Well, there’s one huge truth…

When you are at your best, you attract the best… so you can enjoy the best.

For 6 days, you will learn from powerful, wise teachers AND you will meet and mingle with hundreds of singles like you…

Who CARE about creating warm, loving, skilled, passionate and happy relationships.

Because that takes skills!

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What You'll Learn During The Kyyndr Inspire Love Summit 2021

• How to spark sexual polarity
• How to overcome betrayal
• The connection between sex and spirituality
• Compassionate communication
• The keys to meeting your match (America’s Top Matchmaker)
• What polyamory can teach monogamous people about jealousy
• Secure attachment and lasting love
• Getting real, raw, authentic and truthful
• How to find commitment in an instant gratification world
• How to (really) hear and be heard
• The secret language of connection

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At the Inspire Love Summit, it's all about learning how to experience a new way of dating…

Where people treated you kindly, respectfully, considerately – all while still being sexy and playful.

It's about being in community with men and women like you who are also tired of the posturing and lies and false-fronts out there.

It's about a new “grown up” space for singles committed to being their best and meeting the best through many co-ed interactive online video learning groups.

👉 Come for the learning!

👉 Come for the fun (online cocktail party at the end of each day to meet, mingle and win prizes)

👉 Come to meet other men and women like you – on a REAL journey into deeper intimacy, passion & emotional and spiritual depth.

Unlike other summits, this Event is both live and interactive – so you will be meeting hundreds of men and women up close and personal in breakout groups and sharing your thoughts, questions and ideas.

Even more – there’s an online cocktail party every night to cap the day’s learning and to mingle, review what you learned that day or flirt your heart out!

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How The Kynndr Inspire Love 2021 Summit Will Also Help You

• Gain CONFIDENCE AND OPENNESS
• INSPIRE others to share their truth – so no more b.s.!
• Embody your TRUE DEPTH – so you are MAGNETIC – and no longer “chase”
• Evoke PASSIONATE DEVOTION from the people you actually, truly, REALLY desire
• NEVER run out of things to say or suffer shallow dates of conversations
• LEARN invaluable insights on flirtation, playfulness, lightness, delight and surprise
• GAIN ALLIES – meet hundreds of men and women – ask advice or share your feedback
• STOP FEELING ALONE – in the open sea of dating
• MEET AMAZING, EVOLVED, CARING potential partners in our Kyyndr Live Events and Breakout Groups!

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About Your Host – Adam Gilad

Adam is the Founder and CEO of Kyyndr. An Emmy Nominated Executive Producer and Stanford Humanities Center Research Fellow.

Adam has spent the last 16 years teaching & leading men and women into the skills of how to not merely find love, but inspire it consciously and skillfully, choice by choice.

A Founder of The Bold Life Tribe and The International Dating and Relationship Institute (Tidri.org), Adam has contributed to over 20 television shows and spoken at events and retreats worldwide.

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🌟 Even if you can’t attend live… 🌟

Register now and choose the optional upgrade package to get access to the recordings when they become available.

Affiliate Disclosure: We are grateful to be of service and bring you these life-changing events free of charge. In order to do this, please note that whenever you click the links and purchase items, in most (not all) cases we will receive a referral commission.

Your support in purchasing through these links makes it possible for people in over 150 countries globally to attend these live-changing events for free. Thank you! 🙂

The post Inspire Love Summit 2021 – For Spiritual Singles To Attract & Build Amazing Relationships appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

A WOMAN WHO MADE LOVE TO EVERY MAN WHO CAME TO HER FOR SEX
BUT HER CHEEK WAS ALWAYS WET FROM TEARS.

Just a one sentence story, but the story can be the story of the whole humanity. This is what is happening. Love is possible, but it never rises above sex. Hence all the cheeks are full of tears…

Osho – “The Descipline of Transcendence”

The post A Woman Who Made Love appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Everyone was worried that something bad happened to Moses. He had gone up on Mount Sinai more than three weeks ago. He had not yet returned. Each day when Prophet Moses didn't return more people worried and got more upset. Aaron and Miriam urged people not to worry. Moses would surely return in a few days.

But as the days passed and Moses didn't return, many people became scared and afraid. They felt they had been left all alone in the desert. They felt abandoned by God. Their fears began to spread to the majority of the children of Israel.

