Tag: Rabbi Lauren Tuchman
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Rosh Chodesh Elul 5786
Posted on Substack on August 14, 2026 Contemplative Torah returns, just in time for the season of turning and returning Today we mark Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first day of the final month of the Hebrew calendar. Elul is the time often set aside for spiritual and personal accounting ahead…
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How can we come closer to what is true?
Read on for Weekly Wisdom on parashat Pinchas by Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, Or HaLev Teacher. In Parashat Pinchas, we are introduced to the five daughters of Zelophehad. We’re told `Vatikravna b’not Zelophehad` – `and the daughters of Zelophehad came close`. They approached the Ohel Moed, the tent of meeting, with a particular…
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On the Other Side of Sinai
Shavuot is now behind us. The multi-dimensional holiday is simultaneously about revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai, a harvest festival of abundant gratitude and bringing first fruits when the Temple stood in Jerusalem and a time when we pay particular attention to the needs and lives of the poor, the…
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What Allows Our Practice to Flourish?
On Parashat Terumah Parashat Terumah, read the Shabbat of Feb 20-21 in 5786 begins an extended reflection and discussion of sacred space. The Mishkan, the portable sanctuary the people create from gifts brought for its purpose accompanies them as they journey in the desert. It is a place for the…
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Can We Be With the Blessings?
A Mindfulness-oriented offering for Parashat Chayei Sarah Originally published on November 11, 2025. I am delighted to share this video I created as part of Weekly Wisdom, a mindfulness-oriented commentary on the weekly Torah portion from Or HaLev. To subscribe to receive this offering in your inbox weekly, please go here. My video…
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Meditation with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality
On October 13, 2025, which was Hoshana Raba—the final day of Sukkot—Rabbi Tuchman lead the daily meditation sit with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. The recording can be accessed on their YouTube page here.
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Day of Learning with My Jewish Learning
Rabbi Tuchman offered the second session of My Jewish Learning’s day of learning commemorating the 2nd anniversary of October 7. This day of learning, focusing on Mishnah, which is customarily learned to honor and uplift the souls of the deceased took place on October 5, 2025. The recording from the day…
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What Happens When Illusions Fall Away?
Disability Torah for Yom Kippur 5786 We are approaching Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. This day is a time for soul-searching, teshuvah and, as I write in my piece for The Disability Torah Project, a invitation to honest not-knowing. At its essence, Yom Kippur invites us to…
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My Jewish Learning Group Torah Study Parashat Ki Tavo
On September 12, 2025, Rabbi Tuchman offered the weekly Torah study session for My Jewish Learning on Parashat Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26-29). She invited participants to hear and respond to a piece by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory on the importance of sound in Judaism. Teachings chronologically: October 7,…
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Jewish Meditation with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality
Rabbi Tuchman lead a meditation practice with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality for Shabbat Nachamu. This sit includes a fifteen-minute question and response period after the formal practice. August 8, 2025