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thank you for your support.

1:14

In

1:15

this episode of Insights at the Edge,

1:17

my guest is Rabbi Ruttenberg.

1:21

Rabideanya serves as a scholar

1:23

in residence at the National Council

1:25

of Jewish Women. She's the

1:27

award winning author of numerous

1:30

book including surprised

1:32

by God and nurture

1:35

the wow. She was named

1:37

by Newsweek and The Daily

1:39

Beast. as one of the top ten

1:41

rabbis to watch and

1:44

by forward as one of the top

1:46

fifty most influential women

1:49

rabbis. and called a

1:51

Wonderkin of Jewish feminism

1:53

by Publishers Weekly.

1:55

Which sounds true, rabbi

1:57

Danya is the author of a new

1:59

eight part audio series.

2:02

It's called Mending World

2:04

spiritual tools

2:07

for healing, repair, and

2:09

justice. Rabbi

2:11

Danya is

2:12

someone who speaks uncomfortable

2:15

truths. And this is the

2:17

essence of having what

2:19

she calls a prophetic voice.

2:22

which is certainly the voice

2:24

that we need at a time like

2:27

this. Here's my conversation with

2:29

Rabbi, Daniel Ruttenberg.

2:37

Danya here at the beginning, can

2:39

you share with our listeners a bit about

2:41

you and what brought

2:43

you to the decision to become

2:45

a rabbi?

2:47

Well, I was

2:49

raised in a

2:52

very kind of typical American,

2:55

suburban, Jewish household.

2:59

And, you

3:01

know, I had a button. It's the but

3:04

it wasn't it wasn't

3:06

taught what it meant. We

3:08

went to synagogue a couple times a year. We did

3:10

a Passover zader. By

3:14

the time I was thirteen, I had said that

3:16

I was an atheist. I

3:18

was interested in philosophy. by

3:22

the time I got to college,

3:25

I somehow stumbled

3:27

into the religious studies

3:28

department. by accident.

3:30

It was interesting.

3:31

Right? It was history and

3:33

it was literature and it

3:35

was what really happened and it's the

3:37

mysteries of what we can piece together with archaeology

3:40

and Insights analysis and

3:43

its living its living philosophy

3:46

basically. I didn't have to

3:48

believe what the people in these

3:50

texts believed. And

3:54

then when I was twenty

3:55

one, my mother died of cancer.

3:57

And I had

4:00

run her hospice as, you know, as

4:02

a whole about

4:04

six month story of finding

4:07

out that the cancer had come back and

4:09

the back and forth and then the six months

4:11

of our hospice. And when

4:14

she died,

4:15

we did the funeral, Jewishly, because this is

4:17

how you do a funeral. And

4:19

people came to our house for a week,

4:21

in brought us food and took care of us, which is

4:23

called sitting shiva, because this is what

4:26

you do. And

4:27

I

4:28

said, the mourners prayer during these times.

4:31

and

4:32

I kept going back to

4:35

synagogue to say the mourners prayer

4:37

because

4:37

that's what you do.

4:39

And

4:41

because

4:41

I had spent all of this time

4:44

reading books on ritual theory,

4:46

I was able to open up the prayer

4:48

book and

4:49

kinda go, oh,

4:53

that's what that is. and

4:55

to see what was happening

4:58

there in a new way,

5:00

to understand it in a new way.

5:03

And at the same time in grief, I

5:05

became open

5:07

just open.

5:09

It was broken open in a totally

5:11

to get

5:12

on the way I'd never

5:14

encountered and began

5:17

having

5:19

what I would now call mystical

5:22

experiences at the time is just

5:24

I would

5:25

have these experiences of of

5:28

everything kind of blurring and

5:31

connecting, and I didn't know what to call

5:33

them. And I went looking for language.

5:36

And so Can

5:38

we can we just pause right there on on that? Can you

5:40

tell me more if we were to put

5:42

under a magnifying glass a moment

5:44

when you say I was having mystical experiences and

5:46

everything blurring.

5:47

Like, what was actually happening? because sometimes

5:49

people refer to these things and it's a little vague

5:51

and it's a little vague. Yeah. what was actually

5:53

going on? Okay. So I

5:55

would so here's what's the story is,

5:57

you know, I would

5:59

Woke around Providence, Rhode Island,

6:02

which is where I was.

6:04

It's my last year of college at Insights.

6:07

And

6:08

you know, kind of listen to

6:10

Jacobs. Kim, I walk in and cry

6:13

and look at the moon. And

6:17

You

6:18

know, I just I'd stop

6:20

and and I'd look at the

6:23

set sign or the shadows on

6:25

the sidewalk or whatever.

6:28

And

6:30

suddenly everything just,

6:32

you know, first felt very sharp.

6:35

was very, very, very present and very

6:37

clear in my head in a

6:39

way that I'd never been. And then

6:41

I

6:46

don't know. The lines between me and everything else

6:49

just didn't seem so clear.

6:51

Like, it was just

6:54

And

6:56

it just felt like

6:59

there was some but

7:01

that that sense of of where I begin

7:03

and everything else, didn't

7:06

feel so defined.

7:07

it felt a

7:10

little blurry around the edges. Okay.

7:12

So some

7:12

kinds of, like, unitive

7:14

awareness. Yes.

7:16

And as, you know, later on,

7:19

after I I began meditating

7:21

seriously, I would have

7:23

more extreme experiences

7:25

of experiencing oneness

7:28

and really feeling the

7:30

oneness of all things rising and

7:32

falling and just changing

7:34

shape. But here it was

7:37

just that that fuzziness, that

7:39

beginning, that that understanding

7:42

that the lines of myself and

7:45

the lines of everything else might not be

7:47

so clearly defined as I always

7:49

thought of them. And a

7:51

lot of this happened while I was staring

7:53

at the moon and there

7:55

was just this big bigness.

7:58

And I

7:59

know I'm condensing, like,

8:02

a three year process into a couple of sentences,

8:04

but In my

8:06

search, you know, eventually started using

8:08

the word spirituality to describe

8:11

these experiences. And when

8:13

I started allowing that

8:15

word in,

8:16

the experiences got bigger.

8:18

And when later

8:21

on, I started allowing the

8:23

word God to come in the experiences.

8:25

But boom, boom, you know, go

8:27

way bigger. It's

8:29

like you know, it's like the the fish that

8:31

keeps growing when you give it a bigger tank.

8:34

the So

8:36

if you

8:37

know, I just the more

8:39

space I was allowing

8:42

myself to to

8:43

have the

8:45

the further I was able to go almost.

