I am a school librarian and chaplain. I also hold a PhD in English Studies from Illinois State University and a master's in Spiritual Care and Counseling from Jewish Theological Seminary. For me, spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way we seek and express meaning and purpose and the way we experience our connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.
I also identify as a mystic, meaning:
- I move through life with gnawing suspicion that the apparent discord, brokenness, contradictions, and discontinuities that assault us every day might conceal a hidden unity—Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
- I perceive divine pathos (God’s concern and emotion), respond ethically, and live in reverence and responsibility. That is, I do not leave ordinary life behind but discern depth, wonder, and divine meaning within it—Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
- I am accessible to others during this peculiar epoch marked by great skepticism and confusion about the nature of human purpose, and I bring with me new ways of seeing and being in the world at a time when the ends of life have become weakened or disoriented, and no new public structure or sufficient depth and scope to be satisfying has yet taken place—Kenneth Burke, rhetorician and theologian
I consult books and craft amulets in the afternoon once I recite the Mincha service. Mincha, an important part of my liturgical day, and the afternoon prayer service, is considered an auspicious "gift" time, often associated with immediate answers to personal requests, as it requires pausing work to show dedication. It is a powerful time for prayers regarding livelihood, health, spiritual growth, and personal, heartfelt petitions, often deemed to have special potency.
When practicing bibliomancy, I most often consult the Tanakh, but also will consult classic texts and modern and postmodern poetry. When crafting an amulet, I look for sacred names of God, angels, relevant passages from the Tanakh, and relevant symbols to apply to the design. I contemplate how names, words, and images can work together to guide you through an unceasing prayer to God. Vocalizing an amulet is a performative act. You are bringing your prayer into the world.
After consulting sources, I engage in Hitbonenut. The shoresh of Hitbonenut is bet-yud-nun, which means to have discernment, insight, or understanding. Hitbonenut can be understood as part of a learning process that unfolds in stages. My process begins with Kriah, the basic act of reading a sacred or classic text in order to become familiar with its language and ideas. This leads to Iyun which involves close, analytical study—asking questions, comparing interpretations, and working through commentaries.
In Hitbonenut, I choose a single idea from the text and sit with it attentively, returning to it again and again until it begins to shape in my mind and heart. Prayer, or Tefillah, then grows out of this process, becoming a more personal and emotionally grounded response rather than a routine recitation of words.
I then engage in Yetzira, meaning writing or making, through a combination of journaling, writing poetry, drawing, and listening to music. These creative activities lead me to prepare the answer to your question and design your amulet. This step is not about analysis or emotional release; it is about making meaning visible and durable.
