Torah Journeys | Rabbi Shefa Gold

Torah is a spiraling mirrored pathway that is opened to us week by week. It is the Sha’ar Tzedek, the Gate of Righteousness through which we may enter fully into our own lives.

When I read Torah each week I search for the blessing in it, I receive the spiritual challenge and rise to meet that challenge, and I am guided in my practice. Spiritual practice begins with a loving discernment of “Here” and “Now.”

I locate myself both in space and time. I widen my perspective to include the vastness of space. And then I begin to narrow my focus, finding this galaxy, this solar system, this spinning planet, this continent, this neighborhood, this body and the still point within, the place made sacred by my awareness.

Breathing out from this point, the very center of the universe, I locate myself in Time. I see the life-path that I have traveled, the twists and turns that have brought me to where Here and Now intersect. I find myself in the cycle of the seasons. I find myself in relation to the sun and the moon, the plantings and the harvests. I orient myself to the calendars, to the clock and to the proximity of Shabbat. I feel the glow of last Shabbat and the pull of the Shabbat to come. And I orient myself to the cycle of Torah.

Each Torah Journey uncovers the blessing, presents the spiritual challenge, and offer practices related to the weekly parsha.

This website includes the sections from Torah Journeys that prepare you for the journey. For access to the applicable midrash and practices for each portion, you can purchase the book from the Books page or click links on the Torah Portions page.

To arrange for a Torah Journeys or Song of Songs workshop or other retreat, use this form to contact Rabbi Shefa Gold.