The Shehecheyanu blessing (Hebrew: שהחינו‎, "Who has given us life") is a common Jewish prayer said to celebrate special occasions. It is said to be thankful for new and unusual experiences. The blessing has been recited by Jews for nearly 2000 years. It comes from the Talmud (Berachot 54a, Pesakhim 7b, Sukkah 46a, etc.)

The blessing of Shehecheyanu is recited in thanks or commemoration of:

Some have the custom of saying it at the ceremony of the Birkat Hachama, which is recited once every 28 years in the month of Nissan/Adar II.

It is not recited at a circumcision, since that involves pain, nor at the Counting of the Omer, since that is a task which does not give pleasure (and causes sadness at the thought that the actual omer ceremony cannot be performed because of the destruction of the Temple).

Some traditions dictate saying "lizman" rather than "lazman" ("to [this] season"), this follows the ruling of the Mishnah Berurah and Aruch Hashulchan, following Magen Avraham, and is followed by Chabad, but this seems to be a minority usage and is contrary to usual Hebrew usage.

Jamie Korngold is a Reform Jewish rabbi. In 2001, she founded the Adventure Rabbi program, a not-for-profit organization based in Boulder, Colorado which integrates spirituality and the outdoors. For example, people in the Adventure Rabbi program

...climb mountains, go skiing, play the guitar and sing around a campfire.

Rabbi Korngold is the spiritual leader of the Adventure Rabbi program, and envisioned it because she

experienced her most vibrant Jewish experiences in the outdoors. From scaling mountains to running ultra-marathons, she has found that the spirituality of the wilderness awakens Judaism.

She was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, from which she holds a Master in Hebrew Letters. She also graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in natural resources. In 2008 her book God in the Wilderness was published; it is about finding spiritual meaning in outdoor experiences. In 2011 her book The God Upgrade was published, which advocates modernizing the contemporary notion of God so that it becomes compatible with both science and Judaism. In 2011 she also published a children's book about Sukkot, titled Sadie's Sukkah Breakfast.

Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing such issues as the Holocaust, slavery, war and terrorism. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks movie studio.

Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Three of Spielberg's films—Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993)—achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time. To date, the unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $8.5 billion worldwide. Forbes puts Spielberg's wealth at $3.0 billion.

Pinchas Cohen Gan (Hebrew: פנחס כהן גן‎) (born 1942) is an Israeli painter and mixed-media artist.

Pinhas Cohen Gan was born in Meknes, Morocco. He immigrated to Israel in 1949. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London prior to receiving a baccalaureate in social science and the history of art at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1973.

In 1975, Gan returned to painting and drawing, often employing faceless figures as symbols in a non-specific space. From 1975 to 1977, he studied with Meyer Schapiro (1904–1996) at Columbia University in New York City, receiving an MFA in 1977. He then returned to Tel Aviv, where he currently resides.

First Aid Kit (of the Primary Colours), 1974
Oil, collage, and stamps on paper
Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Figure and Correspondent Form with Red Shelf, 1978
Oil on canvas, cardboard and wood
Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Memories A (with the Hungarian Dice), 1994
Mixed media
Israel Museum, Jerusalem