There was an Egyptian magician named As-Samiri, who along with many other non-Jews had left Egypt with the Jewish people. He started telling people that they should make an image of a God to lead them, since no one knew what had happened to that old man Moses. At first very few people listened to As-Samiri. But after Moses had been gone for over four weeks, more and more people began to agree with him.

As-Samiri told people that in addition to the God of Abraham who no one could see, people need another God that they could see. “In Sumaria where my family came from, and in Egypt where we all lived, there are paintings and statues of many different Gods both big and small. When you see a picture or a statue of God then you can feel God is close to you” As-Samiri said.

When Miriam the Prophet, the older sister of Moses and Aaron, heard what the Egyptian magician was saying she objected strongly. “The Ten Commandments forbid the Jewish people to make any statues or paintings of God. The Ten Commandments forbid us to have any God other than the One God of the world who freed us from slavery in Egypt. Don't even think about making an image of our God, or of any other God. There is no other God and no one can be associated with the One God.”

One day a large crowd of people gathered around Aaron and demanded that he either tell them when Moses would return, or make an image for them to revere. At first Prophet Aaron warned the Israelites that the delay in Moses' return was only a test of their trust in God. But this did not reassure many of them.

Aaron was worried that if he openly refused to make the image, the children of Israel would split into groups who would fight with each other. That could lead to a civil war, something that must be avoided. If he rebuked them directly as Miriam the Prophet had, they might rebel and follow the lead of As-Samiri and make a statue-idol, and so disobey both God and His prophets. So Aaron decided to outwit them. He asked the people, “Which God shall we select for our image?”

One man who had come to Egypt from the distant country of India said they should make an image of Krishna who was a very handsome young man with blue eyes and blue skin. Another man who had come to Egypt from Greece said they should make an image of Apollo who was the divine son of the God Zeus. Most of the people who had lived all their lives in Egypt wanted an Egyptian God.

But when Aaron asked them which God they wanted for their image, they began to argue among themselves. Some wanted to make an image of Bastet the cat Goddess, while others wanted Amon the ram God. Some wanted to worship Osiris the God of the underworld, some wanted his sister Isis the Goddess of magic and others wanted their son Horus who appeared as a hawk and was the ancestor of all the Pharaohs.

They argued with each other for many days while Aaron kept hoping that Moses would soon return. Finally, As-Samiri said they should worship the cow Goddess Hathor who was the Goddess of music, dancing, fertility and childbirth. Hathor would save them from dying in the desert. Many of the people were very insecure because Moses had been gone for more than five weeks now, so they decided to follow As-Samiri's direction.

When they told Aaron they were going to make an image of Hathor, the cow Goddess, Aaron again tried to outwit them. Aaron told them that the image would have to be made out of gold, and since a cow was very big they would need lots of gold. They would have to collect all the gold earrings from all the men, all the women and all the children in the camp so they would have enough gold to make a statue of a cow.

Aaron was sure that most of the people would refuse to give up their gold earrings. And most did refuse, but enough gave their gold rings so that three days later, a half dozen baskets filled with gold rings were brought in.

Aaron was very surprised and saddened. Now Aaron was trapped by his own words. He asked Miriam for advice. She told him to tell the people that there was not enough gold to make a cow. There was not even enough gold to make a calf, or even half a calf.

They should make a statue of Bastet, the cat goddess because they did have enough gold to make a cat. Perhaps they would realize how stupid it was to select which God to worship based on how big a statue they could make.

Aaron did not want to say this so he told the people they could make a small calf and place it on top of a big stone base. He hoped this would discourage them. But As-Samiri, the Egyptian magician, cast the gold in a fire and formed it as the cow Goddess Hathor. He formed it hollow so it would look very big.

Then As-Samiri secretly made hundreds of tiny pinholes in a line from its nose to its tail. He could see the tiny holes but no one else could. As-Samiri knew that when the wind blew, the holes in the calf would make a mooing sound, and the people would be very impressed.

When the golden colored calf was done, Aaron decided to stall for one more day by saying they would celebrate with the calf the next day which would be the 40 day since Moses first went up the left side of Mount Sinai. Aaron was sure Moses would return in time to stop the terrible thing that As-Samiri and some of the Children of Israel were going to do.

