Subtle Architecture

This week’s Sefer Yetzirah practice at Der Nister moved in the direction of less: fewer words, fewer explanations, and more trust in the quiet intelligence of attention. We sat with SY 2:1, the teaching that the twenty-two letters are not only building blocks of language, but the subtle architecture through which soul is formed: "the soul of every formed being, and the soul of every being yet to be formed." 

The container was intentionally simple. We arrived by feeling the support beneath us, softening the face and jaw, and then returning again and again to the breath. When the mind raced, when the body fidgeted, when memory or planning carried us off, the practice was not to “fix” anything, only to notice, and come back to one breath. 

In a world that keeps demanding commentary, this kind of sitting can feel quietly radical: allowing silence to be spacious enough to hold what is real, and gentle enough to let something new emerge.

If you’re longing for a deeper immersion, our upcoming 1/2-day retreat on February 22 will expand this atmosphere of attunement and inner listening - now with wonderful new partners: Challahdad, TeaByZev, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Come for practice, teaching, and a nourishing pause.