Embodied Judaism

Ariela Sharon is passionate about elevating the Feminine Energy of this world so that we can bring peace, love and moshiach. Ariela has been a Jewish Educator and Women's Health Advisor for the past 10 years. She is also an Herbalist, Bodyworker and Birth Keeper. She has studied at the Hadar Institute, The Eden Center, ArborVitae, Manzanita Wellness, and Birthing from Within. In addition to one-on-one learning services, she offers workshops that bring together the physiological with the spiritual on all things pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She is dedicated to rewilding womanhood and exploring how we can root in ancient Jewish wisdom while bringing in our own life experiences. She has taught in collaboration with Imeinu Doulas, Moishe House, The Jewish Studio Project, The School of Living Jewishly, At the Well, Hazon, Atiq and more. Ariela lives in Cleveland Ohio with her husband and 4 daughters. 

In this powerful and poetic conversation, Jenna Zadaka shares the winding path of her spiritual journey—from discovering Kabbalistic meditation through Chabad in college to integrating yoga within her Jewish religious life. We explore her deep love for mystical Judaism, her reverence for Rosh Chodesh, and the ways women’s faith and leadership shine during the Pesach season. Jenna speaks to the embodied nature of healing, the importance of meeting bitterness with presence, and recounts a mystical encounter with the Arizal that continues to shape her relationship with the Divine. This episode is an invitation to reconnect with the wisdom of the body and the sacred cycles of Jewish time.

Generously, Jenna is offering 15% off her course, The Radiant Body: Embodied Kabbalah Course, which begins April 9th. Use code EMBODIEDJUDAISM at checkout. Sign-ups close April 6th!

BIO:
Jenna Zadaka is an embodiment practitioner, trauma-informed somatic coach, educator in Jewish Mysticism and Mindfulness, author, and ceremonialist. She weaves spiritual, experiential, holistic, feminine, and earth-based wisdom into all of her offerings. Jenna believes in the power of each person’s inner-directed healing and trusts that the Divine Body allows us to discover the Source of Life through our flesh, reconnecting to our inherent joyous nature. She uses the pathways of somatics, spirituality and creative visualization for healing. A pillar of her approach to wellness includes receiving support from both our visible and invisible guides. As a celebrated teacher of Kabbalah, Yoga, and Mindfulness, Jenna humbly draws wisdom from her root-teachers and ancestors. Connect with her embodied teachings on Instagram @breathandsoul_Jenna and through her website, awethenticroots.com.

So grateful to have my incredible husband Elan Gerzon on the podcast. We talk about his journey growing up, stories of seeking and experiences with other cultures, and eventually coming home to Judaism.

We also speak about our relationship coming from places of different observances/backgrounds.

With Nechama Schusterman

Connect with Maxine on her personal instagram and her company, The Power Within.

Ben is a seeker who’s had the great privilege of exploring several of the worlds most ancient wisdom traditions/lineages alongside his own namely Hasidic and kabbalistic traditions and is in deep awe and reverence of the brilliant lessons transmitted through millennia. He is passionate about human life, dignity, and sovereignty who relishes the opportunity to walk alongside other seekers on their journey whether as a coach, friend, or study partner.

After inheriting more than his fair share of generational trauma from his holocaust survivor grandparents and experiencing his own trauma, he was forced to confront this during the pandemic. Drawing on lessons from survivors like Viktor Frenkl and Edith Eger he began the work in earnest. The healing journey started as a physical health and wellness journey and discovering, while losing 100lbs, that childhood trauma which was contributing to disordered eating underneath his weight issue which led him to somatic work, polyvagal theory and all things nervous system regulation.

While on his health and healing journey, Ben was providing legal services and helping to build tech startups where he focused on organizational architecture, team and culture building, and optimizing human performance in chaos.

Ben can be found at @hasidichealing on instagram, (send a DM and say hi) and at https://cupolatransformation.crd.co & https://cupolacognition.crd.co

In this episode we discuss the parsha for the week, Tetzaveh.

For a much deeper dive, check out Nechama Schusterman's weekly podcast: A Path Forward.

A little bit of a listen from Jessie's journey from going abroad at 24 years old to search for a feeling of ancestral and familial resonance, to plant medicine experiences that made Jessie want to experience more Jewish prayer and songs, and just a little bit on going towards keeping Shabbat.

This is our first weekly episode with Nechama Schusterman where we explore a fractal of the light that is the weekly torah portion.

In this episode, we first discuss finding value in Torah as our GPS.

Then, we dive into a few gems from Parsha Terumah.

May this conversation be an invitation for your own cheshbon hanefesh (spiritual accounting) this week!

Get to know Nechama Schusterman, an incredible Rabbanit and torah teacher that Jessie studies with.

They share how they met and a little bit about Nechama. BeH Jessie and Nechama will be having weekly conversations around the parsha, with Nechama sharing her truly unique and "somatic" torah insights and invitations.