Early the next morning only three thousand people came to eat, drink, dance and even worship the golden colored calf. As they stood around watching to see what would happen, the wind blew and the calf made a mooing sound. “This is your God O Israel who brought you out of Egypt” shouted As-Samiri. “Bow down and worship Hathor.”

“Don't do it!” shouted Aaron and his sister Miriam the Prophet, “This stupid statue is an idol.” Miriam stepped forward and punched the calf on its nose. The calf split in half.

“Half a calf is better than that dead man Moses,” said As-Samiri. “Moses is never coming back; and his God has abandoned all of you.”

Just then Moses and his assistant Joshua appeared on a cliff above them. Moses told them that by listening to As-Samiri and making an idol of a calf they had only wronged themselves. If they turned in repentance to the Holy One, and got rid of those who had been responsible for this great offense, they would purify themselves and God would surely accept their repentance and pardon them.

They should always remember that God would never abandon those who believe in Him. Sometimes they would have to wait patiently without losing faith, but God would never abandon the children of Abraham.

The promise of God lasts much longer than a statue of gold or silver. Their children's children would read about this calf for more than 120 generations. Long after Hathor and all the other Gods of Egypt were forgotten Jews, Christians and Muslims all around the world would read about Moses and the golden calf and learn the lesson that faithfulness requires both trust and patience, because God will never abandon those who are faithful to Him.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah“; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com” target=”rabbi for more information.

The post A Golden Half Calf appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Once three wise men came to the Land of Israel. They had heard about the wisdom of King Solomon and they wanted to test him and see if he was as wise as Jews said he was. When they came to the court of King Solomon the youngest of them asked the king how many stars are there in the night sky.

Everyone in the court was puzzled because no one can count all the stars in the sky. King Solomon smiled and said, “There are as many stars in the sky as there are grains of sand on the seashore.” The young wise man said, “But there are too many grains of sand on the seashore for any human to count.”

Solomon replied, “Exactly, no human can count every grain of sand on the seashore and no human can count every star in the night sky. There are some things that only God knows.” The three wise men agreed and said, “That is a very wise answer.”

Solomon then turned to the second wise man and said, “Do you also have a question Madam? “How did you know that I was a woman” said the Queen of Sheba, “I carefully disguised myself as a man all the time while I traveled from my country. No one else ever suspected that I was a woman.”

Solomon smiled and answered, “When you entered my palace, you walked over a glass floor in the hallway. Because the glass floor reflected light, you thought it was covered with water, and you lifted up your robe, in the same way as a woman would do with her dress.”

The Queen replied,”That is very clever of you to notice. Before I left my own country I sent you a very expensive gold image of the sun, did you get it?'

“Indeed I did” said Solomon, “But you need not provide me with a gold sun. God has given me the wisdom to worship the One God and that is better than the gold mines God has given you.”

“Yes, I have heard of your wisdom. That is why I have brought you a gift as well as a question.” the Queen replied as she opened a large box that contained two dozen beautiful white lilies. She told Solomon that 23 of the lilies were made by a very skilled flower-maker. One was a natural lily. They had all been sprayed with perfume so they smelled the same. The Queen wanted Solomon to point to the one natural lilly without getting up from his throne, which was 15 feet away.

Solomon thought for a moment and then asked one of the Queen's servants to move the box over to the window sill where the light was brighter. Now Solomon, who knew the language of birds, smiled and said something softly. A hummingbird. not much larger than a fat bee, came to one lily and began to feed. “That is the real lily,” said Solomon, “even a very skilled artist can't fool God's creatures.” The Queen said, “That is true, I submit to God's wisdom and to yours.”

Then Solomon turned to the oldest of the three wise man and asked him, “Do you have a question?” He replied, “Yes and no. I did have a question prepared that I thought you would not know how to answer, because like my fellow wise men, I was trying to test you, and prove you are not as wise as I am.”

“Now that I have realized that I was not so wise because I was not really seeking wisdom, I am ready to learn from you. So my question is an easy question. How did you get your wisdom?

Solomon replied, “I became wise because from the time I was a child, and for many years after I grew up, I studied the Torah every day with the sages of Israel.”

“I am over 60 years old.” said the old wise man. “Even if I study Torah night and day I will never learn as much as you or your teachers.”

