Cultivating Creativity as a Spiritual Practice

When was the last time you created something new? Perhaps it was a meal, a work of art, a new outfit—or even an idea. For me, it was a baking project. I had checked a cookbook out of the library and was excited to try a new-to-me recipe. 

As I measured and mixed, chopped and stirred, I wondered what the raspberry cake would taste like, how the tartness would balance with the sweet, and what kind of joy it might bring to the people I would share it with. 

Creativity as a spiritual practice

In my own life, creative practices (including ceramics, creative writing, and crochet, to name a few) give me a more manageable way to practice being with that which I don’t yet know or fully understand. These practices allow me to try on curiosity and playfulness, to imagine something that does not yet exist. 

In the beginning

This week in our annual Torah-reading cycle, we come to the final portion of the first book of Torah. Genesis, of course, begins with the archetypal act of creation—quite the project!—from which it derives its English name, when the Divine creates the universe. 

This project contains many different generative modes, from the careful discernment of separating land from water and night from day to the more chaotic feat of filling the world with plants, animals, and abstract concepts like sacred rest. But how do these themes carry into the rest of the Torah—and how do they develop in our own lives?

Dive into these topics with GatherBay’s upcoming book club!

In the traditional daily morning liturgy, one blessing describes the Divine as the one who “renews every day, continually, the work of creation.” Creativity is not a one-time deal. One of the Bay Area’s local Jewish teachers, Rabbi Adina Allen, has written a book, The Place of All Possibility, that asks what the Torah teaches about

 creativity. The book also invites us to bring that creativity into our own lives and our relationship to Judaism… and we want to read it with you! Join me later this month for GatherBay’s first-ever book club. Together, we’ll read The Place of All Possibility, putting it into conversation with our own thoughts, as well as other Jewish texts on creativity. We’ll consider:

• What can our study of this book reveal about Judaism’s unique take on creativity?
• How can we tap into curiosity more frequently?
• At challenging moments, how can creativity can help us access greater resilience?

We’ll also have plenty of time to connect with our fellow book club members, share a meal together, and discover how Judaism and creativity are relevant to our lives.

TLDR;

What? A book club!

When? Three sessions: January 29, February 5, and February 12, 6-8pm (with an optional fourth session to be determined with our group)

Where? South Berkeley, location to be shared once you RSVP

Cost? $5-25 sliding scale registration fee includes the book and dinner at each session

Ready to sign up? Registration form and more details are available here.  

Questions? Reach out to Rabbi Gray (rabbi.gray@gatherbay.org)

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Rabbi Gray Myrseth is the Community Rabbi at GatherBay. Originally from San Francisco, Gray was ordained at the Hebrew College Rabbinical School of Newton, MA, and served for six years as Rabbi Educator at Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland. Gray has worked as a rabbi, chaplain, and educator with people of all ages, within Jewish institutions and beyond. When not at work, Gray can be found making ceramic Judaica, writing and reading poetry, expounding on the wonders of Talmud study, and enthusiastically exchanging podcast recommendations.