Judaism Unbound

For Mandie McGlynn, founder of Selah Spiritual Care, tarot can serve as a deeply meaningful modality for Jewish experience. McGlynn joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg on this week’s episode to discuss her use of tarot as part of the preparatory work of the month of Elul (the on-ramp month before the High Holidays), through an initiative she created called “Turning Toward Life.” This episode is the second in a mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring tarot through Jewish lenses.

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Tarot is known to be a practice of reading, of uncovering important meaning behind the symbols each card evokes. But what if there’s an even deeper, secret connection to not just our lives as a whole, but our lives as Jews? For data scientist and author Stav Appel, happening upon a 17th century forgotten tarot deck took him on a journey through Torah and time.

Appel’s Deck and accompanying Booklet, analyzing the Noblet Tarot’s connections to Jewish tradition, are available for preorder through our friends at Ayin Press -- order it here!

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Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

We are proud to introduce the 3rd podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts: Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness, hosted by Jericho Vincent. 

"We are the ancestors of the future." This new podcast offers a spiritual home for listeners seeking to connect Jewish ancestral, feminist wisdom with their own svara: moral intuition. Each episode of this limited series delves into a different story of our ancestor Miriam, illuminating her mystical teachings and offering practical tools for navigating and flourishing in personal or political spiritual wildernesses. We're thrilled to periodically feature episodes of Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness here on Judaism Unbound. But we don't only feature those episodes alone. Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman, two members of Judaism Unbound's team, supplement each episode with some gemara (commentary) as well. We hope that our ideas will help spur you to form your own gemara, and channel your unique teachings -- about this podcast and beyond -- into the world. 

Subscribe to Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness anywhere that podcasts are found!

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Amid pain and fear, joy can sometimes feel like betrayal. Yet, the mystics point out that Miriam’s joyful song at the Red Sea is a major liberatory act. In this episode of Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness (with Judaism Unbound Gemara/commentary from Lex and Rena Yehuda), our teacher Miriam has some sharp and clear advice. We also dive into the subject of tambourines, somatic experiencing, the mystical power and gender politics of a circle, bell hooks, and a practice for bringing Miriam’s living Torah into our own lives. 

In Pirkei Avot, one can find the Hebrew teaching to “carry the burden with your friend.” In today’s episode, Torah Studio leaders Lexi Kohanski and Liana Wertman join the Judaism Unbound podcast to discuss their latest offerings in keeping with this lesson, including a class on personal torah and stewardship called Trans Torah for Our Terrible Times. They also share ideas regarding what the significance of torah/Torah can mean for communal and creative learning, in a moment that demands a new level of spiritual grit and gentleness.

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Now, we’re down to the marrow. Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg wrap a mini-series dive into the role of meat— and specifically, the pig — in Jewish life. They do this with an assessment of their own eating habits, reflections on autonomy and identity, and thoughts for practitioners the world over on how to incorporate more openness into our understandings of what it means to eat Jewishly.

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Catch up on previous episodes in this mini-series on the Jewish discourse around meat with Episode 488- Meat: The Key to Jewish History? - John Efron and Episode 487: Pigs Are Very Jewish - Jordan Rosenblum.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!