“You do not have to learn as much as me to be wise. You just have to start learning, and continue studying each day of your life. I can teach you how to start studying Torah while you stand on one foot.”

The old wise man knew he couldn't stand very long on one foot. He was afraid he would fall down, and everyone would laugh at him. But he now knew he had to make the effort and not be afraid of failure. He raised one foot and Solomon said to him:

“Whatever you do not want someone to do to you; do not do to anyone else. That is the basic teaching of the Torah. All the other rules are the details of how to live your life the right way. Now start studying.”

The three wise men agreed that that was the wisest thing they had ever heard.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah“; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com” target=”rabbi for more information.

The post Three Wise Men appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Once when I was about ten years old my father told me, I went treasure hunting with my older sister. She had heard some people talking about a treasure chest that was supposed to be hidden in a hillside cave, way at the back of an empty lot about a mile from where we lived. One day during our summer vacation we went there and spent two or three hours looking for the entrance to the cave. Then, as I was trying to squeeze between two big boulders, I suddenly fell into a hole. It was the mouth of a tunnel that led to the cave.

My sister and I crawled through the tunnel into the cave. It was very dark but we had brought a flashlight and as we shined it around we were shocked to see that there was a large wooden chest about ten feet ahead of us. Neither of us had thought we would really find a treasure.

We ran to the chest and pulled it open. It was filled with silver and gold coins. I started to count them but my sister told me to stop. This is only money she said. This is not a real treasure. If you want money all you have to do is work for it.

I was going to argue with her when I suddenly noticed a big metal chest on the other side of the cave. ‘That must be the real treasure.' I yelled and we both ran over to the metal chest. This chest was harder to open and we were very excited when we finally opened it.

The chest was filled with statues of men and animals. Some of the statues were made of ivory, some were made of marble with diamonds for eyes and rubies for lips, and some were made of gold. I took one of the gold statues out of the chest and stood it up. Since I was knelling it almost reached my chin. ‘Don't do that!' yelled my sister. ‘This is only beauty and art. It is not a real treasure. There must be something better here.'

But there was nothing else in the cave. We searched and searched but the two chests were all there was. Then the battery in the flashlight started to die. The bulb grew dim. We got scared and crawled back to the tunnel. I wiggled through but my sister got stuck half way into the tunnel. I tried to pull her out but I couldn't. I began to cry. ‘Find someone to help me.' my sister said.

I ran up and down the street knocking on doors and begging people to come with me to help my sister. Nobody would come. Some were watching TV or playing video games. Others were busy eating, or talking on the phone. Some didn't believe me and some didn't want to get involved.

The only one who would help was a girl about my age. She got a rope and a spade and a water bottle. We returned to the tunnel and after about a half an hour we got my sister out of the tunnel.

We never told our parents about what had happened. I became good friends with the girl who had helped us. I asked her why she helped us even though she had never even met us before. She told me that there was a commandment in the Torah that said, Don't be a bystander when someone else is bleeding. (Leviticus 19:16)

I grew to admire her very much. She was very responsible, charitable, faithful, kind and loving. I learned a lot from her and when we finished college I realized that she was more than a very good friend. She was the woman I wanted to marry and live with for the rest of my life. That's your mom.

I also learned that my sister was right. Wealth and great art are nice but as the good book says, Who can find a capable wife? Her worth is far above rubies. Her husband safely trusts in her. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the Torah of kindness is on her tongue. (Proverbs 31:10,26)

In your mother I found the best treasure in the world.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post How I Found a Real Treasure appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

First, why do dogs greet people warmly with joyful jumping and tail wagging, while cats greet people like they are doing you a favor; coolly with regal restraint? Second, why are dogs and cats usually not good friends? Why do they fight like dogs and cats?

When I read an old Hebrew legend from the Alphabet of Ben Sira I found the answer. A long time ago, in the days of Adam and Eve, cats and dogs were good friends and they used to hunt together. Then there came a time of great famine. There were very few animals to hunt, and only enough food for one of them to eat. The dog and the cat were hungry all the time. The dog told the cat to go live with humans and eat the food in their houses. The dog would live outside and hunt. That way both the dog and the cat would have enough to eat.

