I saw God walk by in the shape of a deer.

January 28, 2016 Irwin Keller

I saw God walk by in the shape of a deer
But I didn't have my glasses on
So I couldn't even be sure of the deer
Let alone God.

Return from Brigadoon (Report from Rabbi Land)

January 16, 2016 Irwin Keller

I just got back from Brigadoon. That’s how I’ve begun to think of the annual Ohalah conference. It’s the winter jamboree of Jewish Renewal rabbis from around the world. The week felt like being at a yeshivah, not of the old kind, but a yeshivah as you might imagine it in Olam Haba, in Paradise. Rabbis and students of all ages and genders. All of them with a hand in the old texts and an eye on the future of the planet. Progressive people, creative people, mystics and musicians.

The Angel and the Shepherd

January 2, 2016 Irwin Keller

Moshe, still in hot pursuit of the baby goat, splashed right through the puddle of predicament that was the angel Zagnugael. And in that moment, the messenger heard his thoughts.

Chanukah 5776: Being the Light

December 5, 2015 Irwin Keller

I have been stuck with the lurking thought that somehow, as we have our umpteenth post-shooting debrief, we're missing a bigger picture. That what's going on is bigger than we admit, the arc much longer, the cycles ancient and unstoppable.

The View from the Ladder

November 20, 2015 Irwin Keller

While Jacob is pinned to the ground by gravity, the holiness that circulates through him gets a higher, better, longer view. It escapes the particulars of Jacob's life and Jacob's fears and Jacob's habitual thinking. And perched above those things, it has a chance to bring back something fresh.