I see new levels of meaning in Torah that are universal, truly there for people of any, or no, faith. My readings of our sacred text go beyond, or perhaps underneath, the traditional understandings. The texts support each human as a part of Source, with co-creative abilities beyond what we have known. There are gems scattered throughout Torah that urge us to follow a path which empowers each human to take responsibility for their own lives, to experience their own connection to Source, to access and resonate with the vast wisdom within themselves. This path leads us to end the hierarchical, deadening structures humans have created.
This Judaism is Restorahtive Judaism. It restores what I believe the ancient Israelites knew and what inspired them. It restores each human’s dignity, self-empowerment, potential to choose ever-fuller consciousness and agency.
My vision is to bring the understandings of Restorahtive Judaism to people in a sacred community. A community where people support each other on our road to greater consciousness, to healing our world’s brokenness and pain. A community in which we will lift our vibration by raising our voices together in prayerful song. A community in which we will know that our prayer is real and affects the world, where we will experience a consciousness that is responding, loving and caring. This is the world that can and must be.
Next Steps
Restorahtive Judaism has led me to begin seeding a new community. We’ll study the hidden layers of Torah that urge us to find our true being. Much of what we’ll do in support of this work is embodied in the Hebrew word, zamor, meaning both “to sing” and “to prune”. We’ll sing together. Singing is a great and powerful medicine, known since ancient times. By vibrating inside through singing, and lifting our spirits, we are able to heal. We also raise our frequency by singing, which enables greater consciousness, and feeling the connection with Source within. Then, we’ll prune, as we learn together from Torah: prune from the sacred texts the older versions of truth that no longer serve, and which keep us from being all that we might be.
I bring these new layers of wisdom which I find in Torah to anyone with whom it resonates. Our new community will welcome anyone who is willing to step beyond the traditional limits and forms, to the extent which these teachings have made us small, and step into Restorahtive Judaism.
Rabbi Ora Weiss 