The cat agreed and proposed that they each promise that from now on all cats would live in homes, and all dogs would live in the wild. The dog agreed. The cat went to live in a house with Adam and Eve. In the barn and in the house there were lots of mice and rats for the cat to eat, so both the cat and the people were happy.

The dog went to stay with his cousin the wolf and offered to be a watchdog. During the night the dog heard the sound of a bear walking about. He woke up the wolf, who told the dog to go chase away the bear. The dog tried, but he was much smaller than the bear and he had to flee for his life.

The dog then went to stay with other animals. But the small animals like hamsters, meerkats and moles lived in underground tunnels that the dog was to big to fit inside, and bigger animals like deer and elk didn't need a watchdog because they had big ears and could hear better than the dog could. Then the dog noticed that humans have small ears so he went to Adam and Eve and offered to be their watchdog. During the night when he heard something outside the dog would bark and Adam would take his spear and go chase the animal away. Adam liked having a watchdog. Every day Eve fed the dog table scraps. The dog was very happy.

However, the cat objected to the dog staying with people because the dog and cat had made a promise, and the dog was now breaking the deal. The dog admitted breaking his promise but argued that they both could live with humans, because humans had enough food for both dogs and cats. The cat didn't agree. The cat was hurt and angry; so the cat left Eve's house and went to live in Egypt, a land where there were no dogs.

There was lots of grain in Egypt, and therefore lots of mice and rats who love to eat grain. The Egyptians were very happy to have cats live with them so the cats could get rid of the mice and rats. They liked the cats so much they began to worship cats. The Egyptians called the cat Goddess: Bastet. The Egyptians made a rule that anyone who killed a cat would be put to death. When a cat died it's body was turned into a mummy, and placed in special cat cemeteries throughout Egypt. There were statues of the cat Goddess Bastet all over Egypt. Ever since that time cats started to think of themselves as aristocats. Cats became stuck up, regal and cool towards humans, even those who feed and hug them.

Many years later Abraham and Sarah visited Egypt. They saw all the statues of the cat goddess Bastet. Abraham thought that worshipping a statue of a cat was ridiculous. But the Egyptians also worshipped several other animals; Horus the hawk God, Hathor the cow Goddess, Sobek the crocodile God, and the sun God Re in the form of a scarab beetle. Sarah thought that worshipping a beetle was the silliest thing she could imagine, until she learned that the Egyptians also worshipped their king Pharaoh, who they believed was the Divine son of the God Amun-Re. Sarah had met the king Pharaoh and she knew that he was not the Son of God. Sarah felt believing a human was God, or the Son of God, was even worse than worshipping a cat or a hawk. It was an insult to God, who had given humans the ability to think and pray.

Abraham and Sarah left Egypt and returned to the Land of Israel where they never allowed into their home, statues of any animal or person that other people worshipped. Abraham and Sarah's descendants learned never to pray before an animal or a human being, but to pray only to God alone. Cats stayed cool and regal while dogs remained warm and very friendly. Even with their very different personalities some dogs and cats learned to live together, without fighting like cats and dogs.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post Like Dogs and Cats appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

God said to Adam, “It is not good for you to be alone. But now you are free to do whatever you want to do. When you are alone you don't have to share things with others. You don't have to stop talking and just listen when someone else needs to talk to you. You don't have to help when others need help. You don't have to care about how someone else feels. If you had a sister or a brother or a good friend, you would have to do all these things and many more.”

“I don't like being lonely” said Adam, ” I have lots of things for fun and games but I get bored with them after a while. I have several pet animals, but even having animals is not good enough for me. I still feel lonely and all alone. I need someone who is like me but at the same time is different. I need a partner. Someone to stand by my side and be my best friend. I need someone I can take care of, and who will care for me.”

“I know just what you need.” said God, “What you need is a help mate. A person with a different personality, who can grow together with you in love, and help you become a mensch. I am going to form her right out of your side, so she will stand side by side with you as your equal partner, your help mate. The two of you will be like one pair of hands. You know, one hand cannot wash itself. But two hands can always wash each other. You will have to be responsible for and to each other. You will no longer be independent. You will not be free to do whatever you want anymore. You will have to think about another person's feelings. You will have to think less about your self and more about another. I will give you a blessing to help you become a couple.”

