Sidesteps

Embrace the Day “If only it were evening!” we say in the morning. “If only it were morning!” we say at night. Deuteronomy describes a heart so burdened by dread that it longs to escape the present, always wishing to be somewhere else, somewhen else. We do the same with the weather. We wish away the rain, curse the heat, shiver against the cold, resent the wind. We long for sunshine, a gentle breez...

In Genesis, humanity begins with a vegetarian diet, eating the plants and fruits of the earth. After the flood, God permits Noah and his descendants to eat meat. This meditation explores that transition through a head-to-toe body scan, inviting you to consider what each part of your body needs to be nourished and well. Bring your attention to your head, your eyes, your mouth, your shoulders, your...

A restful guided meditation to help you end the day with greater peace, clarity, and self-compassion. Through calming breath, gentle reflection, and moments of quiet gratitude, you’ll make space to acknowledge the day’s joys and difficulties, release what you can’t resolve tonight, and make peace with what remains unfinished. There’s nothing more you need to accomplish, nothing more you need to pr...

A gentle nighttime meditation inspired by the ancient Jewish practice of preparing the soul for sleep. This ritual invites you to close the day with softness, honesty, and gratitude — releasing tension, reviewing the moments that shaped you, and returning to yourself with compassion. Through calming breath, reflection, and quiet awareness, you’ll create space to let go of unfinished thoughts and s...

Ecclesiastes reminds us that life is not only made of grand accomplishments or profound moments. “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart.” This meditation invites you to notice the small delights, simple pleasures, and everyday mercies that are already here. Bring to mind a meal you enjoyed, a cool breeze, sunlight through a window, laughter, music, a comfortable chair,...

Tashlich ("sending") is a practice of release between Rosh HaShanah (Jewish new year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Traditionally, we cast bread or other objects into flowing water as a way of symbolically casting away what we no longer want to carry. In this meditation, you’ll be invited again and again to bring something to mind—and let it go. A sin you regret. A transgression you haven’t m...

As the Jewish new year of Rosh Hashanah approaches, take a quiet journey through the year’s changing seasons. Begin in autumn, when the world turns inward and the leaves let go. Remember what you began, what you carried, and what you were ready to release. Move through winter’s stillness, spring’s awakening, and summer’s fullness. Along the way, reflect on the people, places, choices, and moments...

What if the guidance you’re looking for is already available to you? In this episode of Sidesteps, Rabbi Alon Ferency talks with Cindy Anderson of Soul Epiphany about spirit guides, intuition, creativity, and the surprising wisdom that can emerge when we quiet the noise around us. Cindy shares her journey from corporate marketing executive and real estate investor to spiritual entrepreneur—and the...

What if the wisdom you’re searching for isn’t somewhere far away? Inspired by Deuteronomy 30:11-15, this meditation invites you to stop reaching—for the distant answer, the perfect insight, the next spiritual breakthrough—and return to what is already here. Through breath, sensation, and stillness, we notice the parts of ourselves that are always seeking: the traveler who wants to go farther, the...

A meditation Deuteronomy 28, inspired by the Scripture’s warning that we can lose our way when we fail to serve life with joy and gladness. We begin by acknowledging the precariousness of being alive: our mortality, our incompleteness, the fragility of health, safety, love, and everything we cannot control. Rather than turning away from melancholy or grief, we breathe into the mystery and vastness...

A gentle nighttime meditation inspired by the ancient Jewish practice of preparing the soul for sleep. This ritual invites you to close the day with softness, honesty, and gratitude — releasing tension, reviewing the moments that shaped you, and returning to yourself with compassion. Through calming breath, reflection, and quiet awareness, you’ll create space to let go of unfinished thoughts and s...

Fear is a natural response to threat. When we feel afraid, the body releases cortisol and other stress hormones, preparing us to respond. Anxiety and worry can keep that alarm activated even when the danger is uncertain, distant, or imagined. In this meditation, we begin by acknowledging fear rather than fighting it. Notice its sensations, its thoughts, and the reasons it has come. You don’t have...

