Each time Jewish thinkers pushed beyond the bounds of ideas from the past, they were labeled heretics or apostates. But the word, "heretic" comes from the Latin meaning, "to choose," and is "an opinion which disagrees with or conflicts with those who generally accept something as being authoritative, proper, or correct." In other words, a Heretic is a person who has applied their own intellect and experience of the world to emerge with a Truth that explains the Universe. This is a long-winded way of stating that, at Heretics Unite!, we explore that space which may diverge from the teachings of your childhood Sunday School teacher about the God, traditions, myths and purpose of Judaism. Join us each episode and listen with an open mind to see what feels right and what is still not quite there for you. Better yet, reach out to Rabbi Jay TelRav to join him on an upcoming episode to discuss the ideas together. Cover art by Dr. Julie TelRav
Arnie has been a friend and mentor for most of my life. It was wonderful to reconnect with him and to hear his thoughts on spirituality, the nature of God and how to navigate the complexities of this challenging world.You can also watch the video of our conversation by copying and pasting this address: https://youtu.be/hn7gcw0VpAg
Listen as I invite Rami to provide his own explanation of non-dual Judaism and how it works in a world as challenging as ours is right now. You can also watch the video of this interview by visiting Temple Sinai's youtube page here: https://youtu.be/4NmfG3nFPLw
Our fourth in the mini-series examining the iconic prayers of the High Holidays. This time, we'll reframe the prayer Kol Nidrei to grant non-dualists a way of utilizing it in keeping with how they understand God.
This week we tackle the dissonance one may feel as they join in the collective confession of sins when they cannot relate to the transgressions they are claiming to have committed. How can a non-dualist (or anyone else for that matter) make use of this potent moment?
This is one of the hardest prayers for me. Join me as I wrestle with finding a useable truth that help me recover this moment in the Jewish prayer cycle.
This is the first of four special episodes during the Hebrew month of Elul in which we'll take a careful look at the prayers of the upcoming High Holidays.
Ronnie Lilien joins me for this conversation as Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers us evidence-based criteria to know if our religion's teachings are having the intended impact upon us.
I'm joined this week by Mike Markovitz as we discuss a new way to think about the prayer v'ahavta and the Sh'ma.
This week, Rami Shapiro teaches a new understanding for the Torah's command to Abraham: Lech L'cha.
An engaging conversation with a fabulous young adult about what happens when we die and the purpose of life.
Kids see things so much more clearly than we do!
I'm all by my lonesome this week as I take a moment to think aloud about why this material has so touched my soul. Let me know what you think
Lesley Gehr and I have a wonderful conversation about what Torah is and what it isn't.
This week, I'm joined by Cantor Micah Morgovsky, also of Temple Sinai. We had such a great conversation about the letter that this episode is a bit longer but worth every minute of listening.
This week I take a break from the chapters of Open Secrets to share a song and some thoughts with you.
Alan Youngstein and I discuss the nature of evil and how to think of them. Necessary Evil and Unnecessary Evil hold our attention as we consider why humans can be so cruel to each other.
This week I discuss the purpose of life with Allison Lear. Rabbi Shapiro shocks me with a fabulous new take on the Torah's command to "till and to tend" the soil.
This week, I speak with Lee Bowbeer about God's relationship to the physical world. When the author speaks of "Creation" he does not mean the action of "creating" but of the "created" world.
The imaginary Reb Yerachmiel dives right into the most important question of the book - What/Who/Where/Why is God? Elizabeth Hinds joins me for this conversation and it's a beautiful set of observations. A quick apology from a newcomer to podcasting - I forgot to set the correct microphone so it is difficult to understand Elizabeth's side of the conversation. The transcript will make it easier and it is worth the extra effort to hear her thoughts!
This week, we explore the idea of what makes for a "good Jew." If you are moved by the idea - Rabbi Jay would like to hear from you for more conversation.
This week, I'm joined by my first guest, Grant Kallen, as we explore the first letter in the book, Open Secrets, by Rami Shapiro. With remarkable creativity and sensitivity, Shapiro turns familiar Jewish concepts on their head in a powerful new presentation for the 21st century.
Welcome to the first episode of our exploration of spirituality and theology. This week Rabbi Jay TelRav introduces the format of the podcast and we jump right into the first material.