Everyday Mystics

As a boy growing up in secular Israel, Shahar becomes convinced that there must be a formula for a meaningful life and that Judaism might hold the answer. His search for certainty leads him deep into Orthodox Jewish practice, until unexpected encounters begin to unravel everything he thought he knew. Years later, living in San Francisco, far from the religious world he once embraced, Shahar finds himself drawn toward something he thought he'd left behind. A story about belief, doubt, and the surprising ways the sacred finds us when we least expect it.

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.

References

[1] Here is the citation for the story about the Baal Shem Tov. It is a story made known by Elie Wiesel in his book, The Gates of the Forest (1966). 

[2] Lecha Dodi is a prayer from the 16th century. Check out this page of resources on Lecha Dodi or this episode of Shabbat Unbound to learn more and to hear some of the many tunes! 

[3] Gematria is Jewish numerology. The letters in the Hebrew alphabet are also numbers. Learn more about it here, calculate the numerology of your name or other words here. 

[4] We share an abbreviated version of a sacred story, in Genesis Rabbah 1:1, about God looking into the Torah like a blueprint. Here is the full citation of that story. 

[5] Shahar mentions getting into a car on Shabbat. This is a pretty extraordinary violation of Shabbat according to traditional Jews, which is why it was so hard for him to do. 

[6] Here is the citation  (Numbers 15) for the consequence of Skifah, to be stoned to death, for violating the Sabbath. 

[7] We told the classic David Foster Wallace parable about the fish in water. Here it is in his voice, where he shared it in a commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. 

[8] Are you interested in learning more about a Shabbat Service at Burning Man? You can see photos and watch videos about it here. Our friend, Rabbi Tzvika Krieger, is one of the co-creators of this Sabbath experience and leads the spiritual community of Chochmat Lev in Berkley, Ca. 

[9] We mention the mystical practice of Hitboddedut (speaking aloud to God). To learn more about mystical practices, check out Kirva, an organization that leads folks spiritual action.

How much of who we are is shaped by the people who came before us, and how much do we get to choose? For Marika Strauss, that question has followed her from childhood conversations with her father and grandfather to unexpected encounters in her own adult life. Along the way, she discovers that Jewish identity has many faces, and that the people we love can become mirrors in which we see ourselves anew. A story about family, belonging, and the freedom to become someone our ancestors might never have imagined.

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.

References

[1] Read more about Marika and her journey on her substack.

[2] We mention a two different sources here:  Genesis 33 (Jacob and Esau reuniting), Exodus 34 (Moses’s face) 

[3] Emmanuel Levinas is brought up in passing. If you want to learn more about his life and work, here is a nice article on him. If you want to dig into his ontology on le visage, that philosophy first appears in his work, “Totality and Infinity” in 1961. 

[4] If you’re like… wait a second… I’ve heard these names before… then, you’re right! You’ve probably listened to our Door to Door podcast, that follows the story of this family to Simon’s home in Germany. 

[5] Marika talks about “Wabi Sabi Shabbat”. If you want to read a little more about Wabi Sabi, here is a nice article on it, and here is a brief sermonette by Ariel Stein on Wabi Sabi. 

[6] Finding meaning and grounded identity through 23&Me (or other genetic tests) is a common experience. If this is you, you’re in good company. Here is a brief article on a similar experience. 

What happens when the lessons that carried you through life suddenly aren't enough? For Todd an unexpected crisis sets him on a journey where he begins to discover new ways of understanding love, loss, and the sacred. In the third episode of Everyday Mystics, a story of grief, gratitude, and mysterious encounter invites us to wonder whether the people we love are ever really as far away as they seem.

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.

References

[1] We begin the episode with a reference to Moses and the burning bush. The moment where he turns and sees that is burning but not consumed. Exodus 3:2 

[2] Todd mentions the works of Austrian-Israeli philosopher, Martin Buber. Buber is best known for his concept between the Divine and Humanity, I and Thou.  The existential framing of that meaning is defined by how we relate to one another.

[3] Dayenu, a 9th century song that translates to “it would have been enough.” There are 15 stanzas rejoicing in the wonders that blessed the Israelite people (Exodus from Egypt, the gift of Shabbat, the Torah…ect). It is the most popular song to sing during a Passover Seder. Colloquillaly, Dayenu is used in an opposite way - more like, Enough already! Rather than the intent of the song as one immersed in uncountable blessings. 

[4] Photo from Todd’s desk of his father, Lewis Brecher z”l. 

What if our deepest longing for love is also a longing for God? From a childhood encounter with the mysterious to an unexpected romance, Ayalon Eliach discovers that the search for human connection and the search for the Divine may not be two different journeys after all. In the second episode of Everyday Mystics, a story of loss, yearning, and second chances asks what it means to stop settling for something less than “The Real Thing.”

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.

References

[1] A little about Ayalon: Inspired by the Baal Shem Tov, Ayalon believes that individual, communal, and universal transformation all come through learning to unify seeming contradictions without erasing their differences—to embody ultimate oneness within real multiplicity, and connection in the midst of fragmentation.

At different points in his life, Ayalon was drawn to what seemed like mutually exclusive options: soul or body, intimacy or boundaries, particularism or universalism, tradition or progress, God or science, compassion or justice.

His search for ways to navigate these tensions has taken him through Orthodox yeshivot, Yale, Harvard Law School, the non-denominational Hebrew College Rabbinical School, the Shalom Hartman Institute, and more than 40 countries. But his deepest learning has come from putting inherited wisdom, especially Hasidic thought, into give-and-take conversation with everyday experience, particularly relationships and raising children. Through that conversation, he learned to see these apparent either/ors as both/ands.

At the Lippman Kanfer Foundation For Living Torah, where he serves as “Chief Idea Officer” , he brings this approach to his thought partnership, research, writing, and teaching, helping others access and apply Jewish wisdom in ways that transform themselves, their communities, and the larger world.

[2]  We mention the Ezekiel's vision, with the line: וְהַחַיּ֖וֹת רָצ֣וֹא וָשׁ֑וֹב כְּמַרְאֵ֖ה הַבָּזָֽק

 “the angels ran and returned like a flash of lightning”, the citation is: Ezekiel 1:14 

[3] Hinge vs. Bumble: Ayalon mentions two different dating apps. Hinge anyone can comment or reach out to one another, but it needs to be about something specific in the prospective dates profile. Bumble requires the female candidate to reach out to the opposite gender first, and the match expires after 24 hours. 

[4] Interested in learning more about Rebbe Nachman of Bretslov? This is a great article that talks through who he was and an overview on his writings and theories, here is a poetic connection between Ezekiel and the concept, and, he is best known for his creative moral stories, this is a cute animated version of one of his famous parables. 

[5] We mention a line in the biblical book of Genesis.  עַל־כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזׇב־אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־אִמּ֑וֹ וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד׃ “A person leaves their mother and father, cleaves to their partner, and the two become one flesh. Leaving and cleaving.” The citation is: Genesis 2:24

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.

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.

References

[1] Play is an incredible artist, composer and teacher. Run don’t walk to their substack to read their current writings. Also, their comic, “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 nondualism. 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