• awareness – in which you cultivate compassion for yourself and others;
• freedom – from the tyranny of reacting to the things you fear or want and from the stories you tell yourself that increase suffering;
• and being – fully alive and interconnected.

• Devekut (embracing, cleaving to the Divine) – Being With What Is. This practice is related to the name of God that Moses hears at the burning bush when he pays close attention, hears instructions from God and asks God's name which God tells says is Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, translated as "I will be what I will be" or "becoming what is becoming."
• Brachot (Blessing)--This practice is a cultivation of a specific kavanah (intention).

Here is a practice for each:

Devekut: Concentration and Awareness Find a comfortable position with your back straight. Lengthen your spine and soften your muscles. Either gently close your eyes or keep them slightly open with a softened gaze. Invite the awareness to rest on your breath. Ruach is the Hebrew word for breath or spirit, and indeed, the Divine breath. Think of the Divine entering your body as you breathe in. Exhale and let go of tensions, sensations, ideas, or emotions you are holding tight.

Keep following the natural flow of breath all the way in and all the way out. Each breath is miracle. God's out-breath (ex-press-ion) is your in-breath (in-spir(e)-ation); God's in-breath is your out-breath. The breath can become a friend, a constant and accessible connection to That which Breathes us, returning us from "human doings" to human beings.

If you find your attention wandering, which it will, return to the breath without judgment. Notice what claimed attention: a physical sensation such as pain; an emotional sensation such as fear; an idea about how to solve a problem. Gently hold whatever arises in awareness, then let it go.

If tears well up, let them flow, watching and letting go of the stories about the tears, while maintaining your awareness of sensations of grief or joy, anger or safety or love – whatever precipitated your tears.

If sounds distract you, try to experience them without labeling them. Don't analyze or ask why; don't get caught up in stories or berate yourself for being distracted. Instead, attend with curiosity to what arises, move deeper into the experience, meet life in this moment fully – always returning to the breath as an anchor.

Brachot (Blessings)

In the same posture as above, with closed eyes, repeat a set of blessings over and over. Begin with yourself, then move to a benefactor or a person you love, then to a person who is neutral in your life, and finally to one with whom you experience some difficulty. Don't start with the difficult. You may develop your own set of blessings.

First try these blessings taught by Rabbi Jeff Roth:

May I be blessed with happiness.
May I be blessed with lovingkindness.
May I be blessed with compassion.
May I be blessed with peace.

Then apply this series to another person. For example, May my daughter be blessed with happiness. May my daughter be blessed with lovingkindness. And on to compassion, then peace. Each time you name a quality, such as "happiness" or "peace," feel it in your body. Bask in the sense of lovingkindness or compassion. Notice the resistances, stories, judgments, and longings that arise as you sit with these qualities. Return to the repetition of the blessings, again and again, for each person.

Jewish meditation is most fruitful when practiced daily. Try to set aside several minutes, up to an hour, each day. Meditating in a group is a great boost to practice. Meditation retreats provide a profound and transformative experience for beginners and long-time students alike.

Reprinted with permission from Mayyim Hayyim's Book Blessings for the Journey