first in line of duty.
Now that the oldest president ever – and a decent guy! -is in the Oval Office we can sigh with relief and also wonder about what makes a great leader. Imagine that the basic qualifications for leadership were not about wisdom or money – but about the order of birth? Sounds ridiculous right? but for many generations – firstborns, often males, were the ones to rule – and in this week’s super dramatic story – the firstborns hold a key to many mysteries including how our choice of leaders keeps shifting over generations. Let’s check it out.
Word #14 – Kotzer Ruach // Breathless
Today’s word in Hebrew means the Narrow Places – narrow as in a constricted chest where our breath is shallow and our energy low. Our ancestors were slaves there, for hundreds of years, and in this week’s installment of the Torah story we are told that they were given hope but like so many of us were too busy, too breathless, to even notice. Today. Let’s pause to breath. And let’s remind each other to do all that we can to pay attention to where we are not breathing deeply enough, and not doing enough to help each other up.
Word #13 – Paroh // Pharaoh
What’s the voice of resistance to justice made up of – inside your mind? The Book of Exodus begins with the problem known as Pharaoh – the king and the mind-set, resisting change, then and now. How to handle? Enter to exit.
Word #12 – Pakod // Remember
What is Your secret Password to survive the toughest times? The Book of Genesis ends with the death of the old generation and the birth of a promise – remember to remember who you really are, even in exile, even as slaves. One word and one woman will keep the hope alive – for us, right now. Happy healthy new year and Shabbat Shalom.
Word #11 – Bivchi // Weeping
What happens when you bottle up your truth for far too long? How can we, especially during duress, find balance between our inner truth and what others can actually hear? And how critical are tears to our mental health? Very. Ask Joseph, who this week weeps nonstop and teaching us a life lesson about when and how to share our truth, no matter how painful.
Word #10 – Miketz-Raav // Famine
How can we solve world hunger? What can we each do to fix food insecurity? Joseph the Dreamer & Marion Nestle present the problem – and possible solutions.
Word #9 – Bor // Pit
Can our pit become a portal? “Joseph’s brothers took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.” Gen 37:24
In our pit of despair and illness, where too many are incarcerated, too many executed in our name, too many in chains, and too many confined to pits by systemic racism – can the pit be a portal? Can we take our healing hope, our patience in the face of the unknown to turn the pit into a portal? Maybe Joseph can help us find our way out of these pits towards the justice needed to save our soul and society.
Word #8 – Levado // Alone
Even if we do not choose to be alone or isolated – what is the win for our soul survival story as we wrestle with being apart?
You are never alone. Even when isolated, as so many of us are right now – we are always connected to our inner reality and to each other through powerful paths that may not be as visible or tangible as others but still enable us to wrestle with our fears, and come out stronger.
Word #7 – Odeh // Thankful
It is never too late to be grateful. This week’s WORD (usually posted Fridays) is Odeh, Hebrew for ‘thankful!’ Inviting us to bring the spirit of Thanksgiving into this week and beyond. This week is also #GivingTuesday, an International day of generosity and gratitude for the people and organizations that sustain, support and nourish us daily.
Are we born with gratitude? Is it cultivated? Practiced? Why is it the definition of Jewish?? This week’s password to the riddles of our lives is here with a surprising link between the tribal, the intimate and the art of thanks.
Word #6 – Tz’aka G’dola U’mara // Wounded Howl
As divisions grow deeper between us – how can we hear, handle or help heal the painful cries of brothers turned others — sometimes so different than us? Genesis 27:34 gives us a clue.
Word #5 – Lasuach // Ambush or Meditate?
How to ground.
Did you know that meditation is as old as the Bible? This week’s word, debated by translators, has insight into how insight really works – with a handy tool from an ancient seeker so that you too can handle stressful days and re-align. It also has to do with being open to romance.
Word #4 – Yachdav // Together
What does Together truly mean today? And how do we – because we must – get to fix and rework this concept which is critical for our survival?
Word #3 – Beracha/Baraka // BLESSING
What does it mean to be a blessing to all families of the earth? On this Shabbat, while we are voting, vote as Abraham taught us, for all families of the earth.
Word #2 – SHEM // SEMITE
Why do some think of me as anti- Semitic? How fluid ARE our identities?
Post flood, somewhere over the rainbow, three brothers survive to populate humanity. Shem, Ham and Yefet. Enter: bias, mislabeling. And, hope. What’s in a word?
Word #1 – Anochi // I
Are we our siblings keepers?
Welcome to Rabbi Amichai’s new weekly video series. Live every Friday, dismantling patriarchy one word at a time.