Episodios

  • Neshamah Project Podcast: Episode 89: Desire and the First Fruits of the Heart

    Neshamah Project Podcast: Episode 89: Desire and the First Fruits of the Heart
    Sep 10 2025
    In this week’s episode, we explore the mitzvah of bringing the first fruits and the deeper spiritual meaning hidden within it. The Maor VaShemesh teaches that the practice is not only about gratitude, but about desire itself—how we meet our strongest cravings and transform them into offerings of the heart. Along the way, he weaves the story of Laban, Egypt, and the gathering of holy sparks into a map for spiritual life, reminding us that every act of restraint, every pause before pleasure, can help repair something ancient. What does it mean today to dedicate our “first fruits”—our first energy, first thoughts, first creativity—to the sacred?
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    24 m
  • The Neshamah Project: Episode 88 – Returning the Ox, Building the Guardrail

    The Neshamah Project: Episode 88 – Returning the Ox, Building the Guardrail
    Sep 6 2025
    Two Hasidic masters read the portion of Ki Teitzei in strikingly different yet complementary ways. The Maor VaShemesh teaches that “returning a lost ox or sheep” is about guiding a friend back when their awe or love has strayed—while also knowing when silence and patience are the greater acts of care. The Maor Einayim turns the command to build a guardrail on your roof into a teaching about guarding the mind itself, raising thought in silence to the Divine when faced with adversity. Together, these teachings offer modern seekers wisdom on friendship, boundaries, resilience, and cultivating inner guardrails of awareness.
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    16 m
  • Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 87: Rebbe Nachman's Tale of Trust

    Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 87: Rebbe Nachman's Tale of Trust
    Aug 31 2025
    A Tale of Trust — Rebbe Nachman tells the story of a king who, despite his wealth, discovers true freedom from worry in the joy and faith of a poor fiddler. Again and again, the fiddler’s livelihood is taken from him, yet he adapts with trust, resilience, and song—until even iron itself turns to wood. A timeless teaching on living with radical trust in the midst of uncertainty.
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    16 m
  • Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 86: Justice as Sacred Partnership

    Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 86: Justice as Sacred Partnership
    Aug 30 2025
    What if every act of honest judgment made you a partner in the unfolding of Creation? In this episode, we explore mystical and Hasidic teachings on justice from Degel Machaneh Ephraim and Maor VaShemesh. These powerful texts invite us to see righteous discernment—not just in courtrooms, but in our inner lives—as a sacred act of cosmic co-creation. We’ll uncover how true leadership begins with integrity, how our intentions shape spiritual realities, and how becoming our own inner judge and officer can lead to profound healing, both personal and collective.
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    19 m
  • Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 85

    Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 85
    Aug 22 2025
    In this episode of The Neshamah Project Podcast, we explore two teachings from the Maor VaShemesh on Parashat Re’eh. The first reminds us that the fullness of any mitzvah is revealed when practiced in humility and within community, where the “whole commandment” is lived through collective intention. The second turns our attention to longing itself as a sacred practice: even when commandments tied to the land or Temple cannot be fulfilled, we are called to yearn, to hope, and to hold them in our hearts. Together, these teachings guide the modern seeker toward belonging, humility, and holy yearning.
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    15 m
  • Neshamah Project: Episode 84- A Torah Too Vast for This World

    Neshamah Project: Episode 84- A Torah Too Vast for This World
    Aug 12 2025
    In this episode, Rabbi Ben explores the Maor VaShemesh’s teaching on Parashat Eikev, revealing a Torah so vast it had to be compressed to fit into our world. We journey from the primordial origins of Torah, teshuvah, and Eden to the promise of their full unfolding in the world of soul. Along the way, we find that even now—amid our limitations—the covenant and kindness are still safeguarded for us.
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    18 m
  • Neshamah Project Episode 83: Light Through Contrast: Korach, the Firmament, and Thriving in Imperfection

    Neshamah Project Episode 83: Light Through Contrast: Korach, the Firmament, and Thriving in Imperfection
    Jun 26 2025
    In this episode we explore the Noam Elimelekh’s radical insight that the very presence of darkness makes our light shine brighter. Beginning with Korach’s act of “separating himself” and the Genesis image of the rakia—­the luminous firmament that divides the waters—we uncover how contrast protects the sincere seeker and turns even small acts of goodness into radiant beacons. Rabbi Ben offers a concise teaching, a contemporary reflection for everyday life, and a short guided meditation to help you rest in the wholeness that emerges through imperfection.
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    14 m
  • Neshamah Project Episode 82: Choosing Light

    Neshamah Project Episode 82: Choosing Light
    Jun 20 2025
    In this episode, we explore a luminous teaching from Kedushat Levi on Parashat Sh’lach: that the glory of the Divine isn’t revealed through perfection or purity, but through our very human capacity to choose goodness in the face of struggle. Drawing on the mystical insight that free will is what makes our spiritual path meaningful, Rabbi Ben Newman reflects on how each moment of conscious choice—each act of compassion, restraint, or faithfulness—helps to fill the world with Divine presence. This is a message of spiritual empowerment for anyone who’s ever felt overwhelmed, inadequate, or distant from holiness. Through real-life examples and soulful insight, we reframe the inner battle not as a failure, but as a sacred opportunity to partner with the Divine in revealing light.
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    10 m