Everyday Mystics

When Moses turned and saw the bush that burned but was not consumed, it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, it was a map. Maybe the bush had always been burning. It just took someone willing to turn, to notice, to say this is sacred ground. Everyday Mystics tells the real stories of people who have had that turning. Small, ordinary moments that cracked open into something larger. Their stories of transformation weave Jewish wisdom bringing forward an old/ new way of understanding mystical experience and the everyday. These are stories of when the ordinary becomes sacred, the familiar becomes mysterious, and Judaism becomes beautifully unbound.

Some floods destroy. Others carry us somewhere we never expected to go. In the first episode of Everyday Mystics, Play Steinberg’s journey through grief, addiction, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and queer identity asks what it means to keep building an ark when the waters rise and whether the very thing that threatens to overwhelm us might also become a flood of love.

[1] Play is an incredible artist, composer and teacher. Run don’t walk to their substack to read their current writings. Also, their webtoon,“Father, Mother, God” is a gorgeous graphic comic about their relationship with their parents and the Divine. 

[2] Miriam begins by referencing the biblical story about the Flood in Genesis 6-9

[3] Play mentions their connection to Buddhist Sangha. Sangha means community of people who practice Buddhism. Typically this term is used to refer to a monastery, Buddhist objects/refuges, the fourfold community (laypeople, nuns and monks) or in Western society it tends to mean the group of people who meditate and study the dharma/Buddhist teachings together. 

[4] SO…. is Play Jewish, Christian, Buddhist? How can they be all the things at the same time? It all comes down to how one sees identity. Is it enough for you that Play is born Jewish? Do they need to be raised Jewish or practice Judaism to the exclusion of all other faiths? Not for Play. And not for us at Judaism Unbound, either. Play, like all of us, draws their practice from the multitude of life experiences, weaving and integrating them to form a life of meaning. Play, just happens to be exposed to a multitude of faith communities, and so their path is broader than most. 

[5] When Play says they don’t want to deny God three times and be like Peter, perhaps you had a different reference for a three fold denial of faith. In Judaism, we often hear that when a seeker chooses to convert, they must approach the rabbi on three separate occasions and be denied before being accepted into study for conversion. In this story - we hear seeking - Play denying that particular path to God, while also deeply striving for belonging and nearness to the Divine. 

[6] A church picnic on Tisha B’Av? Now, that’s dualism. Tisha B’Av is a holy fast day in Jewish practice where we lament, sit on the floor, weep, read Ecclesiastes and mourn for the destruction of the Second Temple and the many martyrs and sufferings of the Jewish people. 

[7] Play talks about going to Divorce Camp. Divorce and Discovery was founded by Rabbi Deborah Newbrun as an act to reimagine the communal response and care for those going through divorce. You can learn more about the retreat here. For Jewish resources on divorce, you can read this ritual for separation, Judaism Your Way , Jews Get Divorce and The Adventure Rabbi offer direct support, and since you’re a podcast person, you might enjoy the podcast, The Jewish Divorce Podcast. 

[8] Play tells the story of the two sets of tablets. In the Talmud, Baba Batra 14b we read, “the broken fragments of the first tablets were placed in the Ark alongside the second whole tablets." This is a often taught as a symbol of God’s forgiveness and humility. In healing circles and communities, this is taught as a metaphor for our own lives, we carry both the broken and the whole with us. Each component is considered holy. 

[9] During the festival of Sukkot, we are commanded to build a Sukkah, a temporary shelter that is susceptible to the elements, where we can eat and sleep and be present to the physical realities of our internal life. An apt place for a personal revelation. 

There’s a biblical story about Moses encountering a bush that burns but is never consumed. He stops. He turns and looks closer. And through that turning, he finds his call, and transforms the future of his people. That moment, was not just a once upon a time moment. But rather, an everyday moment. 

We believe burning bushes are still everywhere.

They are the moments that interrupt us. Awaken us. Break us open. The experiences of untold wonder that shape who we become and change how we see what we thought we already knew.

Your host is Miriam Terlinchamp, and on Everyday Mystics, we tell the stories of Jewish people who stumble across their own burning bushes and come away seeing themselves, their lives, and Judaism differently.

These are stories about the moments when the everyday becomes sacred. When the familiar becomes mysterious. When something we thought we understood, Judaism, becomes beautifully unbound.

Because sometimes, the miracle isn’t that the bush is burning.

It’s that we stop long enough to notice.

