I Hope You Are As Inspired As I Am!

Engaging a deep sense of wonder, gratitude and positivity, I strive to inspire people of all backgrounds to deepen their experience of the holiness present in our everyday lives.  I enjoy helping people personalize prayer and open their minds and hearts.  Torah and generations of interpretation invite us to apply the wisdom of our rich tradition to seemingly mundane experiences and experience profundity. After all, the ancient book of Isaiah tell us, "The whole earth is filled with God's glory." I invite you to be radically amazed!

A profound experience at the death of a friend led me to become a Hospice Volunteer and eventually become a rabbi. Serving as a Hospice Spiritual Counselor I am blessed to share in the sacredness of life. I provide presence and comfort for others and draw on the spiritual wisdom of Judaism and many other sources. Believing all living beings are connected, I take great joy in using teachings from many sources to help people make meaning in the lives. I get to experience awe and I marvel at the ongoing power of love. My patients and their loved ones constantly teach me compassion, the power of connection and the preciousness of life.

I give thanks to Rabbis Nachman of Breslov, Mordechai Kaplan, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Zalman Schacter Shalomi, z"l, and generations of rabbis whom they influenced. I especially gravitate towards midrashic parables, Psycho-Spiritual Torah interpretations, Wisdom Literature and the very nature of the Hebrew language with its profound interconnectedness. Rabbis like Jonathan Kligler, Debra Orenstein and Elliott Dorff have influenced me with their brilliant minds, bright spirits and humility. My soul has been touched by the music of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, Debbie Friedman, Shefa Gold and countless others, including many in the Los Angeles area where I was ordained at Ziegler Rabbinical School. I am grateful to be continually shown what our timeless tradition has to offer a seeker and I truly enjoy sharing that depth and joy with others.

In line with my meditation and yoga practice, I am delighted to lead Makom Ohr Shalom, the Jewish Renewal congregation in the San Fernando Valley. Join us for meditative, musical, healing and inspiring services! I hope you enjoy my blog. Check out Facebook, Instagram, YouTube as well as all of the services, meditation and Torah study at Makom.org.

Most importantly, stay open to wonder! I hope you are as inspired as I am!