Living Our Beliefs: Exploring Faith & Religion in Daily Life

Episode 61. 
Rabba Sally Shore-Wittenberg and Anastasia Solberg join me  for a compelling discussion about Psalm 105, one of Rabbi Nachman’s ten Psalms for General Remedy. Using different translations, we delve into its connection to the Passover story and the roles of Joseph and Moses. Themes include  seeking divine intervention, the power of individuals in the face of challenges, and the symbolic implications of seeking God's presence. 

Highlights:
·       Plagues struck Egypt, leading to Israel's exodus.
·       Role of key figures Joseph and Moses.
·       Desperate cry from the pit of despair.
·       Personal agency and divine intervention.
·       Meaning of "seeking God's face".

Books and People Referenced in this episode:
·       Ten Psalms for General Remedy, according to Rabbi Nachman –
        Psalms 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150
·       Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms 

·       Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, 1808-1888

·       Gaya Aranoff Bernstein, Psalmsongs 

·       Koren Weekday Siddur (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks translation)

·       Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, 1772-1810

 
Social Media links for the guests:
Rabba Sally Shore-Wittenberg, Kerhonkson Synagogue – https://www.kerhonksonsynagogue.org
Anastasia Solberg, The Music Institute of Sullivan and Ulster Counties, Ellenville NY – https://misucatskills.org/

 
Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/14549506-exploring-psalm-105-r-sally-shore-wittenberg-anastasia-solberg-meli-solomon

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. Hearing about how Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, offer new ideas and questions:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there a practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli – [email protected]
 

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 60.
Bec’s many strands of deep Jewish beliefs and practice in Reconstructionist Judaism are woven through her creative expressions. Inspired during her rabbinic school years, she has since become a soferet (Torah scribe) and potter. She has also become a mother. Contrary to many people’s complaints about stress and conflicts between differing aspects of their lives, for Bec her scribal arts, pottery, and parenting feed each other, adding much richness and creative outlets to her life. Tune in to learn about the inspiration and experience, and how that creativity is inherently accessible, healing, and liberatory. 

Highlights:
·       Steeped in the Reconstructionist community since childhood.
·       Repairing Torah scrolls involves energy and intention.
·       Bringing Torah to life through hands-on experiences.
·       Living a life that is sacred, creative, connected to nature, and intertwined with others.
·       The impact of gender on Bec's work as a female scribe.
·       Integration of pottery, rabbinical studies, being a soferet, and motherhood.
·       Reconstructionist Judaism values tradition but welcomes evolution.

Social Media links for Bec:
Website – https://www.kotevetstudios.com/ 

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/14461216


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 59.
The Green Sabbath Project, founded by Jonathan Schorsch in 2019, promotes the concept and ritual of a weekly earth day. Taking a day of rest for yourself and the environment is eminently reflective of the sabbath. Although Jonathan draws from his Jewish heritage, the Green Sabbath Project intentionally avoids promoting any particular religious beliefs or language. Jonathan sees potential learning between religious and non-religious people in connecting the values of a weekly day of rest and reducing the impact on the environment. Taking on this practice is both a simple action and a very flexible practice with deep benefits.


Highlights:
·       The Green Sabbath Project aims to promote sustainable living through practices inspired by the principles of Shabbat.
·       The project avoids religious language to appeal to a wider audience and promote ecological consciousness.
·       People need guidance, incentives to act sustainably and step off the hamster wheel.
·       The project has three parts: education, gatherings, and encouraging people to observe Green Sabbaths.
·       Promoting sustainable living and ecological thinking as complementary to religious and spiritual approaches.
·       We need to re-think how we eat, shop, work, and relate to the environment. 

Social Media links for Jonathan:
Website – https://www.greensabbathproject.net
Website – https://www.jassberlin.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-schorsch-a27630276
University of Potsdam – https://www.juedischetheologie-unipotsdam.de/en/chairs/jewish-religious-and-intellectual-history/prof-dr-jonathan-schorsch


Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/14372271


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 58.
Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery, a pastologist (ordained minister and licensed psychologist), TEDx speaker, and author, joins me to talk about her second book Dismantling Racism: Healing Separation from the Inside Out. Packed with stories of anti-racism and ways to increase one’s sacred intelligence, Dismantling Racism proved a rich and engaging topic for our conversation. Terrlyn shares her ideas on the intersection of sacred motive, self-ish mindset and shared movement. We can each contribute something to this critical personal and communal work. Quoting the bible’s Scroll of Esther, she notes that “You were born for such a time as this.” Tune in for inspiration!


Highlights:
·       Sacred Motive, Self-ish Mindset and Shared Movement
·       Tear down harmful systems and increase racial equity
·       Focus on continual growth, incorporate small actions into your life.
·       BREATHE: Breathe, Reflect, Engage, Adjust, Heal
·       Breath as a connection to the Divine, to the sacred.
·       Acknowledge and use the anger of injustice and connect with others in a loving way.
·       Learn, ask questions, and listen for the wisdom.


