SHMA KOLEINU
Engaging Ways to Inhabit Life Spiritually
שְׁמַע-יְהוָה קוֹלִי אֶקְרָא; וְחָנֵּנִי וַעֲנֵנִי.
לְךָ, אָמַר לִבִּי--בַּקְּשׁוּ פָנָי; אֶת-פָּנֶיךָ יְהוָה אֲבַקֵּשׁ.
אַל-תַּסְתֵּר פָּנֶיךָ, מִמֶּנִּי
תהילים כז
(לְךָ אָמַר לִבִּי בַּקְּשׁוּ פָנָי אֶת פָּנֶיךָ יְהוָה אֲבַקֵּשׁ (תהילים כז, ח
For You my heart has said: 'Seek My face';
Your face, Y-H-W-H, will I seek. (Psalms 27:8)
Whereas the Old thinking had set up for itself the problem of whether God is transcendent or immanent, the New thinking narrates how and when the far God becomes near, and the near God far.
Franz Rosenzweig, The New Thinking
"Shma Koleinu helps diverse seekers grow as post-critical, sacredly attuned, practice-oriented Jews who inhabit life spiritually and ethically – as community members, prayer leaders, educators, or congregational/religious leaders. We offer opportunities for spiritually inspiring and intellectually stimulating learning, as well as experiential programs, all designed to nurture intellect, body, heart, soul, and imagination."
ELIE HOLZER, FOUNDING PRESIDENT
SHMA KOLEINU
The search for references to universality in Scripture and in the texts of the Oral Law still derives from the process of assimilation. These texts, across two thousand years of commentary, still have something else to say.
Emmanuel Levinas, “Assimilation and New Culture”
May my prayer be pleasing to You, because my soul longs for You. (Anim Zemirot)
(יֶעֱרַב נָא שִׂיחִי עָלֶיךָ כִּי נַפְשִׁי תַעֲרֹג אֵלֶיךָ (אנעים זמירות
Like all matters human, theology must be grounded in earthly experience and understood from within its forms. The phenomenal world is all that we have. This is the sphere that lies before us in our everyday existence; it conditions the products of aesthetic perception; and it provides the sphere for theological experience and reflection.
Michael Fishbane, Sacred Attunement