Marc Soloway
Congregation Bonai Shalom
Telephone: 303-442 6605
Email: show
Marc Soloway is the spiritual leader of Congregation Bonai Shalom in Boulder, Colorado. Prior to training as a rabbi, he was an actor and storyteller in his native UK, where he devised and performed a soulful show of Jewish stories called "The Empty Chair" with the the acclaimed Besht Tellers. He was also a practitioner of various forms of healing and complimentary medicine. In 1997 and 1998, Marc was co-chair of Limmud in the UK, which has been an essential part of his Jewish journey. He is on the board of Limmud Colorado coming this May.
Food, Sex, Torah
The Secret of Our Cravings
Text and Thought
Do you know that feeling of never quite being satisfied, always feeling hungry for something else? Marc Soloway does. What is that hunger all about? What is the nature of craving? The Jewish tradition has plenty to say on this subject. We will delve into some amazing classical and contemporary texts to open a discussion exploring the mystery of our appetites.
Waking Up the Body, Waking Up the Soul
Blessings of the Dawn
Ritual and Prayer,
Text and Thought
How we wake up in the morning can define our whole day. Do we crawl out of bed and fumble our way to the nearest caffeine? Or do we strengthen ourselves like lions to serve the Creator? Birkot HaShachar, the Morning Blessings, are a Talmudic, spiritual prescription for waking up with awareness and describing conscious, waking steps. We will explore these blessings in a fresh way, including movement, meditation, study and singing. We will stretch our bodies and our souls.
Songs and Stories for our Hearts and Souls
Shabbos Tisch
It's traditional on Shabbat to sit around the table ("tisch" in Yiddish), singing songs and telling stories long into the night. Our singing will be lively and vibrant, soulful and melodic, a mix of traditional and not-so-traditional songs, interspersed with stories, to enrich our joy of Shabbat. Bring your favorite stories and songs to share!
Prayacting!
Deepening Prayer Through Acting
Arts and Performance,
Ritual and Prayer
What happens to us when we pray? Where do we go? Where are we meant to go? Some of the sources tell us that we are to see ourselves ‘as if’ (k’ilu) we were standing before the Shechinah, God's presence; others say before a king of flesh and blood. Stanislavsky, the Russian director who created method acting, talks about the ‘magic if.’ Using some fun and creative acting exercises, we will attempt to open our spiritual imagination to the essence of tefillah, Jewish prayer.