God looked down and saw that Adam had fallen into a deep sleep. God hoped that when Adam awoke he would remember all that God had told him. Even if Adam and all his descendants didn't always become the loving responsible help mates that God wanted them to be, God thought they would be become better by trying. And those who were fully responsible partners and help mates would become God's blessing for each other.

If you liked this story, you'll love this! We've compiled a list of the top 10 spiritual stories and parables that our readers love. f

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post Adam Needs Eve – A Jewish Spiritual Story appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Still, the Pope who ruled the city of Rome in those days thought there were to many synagogues in Rome. In the year 1,555 the Pope ordered all the Jews in the city to live in just one area. He also decreed that the Jews should have only one synagogue for the whole community. (In those days, and for over 100 years after, the Catholics and the Protestants were making war against one another.)

Those Jews who did not already live in the Jewish area had to sell their homes and move into the newly formed Ghetto (a place where a group of people are forced to live). Although many Jews did not want to sell their homes, they had to do it, so they did it. But they did resist the decree to have only one synagogue. The members of each synagogue decided to hold services in the home of the member with the largest room. But when the police learned of their plan, the Pope ordered that all the Roman Jews should only pray in one building with only one entrance.

What should the Jewish people do?

Some said the Jews should obey the Pope's order just as they had obeyed the order that all Jews must live in the Ghetto. But most Jews disagreed. Two of the synagogues in Rome were Sephardi (Jews from Spain and North Africa), and two were Ashkenazi (Jews from Germany and the North of Italy. The fifth congregation followed the tradition that Roman Jews had followed for more than 17 centuries (the Roman Jewish community had existed for 200 years before the first Christians even came to Rome).

We say the same prayers they all agreed, but we sing the prayers with
different melodies.

We all say some of the same prayers they all agreed, but some have added extra poems and prayers that others do not say.

Some have longer services and some have shorter services they all
agreed.

Some pray with more joy and some pray with more intensity.

Some would rather pray at home than go to a different synagogue they all agreed.

So what should they do?

The rabbis discussed the problem. One of them said, We all know that the difference between a human king and God, who is the King of Kings, is that when a human ruler stamps his image on a coin (like a Lincoln penny) every coin has the same image on it. But when God creates humans in God's image we all look different. God wants diversity, not uniformity. God wants pluralism, not universalism. We can all live together in harmony, but we cannot all think, feel or behave the same way.”

All the Roman Rabbis agreed.

So they decided to buy a big three story building, with only one doorway. On the first floor there were two synagogues. On the second floor there were two synagogues. On the third floor was the fifth synagogue. Everyone agreed to refer to the one building as “the” synagogue, and to call the five synagogues; schools, “scolas” in Italian or “Shules” in Yiddish. This solution worked for over 300 years, until the Pope lost his power over Rome and the Italian government took over.

If five different Orthodox Jewish groups could share one synagogue building in a time of religious warfare, all the different Jewish groups today should be able to live together in a time of much greater freedom.

If many different kinds of Jews can learn to live together in harmony, then the different sects of every religion can learn to live together in harmony.

And then if all religions can live in harmony with their own heretics, maybe they can live in harmony with each other.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post A Synagogue with Five Schools appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

One night the princess dreamed that if she ate a pair of very special pears she would get well. In order to learn what would make the pears so special, she would have to meet with each person who brought pears to her. Her mother the queen, decreed that whoever brought in the very special pears that healed the princess, would have the opportunity to marry the princess, if she wanted to marry him.

Hundreds of young men brought baskets of pears to the princess. She talked for a long time to each of the young men, and ate their pears, but none of them made her feel better.

One farmer who had very sweet and juicy pears as well as three sons told his eldest son, the most handsome of the three, to take a basket of pears to the princess. On the way to the princess the handsome son met a dwarf who related how hungry he was. The dwarf saw the basket and said, “You must be taking pears to heal the princess. Please give me a few pears so I will not starve.”

The handsome son didn't want to give away even one pear, especially to a dwarf. He was afraid that any pear given away might turn out to be the special one of the pair that would heal the princess. Then he would lose the chance to marry her.

So he said to the hungry man, “The only pears I have in this basket are pairs of pig's feet.” The hungry man, who was really the prophet Elijah in disguise, replied, “Amen! So shall it be.” Then he walked away.

