Soul Life

"We have abandoned the soul of Torah!" That is the cause of our distresses, Rav Kook tells us. We have the body, the structure, the skeleton, but we have forsaken its essence, its light, its life.

If you have ever experienced a dread in Judaism—whether in Torah study or living Torah ways—Rav Kook is here with a medicine for that ailment. In this chaburah, we explore what Rav Kook means by "the soul of Torah" and how we can reclaim it for an inspiring, exciting, and empowering brand of Judaism.

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The teachings of Rav Kook changed my life — they unlock the wellspring of love, happiness, faith, and empowerment. Once a week, we’ll explore some of his teachings and find the spiritual remedy we need. Rav Kook taught the deepest secrets of Torah that draw out the world’s light, and now, it's time to find your light.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected]. 

Have you ever heard the voice of God? No, not Morgan Freeman screaming from the heavens—I'm talking about the voice of your soul's Soul, the Source of all existence: God. In this chaburah, Rav Kook tells us how to do so. God is always speaking, he writes, but we are not always listening.

Tune into this episode to tune into the voice of God. The voice speaks the language of love, hope, encouragement, guidance, and self. Let's start listening.

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The teachings of Rav Kook changed my life — they unlock the wellspring of love, happiness, faith, and empowerment. Once a week, we’ll explore some of his teachings and find the spiritual remedy we need. Rav Kook taught the deepest secrets of Torah that draw out the world’s light, and now, it's time to find your light.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected].

What is Judaism all about? Servitude? Sacrifice? Community? There are many answers people will suggest. But how many would say self-love?

Rav Kook tells us that the ultimate goal of Judaism relies upon the highest level of self-love. The more we love ourselves, he says, the more good we will bring into the world. It's a striking idea. In this chaburah, we delve right into it.

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The teachings of Rav Kook changed my life — they unlock the wellspring of love, happiness, faith, and empowerment. Once a week, we’ll explore some of his teachings and find the spiritual remedy we need. Rav Kook taught the deepest secrets of Torah that draw out the world’s light, and now, it's time to find your light.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected].

"When we forget the individual soul, when we stop paying attention to the inner life of a person, everything becomes confusing and unclear." 

Rav Kook believed that all of our problems stem from a lack of self-awareness, from forgetting that we are a ray of God's infinite light, that we are a soul. If we want to feel in alignment, we need to return to our true selves. We explored two pieces by Rav Kook that explain these deep secrets. 

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The teachings of Rav Kook changed my life — they unlock the wellspring of love, happiness, faith, and empowerment. Once a week, we’ll explore some of his teachings and find the spiritual remedy we need. Rav Kook taught the deepest secrets of Torah that draw out the world’s light, and now, it's time to find your light. 

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at [email protected].

Look at life like a poet.

In this first season of Soul Life, we've been speaking about life in so many ways that relate to ourselves and our world. All this talk and discussion, however, cannot be isolated — they need to be matched with living. In this episode, I spoke with a close friend and brilliant poet, Avi Fried, about poetry, spirituality, and living our best life. 

Poets see more than what meets the eye; they see the soul of life. 

For any comments, questions, or feedback, feel free to email: [email protected]

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Avi Fried is a poet and a senior at Yeshiva University studying Finance. In high school, he joined the poetry slam team and was named a finalist in his first-ever performance. Most recently, Avi was selected by his professor to participate in a state-wide poetry reading with established poets and writers; afterward, Avi was profiled by Yeshiva University about his experience at the reading. He writes in a full range of forms from sestinas to free verse to rap lyrics, and he is currently working on his first collection.

Are you growing others in your leadership?

We are all leaders in our own lives. There are always people who follow us, who we guide, and who we lead — whether at home, work, or social environments. Leaders dare to create and design, to serve others, and as souls, it's something natural and intuitive to us. 

I spoke with Dr. Erica Brown about the gift of leadership, and her sheer brilliance on the topic, as well as how she so strongly lives her lessons, made this such an impactful conversation. I hope you'll feel the same way and be more connected to your soulful self.

For questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to email [email protected]

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Dr. Erica Brown, the director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership and an associate professor of curriculum and pedagogy at The George Washington University, is the author of twelve books on leadership, the Hebrew Bible and spirituality. Erica has a daily podcast, “Take Your Soul to Work.” Her latest book Esther: Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile (Maggid) was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Council award. She has been published in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Tablet, First Things, and The Jewish Review of Books, and she wrote a monthly column for the New York Jewish Week. She has blogged for Psychology Today, Newsweek & Washington Post’s “On Faith” and JTA, and she. tweeted on one page of Talmud study a day @DrEricaBrown. She has master’s degrees from the Institute of Education (University of London), Jews’ College (University of London) and Harvard University, as well as a Ph.D. from Baltimore Hebrew University. Erica was a Jerusalem Fellow, is a faculty member of the Wexner Foundation, an Avi Chai Fellow and the recipient of the 2009 Covenant Award for her work in education. She previously served as the scholar-in-residence at both The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston and as the community scholar for the Jewish Center of New York. She currently serves as a community scholar for Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, NJ.

If we can't live with inner peace, how can we expect to live with world peace?

In this episode, I spoke with Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen about what is the essence of peace — or shalom, in Hebrew. Finding balance and harmony within ourselves and with others has the power to change everything. I loved discussing this topic with Rav Nagen — especially since he lives and breathes all things interfaith and peace — and I hope you grow from it, too!

For questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to email: [email protected]

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Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen is a renowned Israeli rabbi and is a leader in interfaith peace initiatives between Judaism and Islam and in encounters between Judaism and Eastern religions. He is currently the director of the Blickle Institute for Interfaith Dialogue and the Beit Midrash for Judaism and Humanity. Rav Nagen was profiled in Tablet Magazine as one of the ten “Israeli Rabbis You Should Know” and is a senior educator at Yeshivat Otniel, where he teaches Talmud and Kabbalah.

Every day, we have blessing and curse set before us; we choose which one we want. 

Our beliefs and our perceptions determine what world we live in, whether it's one of chaos and catastrophe, or harmony and happiness. The secret is that we have the power to change our beliefs, to design our lives to be aligned with our true, soulful selves. In this episode, we see that to live our soul life, we must first focus on reshaping our beliefs, developing our emunah. 

Even in the global arena, countries struggle to make sure their beliefs align with reality. International relations theories, such as realism, liberalism, or constructivism, demonstrate the importance of focusing on what we believe, perceive, and receive.

For questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to email: [email protected].

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" 

This famous question in the Jewish tradition reminds us that only we can bring the change we seek in our lives. Only we can give ourselves our best lives, and if we forsake that opportunity, then we cannot expect tomorrow to be different from today. God imbues us, as souls, with infinite personal power, and all we need to do is tap into that.

We also hold this same gift to change the entire world. The soul can be an activist for the individual self and the world's self, both of which yearn for growth. When we step into our potential, there is only one remaining question left to ask: How good are we willing to let it get? 

For questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to email: [email protected]