Shows / The Neshamah Project
Episodes
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 125: The Power of Presence
Three teachings from the Degel Machaneh Ephraim on Vayera offer practical ways to bring Jewish mysticism into daily life. Rabbi Ben Newman explores the healing…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 124: Three Journeys
This week on The Neshamah Project, Rabbi Ben Newman explores the Noam Elimelekh’s reading of Lech Lecha as three journeys of spiritual transformation: working…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 123: A Practice for Sukkot--Entering What Is Here
What can a sukkah teach us about meeting difficult emotions? This week, Rabbi Ben Newman shares a simple practice: let the story rest, enter the feeling, and…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 122: Riffin' with the Rabbis
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, Rabbi Ben Newman revives Riffing with the Rabbi with longtime friend Marcia Salter, joined along the way by Rabbi…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 121: 52 Gates/September Both/And
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, I read “September, Both/And,” a reflection from my book 52 Gates: Reflections on Living. September carries its own…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 120: Sweetening the Judgements
In this teaching from the Degel Machaneh Ephraim, righteous judgment becomes an act of creation. Through the shofar, harsh judgment is transformed and…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 119: Taste it, Find it, Choose it
This week on The Neshamah Project, we explore three teachings from the Or HaChayyim on the opening words of Parashat Re’eh: “See, I place before you today…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Episode 118: One Stone at a Time
In this episode, Rabbi Ben explores two teachings from the Degel Machaneh Ephraim about how spiritual transformation unfolds. Every action becomes a stone: one…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Episode 117: Interview with Professor Shaul Magid
Professor Shaul Magid (Harvard Divinity School) joins me for a conversation about spirituality and the political. We trace his path from the seventies…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project 116: Living with Mystery
In this episode, Rabbi Ben explores the mystery of the red heifer through the teaching of the Or HaChaim. Rather than treating mystery as a problem to solve…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 115: Spiritual Maturity
This week on The Neshamah Project, Rabbi Ben Newman explores three mystical commentaries on Korach—from the Moroccan kabbalists Abir Yaakov and Or HaChayim…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 114: Being and Nothingness
Rabbi Ben Newman is joined by Rabbi Shoshana Leis for a lively exploration of a Hasidic teaching on ayin and yesh—emptiness and being. Together they reflect on…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 113: The Goal is Unity
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, Rabbi Ben explores a teaching from the Noam Elimelech on the Menorah as a symbol of spiritual integration. At the…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 112: Pleasure as a Crown for the Divine
In this week’s episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore a teaching from the Noam Elimelech on Nasso about wonder, desire, and sacred participation in the…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 111: Humility and Renewal
A teaching from R' Elimelekh of Lezhinsk, Noam Elimelekh, on BaMidbar, Numbers 1:1, 2:1 on humility and renewal.
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Episode 110: A Taste of Reenchantment
This week on The Neshamah Project, Rabbi Ben Newman explores a visionary teaching from the Meor Einayim, in which Shabbat becomes far more than a day of rest…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast- Episode 109: Same Letters, Different World
Ephraim on the spiritual power of letters, language, and perception. Drawing on a story of the Baal Shem Tov transforming a harsh decree into “only a trace of…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 108: Inner Freedom
During the week of Passover, this episode explores the Exodus as an inner journey rather than a distant story. Drawing on Hasidic and mystical teachings, Rabbi…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 107: The Architecture of Illumination
In this episode we will dive into two comments from the Degel on Parshat Tetzaveh. The Degel reads tetzaveh not only as “command,” but as tzavta — connection —…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project-Epsiode 106: Taking the Infinite Home
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, Rabbi Ben Newman explores the deeper meaning of “Vayikchu li terumah” — not as giving something to God, but as taking…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Epsiode 105: The Hidden Ledger
A mystical reading of Mishpatim that reframes justice as part of a longer soul-arc. Drawing on the Degel Machaneh Ephraim and the Zohar, this episode explores…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 104: Redemption Is Singular, Power That Lifts
his episode of The Neshamah Project explores a Hasidic teaching that insists liberation happens one person at a time, each according to their own inner…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project: Tu Bishvat Special | The Great Chain
For Tu Bishvat, I recorded a special episode of The Neshamah Project Podcast that moves from soil to soul. A spoken-word meditation on the four layers of…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Epsiode 103: The Long Way Around
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore a piercing teaching from the Noam Elimelekh on the Exodus that reframes Pharaoh as the inner force of…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 102: Does a Golem Count?