8:49

Okay. And then becoming a rabbi

8:52

because I think many people, especially in the

8:54

contemporary world, decide, you know,

8:56

I'm spiritual, but not religious.

8:58

And no way am I gonna take

9:00

on all of that,

9:02

you know, ancient language

9:04

that's been passed down mostly

9:06

written by men within a

9:08

certain, you know, set

9:11

of constraints. Like, no

9:13

way I'm not taking that on. There's so much that

9:15

doesn't fit. So how

9:17

did you step into it and go, no,

9:19

this is for me.

9:20

Right. And let let us establish that

9:23

by the time I got to college, I was, you know, an

9:26

atheist. And quickly after

9:28

college, I was out as queer. Like,

9:30

you know, I was various established

9:32

in my non

9:35

patriarchal point of view, shall we say?

9:38

And by the time I was at all

9:40

interested in Judaism. And

9:44

after

9:46

college, I

9:48

had

9:49

finished saying my eleven

9:52

months of

9:55

of mourners prayer. at which

9:57

point I had discovered that maybe

9:59

Judaism wasn't so stupid after

10:01

all. And that maybe there was some

10:03

deeper knowledge and that

10:05

I had something to learn there.

10:07

So I say, I moved to San Francisco

10:09

after college because I could

10:11

because it was the late nineties and why

10:13

wouldn't you? And I said,

10:15

okay. I guess

10:16

I need to know

10:19

what synagogue I would go to. In case I ever

10:21

wanted to go to a synagogue, not that

10:23

I necessarily want you,

10:25

but you never know. And

10:28

I

10:29

checked out many many places.

10:31

It was like a very Goldilocksmith experience.

10:33

There are very, very many flavors

10:36

of Judaism in the Bay Area, and

10:38

I'm glad that

10:40

everybody can find the thing

10:42

that is right for them and there were a lot of

10:44

labors that were not right for me.

10:46

And I

10:49

was almost at the end of my

10:51

rope, and I sort of

10:52

said, okay. I'll just check out

10:55

this

10:55

conservative synagogue at the end of

10:58

the bus line. in the Richmond,

11:00

and I walked in, and

11:02

I sat down, and the services felt

11:04

correct. and then

11:06

the rabbi

11:07

opened his mouth. His

11:10

name

11:11

was rabbi Alan Lu.

11:13

made

11:14

his memory before a blessing.

11:16

And he was

11:18

a god doll. He was a

11:20

great great

11:21

teacher. As

11:23

it happened, interesting

11:26

for this community, he

11:29

was a Buddhist for twenty years.

11:30

until he realized

11:33

that he was a Jew named Allen from Brooklyn.

11:36

You know, he sort of said they medicated down to

11:38

a spiritual essence and a spiritual essence

11:40

was a June named Ellen for Brooklyn. He

11:42

wound he wound up finding his way

11:44

to rabbinical school, but the

11:46

Torah that he taught was

11:49

came from this place of intense

11:51

stillness, and his

11:54

message was that

11:56

this book is the

11:59

story

11:59

of all of our

12:02

unfolding

12:03

spiritual experiences and

12:06

relationship with the divine

12:07

right now.

12:10

And,

12:10

you know,

12:12

my mind kind of went, and I

12:15

followed him around for five years. and

12:17

my relationship to things like keeping

12:19

kosher and Chabot and

12:21

taking on serious Jewish

12:23

practice and understanding Mending Jewish

12:26

practice is like a portable monastery

12:28

that can change and transform

12:31

you.

12:33

like, you know, it's it's all

12:35

his fault, basically. And

12:38

there's still small boys from within

12:40

started to kind of go rabbinical

12:42

school. very, very

12:44

soon after I got to Beth Shalom,

12:47

Rabbi Shal, and ignored

12:51

it. and it got louder and louder

12:53

and louder. And at

12:55

a certain point, I had to I

12:57

had

12:57

to listen the power

12:59

of a interestingly, the

13:02

power of someone who's embodying tradition

13:04

and how that inspired you. Now when you mentioned

13:06

him, you said may his memory

13:09

be for a blessing? And you you

13:11

said that, kind of, I guess,

13:13

because that's what a rabbi

13:15

says when a rabbi is referring to

13:17

a deceased person, but what

13:18

does that mean? So

13:20

in Judaism, when someone

13:22

dies,

13:24

we

13:25

we

13:26

acknowledge

13:28

their that they're kind

13:31

of still

13:32

with us that the ways that

13:34

their memory

13:37

and everything that they left

13:39

us

13:40

still

13:43

offers us so many

13:46

gifts.

13:47

and that their

13:50

physical presence is not

13:51

with us anymore, but

13:54

everything that we have learned

13:56

from them and all of the

13:58

ways that they have touched us

14:00

continue to give

14:02

us unfolding blessings

14:04

in so many ways.

14:07

And so we acknowledge that

14:09

with this little phrase

14:11

as we Mending

14:13

their name. Now,

14:15

Rabbi which sounds

14:16

true? You've created this eight session

14:19

audio series called the

14:21

World. And you

14:23

referenced in your own journey to becoming

14:25

a rabbi that at certain

14:27

point the still small voice inside

14:29

started talking to you. And

14:31

in this series,

14:33

towards the beginning,

14:35

you help

14:36

people connect with their

14:39

still small voice in a very

14:41

interesting way I was really surprised

14:44

by this. And to be honest, I was

14:46

kind of shocked

14:48

awake. in that we can

14:50

allow our still

14:52

small voice to actually

14:54

emit a scream. And

14:56

I wanted to understand more about

14:59

why this is an important

15:01

practice to you, how we do it,

15:03

and how a still small voice

15:04

screams. Curt,

15:07

we're talking

15:07

we're talking about the Rabbi practice.

15:10

Yes. So Robin Nachman of

15:12

Brestavs was a

15:15

great Hasidic teacher

15:17

in

15:19

nineteenth century

15:20

with

15:21

now with now Ukraine.

15:26

and he

15:28

spent a lot of time kind of

15:30

off alone viving,

15:33

I think, would be the contemporary word.

15:36

And

15:38

he

15:43

developed

15:44

a number of

15:47

really powerful spiritual practices

15:50

one of which is

15:52

this

15:54

ability to

15:59

do

15:59

an inner scream of a

16:02

silent scream, a

16:04

scream

16:05

within

16:07

within yourself, within

16:09

your your mind, within

16:11

your soul, within your heart, almost

16:13

without saying a word. and

16:15

it is

16:18

so

16:19

powerful. And

16:21

the and and

16:23

I wanted to share it with people. I

16:26

think it can be a really really

16:28

powerful tool for expressing

16:31

feelings that have been trapped.

