Rabbi Joey Rosenfeld is world-renowned for his incredible podcasts which intersect contemporary issues of trauma, anxiety, and addiction with the ancient texts of Torah, Kabbalah, and Chassidut. Rabbi Wildes speaks with Rabbi Rosenfeld about how those who enjoy yoga and meditation can find those experiences within the Jewish tradition, reframing the traumas in our lives as opportunities for elevation, the greater picture behind the postmodern moment of relativity and the denial of objective truth, what makes this generation's relationship with God different from previous generations, and more.

Timestamps:

1:20 - Meditation

5:00 - Breath & Mindfulness

16:00 Is Positivity a Choice?

23:00 Accepting God as King

34:00 Trauma

48:00 Postmodernism

58:00 Finding the Light in the Darkness

It is our responsibility to answer those who don’t have the knowledge or interest to ask about their Judaism, but miraculously are. At our 24th Annual Dinner I was honored to address close to 350 people who take our mission of reconnecting our Jewish brothers and sisters seriously. Thank you to all who came and donated. It was a magical night that will, please God, usher in many more spiritual moments of connection to our spiritual heritage. Shabbat Shalom!

Click here if you'd like to donate to MJE and contribute to the reconnection of our unaffiliated brothers and sisters to their heritage: https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1391059

"I'm spiritual but not religious." You hear this statement more and more these days but is there any validity to it? Take a journey with Rabbi Wildes through the mountains of India to an Allman Brothers concert in New York City and find out.

We are hosting our 24th Annual Dinner on March 21st where we raise the majority of our donations, so please consider attending here (https://www.wizevents.com/mjedinner2023/?id=7683) or donating at www.jewishexperience.org to help us continue our holy work.

Rabbi Mark Wildes joins the Judaism Demystified podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the current state of Jewish outreach. Rabbi Wildes shares his journey in Kiruv and delves into the reasons behind the lack of engagement of many Jews with Judaism. Is there a place for both a rationalist and mystical approach to outreach? Is blind faith a Jewish idea? What are the difficulties faced by the post-Kiruv Baal Teshuvah who eventually loses his/her initial inspiration?

Our 24th Annual Dinner is on March 21st where we raise the majority of our donations for the year. Buy tickets here (https://www.wizevents.com/mjedinner2023/?id=7683) or if you cannot make it, please consider donating so we can continue this holy work. (https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1391059)

You can subscribe to the Judaism Demystified podcast here: (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/judaism-demystified-a-guide-for-todays-perplexed/id1572203778)

What is the connection between the holiday of Purim and the series of Parshas that we are currently reading detailing the building of the Tabernacle? The answer reveals the solution to a significant issue currently facing the Jewish community - is Judaism about the practice of mitzvot, or the philosophy behind them?

To watch the video version of this sermon and more inspiring video content from Rabbi Wildes, subscribe to the Youtube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/markwildesmje

In the final part of our series on the divinity and authenticity of the Torah, Rabbi Wildes sits down with Rabbi/Dr. Jeremy England. Dr. England has been called the next Charles Darwin by various respected scientists in his field due to his research on the spontaneous emergence of life. Despite this background which on the surface would seem to run counter to a Creationist view of the world as well as not growing up in an observant household or community, Dr. England came to believe in the divinity of the Torah later in life as he started delving deeper into the text. In this fascinating conversation, we discuss what he specifically sees in the Torah to indicate its divinity, his problem with the oft-cited argument of intelligent design for God's creation of the world, the limitations of Science and how they are similar to atheistic arguments against the existence of God, being a character in a Dan Brown novel and more.

You can follow Dr. England on Twitter @LifeLikePhysics and buy his incredible book "Every Life is on Fire" wherever books are sold.

TimeStamps:

Maintaining Belief as a Physicist (2:40)

Spontaneous Emergence of Life (9:30)

Intelligent Design Argument (13:20)

Torah vs. Science (18:40)

The Divinity of the Torah (26:30)

Belief in the Divine Creator (45:00)

Power of Prayer (53:00)

Limitations of Science (1:03:00)

Dan Brown and God Tapping You on the Shoulder (1:09:00)

WOW! What a conversation.

In Part 2 of our series on the authenticity and divinity of the Torah, Rabbi Wildes speaks with Rabhi Avraham Arieh Trugman - a Rennaisance Rabbi who has written over 20 books and has produced 9 albums of original music - about the incomprehensible depth of the text of the Torah. Rabbi Trugman specializes in utilizing the ancient method of Torah study known as Pardes which synthesizes multiple perspectives, from the basic text to the mystical meaning to illuminate a divine design hidden within the seemingly endless wisdom of the Torah.

We discuss how viewing the Torah as a code of interconnectivity and not just a storybook or a book of laws, sparks inspiration and reveals a whole new perspective that many today are yearning for. Is Gematria just a trick or is there something deep going on? How does the universal language of music and modern physics align with the Biblical story of Creation? Are the stories of our forefathers and foremothers just stories or are they archetypical in nature and have a lasting impact on the psyche of the Jewish people, affecting events far into the future? This was an absolutely incredible conversation that is a perfect contrast to last week's episode with Rabbi/Dr. Joshua Berman. You do NOT want to miss this!

Timestamps:

Pardes and the Interconnectivity of Torah (4:15)

Gematria (19:15)

Inspiring Today's Generation (32:00)

Biblical Archetypes (40:00)

Free Will vs. Divine Determinism (50:00)

Mystical Power of Music (1:02:00)

It is difficult not to get envious of what other people have in a world where everything is shared on social media. Here are 3 steps rooted in our ancient tradition that you can take not to feel that horrible feeling of jealousy when you see others people in your life succeed.

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In part 1 of a 3 part series on the authenticity of the divine nature of the Torah, Rabbi Wildes speaks with Rabbi/Dr. Joshua Berman, who is infamous for his biblical scholarship. He is a Bible professor at Bar-Ilan University and his articles on biblical theology and contemporary society have appeared in the pages of Mosaic Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. We discuss Dr. Berman's biggest reason for believing in the divine authorship of the Torah, whether the often cited Kuzari argument of "mass revelation" is good evidence for the Torah's divinity, evidence in Egyptian writings for the Exodus, whether the Torah had multiple authors, and more.

Topics/Timestamps:

Best Argument for Torah's Divinity (3:40)

The Kuzari Argument of Mass Revelation (11:00)

Documentary Hypothesis of Multiple Authorship (17:30)

The Exodus (33:00)

Does Historical Accuracy Matter? (46:00)

Reforming Jewish Education (54:00)

Follow Rabbi Wildes on Instagram at Instagram.com/RabbiWildes and please give a rating and review as it helps get these important conversations out to a wider audience.

Yuval David is an actor, director, professor, and activist who focuses primarily on LGBTQ and Jewish issues. Many Orthodox Jews lament that their brothers and sisters on the Left do not fight back against antisemitism when it comes from that side of the ideological aisle. Nobody could say that about Yuval. In this exhilarating conversation, Yuval discusses how he combats the identity-based arguments of the Left which paint Israel as an oppressor, receiving pushback from the LGBTQ community for his Israel advocacy, the key to uniting the Jewish community and so much more.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:07:30 - Speaking the Language of the Left

00:10:45 - Oppressor vs. Oppressed

00:21:50 - Jewish Resilience

00:26:45 - Changing the Jewish Narrative

00:33:10 - Gays for Palestine

00:42:00 - Breaking the Right/Left Paradigm

00:47:18 - Uniting the Jewish Community

00:54:30 - Jewish Education

01:01:30 - Saying Goodbye + Outro