References:
Robin Diangelo – White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

Social Media links for Terrlyn:
Sacred Intelligence – www.sacredintelligence.com

Dismantle Racism Movement – www.dismantleracismmovement.com

TEDx Speaker: Wounded by Religion

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/terrlyncurryavery

Instagram – revdrtlc

Twitter – RevDrTLC

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-terrlyn-l-curry-avery/

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/14286736-dismantling-racism-rev-dr-terrlyn-curry-avery


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 57.
As an American Reform Rabbi who made Aliyah (moved to Israel) about a year ago with her family, she has found herself in an all-too-real Israel. Her lifelong liberal leaning into the Ruach (spirit) and not the war of the prayer she grew up with, has been shattered. Discovering that both spirit and war is necessary has been humbling. That said, joining the ranks of volunteers, in her case doing agricultural work near the Gaza border, has reconnected her with the original vision of Israel. Moreover, being swept up in the national spirit has been like nothing she’s ever experienced. On a spiritual level, she has found both yoga and the ancient words of the Shabbat service to be grounding.

Highlights:
·       Amidah prayer evokes unity and solidarity.

·       Individual spirituality, synagogue community, and national spirit.

·       National spirit and sense of togetherness and resilience.

·       Finding light and hope in times of trauma.

·       Intensified Jewishness and Israeliness since October 7th.

Social Media links for Tara: 
Website – https://talkingpeace.org.il

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript on Buzzsprout 

Other episodes with immigrant experiences:

Daniel Stein Kokin - a Jew was in Germany, Italy and Israel

Oliver Bradley - a Jew in Germany and Italy

Sostheng Kituyi - a Kenyan in America


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 56.
Ever since Esther picked up the Torah in high school, she has been curious about the missing bits of scripture which bridge decades of many men’s lives and most women altogether. Her love for stories led her to imagine possible stories to fill those gaps in Torah. With scripture as inspiration, Esther’s historical fiction writing is a process of wonder and discovery. Figures and narrative turns appear seemingly unbidden in her mind. Her newest novel, The Scrolls of Deborah, is the life-story of Deborah, the nurse maid of Rebekah. A large family network surrounds those two central figures, expanding our sense of Rebekah’s family and life. By filling in the narrative gaps, Esther brings these distant biblical figures alive, giving the contemporary reader an opportunity to imagine life in biblical times.  

The Scrolls of Deborah is the first of a trilogy, and will be released in February 2024, though it is currently available for pre-order anywhere you buy your books.

Highlights:
- Raised Conservative and now follows Traditional Jewish practices her own way. 

- Imagination and creation of stories

- Connection between breath and faith

- Calls the Divine Ya, a shortened form of the Name – YHVH – normally pronounced Adonai

- Incorporates belief into daily life through breath practice

- The moon is an important celestial connection to divinity

- Daily life influenced by the Torah

 References:
Anita Diamond – The Red Tent

Sue Monk Kidd – The Book of Longings

Did Jesus Have a Baby Sister? – Dory Previn song covered by Sweet Honey in the Rock and others

Social Media links for Esther:
Website – https://www.esthergoldenberg.com

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript on Buzzsprout 

Other episodes with authors:

Lynne Golodner - Jewish novelist

Peter Young - Christian memoirs

David Green - Orthodox Jew using the Tanya

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 55.
The Friends of Sia'h Shalom seeks to strengthen ties between Jerusalem-based Sia’h Shalom and the North American Jewish community. Sia’h Shalom Circles in North American cities bring together diverse and highly divided groups of Jews, both lay leaders and rabbis, creating spaces for listening and spiritual growth in the increasingly polarized North. American Jewish landscape.

As co-director of the Friends of Sia'h Shalom Rabbi Tara Feldman speaks from the heart and head about the vital importance of “conversing across polarities”  in Israel. Though recorded prior to the current Israel/Hamas war, her message and that of Sia'h Shalom are always relevant and timely messages. Tara and her husband and co-director Meir believe that speaking and listening in peace is the root, the soil and sun, the water the light and air, that has the power to help solve even our most intractable challenges.

Highlights:
·       Sia’h Shalom fosters dialogue and healing through listening,  encouraging dialogue and unity.
·       Diverse views within Jewish communities need understanding.
·       Dialogues empower leaders, raise issues, and build unity despite painful interactions and brokenness. 
·       Tara would feel despair over inability to bridge political divides without the conversation circles “conversing across polarities”.
·       The program explores modalities, similarities, and cross-border dialogue.