When the handsome son was brought to the princess, he opened his basket to show her his pears, and it was filled with pairs of pig's feet. The princess fainted. The king ordered the eldest son to be thrown out into the street.

When the handsome son returned home he didn't want to tell anybody what had happened so he just said that the pears didn't work. The farmer then decided to send his middle son, the one who was tall, strong and had lovely blond hair, to bring the farmer's best pears to the princess.

On the road to the castle the tall blond son also met Elijah, who was disguised this time as a poor beggar who was deaf in one ear. The blond son also didn't want to help the beggar, even though he seemed very hungry.

The tall blond son said, “I can't help you. The only pears I have in this basket are pairs of pig's ears.” “Amen!” said Elijah, “so shall it be.”

When the tall blond son was brought to the princess he opened his basket and it was filled to the top with pairs of pig's ears. The princess became nauseous and threw up. The king had the blond son thrown out the window into the street. When the middle son returned home he also didn't tell anybody what happened.

The youngest son wasn't very handsome, and he wasn't tall or blond, but he was very kind and considerate. He begged his father to let him go because he wanted to help the princess, although he didn't think she would want to marry him. On the road to the princess he also met Elijah disguised as a beggar with ugly sores and scabs all over his face and arms.

He felt sorry for the ugly beggar, and even before the beggar asked, he offered half of the pears in the basket to the man saying, “I pray these pears are good for you.” Elijah took them and replied, “Amen! So shall it be good for you.”

When the youngest son opened his basket before the princess she asked why it was only half filled with pears. He told her about offering half the basket of pears to the beggar who was covered with sores and scabs. The princess began to cry. The youngest son apologized for making her cry, but to his surprise she suddenly hugged him. They spent the whole day talking and the princess felt better and better. By the next day she was feeling great. A month later she told the youngest son she wanted to marry him, and that is what she did.

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

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What was I doing here — shivering, alone, nearly starving, and so far from home? Was all my searching to be in vain? I stared up at stars that were shimmering through the branches of an ancient banyan tree. Birds of the night warbled a melancholy song. Sacred fires burned brightly along the riverbank, where holy men, their hair matted like ropes hanging down below their knees, threw offerings of pungent herbs into the flames. From the smoldering remains, they scooped out handfuls of ashes and smeared them over their flesh. Completing the ritual, they marched toward the sacred shrine that I yearned to enter.

It was the spring of 1971 in Pashupatinath, Nepal, where a flood of pilgrims had converged that night. Just out of my teens, I felt half a planet away from my home in suburban Chicago, and I ached for the solace of a holy place, a place where I might pray for direction. An hour earlier, I had approached an ancient temple, its towering gateway carved with mythical lions, serpents, gods, and goddesses. As I climbed the stone steps, thrilled with anticipation, a gatekeeper whipped his club into my chest. I sunk to my knees, gasping for breath. Flanked on both sides by police, the gatekeeper blocked my path and shouted, “You are foreigner! Get out!” Their chief, dressed in a turban and military attire, burst forward with burning eyes and smacked his rod across a sign that read: No Foreigners Allowed.

Out from here!” he roared. “If you try again, you'll be severely beaten and thrown in prison. And I cannot say what the angry mobs will do.” He ordered his charges to be vigilant. I had wandered to the bank of the river, crestfallen. My arduous quest for spiritual meaning had led me this far. I couldn't turn back. Now, watching the holy men, an idea sprang into my mind.

I kneeled down at one smoldering pit where a sacrificial fire had burned and sunk both my hands deep into the warm, powdery ashes, sifting out the lumps of glowing coals. Shuddering, I plastered the ashes across my skinny body from my matted hair to my calloused bare feet. The musty powder burned into my nostrils, choking my throat and parching my mouth. I wrapped two river-stained cotton sheets over my upper and lower body for robes and crept again toward the gate, my heart beating heavily in my chest.

The same sentinels stood guard with clubs in hand, but they did not recognize me and let me pass. As I entered a vast open courtyard surrounding the ancient altar I thought, if I'm caught in here, I could be killed. Several thousand people gathered in an unruly line and were waiting to see the altar. Only one person was allowed at a time. Patiently taking my place in the rear of the line, I inched forward. Suddenly, the same police chief who had stopped me earlier passed by. I gasped and turned my face away, my adrenaline surging. He stepped right in front of me, stared into my ash-covered face then barked a question in the local Hindi language.