The first episode of the 10 episode series drops October 7

Part of belonging to a lineage is the act of finding ourselves within the story, claiming a particular link in the chain of inheritance, as testimony to our merit for inclusion. And then he’d say, "Jews are responsible for each other." We all heard that phrase from him. It was the partner to his positivity. Forgive in your heart, and take your inheritance of survival, your legacy of peoplehood, seriously.  And we did. 

[1] We thought a lot about how this story ends. Is it with one of Miriam’s children, the next generation? Is it by returning to Simon’s voice? Who gets to hold the final piece of this turning of the story? And in the end, we decided that there is no end, it intentionally hangs, unbalanced, unfinished, a thread that both continues to be pulled and woven at the same time. 

[2] What was it that we inherited? What gift came of this line of life that should never have been? We think it’s one another. The choice to continue to choose each other, to be one another’s best friends and learn to love each other as best as we can. In that spirit, we share a few sweet memories - of lives well lived, joys tangled with sorrows, and the freedom that comes with the birth of new branches on the tree of our family story. 

Check out the website for additional resources and photos of events and people discussed in this episode.

“ I feel like I hold and carry a lot of the stories from my grandfather. I don't always know how to share those stories. I'm sometimes afraid of telling them wrong or making mistakes.” - Neal Strauss

"It’s a surreal experience to watch strangers tell your story. For others to decide they are ready for you to reclaim your stolen lives." - Miriam Terlinchamp

[1] The majority of this audio was taken on a small handheld audiorecorder and carried around by various family members on the trip.

[2] Interested in learning more about Stoperstein? Here is a good resource.

[3] Wondering what Herbert was referring to when he said some Jews don’t like the idea of Stoperstein? Here is an article that discusses dissent about the stones.  

[4] Many photos were taken on the trip. Here is one of the Stoperstein in front of the house: 

And one of David, Ralph and Nadine (children of Lou and Simon) at their grandfather’s grave. 

And a photo of the ceremony in front of the house:

“Years later, I’ll know this feeling as a mother, hearing my baby wail from the other room, wondering, praying, hoping that she is ok. But tonight, I’m 25 in a loft apartment in Berlin, 5,000 miles from home, and it’s not a baby crying: It’s my 89-year-old grandfather, Simon, screaming.” - Miriam Terlinchamp

“To choose, to actively to forgive. To find beauty in strangers paying homage to what you lost. To embrace the learning journey of others even at the expense of your own pain in having to tell and retell it…Well, that’s a whole other capacity to do so within the context of the very place where the trauma occurred.” - Marika Strauss

[1] The audio used for Simon in this episode was recorded by his granddaughter Jennifer Melrose in 1999 as part of Jennifer’s research project for her masters in psychology. 

[2] Fun fact about the above audio! Jennifer had recorded it on a cassette tape, which was then, 2 decades later transcribed onto a CD, and then, upon research for this project, did we all find out that it existed! Jennifer’s son, Simon’s great grandchild, worked tirelessly to turn it into an audio file that could be used for this piece, and is the first time that most of the family have heard this interview. 

[3] Miriam refers to a Holocaust Museum in Cincinnati. It’s amazing! It’s proper name is the Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center. You can learn more about their work on their website: www.holocaustandhumanity.org. But the most impactful element is the interactive exhibits where you can have an AI supported conversation with a survivor. Definitely worth a visit.  

[4] Simon talks about his passport, the papers he needed to move freely. Here are a few pages from that passport, which now belong to Miriam.

I got out of the Frankfurt train station. I took a bus to Wachenbuchen.  At this time, remember, there’s no cellphone, no Google maps, none of that. I had an address and I got there early in the day and there it was. It was like seeing something,  you know,  like seeing a picture you've seen forever, right? - Mark Vane

References in this episode:

[1] Here is a photograph of Shane and Simon at Shane’s winging ceremony when he became a Navy pilot. 

[2] Want to learn more from Rabbi Tirzah Firestone? Check out her book, “Wounds into Wisdom: Healing intergenerational Jewish trauma.” or listen to her recent interview on Judaism Unbound here.

[3] The audio from Simon in this episode is from a recording made by Jennifer Melrose as part of her research for her masters in psychology. She interviewed Simon as part of her project. When we interviewed her, this was the first time we’d heard about the recording!

Ohio Humanities made this episode of Door to Doorpossible. Door to Door is a production of the Institute for the Next Jewish Future and part of the family of podcasts of Judaism Unbound. Created by Miriam Terlinchamp, directed by Joey Taylor, produced at Monastery Studio, original music by Ric Hordinski, and art by Katie Kaestner. 