Social Media links for Sia’h Shalom: 
Website – https://talkingpeace.org.il


Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/14061117   


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 54.
Since his childhood in Los Angeles, Daniel has lived in various parts of the U.S. as well as in Israel, Italy, and Germany. In each place, Daniel has enriched his Jewish practice by familiarizing himself with the local language and traditions, including trope (the melodies used to chant the Torah and other parts of the Bible in synagogue services). Another expression of his curiosity about histories and cultures is through writing liturgical texts and prayers. Daniel also taps into his lifelong fascination with the weather in order to get to know, and respond to, a place. For instance, upon moving to Arizona, he found a connection between that desert climate and Israel, inspiring him to write a new prayer for the Southwest’s summer rainy season, which he linked directly to a Torah portion read each year in June or July. In these and other ways, different aspects of his identity – including being an Ashkenazi Jew and American – reinforce one another.

Highlights:
- For Daniel, Jewish identity is grounded through food, sounds, texts, and melodies, not a particular denomination.
- Daniel values the use of different languages and melodies in synagogue services.
- He writes liturgy and enjoys exploring new elements of holidays and other aspects of Jewish tradition.
- Living in various countries has facilitated exposure to different forms of Jewish practice.
- Learning about the weather in a new home prompted the composition of new Jewish liturgy, such as Daniel’s prayer for the Southwest Monsoon after moving to Arizona.
- Exposure to different Jewish narratives in Berlin expanded Daniel’s knowledge of German-Jewish history beyond the Holocaust.

Social Media links for Daniel:   
Shofarot – https://ritualwell.org/ritual/shofarot-tripartite-proposal
American Kaddish – https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2018/11/02/an-american-kaddish/
“New Simanim for a New Year (5781) – https://ritualwell.org/ritual/new-simanim-new-year-5781/
Monsoon prayer – https://ritualwell.org/ritual/tefillat-ha-monsoon-prayer-southwest-monsoon
“Praying for the Monsoon: An Arizona Liturgical Adventure” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lLGR-TBgSI
Homage to the Italian Jewish tradition (and Purim) – https://youtu.be/-njuXO2sqso

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271

Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/14024564

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise.  

Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 53.  
Abdur-Rahman, a Muslim raised in Karachi Pakistan, he currently  lives in three countries, carrying the richness of his interreligious extended family and early experience of adjusting to various cultural environments. Fortified by these formative years and his years in marketing, Abdur-Rahman is creating a book called Prophetic Persuasion. Using words of four prophets from the Abrahamic faiths, he stresses the value of common messages through which people can influence others and establish a moral compass. In conversation, we explore the challenges of bringing such sources into the workplace and how to balance uniqueness of vision and need to find common ground among other things. 

A note from my guest, Abdur-Rahman: “Meli and I approached our conversation with caution given the backdrop of the escalating Israel-Palestine war. I fear I was too cautious in distancing myself from the conflict. While some things are complex, others are simple. We must continue to seek dialogue while also speaking for justice and for peace.”


Highlights:

·       Prophetic Persuasion elements derived from biblical and Quranic prophets:  Moses, Jesus, Joseph, and Mohammed

·       Framework: listen, give, connect, imagine, invite, love. 

·       Enriching lives and providing a moral compass in the business world 

·       Challenges of discussing faith in the workplace

·       Business application of the ‘Listen before you speak’ principle.

·       Risk of selectively interpreting scriptures and traditions

·       Different interpretations based on proximity to the source

Social Media links for Abdur-Rahman Syed:
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdurrahmansyed
Website – www.propheticpersuasion.org

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/13937937


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 52.
Rabbi Molly Karp was raised with both the message she could do anything, and the Orthodox Jewish day school's many restrictions for girls. Added to this was time in nature, on Israeli kibbutzim, and in Judaic Studies courses. Her passion and skills with Jewish education were apparent early on and she has dedicated most of her professional life to that work. She has also acquired rabbinic ordination and been a congregational rabbi. Doing things in her own way and not according to a denominational “party platform” is important to her. Teaching in her own program – SAJE: Senior Adult Jewish Education – allows for that. In her experience, adults know what they want to learn and her job is to teach them in the best way she can.


Highlights:
00:11:45 Historical realization, Jewish diversity, childcare on kibbutz
00:19:06 Reform religious school --> raising kids --> therapy --> Jewish mindfulness program --> embracing role as a rabbi.
00:21:20 Formed SAJE after the Jewish Federation ended WAJE. Jewish adult education, Montessori-inspired.
00:30:48 Diversity in Jewish beliefs and practices continues.
00:35:23 Center of Torah: Love others as yourself.
00:37:57 "Embrace Jewish roots, be the change."
00:40:29 Common reactions to my identity as a rabbi are  the person's self-criticism and their grievances against Judaism.

Social Media links for Rabbi Molly Karp:
Website – www.rabbimollykarp.com
Email –  [email protected]

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/13846558


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 


Comments?  Questions? Email  Méli at – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project.