I didn't understand a word. If I spoke a single word of English here, I knew I would be finished. Receiving no reply, he stared at me and launched into a barrage of questions, this time much louder. My mind reeled with thoughts of years wasted in a filthy Nepali prison or worse. With a blank expression, I stood motionless, knowing he was trained to detect anything suspicious. Did he recognize me? I could only guess.
Another idea rose in my mind. Placing one palm over my mouth, I waved my other hand side to side. Those who vow never to speak, mauni babas, often expressed their vow in this way.

The chief gripped my arm and dragged me away. Where was he taking me? Was I under arrest? He yelled. Instantly, two police guards came running. Surrounded, I was yanked through the line of pilgrims until we reached the place of maximum congestion. Raising their clubs, my captors roared like thunder. Was this to be a public lashing? Would the mob tear me apart for defiling their sacred shrine? They shouted louder and louder as people scattered. I waited, terrified. The men dragged me through the bustling crowd until I found myself standing directly in front of the altar, a colorful pagoda with swirls of sandalwood incense pouring out. In front stood a massive stone bull. On the altar stood a stone figure of the deity Shiva, adorned with embroidered silks and glittering with gold and precious jewels. The chief lifted his stick and squeezed my arm. Would he pummel me right before the holy image?
Surrounded by his lieutenants, rod raised above his head, he shouted orders at a priest, who rushed back into the altar. I waited, trembling. From the inner sanctuary the high priest appeared dressed in robes of red silk. A striking red circle of powder marked his forehead and he wore a gold necklace and strand of dried rudraksa seeds around his neck. In a deep, hypnotic tone, he recited the mantra, “Om Namah Shivaya.”

My captor, his stout body sweating profusely despite the chilly wind, yelled something to the priest that I again could not understand. The high priest listened intently. He nodded his head, closed his eyes and paused. Moments passed as the mass of pilgrims clamored impatiently. Then, straightening his posture, the high priest took a deep breath and began to recite incantations from ancient Sanskrit texts. He stunned me by wrapping a silk turban around my head. Then he draped a shawl over my shoulders, placed several jasmine and night queen garlands around my neck, anointed my forehead with sandalwood paste and offered me saffron-flavored water to drink. Standing in a daze, I realized that the police were holding the massive crowd back in order to grant me an exclusive opportunity to worship the Lord and be honored by the temple. Bowing low with humility, the police chief then begged with joined palms for my blessings and departed.

Did he not recognize me in my disguise or was he aware who I was and simply honoring my determination? This I will never know. Whatever the reason, I was deeply humbled. I had defied human law and deserved to be beaten, but God is merciful. Standing before the altar, my limbs covered with ashes, my drab ascetic robes, and tangled, matted hair awkwardly covered with silks and flowers, I squeezed my tearing eyes shut, joined my palms and prayed that I would be shown my true path as I continued my journey. I returned to the riverbank and sat on the cold earth. It was a moonless night. Stars glittered in the dark sky, a breeze filled the forest with the scent of blooming jasmine, and the cooing of an owl emerged out of the silence. Gazing downstream, I wondered where the river of destiny would lead me next.

How did I land into a life so foreign to my upbringing, but so familiar to my soul?

Radhanath Swami is a spiritual and humanitarian leader, author, and public speaker. A practitioner of bhakti-yoga for almost 40 years, he helps individuals find greater inner fulfillment through devotional service. You can learn more about him at his website http://radhanathswami.com

As a young countercultural American teenager, he left a promising career behind and hitchhiked all the way across the world. Convinced from his world travels that the fundamental problems of the society are simply caused by basic human frailties irrespective of race, nationality, sex or economic status, he decided to dedicate his life to the exploration of solutions to the world's problems through advancement of human consciousness.

With no bank account nor a single penny to his name, Radhanath Swami, together with his highly-energetic team of professionals, has built a visionary hospital in Mumbai that provides low-cost and free holistic healthcare, a midday meal program that feeds 200,000 meals a day for students, an eco-village, an orphanage for underprivileged children, a children's school that provides holistic education in a loving and fun atmosphere, free eye camps that have removed cataract for 33,000 patients to date, and an hospice for terminally ill patients.

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