Beneath The Surface

I joined Rabbi Mark Wildes on his podcast for a wide ranging discussion. In his words: There is a deep yearning for spiritual experience and meaning among the young Jewish community. Rabbi Daniel Bortz, better known as The Millennial Rabbi has gained social-media fame through his focus on meditation, Kabbalah, and Torah wisdom for achieving happiness. Rabbi Wildes speaks with Rabbi Bortz about all this and more in this inspirational and informative conversation that will leave you thinking about "God" in a whole new way. Timestamps: 1:30 - Millennials and Torah 12:30 - Nature of God 15:00 - Rationalism vs. Mysticism 20:00 - Happiness 30:00 - Power of Prayer 37:00 - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

I joined the High Noon Podcast to discuss Jewish views of love, intimacy, and healthy relationships. In their description: Rabbi Daniel shares with us the mystical teachings of Jewish, the significance of marriage, and how sexuality is viewed from the Judaism perspective. He discusses the negative impacts of pornography and how a Rabbi like himself can help someone who is struggling with addiction. He also talks about the importance of having a positive mindset in life and the value of separating work from home and family.

I joined my friend Zevi Slavin in discussion on his podcast, Seekers of Unity, where we dove into experiential Judaism, mystical experience in Jewish practice today, and why it matters

Jesse Israel is a social entrepreneur, meditation leader and former record label executive known for founding the mass meditation movement The Big Quiet. Jesse has signed multi-platinum bands like MGMT, has led some of the largest meditations in the world, teaches meditation to next-generation leaders and speaks at Fortune 500s and colleges. At the start of 2020, Jesse was invited to go on tour with Oprah Winfrey and WW to speak at and lead mass meditations at sold-out arenas throughout the US. Jesse's work has been featured in the New York Times, Vice, Vogue, Fast Company, GQ and the Wall Street Journal.

There are 7 weeks between the holidays of Passover & Shavuot. These days were utilized by the jewish nation – and continued on throughout history until today – as a time of self refinement & personal growth, working on each of our 7 sefirot – our emotional soul traits.

Kabbalah teaches us that each of these 7 traits are made up of the other 7 aspects - totaling 7 weeks of 49 days. What are these Sefirot and how did they come to be?

This Shabbat we read about the holy brothers Nadav & Avihu, sons of Aharon the Kohen Gadol, who enter the Temple with incense. The Torah calls it "strange fire before God, which He hadn't commanded them." As they enter, their souls leave their body. What happened here? This coming week we will focus on the divine soul attribute of Tiferet – beauty, compassion, balance and harmony – the path of truth. Perhaps we can find guidance & meaning in this story through this trait of harmony.

Rudy Rochman is an important young voice in this generation of proud Jewish identity. A passionate advocate for the self determination of Jews on their ancestral homeland in Israel, Rudy works to find mutual understanding between Jews, Arabs, and all peoples in a peaceful way that will benefit all. In this episode we discuss what motivates him to do his work, his documentary "We Were Never Lost" about Jewish tribes in Africa, Jewish spiritual identity, and the always simple subject of how to create a lasting peace in Israel.