Jewish Drinking Meditation
From Alison Laichter for BimBam.com
Drinking meditation is when you can be completely present while enjoying a beverage of your choice. Follow teacher and coach, Alison Laichter, through a Jewish drinking meditation in our step-by-step video.
Welcome to Wawa — and Shabbat Shalom!
By Stephen Silver for JTA
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — There’s something uniquely American about an event that combines secular ritual with actual religion.
In six states and the District of Columbia, but especially in Pennsylvania, shopping at Wawa is very much a ritual. It’s the convenience store where you grab your morning coffee, your lunchtime hoagie and your overall feeling of regional pride.
Altoid Besamin (Spice) Box for Havdalah
From Crafting a Green World
Spice boxes are part of the Jewish ritual of Havdalah. If you’re not Jewish, you could also fill your decorated tin with herbs like lavender for home made potpourri or with hand-mixed chai tea!
Shibori Challah Cover
From Breaking Matzo
Shibori is the Japanese word for “twist or wring”. This Japanese form of dyeing uses Indigo as the main form of dye. Methods include dyeing fabric by rolling, bending, tying, binding, folding, twisting and pressing. We immediately fell in love with this form of dyeing as its main color is Indigo Blue. This technique originated in Japan (where Breaking Matzo’s Andy Goldfarb has lived and traveled throughout the years). One of the tricks behind indigo dyeing is that once you have prepared the bath of dye in your vat, it no longer appears blue until, of course, it is exposed to oxygen. Magic!
Shabbath Shalom – Spreading Light
ToriAvey.com
Shabbat. Shabbos. The Sabbath.
Once a week, each Friday around sundown, my family gathers to light two candles. The light generated by these candles is symbolic of spiritual energy. It signals to us that the day of rest is here. It is time for us to pause and reflect on our week, and on our inner spiritual lives. We break bread (challah), share a home-cooked meal as a family, and disconnect from our daily routine in order to connect with a deeper, more important energy.