16:33

I think it can be a really powerful

16:35

tool for listing up that

16:38

which we've buried and

16:41

for just giving

16:43

space

16:45

to that

16:47

what's just been waiting

16:50

patiently to be expressed and that we

16:52

need to

16:54

to give space to in

16:57

order to to be

16:59

freed up for any other

17:02

purpose

17:02

in this world that it's,

17:04

you know, distraction and

17:07

just being

17:10

able to let go

17:13

emotionally and spiritually

17:15

and to give not

17:17

just our thanks and

17:19

our praise

17:23

and our request to the

17:25

divine but also to offer

17:26

up our screams. Why

17:28

not that too? It's

17:30

to Astara. So

17:32

I think

17:33

it's really important for for sort of for

17:35

all of these reasons, both because we have all

17:37

of these screens inside. and

17:40

we need a variety of ways

17:42

to express them. Right? Some verbally

17:45

when we're in the place that that's what

17:47

can be done. And should

17:49

have other kinds of practices

17:52

for

17:52

other times,

17:54

but

17:54

also to be able to name that

17:56

our screens

17:58

are holy. Our agony is holy, our

17:59

desperation is holy, our pain is

18:02

holy, and we can lift this

18:04

too up. and

18:05

and say here, take

18:07

it.

18:08

it

18:08

It's beautiful.

18:11

Our agony is

18:13

holy. towards the beginning

18:15

of the series

18:16

on mending the world. You talk

18:19

about how we

18:19

need to allow our bodies

18:22

and hearts

18:22

to process the stories of

18:25

harm that we read

18:27

in the news, that we hear about, that we

18:29

know about, that we're in

18:30

touch with. And thought

18:32

to myself, you know, so often, I

18:34

I don't allow my

18:36

body and to fully

18:39

process what I read

18:41

and hear about in the world. And if

18:43

anything, I actually become a little, I would say,

18:44

dissociated or something. Like, I'm kind

18:47

of

18:47

dooms growing and there's no way I'm letting my body

18:49

and heart process all of that. I don't even

18:51

think I could even if I wanted to. I'd

18:53

be screaming, you know, all

18:56

the time. So tell me more

18:58

about that. How do we actually allow

19:00

our bodies and hearts?

19:01

Is that even

19:02

possible to process what's happening in the

19:04

world right

19:05

now? So

19:06

listen, we

19:09

can't process everything

19:12

fully. There is so much

19:14

pain and harm in

19:16

the world. wanna acknowledge that.

19:18

And if all we

19:20

do is

19:21

scroll and scroll and

19:23

scroll and pretend

19:24

that none of it matters, If

19:26

if

19:26

we pretend that none of it matters to us

19:29

in in an existential way,

19:32

that is terrible

19:35

for us spiritually. Right? That that

19:37

active association, that active

19:39

numbing is terrible for us

19:41

spiritually, and it's terrible for us

19:43

as citizens. people who

19:45

are supposed to let

19:47

things matter to us.

19:50

And we cannot

19:52

be

19:53

open wounds twenty four

19:55

seven about suffering

19:58

happening halfway across

19:59

the world. Right? Because

20:02

we do need to go about our

20:03

days,

20:04

the and yet we need to

20:05

make space for it. We need

20:08

to

20:08

acknowledge the pain

20:11

And so dedicating space and

20:13

time to experience those

20:15

feelings, I think is

20:16

is really, really critical. And

20:20

have a new book that's that's out on

20:22

repentance and repair that

20:24

also talks about, you

20:26

know, our obligations as

20:28

bystanders of harm,

20:30

when

20:30

we live in a world where

20:32

we are constantly witnesses

20:35

to this ongoing

20:37

suffering. And

20:39

what's

20:40

our role as

20:42

bystanders, as receivers,

20:44

as, you know, as

20:45

secondary

20:46

participants

20:48

of harm.

20:50

the And so

20:52

we

20:52

need to think through it spiritually,

20:56

and we need to think through it

20:58

we need to think through it morally

21:00

as well in terms of

21:04

our

21:04

obligations here. And though

21:06

we can't do everything,

21:08

that

21:09

doesn't mean that we

21:10

can't do anything. Mhmm.

21:13

What do you see as our obligations?

21:15

We think, well, that's not – you know,

21:17

that's happening over there. I'm not really involved

21:19

with that. That happened before I was born.

21:21

That's not really mine. You know, I'm I'm

21:23

working on I'm dealing with, you know, I got enough

21:25

on my plate right here just with my

21:28

family.

21:29

Well, underpinnitus and repair has

21:31

a lot to say about

21:32

obligations. So

21:34

and and the ways we can

21:36

the arm in our own relationships

21:39

and then in our own lives and

21:41

institutions. Right? But

21:44

ultimately, we have to

21:47

do something. We have to pick our

21:49

place on the boat.

21:51

Right? Every we need all hands on deck

21:53

there's a lot of deck. And

21:56

so we need to figure out what

21:58

our sphere of influence is

21:59

and and to

22:02

do that. know

22:03

that we cannot

22:05

fix

22:06

anything single

22:09

handedly and that

22:11

sort of savior mentality isn't

22:12

useful anyway in the

22:14

work of justice. And we cannot

22:16

be useful in every

22:19

sphere, but we can show up

22:22

somewhere and helps

22:25

on something and and work actively

22:27

and and regularly. somewhere

22:31

to make things better. And

22:33

if everybody did that

22:35

on something, then

22:37

you

22:38

would start to lift some boats.

22:41

Right? We

22:42

would start to lift lift up a

22:44

lot of the

22:44

pain that's in

22:45

the world. Now,

22:47

one of the curious

22:49

things for me

22:50

has been being

22:53

deep into I also

22:54

majored in religious studies

22:57

deep into spiritual

22:59

literature reading, a lot of eastern

23:02

traditions, and seeing even

23:04

through the work of sounds true. Many

23:06

people who have

23:08

mystical

23:09

experiences, the world

23:11

melts, they know they're interdependent,

23:14

but

23:14

yet it doesn't translate

23:17

necessarily into a form

23:19

of all hands on deck

23:22

activism.

23:22

there's some

23:23

And I've often tried

23:25

to understand why for

23:27

some people it does translate and

23:30

why for other people their

23:32

life still seems, you know, people talk about it

23:34

as like, you know, the wellness

23:36

bubble or

23:37

the spiritual bubble,

23:38

some kind of bubble. And I'm

23:40

curious what your view is

23:42

of that. It

23:43

makes me

23:46

a little

23:47

bonkers. to be honest. Because

23:49

if we

23:49

are interlinked with all

23:52

things and interconnected with all

23:55

things, and I believe that we are

23:57

and I've had experiences that

23:59

testified to that fact on a

24:01

spiritual level. And of course, my

24:03

experiences are not complete external

24:06

reality just as everybody else's or not.

24:08

But I I too have had this

24:10

experience described by mystics of

24:12

every tradition If

24:14

we are links interlinked with everything,

24:16

that doesn't just mean the

24:18

trees and the flowers and the

24:20

people we like. it means the people who

24:23

are suffering in

24:25

wars that our government started.

24:27

And that means the

24:30

the girls who are taking off

24:32

their jobs in

24:34

Iran and getting

24:36

brutalized by government police.

24:38

as a result that means that

24:41

the earth that is

24:43

currently in absolute

24:45

crisis

24:46

is part of our interlinked

24:49

destiny. It means that

24:51

the people who are losing

24:53

their autonomy and their dignity and

24:55

sometimes their lie lives because row has

24:58

been rolled

25:00

back are

25:02

part of the of what we are interlinked

25:05

with. It means

25:05

that the trans people who

25:07

are under attack nationwide are

25:11

part of who we are interlinked

25:13

with and that interlinking involves

25:18

obligation. It's

25:19

not just about a narcissistic

25:22

groovy feeling for

25:24

me personally. It's about recognizing my

25:28

interconnected obligation to

25:31

the

25:31

whole. and

25:32

recognizing that my purpose here

25:35

on earth is to serve

25:37

the interconnected

25:38

hole that is to say other people

25:41

and the earth. Okay. Let me just

25:42

push a little for a moment, Rob. I don't

25:45

know. Because

25:46

imagine someone who says my

25:48

job on the deck is to sit

25:51

here in radiant,

25:54

you know, full lotus, yoga,

25:56

posture, sending out rainbow

25:59

waves.

25:59

Mhmm. That's

26:01

my job on the deck. What do you think?

26:03

Well,

26:03

people who think that their

26:05

job is to sit

26:08

radiant on the deck and to

26:10

I don't

26:12

know what. Bring I'm

26:15

bringing the light. I'm bringing the rainbow light.

26:17

I'm

26:17

I'm sitting here. I'm bringing the rainbow light. Isn't that

26:19

a job on the deck? too.

26:23

hi

26:27

I believe that we are

26:29

a world

26:30

in extreme

26:33

extreme

26:33

the moon

26:35

pain. And

26:36

and people

26:38

who are going to show up

26:40

and

26:40

help and be ready to move chairs

26:43

and get coffee and,

26:45

you know, make the Xerox

26:48

so to speak.

26:52

And we

26:54

need teachers For

26:56

sure. We absolutely

26:58

need people who are going to

27:01

hand over the

27:03

tools of resilience.

27:06

the tools of drawing

27:08

from the deep well, the

27:10

tools of ancient

27:13

knowledge and

27:15

rituals of staying connected

27:19

through the

27:19

long, long

27:21

No

27:21

question. We need

27:23

teachers. We need people who are

27:25

going to

27:27

pass on ancient tools. We need

27:30

people who are going to help people to draw from the

27:32

deep, deep well. We need people who are going

27:34

to be

27:35

offering up tools for

27:38

resilience, for

27:41

understanding the big

27:44

picture, for

27:46

seeing what the work is really about

27:49

for maintaining

27:53

love even

27:53

when it gets hard for

27:55

understanding the deeper

27:57

meanings of solidarity. Right? We need

28:00

teachers, absolutely. But

28:03

no,

28:03

I do not believe that

28:05

sitting on the deck not doing

28:08

anything is part of The

28:11

project. That is my personal belief. I

28:13

think we need people showing

28:15

up in in roles. And that

28:18

is very Jewish of

28:18

me I recognize and

28:21

I, you know, I believe that

28:23

how we serve is by showing up

28:25

and taking care of other

28:28

people.

28:30

Mhmm. That's

28:30

the work.

28:32

Now in the series, men

28:35

the world you talk about the prophetic voice

28:37

and that I think many

28:39

of us are feeling a

28:41

call to embody a

28:44

type of prophetic voice at this

28:46

time. And I wanted to

28:47

understand more one, what you mean

28:50

by that,

28:50

and two, what we can learn

28:52

from the Jewish tradition about

28:55

the

28:55

prophetic voice that can

28:57

help us now.

29:00

So the ancient

29:02

Prophetic, when I'm talking about the ones in

29:04

the bible, right? Isaiah, Jeremiah,

29:08

Amos, all of them

29:14

spoke spoke

29:15

uncomfortable truth.

29:18

that was

29:18

their role was to say things

29:21

that

29:21

were not always easy

29:25

to hear.

29:27

and who they were saying them to

29:29

and how they were saying them

29:31

to

29:31

differ depending on their roles.

29:34

Isaiah

29:34

was in the court, and so

29:36

he was constantly saying to the

29:38

king, you are making a

29:41

bad decision. Right? Don't become

29:43

friends with the Babylonians. They are not

29:45

your friends. Right? This is going

29:47

to lead us down the

29:49

wrong path. Our vision

29:52

for a more whole world looks like this, not

29:54

like that. Stop with the political scheming and

29:56

keep your eye on the ball. And then he

29:58

would say to the people, you're

30:02

getting too wrapped

30:02

up in the

30:05

ritual stuff and you're forgetting that

30:07

the whole point of

30:10

our tradition is

30:12

to take care of those

30:14

who are socially marginalized

30:16

to feed

30:19

the

30:19

hungry to not exploit

30:21

your workers. Like,

30:24

this is

30:24

the fast I desire He

30:27

said, don't you know, I don't care if you

30:29

go to synagogue in your fancy

30:31

suits, so to speak.

30:33

Right? But wrap the fast I desire is that

30:35

you feed the hungry.

30:38

That's that's what God wants. You know,

30:40

whether or

30:40

not you make it to The

30:43

service at seven o'clock exactly

30:45

on the dot is not the point. The point is

30:47

that you walk by a homeless person and

30:49

you didn't even make eye contact. What

30:51

Judithism is that. Right?

30:53

That's Isaiah.

30:54

And you've Jeremiah

30:56

who is an outsider

30:59

who is

31:02

basically, you know, he's giving over the same

31:04

kinds of messages, but from a

31:06

different point in society, and

31:08

he's reviled.

31:10

because of it. He doesn't have that sort of

31:13

insider posh situation,

31:16

and he's taking different kind

31:18

of risks. and

31:18

he's paying significantly

31:20

higher prices as a result.

31:22

But that prophetic voice is about

31:26

risking something from where

31:28

you are in order to speak

31:30

important truths about who we

31:32

need to be, about

31:34

how we

31:35

have lost our way

31:37

morally about finding our integrity,

31:40

about caring for

31:43

that's showing up in solidarity about,

31:46

you

31:46

know, our work to focus

31:49

on Those

31:50

who are most socially marginalized about

31:53

letting those who are most marginalized

31:55

lead even though it might be most comfortable

31:57

to keep your mouth shut.

31:59

and to let the whoever's in charge

32:02

continue hogging the

32:04

mic. Right?

32:06

Well, prophetic voice is not having

32:08

prophetic voice is not comfortable. It

32:09

is not easy. There is

32:12

sometimes a price. And

32:15

for

32:15

us to follow

32:17

in the footsteps, of

32:20

the

32:21

great and holy who

32:23

came before us is

32:29

I believe

32:29

sometimes a moral necessity and

32:32

you

32:36

know, definitely it's an

32:38

option for us in

32:40

our change making work.

32:42

Right? There are

32:43

times when we know

32:46

that we can open our mouths.

32:50

And say

32:50

the thing that needs to be said.

32:52

And we could

32:54

make a decision about whether or not we're

32:56

going be that person. Can you

32:59

give

32:59

an example of the time when

33:02

you exercised your

33:04

prophetic voice and had to pay a

33:06

price for it? What was the price?

33:07

Good

33:10

god.

33:12

The number of times, I

33:16

ah

33:22

Throughout

33:23

rabbinical school in my

33:25

early career, I was

33:28

continually saying,

33:29

well, what about about? I was

33:31

the one in our Talend class who

33:34

would say this is very nice that

33:36

we're talking calmly and

33:38

coolly about what's

33:41

actually the sexual abuse of women.

33:43

And I understand that this is a very

33:45

interesting literary technique, but can we name

33:47

what's happening here people? I brought

33:50

a friend who was trans to

33:53

school

33:54

to answer

33:55

people's questions. This was

33:58

twenty five years ago, you know, the trans

34:00

folks lives

34:01

and

34:02

needs were not as well

34:04

understood. as they are done to so

34:06

that rabbis could be better under better equipped

34:10

to serve trans confidence. My friend I mean,

34:12

my Sounds, obviously,

34:14

thought this was a great

34:16

idea and was happy to participate and got screamed

34:19

at

34:21

by Athene because

34:23

what if the Jewish journal

34:25

found out? Yeah.

34:28

And, you know, III

34:30

did a number of institutional prices for

34:33

that kind of thing.

34:36

And

34:38

the island

34:42

making some decisions about what

34:43

are the stories

34:46

to tell.

34:49

More

34:51

recently, I

34:55

it's public. made the

34:57

decision to get

34:59

to make a

35:01

substantial donation to an

35:03

organization that

35:05

supports survivors

35:06

of sex trafficking as an

35:09

offset to time that

35:12

I'd participated

35:14

in

35:15

a fellowship

35:18

run by somebody who,

35:20

they didn't know it at the

35:21

time of applying, was

35:23

and associate of Jeffrey

35:25

Epstein's.

35:26

and And

35:31

I've gotten

35:31

let let's just say, you

35:34

know, I've gotten very mixed

35:36

reception in my community as a result of

35:38

that choice. because

35:39

I

35:40

named a very

35:42

uncomfortable truth that a lot of

35:45

people in my community have not

35:47

wanted to look at. Mhmm.

35:48

Now you brought that up and interestingly

35:50

your new book which you referenced

35:52

on repentance and repair,

35:56

this whole notion of are we willing to take the actions

35:58

of repair? And

35:59

there you are

36:02

embodying that

36:05

Rabbi Danya, good work. Thank you. I mean, I just

36:07

for me the work of repentance

36:10

and

36:11

it's not I'll note

36:14

a

36:14

a feeling that you have in your heart. It's

36:16

it's a set of actions and I underpensens

36:19

and repairs about taking

36:22

what I think

36:22

ouraimonides five steps of the

36:24

work of repentance, and they're all very

36:28

victims centric. at applying

36:30

them to a number of things in our

36:32

modern world, both our

36:34

contemporary personal lives,

36:36

but also very significant public problems like sexual abuse

36:38

and systemic racism, but

36:40

there are five steps and there are concrete

36:42

steps. There are things you do.

36:46

So, you know,

36:48

you have to put your money

36:50

where your mouth is, proverbial, or literally.

36:52

Can you tell us the five steps?

36:56

Number one,

36:57

confession. Own your harms

36:59

fully, completely no hedging, know

37:01

what I meant. know,

37:04

you know, my good intentions. We

37:06

don't care. Just name what you did.

37:08

Really face it. And

37:12

ideally, publicly, because then you a have

37:14

accountability. You're telling people

37:16

that you're going on a journey of changing transformation

37:20

and you're now are

37:22

gonna be having back up in that

37:24

process. And b, it's an end to gaslighting

37:26

for the victim. Right? That

37:29

you're now NEEMING FULLY WHAT HAPPENED AND IT WAS

37:31

REAL AND NOW EVERYBODY SEES THAT

37:33

YOU KNOW THAT END WHOLEVER

37:35

DIDN'T BELIEVE THEM NOW

37:38

SEES THAT It's a putting the truth fully out there in

37:40

the world. Concession. Number

37:42

two, start to change. still

37:46

same person causing harm, we're we're not

37:48

getting anywhere. So you have to what

37:50

is therapy?

37:52

Is it? doubling down

37:54

on prayer and meditation, but with a

37:56

spiritual guide who's gonna help

37:58

move you from where you've been, Is

38:00

it calling your sponsor? Is it ditching

38:03

the friends that are always

38:05

bad influences and help, you know, help

38:07

you make bad choice

38:09

voices? Is going on a journey of learning about anti

38:12

racism in a new way? Is it

38:14

I I don't know. What was the harm?

38:16

What is the need for learning and growth?

38:18

And you have to grow. You

38:21

have to grow. Step

38:23

three, amends.

38:24

What does

38:25

the person who

38:28

was harmed? need,

38:28

what do they want. You can never undo

38:30

what you

38:31

have done, but what

38:33

would

38:33

help so

38:36

up the hole in the cosmos

38:38

that you created. And that's done in conversation with them,

38:40

not at them. And

38:44

Note that the person asking amendments is already the person who's on

38:46

the journey for change. We're not asking

38:50

somebody who's

38:52

totally

38:52

uncooked to show up at the victim. Right?

38:54

Then we need them to be

38:56

already doing the work. Then

38:58

apology. which

39:00

is flowing organically from an

39:02

open heart that's already doing

39:04

this work and genuinely, finally

39:07

starting to get it. as

39:09

opposed to somebody who's checking off a box or

39:11

God forbid, has their

39:14

publicist writing

39:16

something. Right? And

39:16

then finally step five, when the opportunity

39:20

arises to cause that

39:22

harm again, and there's

39:24

always an opportunity to cause that harm

39:26

again. You make

39:27

a different choice

39:29

different choice. You

39:31

have

39:31

changed. You have transformed.

39:34

You don't do that harm

39:36

anymore. And so you go in

39:37

a different direction.

39:39

Very

39:42

very powerful powerful.

39:44

I do want to share that

39:46

in preparing for this conversation and here

39:49

in talking with you, I

39:51

have committed to a

39:54

series

39:54

of repair steps

39:56

that I was considering, but I wasn't sure of. But

39:59

I think the strength of your

39:59

sole force made it

40:02

a hundred

40:03

percent something that I had

40:06

to

40:06

do. So thank you. Now,

40:08

I wanna I wanna go back

40:10

to this

40:10

notion of the prophetic voice for

40:12

a

40:13

moment. speaking uncomfortable truths. Because it

40:15

seems like there's sort of

40:18

pitfall, which is in the world

40:20

of influencers

40:20

and everybody wants the mic

40:23

to speak what they want to say that

40:24

the prophetic voice can

40:27

be distorted into

40:28

I'd like the stage, please.

40:30

to say what's on my not really speaking the prophetic

40:33

voice. It's more speaking

40:34

a kind of self

40:38

a

40:38

grandizing need for attention. So how do

40:40

we sort that out for ourselves when

40:43

we feel called to pick

40:45

up the mic? That's a

40:49

good question. I mean, you

40:51

know this is where the work of

40:53

spiritual practice is so

40:55

necessary because it can

40:57

help us

40:58

to take that pause,

41:00

to take those breaths,

41:02

to do

41:04

some discernment work. And

41:06

I really believe that the best

41:08

spiritual practice is not done in isolation.

41:10

Right? We need community and

41:13

we need people who can

41:16

be our partners

41:18

in

41:18

the work of discernment.

41:20

in

41:21

Judaism, we talk about

41:24

Hoveredtte, the study partner. Right? The

41:26

person that's yeah. Haverda

41:28

is Havera's friend And Hovirta

41:30

is the person who is your

41:32

classically, your study partner in

41:34

classical Jewish texts. So you picture the two

41:36

people are doing across the

41:38

table over page of

41:40

Talmud, like, that's your haverta.

41:42

And we have haverta

41:44

in all sorts of things in our

41:46

lives. Like, hey, can I check-in

41:48

with you? about this thing. And

41:50

sometimes when we're just meditating us

41:52

and ourselves, we can get kinda

41:54

caught in the circles of

41:56

our head and

41:58

our unhealed trauma and our

41:59

whatever else. And having

42:02

other people with whom we can

42:05

check-in and say, check me on this. Am I am I right?

42:07

Is this the the right thing? Would this

42:10

be correct?

42:13

is really critical. So for

42:16

example, when I made the

42:18

decision to donate

42:21

that money, I wrote out a statement, and

42:23

then I sent it first to one group of

42:26

dear friends

42:28

to say,

42:30

hey, workshop this. Check me. Am I am I on track

42:32

here? Is this even the right thing

42:34

to say or do? And

42:38

I got some really important feedback from

42:40

people who are trauma

42:42

therapists and

42:44

experts in all sorts of things that are

42:46

relevant. And then I sent it to

42:48

another group of people who know this

42:50

community well and who

42:52

are all either

42:54

survivors of sexual abuse

42:56

and or people who work in that

42:58

field and got some more

43:00

feedback

43:01

because you

43:04

know, and

43:04

there's people that I I would trust

43:06

to tell me if I was on

43:08

the wrong track. People who I would trust

43:12

to say, No. This is not it. You shouldn't

43:14

do this. You are this is

43:16

a bad

43:18

idea. Right? And

43:20

we all need people in our lives

43:22

that we can trust

43:24

who will tell us, no.

43:28

And sometimes when it's when

43:30

it's time to exercise big, prophetic

43:32

voice, we need those

43:34

people first. And

43:36

when it's time to speak up about the racism

43:38

in a joke that's being

43:40

made in real time in your staff

43:42

meetings, sometimes you just gotta open your

43:44

mouth. and say that's not right.

43:47

And you have to just own

43:49

your moral code and own your

43:51

understanding of what's fair and

43:53

just. you need to able to say, well, I

43:55

have noticed that only men are

43:58

on this panel. Right? I

43:59

have noticed

44:02

that you

44:03

know, this

44:05

policy would be absolutely

44:07

terrible for trans people. I have

44:09

noticed. Right? You I mean, you don't always need

44:11

a panel of people. to workshop

44:14

your statement, to speak

44:16

truth to power. But

44:18

what it's a tricky time then

44:20

you should check-in with your people?

44:23

Mhmm. When it comes to

44:25

speaking uncomfortable truths at this

44:28

time, what for you

44:30

are some of the most uncomfortable truths that

44:33

you want to speak to?

44:37

I

44:38

think

44:40

that

44:42

we, as a

44:43

country, are

44:46

still in deep denial about the climate

44:48

emergency. and

44:50

that we are in a deep denial

44:52

about the degree to which Christian

44:55

nationalism has

44:58

been as

44:58

the culmination of fifty years of work on

45:01

their part, fifty, sixty, seventy years

45:03

of work on their part

45:05

really has

45:07

taken over parts of

45:09

our country

45:10

and that it's going

45:12

to be many years of organizing

45:16

the emergency that that

45:18

is. And I think we

45:20

need to talk about the

45:22

ways that

45:24

capitalism

45:25

influences

45:29

so many

45:30

of the things

45:33

that we normalize. you know, the

45:35

sort of who who and what

45:37

is behind, what we

45:39

lift up as

45:43

laudable and, you

45:45

know, talking a little bit

45:47

more explicitly about marketing forces,

45:49

about full therapy, about all of

45:52

that. There are places in pockets where it's

45:54

happening and

45:56

so many places where this

45:59

conversation isn't happening and it needs to be happening in an

46:01

intersectional way because it's all,

46:03

you

46:03

know, systemic racism,

46:04

hurdles all the way

46:08

down.

46:08

Now,

46:09

Rabbi Danya,

46:11

in your

46:12

new series, you you touch on a

46:14

lot of these topics in different

46:18

ways. offering spiritual tools for healing,

46:20

repair, and justice.

46:23

And interestingly, in

46:25

the section on justice,

46:28

you talked about how rest. The

46:31

practice of rest can

46:33

and should be

46:34

a justice issue. Can

46:38

you talk about

46:40

that? In

46:41

the Torah,

46:43

we are told

46:46

They're commanded

46:47

to rest and

46:48

not

46:49

just we, whoever

46:52

we

46:53

is, that is hearing.

46:54

here but

46:55

we and our

46:57

family and our

46:59

workers and the levite

47:02

that is in our

47:04

gates, the levite who does not own land

47:06

and the widow and the orphan and the

47:08

stranger. Right? It's everybody

47:10

in our community,

47:12

those who do not have

47:14

power,

47:14

even our animals.

47:17

Right?

47:19

Shabbat is

47:20

the first labor law

47:22

in

47:22

then

47:26

maybe

47:26

maybe in in history, I don't

47:29

know, definitely in

47:31

our religious history. And

47:34

and it is a labor law.

47:36

And it's a way of

47:38

saying that we are not

47:40

meant to be grinding all

47:43

the time that our humanity matters,

47:46

and everybody's humanity matters

47:48

equally. And

47:50

we

47:50

need to to live like that

47:53

matters. And in

47:55

our culture today,

47:59

getting back

47:59

to

47:59

capitalism. And we

48:01

treat people as

48:04

though their

48:05

primary value is

48:07

in their usefulness.

48:09

During

48:10

the pandemic,

48:12

care rationing was

48:14

stacked against

48:18

disabled people. more

48:18

disabled people died because they were

48:20

deemed not as worthy of

48:23

care, because they were their

48:25

lives were deemed important

48:28

because they were ultimately if

48:30

you drill it down, less useful to society.

48:32

Right? That does not mean there are

48:35

a lot to have less value. they

48:37

were just

48:39

disabled and

48:43

more

48:43

disabled people died.

48:45

The

48:49

exploitation of workers is

48:52

so normalized

48:54

in

48:54

our country. The fact that we

48:56

do not have labor

48:59

laws, to protect

49:01

Amazon workers, from

49:03

working in COVID riddled

49:06

conditions, from having to,

49:08

you know, what pea

49:11

in old cook bottles along the

49:14

way of their roots because they don't have

49:16

enough time

49:18

for proper bathroom breaks.

49:20

I mean, it's a health and sanitation issue.

49:22

Right? The fact that our

49:24

labor laws don't

49:25

allow for that

49:27

is impprehensible. So

49:28

when we decide

49:31

to rest, it is

49:33

a statement this

49:36

culture that says your only value is in what you do,

49:38

is in how you produce,

49:42

is in

49:42

what

49:43

you are for this culture.

49:45

Right? It's who you are

49:48

matters. Right? Your

49:52

wholeness matters. your self matters, your refueling

49:54

matters, your pausing to

49:56

take time for yourself

49:58

and we see this in activist culture too. There's

50:00

a lot of burnout people

50:02

feel like things are so urgent that

50:04

they're not allowed to take time for themselves and

50:06

they feel guilty. It's like, no, you

50:08

need to

50:10

refill. You need to pause and

50:12

and care for yourself, even so

50:14

that you can give the cause, but

50:16

also because you matter. these

50:19

workers that you're fighting for matter and you matter

50:21

too, you're allowed

50:24

to. And

50:26

for everybody to say I'm

50:28

going to rest. It

50:30

is a radical

50:31

proposition in a

50:34

culture that

50:34

is designed to exploit them.

50:36

You're obviously a very

50:37

high achieving person. You've written

50:39

how many how many books that

50:41

you're relatively young

50:44

age? I'm forty seven, I'm

50:45

not that young, but I've

50:48

written three, and then we're up to

50:50

eight, including the edited anthology's.

50:53

very accomplished person.

50:56

How has the practice of rest been

50:58

for you? Is it easy to

50:59

embrace it? Like, sure, you're

51:02

like, well, you know, I think I'm gonna go check my email. I realize it's

51:04

Saturday. It's it's not quite sun

51:06

down, but I mean, it's six hours

51:08

it'll be sun down or no. Is it like it's

51:10

it's easy? This is what I

51:12

need. Shabbat

51:13

is such a

51:16

gift. I started

51:20

keeping Shabbat in my very early twenties when

51:22

I quit my job

51:23

and went freelance.

51:27

and

51:27

realized that I would spend I was

51:30

spending all every day, just

51:32

hustling because when you're

51:34

freelance, you're on the grind all

51:36

the time. and that

51:38

this was this was

51:40

the day. Right? This was the antidote

51:44

to my own burnout. and

51:47

and

51:47

since then

51:49

what my robot practice is has taken

51:52

a lot of different forms over the

51:54

years, but you know,

51:56

now

51:58

with three kids,

51:59

you know, there's a

52:02

lot of you know, snacks and card

52:04

games, kinda chilling, laziness,

52:06

and it is so

52:10

good. And so needed

52:12

and so

52:13

necessary.

52:16

I'm

52:16

so

52:17

grateful for it. Okay,

52:19

rabbi,

52:19

Donahue. Two more things I want to talk

52:22

to you about in terms of

52:24

mending the world. You

52:26

quote the

52:28

Hasidic master Rabbi is saying, all the

52:30

world is a very narrow

52:32

bridge. Mhmm. What does

52:34

that mean?

52:34

does that mean

52:38

It

52:40

means

52:44

I

52:44

in in i I

52:46

almost don't answer that question because I think it means a

52:48

lot of different things for a lot of

52:51

different people. And

52:53

and

52:54

in responding to

52:55

this Mending, I don't

52:58

want to take

52:59

away

53:01

from

53:02

your

53:04

or anyone else's

53:06

reading of that

53:08

line. And I wanna read the

53:12

whole line All

53:13

the world

53:16

is a very narrow bridge. The

53:19

the main thing Lola

53:21

Fahed Clal is not to be afraid at all.

