This is a reworking of a haftarah shared last year on Velveteen Rabbi. The poem has been revised, and it now features trope markings in English, a collaboration between R. […]

One of the things we most wanted to do, when we started Bayit (the Jewish spiritual innovation incubator that I co-founded with several friends and colleagues several years ago now), was uplift bot…

I wrote this psalm on the Bayit board retreat last summer one day after morning prayer. When I shared it with fellow Bayit board member Steve Silbert he created this illustration, which I meant to …

A liturgy for counting the fifty days of consolation or comfort between Tishah b'Av and Rosh haShanah (non-inclusive), in the style of the liturgy for the omer.

If you prefer to read this essay as a downloadable PDF, it’s available in that format here: Sefirat_HaBinyan_Framework_Nerlinger.  I. Two Corridors of Sacred Time The Jewish year is structured around ...

If you prefer to read this essay as a downloadable PDF, it’s available in that format here: Sefirat_HaBinyan_Framework_Nerlinger.  I. Two Corridors of Sacred Time The Jewish year is structured around ...

What are the laments of our hearts as we approach Tisha b’Av this year? What feels broken in us, in our communities, in our world? What are we holding, how […]

Color the Omer is a tool for counting the Omer with mindfulness and beauty. These illustrations offer a meditative focus and an artistic activity for each day of the journey between Pesach and Shavuot...

We began this journey with “Adonai S’fatai,” asking God to open our lips – a prayer before the formal prayer. We close with “Yihiyu L’Ratzon” and “Elohai N’tzor” – prayers […]

With the approaching new year’s sweetness, we taste the bitterness of suffering across the Mideast. What does this poignant Season of Meaning ask of us, and can we breathe new […]

With the approaching new year’s sweetness, we taste the bitterness of suffering across the Mideast. What does this poignant Season of Meaning ask of us, and can we breathe new […]

The closing blessing of the Amidah asks for shalom: peace, wholeness, completion. What does this prayer mean to us today? What does it ask of God – and of us? […]

The closing blessing of the Amidah asks for shalom: peace, wholeness, completion. What does this prayer mean to us today? What does it ask of God – and of us? […]

Once again, Passover approaches amidst some anxiety and uncertainty. Many of us are living in Mitzrayim / meitzarim / constriction. And once again, Pesach comes to remind us that our […]

Once again, Passover approaches amidst some anxiety and uncertainty. Many of us are living in Mitzrayim / meitzarim / constriction. And once again, Pesach comes to remind us that our […]

The words in Hebrew for “chametz” and “matzah” are similar. They both have a “מ – mem” and a “צ – tzadi,” and the third letters are nearly identical in […]

The words in Hebrew for “chametz” and “matzah” are similar. They both have a “מ – mem” and a “צ – tzadi,” and the third letters are nearly identical in […]