Adar II - Expansion
In his very first explanatory meditation on the daily prayer book, Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook comments on the words uttered by many Jews right up on their waking, Modeh/Modah Ani–I gratefully acknowledge, saying “...moved by their feelings of thanksgiving, one acknowledges the truth, fulfilling the depths of the truth of spiritual awareness, testifying on all the light of life and existence, that it flows from the spring of goodness and its source, from the source of transcendent lovingkindness, which pours out abundant life to all the many worlds and their creations.” For Rav Kook, this simple, delicate articulation of thanks encapsulates the entire supernal drama as described in many Kabbalistic traditions–the drawing of light from its beneficent Divine wellspring to flow into the vessels of each and every aspect of existence. When these two words are spoken, the receiver of this blessing continues the chain of existence by returning it back to her source. The relationship is not static and one-sided–its dynamism moves both ways.
The language used by Rav Kook here and several of his writings–המשפיע שפעת חיים–ha’mashpia shefat hayyim–pouring abundant life–draws upon centuries of Jewish mystical contemplation and practice and serves as the inspirational heart of our organization, Shefa. Through all of our work, we hope to achieve, within ourselves and participants, a deep sensitivity to this flow of abundance that exists between ourselves and others, the Divine, and within our bodies. As we rekindle the language and practice of direct religious experience within the Jewish spiritual tradition, we also strive to acknowledge and honor the myriad relationships which make these experiences possible in the first place.
It is in this spirit of gratitude that I am profoundly excited to share that we have secured a grant of $250,000 from an anonymous donor for this fiscal year, making us eligible for matching funding from the same donor in 2023. This generous gift will allow us to quickly scale out our operations, build greater capacity within our team, and continue to develop and deliver content which is most supportive and authentic to our emerging psychedelic Jewish community. We are ever so grateful to this donor for their confidence in our ability to achieve our mission and vision.
The most immediate outcome of this grant is the ability to bring on our newest staff member, Rabbi Ami Silver, as Mashpia–Director of Emergent Education. Up to now, Ami has been our “scholar-in-absence”, helping guide our scope and voice behind the scenes, but without his friendship and partnership, there would be no Shefa today. Ami’s background as a teacher of Torah and spiritual practice, his work in experiential and somatics-based psychotherapy, and his training as a psychedelic-assisted therapist, make his role as Masphia an indispensable facet of Shefa’s offerings as we continue to grow. I am immensely excited for all Ami will be able to create and bring in his new role, and grateful for his light.
In a moment where abundance is so difficult to consistently see and feel, may we all be able to touch, even for a moment, that living flow which exists in all things.
Hodesh Tov,
Z