A dream-text from R. Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin wrestles with a haunting question: what does it mean to count as a person in sacred community? Moving through…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 101: The Power That Heals or Harms
This week we explore two Hasidic teachings on Parashat Va’era that ask how spiritual power becomes healing rather than harmful. Drawing on the Degel Machaneh…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast: Episode 100-Names in Motion
What if meaning isn’t something we think our way into, but something we do our way into? In this episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore a teaching from…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 99: The Purpose of Descent
This week we look at two Hasidic readings of Vayeshev that together map the inner life: Siach Chayyim teaches that the soul’s descent into this world is…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast: Episode 98-Two Camps & The Hidden Face: Wrestling with the Inner Esau
This episode explores how our words of Torah, prayer, and intention become “messengers” that protect and guide us when we face our inner Esau, the parts of us…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 97: The Inner Journey
In this week’s episode we explore commentaries from the Skulyer Rebbe and the Or HaMeir, each offering a fierce little window into inner change—lifting…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project: Episode 96- Mysterious Realms
This episode weaves three Degel teachings from Toldot into one arc: Torah-awareness as the “added hey” that opens new possibilities, the idea that our personal…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast: Episode 95- Becoming Sarah/Shechinah
This week we sit with the Degel’s teaching that Sarah—Shekhinah—becomes “whole” in Kiryat Arba, the place where four directions of Divine flow meet. The…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 94: The Body as a Doorway Between Worlds
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore two luminous teachings from the Maor VaShemesh that reveal how embodied life itself can become a vessel for…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project: Episode 93: Go Forth--The Call Beyond Comfort
In this episode, Rabbi Ben Newman reflects on a teaching from the Maor VaShemesh about Abraham’s journey as a metaphor for our own spiritual unfolding. What…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 92: The Tree, Light, and Death
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore a luminous teaching from the Kedushat Levi on Genesis 2:17. Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev reimagines the…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamaha Project: Episode 91- All Is Breath: The Maor VaShemesh on Kohelet
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore two luminous teachings from the Maor VaShemesh on Kohelet. First, “All is breath” — a vision of life as…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 90: Sparks of Return
After the death of Aaron’s sons, the Torah places the Yom Kippur service—why there, and why “not at all times” yet “once a year”? Drawing on the Maor…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast: Episode 89: Desire and the First Fruits of the Heart
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 Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project: Episode 88 – Returning the Ox, Building the Guardrail
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…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 87: Rebbe Nachman's Tale of Trust
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…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 86: Justice as Sacred Partnership
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…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 85
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…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project: Episode 84- A Torah Too Vast for This World
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…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 83: Light Through Contrast: Korach, the Firmament, and Thriving in Imperfection
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…
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Neshamah Project Episode 82: Choosing Light
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…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 81- Raise the Light: Aharon, Integrity, and the Menorah
Why does Rashi praise Aharon simply for not deviating from a command? In this episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore a deep teaching from the Degel…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast: Episode 80: The Blessing of Light Seen
This week we dive into the Degel Machaneh Ephraim’s luminous reading of the Priestly Blessing, unpacking what it means for grace to be both given and…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 79: Quiet Greatness
In this episode, we explore the Maor VaShemesh’s teaching on how true spiritual maturity moves from loud, visible striving to quiet, inward devotion. Drawing…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast: Episode 78: Stranger in a Strange Land
This week, we explore teachings from Degel Machaneh Ephraim on Parashat Behar, offering guidance for modern spiritual seekers. What does it mean to be a…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 77: How We Read It
We explore a mystical Hasidic teaching from the Degel Machaneh Ephraim on Parashat Emor—how Divine speech becomes healing or harmful depending on how we…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 76: The Two Goats: Wholeness Through Shadow and Light
In this episode, we explore a mystical passage from the Zohar (Pinchas 102:679) that unpacks the ancient Yom Kippur ritual of the two goats—one offered to…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 75: Words Create Worlds
A soul-stirring teaching from Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl (the Me’or Einayim) on Metzora — how our words create worlds, how harmful speech diminishes…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Episode 74: Elijah's Fire-Yearning Toward Wholeness
In this week’s episode, we dive into a powerful teaching from the Me’or Einayim on Parashat Pinchas (with a nod to Shemini)—exploring the mystical link between…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 73: Between the Sea and the Fire-Spiritual Courage in Times of Crisis
In this episode, we journey through the mystical depths of three Hasidic masters—Maor VaShemesh, Esh Kodesh, and Mei HaShiloach—each offering profound insight…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast Episode 72
This episode explores a luminous teaching from the Me’or Einayim on Parashat Tzav—revealing how Torah can elevate us when we tap into the Hidden Light the…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 71: The Whisper That Calls Us Back
Episode Title: The Whisper That Calls Us Back In this episode, we explore a teaching from the Degel Machaneh Ephraim that reminds us a divine call to return…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project: Episode 70: The Sacred Crown and the Hidden Spark
"They made the tzitz, the sacred crown…" (Exodus 39:30). How can lifting our eyes to the heavens help us uncover hidden wisdom — even in a fragmented and…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Podcast: Episode 69
In this episode we present two commentaries on the Torah portion Vayakhel-- one by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov, the Degel Machneh Efraim, and one by…
The Neshamah ProjectNeshamah Project Episode 68: Purim and Esh Kodesh
In this special Purim episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore two powerful teachings from the Esh Kodesh, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, delivered in the…
The Neshamah ProjectThe Neshamah Project Podcast Episode 67
In this episode of The Neshamah Project, we explore a deep teaching from the Degel Machaneh Ephraim about the spiritual connection between work, wisdom, and…