Duet of Joy and Sorrow
“I consider it a spiritual awakening that I can hold grief and joy simultaneously, that they exist side by side,” I told Michael Liben on his…
Read articleHallel in a Minor Key
This Hallel is for singing praises in times of struggle or sorrow. “Hallel in a Minor Key” is the name of both the liturgy and the…
Read articleMourner’s Lament
A short meditation about the daily shifts that mourners may experience on the journey to healing, based on my own experiences of mourning. I wrote it…
Read articleAll Things Burn
A prayer after the fire at Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral. And here’s a prayer to be said “For Firefighters.” All Things Burn All things burn, Are buried…
Read articleFor Those Who Die Young
Ten. Ten dead young people are dead who shouldn’t be. A hiking tragedy in the land I love, in the canyons that I hike, led by…
Read articleSpiritual Vandals
A song of the Spiritual Traveler, the one who has a profoundly unexpected experience with angels at the gates of mercy. As a result of that…
Read articleAfter a Sudden Death
This is a prayer of grief and loss after the sudden death of a dear one. See also: “Angel of Rest,” “Birthday No More” and “Hard…
Read articleTravel after an Unexpected Death
This is a prayer to be said upon traveling to attend a funeral after an unexpected death. The blank line is for inserting the name of the…
Read articleSorrow at a Time of Joy
This meditation is for moments in which an unexpected grief arrives in a moment of joy. A family death before a bar mitzvah. A sudden illness…
Read articleDeath of a Horrible Relative
When family members die, we strive to remember the best moments of their lives. We must also recognize the complexity of mourning when a person has…
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