We'd love to hear from you, so you can email us at [email protected] or find us at: www.judaismunbound.com/door-to-door

We don’t know the story for a long time. And, even after we learn it, the story continues to unfold. Each generation adding new information, unlocking new mysteries, and trying it’s best to weave something whole out of a family history shredded by trauma. - Miriam Terlinchamp

References in this episode:

[1] Wow! That’s a lot of voices! Here is a family tree from the Strauss family to get a sense of how we are all connected. 

[2] This audio was taken from an interview made by the Houston Holocaust Center. You can watch the full video of the interview here: Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (ushmm.org)

[3] Dr. Sarah Crane, visiting professor in the Judaics Program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at University of Cincinnati and scholar in residence at the Cincinnati Holocaust and Humanity Center.

Ohio Humanities made this episode of Door to Door possible. Door to Door is a production of the Institute for the Next Jewish Future and part of the family of podcasts of Judaism Unbound. Created by Miriam Terlinchamp, directed by Joey Taylor, produced at Monastery Studio, original music by Ric Hordinski, and art by Katie Kaestner. 

We'd love to hear from you, so you can email us at [email protected] or find us at: www.judaismunbound.com/door-to-door

Thanks for journeying with us through Season 1 of Tales of the Unbound. We’re thrilled to return with Season 2: Door to Door—a five-episode, multi-generational exploration of memory, trauma, and identity, launching July 23, 2025. For accessibility, our podcast feed will temporarily change its name to Door to Door, but you’ll still find the same heart, the same mission, and a powerful new chorus of voices.

 Hey everyone, it's Miriam Terlinchamp.  Thank you so much for listening to Season One of Tales of the Unbound! When we first created this podcast feed we knew that we wanted to tell transformational stories around awakened becoming stories that focused on the struggle to define identity, search for meaning, and connect ourselves to the greater whole. Hearing how others have navigated life allows us, the listeners, to expand our own perspectives, thereby opening up new personal and communal paths of possibility. And so it is with great joy that we bring you our second season. Season Two is called Door to Door, A Multi-generational Story of Memory, Trauma, and Identity. This is a five-episode series that drops on July 23, 2025. Just a note - while season two is still new, we'll be changing the name of our feed to Door to Door for increased accessibility. So if you're looking for Tales of the Unbound you're in the right place for season one and season two. It's the same feed with the same ethos, with a new set of voices, and I can't wait to hear what you think. Here's the trailer.

[1] We reference a definition of chevrutah as listed in Berakhot 63b:12, “Make many groups and study Torah, For the Torah is only acquired through study in a group.”  You can find the full text here.

[2]  Malcolm Gladwell socialized the Tipping Point theory in his book “The Tipping Point”.

[3] We sing “Veshamru,” a Jewish liturgical prayer that celebrates the observance of the Sabbath as a people. The tune is by Moshe Rothblum. Though there are many renditions of this liturgy, this is the tune many people think is “THE” way to sing this prayer.

[4] Miriam quotes Ruth 1:16. The Book of Ruth is historically read on the holiday of Shavuot as the story is set during the festival gathering season. Ruth is also generally understood as the first person who converts to Judaism. In the Talmud pieces that Tales of the Unbound has cited, there are rituals (beit din, milah and mikvah) that affirm Jewish identity. Here, in the Book of Ruth, dated much earlier than the Talmud, we only see a vow as the mode by which someone might join the Jewish people. It’s possible that there were other versions of joining and that the vow-only process was somehow not a full conversion, but Ruth goes on to be accepted and integrated fully into Jewish life after she makes this vow.

[5] Padraig O’Tuama is a poet, theologian, and poetry podcaster. We love his memoir/autobiography “In the Shelter”.

[6] Miriam mentions Peter Block. Peter is well known for his community organizing and leadership training. Check him out here, or pick up this book, “Activating the Common Good.”  Joey (Tales Producer) also produces Peter’s podcast, The Common Good, which Miriam sometimes helps with. Here’s an interesting one with Miriam Terlinchamp and Reverend Ben McBride on the “slow practice of belonging.”

[7] Sabbath in Time – Miriam shouts this out as a call for hope, turning Abraham Joshua Heschel’s description of Sabbath – as a palace in time – on its head. In a place where all there is is time, hopefully, there can be spaces, moments that feel like Sabbath.

[8]  You can listen to the song “Iron Sharpens Iron” by Ric Hordinski here on the Shabbatish album “Now and Eternity”