Author Archives: rivkag

Healing Our Spirits

There is no escaping that this fall has seen the heartbreak and trauma of war in a way that has caused normally aligned friends and family to be at odds, and even (for many) conflicted feelings within ourselves as we … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Widening our Welcome, at Pride Season and Beyond

Friends, I have moved my blog over to Substack. Check out the latest one, posted today: https://open.substack.com/pub/rivkagevurtz/p/widening-our-welcome-in-pride-season?r=kdjq0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ascending in Spirit

Tonight is the last night Jews count the omer.  Originally, a harvest practice of collecting sheaves (omer) of barley, the Kabbalistic mystics redefined it as a time of spiritual journeying through the divine attributes of the Tree of Life, in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Gender Constructs, from the Beginning

There has been a lot of talk in the media and in the halls of government about gender of late, as we all know.  A lot of fear-mongering and handwringing among the conservative albeit vocal minority, that presumes to dictate … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Pausing for Compassion

I had the interesting experience for the last two days of needing to keep my head immobile after physical therapy, for crystals in the inner ear.  The PT therapist instructed me to not look up or down, and since the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Welcoming the New Moon of Adar in Pisces

The new moon in Pisces (which began last light) is an invitation into awareness of our spirituality, creativity and emotions.  This particular new moon is a stellium – a conjunction of sun, moon & Venus – all appearing in the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Inviting the Crone

2022 was tough for many of us.  In our family, health was a central theme of the year, as first I, then my husband and finally our adult child all underwent various surgeries and covid illnesses.  We’ve watched the world … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Trauma & Tashlich

If we were sitting inside a synagogue today, one of the stories we would hear would be when Sarah ordered Abraham to “cast out” Hagar and Ishmael to the desert.  To cast out, tashlich.  Many a queer person knows what … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Unitive Commonwealth of The Divine

Earlier today I had the pleasure of giving the guest sermon at a local congregation. This week’s readings are not of the warm and fuzzy variety!  It was one of those lections that (while not full-on fire & brimstone) can … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Put Your Troubles in the Dirt

“Put your troubles in the dirt, where all good bullshit belongs.”  My daddy knew instinctively what science has only in recent years affirmed; that the microbes in soil light up the serotonin receptors in our brains.  But he also knew, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment