{"id":2280,"date":"2017-10-24T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/2017\/10\/24\/the-power-of-light-in-judaism"},"modified":"2018-11-06T11:00:26","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T09:00:26","slug":"the-power-of-light-in-judaism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/2017\/10\/24\/the-power-of-light-in-judaism\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Light in Judaism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inspired by both nature and Jewish mysticism, this short article<\/a>\u00a0explores the physical and spiritual power of light in Jewish tradition as well as our own personal experience.\u00a0<\/em>Originally from Wellsprings of Wisdom<\/a>, a “virtual retreat center,” these ideas are relevant for those seeking spiritual renewal and personal growth through the ancient Jewish symbols of nature and the “Torah of mother earth.” Created by Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan<\/a> of the Jewish Renewal movement, this site can be a wonderful resource to people of any denomination or faith.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Light<\/h2>\n

Need a moment of retreat, a micro-Shabbat? Stop and look at\u00a0some natural light (or at night, go out and look at the night sky).<\/p>\n

I have always been transfixed by light.\u00a0Gazing at the dappled sunlight and shadow in a creek near my house,\u00a0watching the sunlight dance and sparkle on a pool of water, or contemplating the changing hues of a sunset or sunrise, all of these rays of light seem to connect immediately to my soul.<\/p>\n

We experience light both physically and spiritually.\u00a0On a physical level, sunlight is necessary for photosynthesis, growth, and for life on earth to exist. Light sets our body clocks and regulates our circadian rhythms.\u00a0On a symbolic level, light has a universal meaning of goodness, awakening, and\u00a0hope,\u00a0associated with warmth and healing.<\/p>\n

“The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols”\u00a0<\/em>by\u00a0Ellen Frankel and Betsy Platkin Teutsch,\u00a0describes light as a pervasive symbol in Jewish theology and tradition, where it is \u201cthe primary link between divine and human worlds.\u201d Since God\u2019s first act of creation is to create light, light is associated with creative power.\u00a0In mystical thought, divinity is pictured as a source of endless light:\u00a0Ohr Ein Sof.<\/em>\u00a0Light is a symbol of Torah, \u201cFor a\u00a0commandment is a lamp, and\u00a0Torah is light.\u201d (Proverbs 6:23).\u00a0Light also has a moral association; the people of Israel\u00a0are called upon to be an ethical example, \u201ca light unto the nations\u201d (Isaiah 24:6).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inspired by both nature and Jewish mysticism, this short article\u00a0explores the physical and spiritual power of light in Jewish tradition as well as our own personal experience.\u00a0Originally from Wellsprings of Wisdom, a “virtual retreat center,” these ideas are relevant for those seeking spiritual renewal and personal growth through the ancient Jewish symbols of nature and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":2281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[91],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=2280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/revisions\/"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6054,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/revisions\/6054\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2281\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=2280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=2280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=2280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}