A restful guided meditation for ending the day with greater peace, clarity, and self-compassion. Instead of carrying the day’s unfinished business into bed, this practice invites you to pause, reflect, and let go. Through calming breath, gentle reflection, gratitude, and quiet, you’ll release some of the day’s tension and make room for deep, restorative rest. Bedtime becomes more than simply falli...

What do we really need? And once our needs are met, what is it that we desire? In this meditation on "Bal Tashchit," the Jewish teaching against needless destruction, rooted in Deuteronomy 20:19, we’ll slow down and notice the difference between need and want. From there, we’ll consider a third possibility: taking less. Less food, less stuff, less energy, less attention, less of the world’s finite...

A gentle nighttime meditation inspired by the ancient Jewish practice of preparing the soul for sleep. This ritual invites you to close the day with softness, honesty, and gratitude — releasing tension, reviewing the moments that shaped you, and returning to yourself with compassion. Through calming breath, reflection, and quiet awareness, you’ll create space to let go of unfinished thoughts and s...

In Deuteronomy 14, we're invited to pay attention to what nourishes us—not only what we eat, but how we eat. This meditation follows the journey of a meal from earth, rain, sunlight, fields, orchards, rivers, and hands, through harvest, transport, preparation, and finally to your table. As you reflect on the web of life behind each bite, you'll consider the choices that shape your food and the gra...

Stillness isn't the absence of distraction—it's the practice of returning. This meditation offers a gentle reset, inviting you to settle into your body through gravity, breath, and quiet awareness. As your muscles soften and your breathing slows, you'll notice what feels relaxed, what remains tense, and how even a small shift can create more ease. When your mind wanders, you'll practice the heart...

Tu B'Av (the full moon of the Jewish month of Av) celebrates love—not only the feeling that sweeps us off our feet, but the choices that quietly shape a life. In this meditation, you'll begin by reconnecting with moments of warmth, affection, and gratitude, allowing your heart to soften without forcing emotion. From there, you'll gently explore how love becomes action: caring for your own body and...

Listening Inward is a guided journey from the farthest horizon to the hidden center of your own being. Inspired by the Shema ("Hear, O Israel") and Deuteronomy's vision of a God revealed through a voice rather than an image, you'll gradually narrow your attention—from the sounds of the world, to those around you, to your own breath, heartbeat, and inner life. As the circle of awareness grows small...

A restful guided meditation to help you end the day with greater peace, clarity, and self-compassion. Rather than collapsing into sleep carrying the weight of everything left undone, this practice invites you to pause, reflect, and gently release the day. Through calming breath, guided reflection, and moments of quiet gratitude, you'll settle your nervous system, let go of lingering tension, and c...

How do you tell someone they're wrong without becoming cruel? How do you receive criticism without becoming defensive? Drawing on Deuteronomy 1-3 (Parashat Devarim) and centuries of Jewish wisdom, Rabbi Alon Ferency explores the ethics of feedback, rebuke, and creative critique. Moses waits until the end of his life to offer his deepest corrections to the Israelites—not because criticism is unimpo...

A meditation on Deuteronomy: Moses begins with words of rebuke, yet he also commands judges to “hear every person fairly.” In this practice, we learn to see clearly without cruelty. Begin by noticing yourself as you are today—your strengths, your fatigue, your habits, and the places that need repair. Let honest self-correction arise not from shame, but from love. Then bring to mind someone dear to...

What does Leonardo da Vinci have in common with the Israelites wandering through the wilderness? More than you might think. Leonardo imagined flying machines centuries before the technology existed. Every visionary artist knows that feeling: seeing possibilities long before the world is ready. But living in the creative vanguard can also be lonely, exhausting, and discouraging. Drawing on Numbers...

What makes a house become a home? Inspired by a midrash on Numbers 33:2, this meditation reflects on the Israelites' journey through the wilderness. The rabbis compare God to a parent walking home with a child who has recovered from illness, gently recalling each stop along the way: "Here we rested. Here you caught cold. Here your head hurt." The memories include both suffering and care, revealing...

"When we become empty of ourselves, that's when creation, inspiration, and beauty arrive." — Mayra Clay Episode Summary: What happens when spirituality stops being something you search for outside yourself and becomes something you discover within? In this deeply moving conversation, Rabbi Alon Ferency sits down with children's author and meditation teacher Mayra Clay to explore her journey from a...