The Shema Podcast for the Perplexed

Farewell: The Question at the Beginning and the End

After seven seasons, The Shema Podcast for the Perplexed comes to a close. In this final episode, I reflect on how the podcast evolved, the community that grew around it,

From the Archives: You Never Know Who Will Show Up in the Sukkah

What happens when Morgan Freeman, SpongeBob, Stephen Hawking, Jim Carrey, Optimus Prime, Denzel Washington, and Nicolas Cage walk into a sukkah with Torah questions? With

Tishrei: Returning our Harvest

Tishrei opens with an interesting pattern. Esav is associated with the sun, Yishmael with the moon, while Yaakov’s calendar requires both. Why does Jewish time refuse to

Episode 17: The Yetzer Hara Firewall

Why do even people with deep faith, tremendous spiritual awareness, and sincere desire to do the right thing still fall prey to the Yetzer Hara? Rav Dessler identifies a

Episode 16: The Pursuit of Happiness

In this episode, Rabbi Michael Cohen and I explore Rav Dessler’s teaching on the opening chapter of Tehillim and discover a radically different way to approach happiness,

Spiritual Infrastructure: The Hidden System Behind Physical Reality

In this episode, I’m trying to give us a clearer map of the reality we actually live in so that Torah, mitzvos, prayer, and Hashem’s involvement in our lives become easie

Elul: Redirecting Energy to its Purpose

The different symbols and spiritual attributes of a Hebrew month usually offer multiple perspectives on a common theme. Elul is different. Its permutation of Hashem’s Nam

The Serpent’s Method: The Corruption of Perception

In this episode, we examine how the serpent changed Chava’s perception until the forbidden began to appear beneficial. In doing so, we uncover the system the yetzer hara

The Architecture of Creation: Introducing Stage Two of From Binah to Daas

In this episode, I introduce From Binah to Daas, Stage Two: The Architecture of Creation. The first stage focused on the internal architecture of the human being, how int

Av: The Hidden Harmony of Opposites

In this twelfth episode of The Power of the Hebrew Months, I explore how the month of Av can help us live with experiences that seem impossible to reconcile. Av teaches u

Episode 15: Foundations and Roots

What if the greatest obstacle to spiritual growth isn't a lack of knowledge, but a weak foundation? In this episode, Rabbi Michael Cohen joins me as we explore Rav Dessle

Investigative Reports from the Spiritual Realm with Rebbetzin Nomi Freeman

In this profound episode, we explore the ultimate purpose of life through the lens of Torah wisdom and the extraordinary stories of near-death experiences. Joined by Rebb

A Message from Hashem to You with Jake Turx

What if I told you that the Creator of the Universe wrote a letter to comfort you during these challenging times since October 7th? In this episode, we're joined by Jake

Tammuz: Rectifying Our Perception

In this episode of The Power of the Hebrew Months, Rabbi Pill and I explore the avodah of Tammuz: learning to perceive reality through the eyes of Torah. We discuss how t

The Korban System of Transformation

What was the Korban Chatas really designed to accomplish? Most people view the Chatas as a sin offering, but this episode explores a deeper possibility: that the Korban

Episode 14: From Theory to Transformation

In this special installment of Strive for Truth, Rabbi Michael Cohen and I step back from our study of Rav Dessler's essays to explore how these profound ideas apply in e

Living in the Midbar

What if the wilderness wasn't merely a place, but a stage of life that every person must eventually pass through? In this episode of From Binah to Daas, I explore the Tor

Episode 13: Mistaking the Visible for the Real

In this episode of the Strive for Truth series, Rabbi Michael Cohen and I explore a powerful essay from Rav Dessler on Emunas Chachamim and the danger of mistaking surfac

The Ultimate Purpose of Sinai

In this episode I explore a deeply transformative idea from the writings of the Baal HaSulam regarding the true purpose of Torah and Matan Torah. We often measure spiritu

Shiras HaYam - Dismantling the Illusion of Independent Power

In this episode in the “From Binah to Daas” Series, I explore Shiras HaYam not merely as a historical song sung after the splitting of the sea, but as a daily framework f