A Message From Rabbi Shefa Gold

Friends,

My immersion in the Song of Songs has challenged me to take on the soul work of love.

On June 5-6 I’ll be offering a mini retreat where we can explore some of what has emerged. Through practice and reflection, we’ll step up to the curriculum of placing Love at the Center. If the work delineated below interests you, please sign up and come. If you know anyone who walks this path of love and would benefit from joining us, please share this information with them. You can learn more about the Love at the Center Mini Retreat on ALEPH’s Virtual Programs page.

For a taste of the curriculum of the weekend, I invite you to reflect on the following questions:

Can I receive the Divine kiss in the color of the sky? In this breath? With this step? Can I open to the gift that God is giving me in “this”?

What is calling me? What is my resistance to that calling?

Can I open to the Divine Presence that is speaking to me through this world? Can I respond with my life?

Can I let the beauty that I see open my heart? Can my loving heart open my eyes to beauty?

Can I be nourished, delighted and renewed by the fruit of Being as I receive the protection, inspiration and unending generosity of the Tree of Life?

How can I treat every relationship as an opportunity for us to call each other into the realization of my full potential? (This includes my relationships with the non-human world of rocks, trees, blossoms, birds, clouds and so forth.)

Can I catch the foxes (doubts, fears, cynicism, distrust, or worry that run wild through the mind) before they do too much damage? Can I redirect my attention towards the blessings in my life?
Can I find my fierce love and wield the sword of truth in protection of all that I cherish?

Can I touch the most vulnerable and broken place within me with tenderness, and fill those spaces with love and compassion? Can I do this work in the light of friendship with my companions on the path?

Can I rejoice in this day with all its possibilities for connection with the One?

Can I come down from the pretense of having it all together, and enter into the vulnerability of the heart in all its fragility?

Can I let myself feel the places in me that have been bruised and beaten by life? Can I express my grief and then turn towards the faith that I am held? Can I lean into that Divine embrace and be transformed by those hardships?

Can I connect with others who are on this path of love, reveal my own challenges and vulnerabilities and ask for their support? Can I offer my support to them?

Can I fall in love with “THIS” (this moment in all its amazing complexity)? Can I simply befriend this moment?