Huffington Post.com - September 16, 2009
Source: HuffingtonPost.com
Press Articles written by Gahl
Yoga Chicago - Embracing our Imperfections
By Gahl Sasson
"And God created Adam in His own image, in the likeness of God created He male and female." -- Genesis 1:27
We are all created by the same divine blueprint, all labeled "made in God." For this reason mystics warn us not to classify any part of God's creations as flawed, or having disabilities. I wish to show that we are all imperfect in one way or another. And yet these flaws or “disabilities” make us differently abled in other ways. It is our imperfections, be they physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual, that make us perfect. Appreciating this concept is especially important for yoga practitioners. Yoga in Sanskrit means “to yoke,” or “to put together.” Let us therefore yoke together Kabbalah, Tibetan Buddhism and yoga to answer the question: what is disability? Those of us who practice yoga frequently experience injuries or physical problems or have to deal with disabilities that manifest in our practice. Yoga works with the body, mind and soul. Sometimes in the course of our lifelong dedication to yoga, we forget that injuries that cause us to stop our practice for a time are just as much part of our yoga practice as a perfect tree pose. Read More
Olam Magazine: The Imperfect Choice
by Gahl Sasson
"And God created Adam in His own image, in the likeness of God created He male and female."
- Genesis 1:27
We are all created by the same divine blueprint, all labeled "Made In God," each one of us a split image of the likeness of God. For this reason mystics warn us not to classify any part of God's creations as flawed or disabled. In the next few paragraphs I wish to share with you some thoughts and feelings about these subjects. I wish to show that we are all imperfect in one way or another. And yet these disabilities make us differently able in other ways. It is our imperfections, be they physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual, that make us perfect. Read More
Olam Magazine: The Golden Calf Within
by Gahl Sasson
Exodus 32:1-6 "…‘Make us a god who shall go before us'... and he fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said: ‘This is thy god, O Israel….'"
That history repeats itself is one of the oldest axioms in the world, and one of the oldest continuously observed holidays in the world, the 17th of Tammuz, dramatically proves this point. On the 17th of Tammuz - which we observe with mourning, fasting and contemplation - a series of calamities befell the Jewish people, all on precisely the same day though centuries apart. Read More
Olam Magazine: The Father of Wisdom & the Mother of Understanding
by Gahl Sasson
"Understand with Wisdom.
Be wise with Understanding."
-Sefer Yetzirah, The Book of Formation 1:4
To Moshe and Naomi Sasson, my beautiful parents.
Many of us, especially at our age, misunderstand time and try to defy it. I happen to be living in the City of Angels, which is ironically the center of time-defiance in the world. Here people desperately try to erase their wrinkles, lie about their age as if it were their income tax, dye their hair, and come up with extremely creative gimmicks to create the illusion of youth. Read More
Anne Frank and the Tree of Life
We all have things we must learn to stop taking for granted
Gahl Sasson
Published: 01.15.07, 12:17 / Israel Jewish Scene
For the last half century, Anne Frank and her incredible diary, has served as a symbol of how even in the worst and inhumane conditions, we can find light, joy and hope.
Caged in a small attic in Amsterdam, hiding from the Nazis, the 13 years old girl documented her life in a diary. After two years of hiding, she and her family was finally betrayed and sent to the death camps.
In her diary, that was read by over 25 million readers around the world, mostly children, she makes reoccurring references to an old chestnut tree that she could see through the only window that was not blacked out. The tree was a beacon of light and life, it was her Tree of Life. Read More