As we approach Passover, I want to share a few gems from our EJL community classes, where we have been embodying phrases from the Exodus story as inspiration for our inner journey from constriction to expansion.
Embodying Manna: Not Knowing
And when the children of Israel saw it, they said ‘What is it?' for they knew not what it was.
טו וַיִּרְאוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל-אָחִיו מָן הוּא--כִּי לֹא יָדְעוּ, מַה-הוּא
Exodus 16:15
We explored “not knowing” from this moment in the story when the Israelites first encountered manna. As I learned from my teacher and friend Diane Bloomfield, the Sefat Emet teaches that we must ingest “not knowing” after leaving Egypt and before receiving Torah. We must become 'empty like the desert' as we move through liminal spaces of transition, emptying ourselves of old ways of being so we can receive new wisdom.
"Not Knowing" in the Body
We brought awareness to lesser-known places in the body, places we cannot see or don’t typically notice. While the unknown can feel destabilizing when we sense danger, it can also open into wonder and possibility when we feel safe and regulated.
We began by resting in stillness on our backs, noticing contact with the earth: heels, legs, pelvis, back, shoulders, and head. From there, we explored movement originating from these less familiar areas: beginning with the back body, and then expanding to new areas: ribs, armpits, the pelvic bowl, etc. Moving from these lesser known places invites new sensations, perspectives, and possibilities. “Not Knowing” in the body, can become a doorway to wonder, awe and faith.
Not Knowing Together: Hevruta and Community
I’ve been studying Anchored by Deb Dana in hevruta with my friend and colleague Cantor Lizzie Shammash. While some aspects of Polyvagal theory are debated, my lived experience of studying in relationship has been deeply clarifying. Through witnessing, listening, questioning, and reflecting together - I better understand what I know, what I don’t know, and what I’m still discovering.
Our sages teach that leaving Egypt and receiving Torah birthed us as a people with one soul, and each unique soul of Israel was present at Mount Sinai. Likewise, Deb Dana reminds us that our nervous systems are designed for connection. Studying in hevruta/relationship is a deep practice in our tradition. It has been an essential part of my life for decades with others in the EJW community, is a key component of our upcoming Advanced Teacher Training and it is essential for our understanding, growth and well-being.
Desert in the body
I have been blessed to spend time in the desert, where I took in vast expansive views and a magnificent silence unlike any I’ve known. I walked and walked and walked until my shoes became the color of the sand. Though I was not in danger or living on manna, those expanses of sand and silence opened up my consciousness to a reality far greater than my own mind and heart. How can we bring these qualities of desert - expanse, spaciousness and silence - into our embodied practice?
We can experience expanse in both our soft body tissue and in our structure. The movement of the diaphragm expands and settles the belly with each breath. We can also move with awareness of the spaces between elements of skeletal body: ribs, joints, fingers, toes, and within the body’s inner pathways: the Nikavim/נקבים and Chalulim/חלולים, "openings" and "hollows", in the Asher Yatzar prayer, that make it possible for us to live. The existence of all of these inner spaces are essential to living, and cultivating our awareness of these inner spaces, can bring us more ease and spaciousness in our lives.
Expanse in the Sea and Sky
We first see the word ‘expanse’ as rakea/רק׳ע in the first creation story.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃
God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.”
Genesis 1:6
Here, rakea/רק׳ע, separates water from water. But the device for separating the expanse is ALSO expanse. So this line can be translated as “The expanse separates expanse from expanse”.
The Ultimate State of Expanse: The Sea and the 50th Gate
The Hebrew word for sea, yam (ים), has a numerical value of 50. As we count the Omer from Passover to Shavuot, we move through 49 days toward the 50th day, Shavuot, a threshold of expanded awareness. During this time of counting, we refine spiritual qualities mapped onto the body, known as the Sefirot.*
Not Knowing and Faith
Throughout the Exodus story, Moses, Miriam, Batya, Yocheved, and Nachson and so many others - including the Israelites! - are called into faith/ Emunah (אמונה). Faith lives beyond the mind or what we can 'know'. In the body, these places that are unknown can also become a place of trust and wonder. The unknown holds treasures, gems and unexpected insights that we cannot acquire if we engage our intellect alone.
And so, this Passover, I wish for you an softening into the unknown as a place of wonder, an experience of ever-expanding inner spaciousness, and an infusion of renewed faith as you gather with others in community to retell this timeless story.
May we continue to release what no longer serves us and move toward greater freedom, connection, and well-being for all.
*If you feel the call to meet the sacred window between Passover and Shavuot in a more intentional, embodied way, Embodying the Sefirot is a beautiful free companion. Each Sefirah becomes something you don’t just study, but live through your body, your breath, and your movement. It’s a gentle, powerful way to return to balance, reconnect with yourself, and walk these seven weeks with deeper presence and meaning. ✨
