Unraveling Religion, Judaic Edition

'Better A Good Question Than A Bad Answer,' An Introduction To Judaism And Kabbalah: A Conversation With Rabbi Gedaliah Gurfein From Jerusalem

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Pulled from the Archives of Unraveling Religion, Judaic Edition, this January 2010 conversation with Rabbi Gedaliah Gurfein of Jerusalem opens to the importance of Judaism's connection to the land of Israel.

Also discussed is the nature of a human being, being is less important than becoming.

Rabbi Gedaliah shares utilizing the time on our planet might be best served by refining ourselves into sacred vessels.

  • Higher than Kabbalah is Prophecy
  • In ancient Israel there were school of Prophecy
  • One cannot generate Prophecy, one can only make themselves a worthy vessel to receive Prophecy
  • Night as the facilitation of Faith
  • Day as the facilitation of Wisdom
  • Why don't we perceive G-d clearly? Is existence a Cosmic Game of hide and seek?
  • G-d make us Partners in Creation
  • Star of David, 'Bringing Heaven down to Earth' 
  • Six days of Creation, Six Directions (i.e., north, east, south, west, up, down)
  • In order to move in Space, one needs Time
  • The seventh type of time is Shabbas, returning to oneself, time with no direction
  • All specifications of our lives are crafted by G-d to give us the the opportunity for its successful completion
  • The physical and spiritual mirror one another
  • Judaism's rich tradition and history of meditation
  • Respecting differences in the World's Religions
  • Reincarnation is not explicit taught in Torah, Talmud touches on it
  • Torah is very much about the here and now
  • Ba'al Shem Tov, Owner of a Good Name
  • Highest thing a human being can work toward and leave behind is to be Ba'al Shem Tov, the Owner of a Good Name

    • Biography:

    Gedaliah has been a teacher of Jewish wisdom for over 45 years. His experiences have included a range from traditional yeshivot to Pueblo Indians, Igbo Tribes, China, Netherlands, Mexico and, of course, Israel. Gedaliah has also been involved in the Israeli High-Tech industry since 1995. His classic work - free to the public - is The People's Talmud.

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    Unraveling Religion, Judaic EditionBy Rabbi Jessica Minnen and Joel David Lesses