Spirit in Nature is a DOING podcast: an interactive audio guide you take with you on walks - it’s nature and spirituality through a Jewish lens (but fun and full of meaning for all!) Hosted by Rabbi Deborah Newbrun, who's also a naturalist and outdoor Jewish educator, and produced by Sarah Lefton, media creator and founder of BimBam, the podcast brings you the best of Jewish outdoor education and a new way to connect with Jewish life.
Deborah Newbrun + Sarah Lefton
What phase is the moon in? Take a walk on a *moonless* day or night with us. Learn about blessing the moon as a way to notice its phases and bring lunar energy into your life. We'll invite you to consider how the moon influences Jewish tradition and holidays, especially for women and girls.
Take this walk anywhere you'll see something you call beautiful. Every seven years the "shmita" year comes around, literally, the sabbatical year, the year of rest. Turns out this helps equalize socioeconomic groups - come along with us for a walk and learn how. We'll give you a chance to think about what you would do with a sabbatical year off work or school!
Take a walk on the beach (any beach!) and think about sand, water and tides. We'll talk about what it means that God told Abraham his descendants would be as numerous as the sand. Plus, create imaginary animals with us as we consider adaptation.
Take a walk on a path where you can find fallen branches, maybe even mushrooms - and have access to get your hands into the soil. Holy ground. Living soil. Come for a walk with us to consider gratitude - for food, for people, for the Divine and for what's beautiful in ourselves. Plus, learn about how soil is created!
Pick out a path or a trail where you can see flowers or trees, and some sort of body of water - it can be a river, lake, pond or the ocean! You'll sit or lie down at some point, so bring a blanket if you like. We'll be exploring how water can help us build our gratitude muscles. Cultivating gratitude is a way of cultivating happiness. Learning to appreciate what we have is satisfying and helps us want less!