53:25

Right?

53:26

ah

53:27

It's

53:31

difficult to speak in

53:33

a human

53:36

being business. It

53:37

is perilous.

53:38

It is

53:39

painful. It

53:41

is sometimes

53:43

horrible.

53:45

Maybe Nachman

53:45

did

53:46

not have an easy life.

53:48

Okay?

53:48

Anything you might think

53:51

about nineteenth century Ukraine you

53:54

know, it's not easy

53:56

to start with, and he

53:59

himself lost basically

54:02

all of his family to illness and his

54:04

house burned down and, you know, then he lived

54:06

this town because of the cossacks and,

54:09

you know, came to you

54:12

know, whatever.

54:13

Like, he was he was a man

54:15

who suffered and

54:18

you have to just keep walking

54:20

and you think about what you

54:22

do on a very narrow bridge

54:25

trying to hold this

54:27

twin poles of keeping

54:30

steady. Do you look

54:32

down? Do

54:33

you not?

54:34

the not Just keep

54:36

walking. keep

54:38

breathing, keep moving ahead, and

54:40

you try not to be terrified as

54:42

you take that next step. What

54:45

if

54:45

you are terrified?

54:48

that

54:50

That's the the

54:51

main thing is

54:53

not to be. And I

54:55

will tell you that Ravi Nachman evidently

54:57

struggled a lot with

54:59

well what

55:01

we probably

55:02

would call depression.

55:04

These days, and people have tried to,

55:06

you know, diagnose him from

55:08

afar. I'm not gonna do that, but

55:10

a lot

55:13

of

55:15

rabbis preach the sermons

55:17

that we need to hear.

55:20

I think he

55:22

was teaching the Torah that

55:23

he needed to hear himself.

55:27

Mhmm. Alright.

55:28

Towards the beginning of our conversation, you

55:30

shared a bit about

55:32

your mom's death and what

55:36

you went through in

55:38

grieving her

55:40

passing.

55:40

And one of

55:42

the

55:42

comments that you offer

55:44

in

55:44

mending the world this audio

55:46

series, which sounds true

55:48

is in Judaism,

55:51

prayer and pain. prayer and

55:53

weeping are in some

55:55

ways deeply intertwined.

55:59

And that really moved me because I think sometimes we

56:02

think of prayer as

56:04

something that's like all love and light and

56:06

everything not

56:08

connected to

56:09

our weeping. And I I

56:12

wonder if you can comment on

56:14

that.

56:15

In Judaism, we

56:16

call prayer, avudash, shebeliev, the work

56:19

of the heart.

56:21

It is about taking

56:24

what is on our heart

56:28

and finding it

56:30

the it lifting

56:32

it up, and I

56:34

think offering it up to what

56:36

I would call God. I would

56:38

call it. design

56:39

the great interconnectedness, everything,

56:42

universe, whatever words, just

56:44

offering it up and out

56:47

and saying here. have it.

56:48

And sometimes what we

56:51

offer up is gratitude and sometimes what

56:53

we offer up is longing and sometimes

56:55

what we offer up

56:58

is raise. And sometimes what we offer

57:01

up is anger

57:03

and sometimes

57:04

what we offer up is pain.

57:08

the Thomas teaches

57:10

all the

57:10

gates of heaven are locked except for

57:12

the gates of tears, which are

57:16

never locked. Right? Like,

57:17

there's always

57:17

room for

57:20

our tears

57:21

for our heart

57:22

to be broken open.

57:26

And for me, that prayer, that connection

57:29

And I don't believe

57:30

in Mending theology. Please, I you

57:33

know, my my conception of a is

57:35

not one that's like a man in the sky being like, oh,

57:37

we'll we'll give Billy a Porsche. Like, that that

57:39

sort of prosperity theology is not

57:42

it. Like, you

57:44

plug in you offer up, you

57:45

give out, you

57:48

say, please take this. It's

57:50

free.

57:50

It's not mine anymore.

57:54

and you're transformed.

57:57

And

57:57

then you are more able

57:59

to do the

57:59

work you need to do in the world because you

58:02

have connected the big

58:04

business. And given what you need to

58:06

give and then you can go do your work

58:08

and sometimes what you need to give

58:10

are tears and tears and tears

58:12

and more tears. I should

58:13

know. It was just young people and I cried my

58:15

face off.

58:17

Right? That's,

58:20

you know, We name the pain. We name the suffering. We let it

58:22

out. To conclude, rabbi

58:24

Donahue,

58:24

can you lead us

58:28

in some kind of blessing here at the end of our

58:30

conversation for all of our insights at

58:32

the edge listeners joining us right

58:34

here, something something that feels

58:36

natural and

58:38

true. The first thing that popped into my head,

58:39

I usually, I will

58:42

say, I'm a

58:42

very fond of improvisational

58:48

free willing spontaneous blessings, but the first

58:50

thing that popped into

58:52

my head. So I'm

58:55

going with that. is

58:56

the traditional priestly blessing. So

58:58

I'm gonna go

58:59

with that.

59:00

This is the

59:02

blessing that the

59:06

high priest in the

59:07

ancient temple in Jerusalem would offer to

59:09

the people.

59:12

And

59:12

this is the blessing

59:16

that Many parents give their children on

59:18

Friday Insights.

59:22

You've

59:25

a blessing, I don't know if you're shmall came.

59:27

May God bless

59:27

you

59:31

and keep

59:32

you? Maybe

59:34

am at an open up a lesson

59:36

the huneck face

59:40

we now face

59:42

of

59:43

radiance shine upon you and

59:45

bring you grace.

59:50

i don't i have

59:52

another lesson within the some

59:54

shalom

59:58

make the face of

59:59

all

59:59

interconnectedness lift

1:00:03

up

1:00:03

to you. and

1:00:05

bring you peace. I've

1:00:08

been

1:00:08

speaking with

1:00:11

rabbi Donia Rattenberg which sounds true. She's the author of

1:00:13

the new eight part audio

1:00:16

series. It's called Men of

1:00:18

the World. spiritual

1:00:20

tools for healing, repair,

1:00:22

and justice. Rabbi

1:00:24

Danya, thank you so much. It's been so

1:00:26

great to commune with you in this

1:00:28

way. Thank you.

1:00:29

Thank you. And if

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