Episode 37 We are so used to making brachot, to saying blessings as we go through our daily tasks and in our prayers. But what is a bracha? In this class we explore the deeper dimensions of what a bracha is, and what it might mean to engage in the practice of making and saying brachot in the moments of our lives. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vQ_Xqcgjck67IxQ_PaS8_hhAW5AmuYC4A2D4KNntNVg/edit?usp=sharing ***** Please support Rabbi Ami and this podcast by contributing here, designati...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 10 min
Episode 36 “Tefillah is a space for me to not exist in a splintered reality… a place to unify my reality.. in Rebbe Nachman’s words, ‘to make the entire tefillah one’”. In this episode of Awakening, we explore approaching Tefillah as a way of coming into contact with our source of life, through savoring and attaching ourselves to the experience. Join Rav Ami as he guides us through teachings from Rav Kook and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kt15BhAm3waWRn8V...
Jan 26, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Episode 35 In the eyes of the Hasidic masters, we do not pray to God—we pray *with* God. Join Rav Ami as he guides us through teachings on tefillah from the Baal Shem Tov, Rav Pinchas of Koretz, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and the Piaseczner Rebbe. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kx2DBx2HvX-ty-G5I-LdaKhE73iSuRUm23ckXezlcFc/edit?usp=sharing ***** Please support Rabbi Ami and this podcast by contributing here, designating “Awakening”: https://www.paypal.me/shefapodcastnetwork This podcas...
Jan 19, 2020•57 min
Join Rav Ami as he guides us in a kavanah for taking three steps backward and forward, inward and outward, to enter into prayer in Presence. ***** Please support Rabbi Ami and this podcast by contributing here, designating “Awakening”: https://www.paypal.me/shefapodcastnetwork This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Rav Daniel Kohn. Help support him by purchasing his music. Audio is by David Kwan.
Jan 17, 2020•25 min
Episode 34 Can we really stand in prayer before our Creator? Is it possible to approach God in our humanness, or do we leave our shortcomings behind when we show up to daven? This week, Rabbi Ami shares the sources behind the approach to tefillah - taking three steps back and forth, and the opening words of the amidah - to discover the possibility of bridging the impossible gap. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ivvo3JZjLhkEuvnd0doldsH3oQu5hnt4wGQCIpqcKuY/edit?usp=sharing ***** Please...
Jan 12, 2020•58 min
A meditation on joining together with God, in Presence, based on a teaching from the Piaseczner Rebbe. ***** Please support Rabbi Ami's teaching and this podcast, designating “Awakening” with your contribution: https://www.paypal.me/shefapodcastnetwork This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is by Rabbi Daniel Kohn. To purchase, go to his cdbaby page . Audio is by David Kwan ....
Jan 09, 2020•27 min
Episode 34 While much of the language and forms of prayer tend to be outward-directed, tefillah is an invitation to turn inward, to cultivate an internal space in which we can meet ourselves together with the Divine. This teaching from the Piaseczner Rebbe helps guide us into that space. Sources: Aish Kodesh, Ki Teitzeh ת״ש ***** Please support this podcast by contributing here, designating “Awakening”: https://www.paypal.me/shefapodcastnetwork This podcast is supported in part from a grant from...
Jan 05, 2020•1 hr 9 min
A guided meditation on opening the space of the heart - makom halev - as the space for prayer. Please support this podcast by contributing here, designating “Awakening”: https://www.paypal.me/shefapodcastnetwork This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Rav Daniel Kohn. Help support him by purchasing his music. Audio is by David Kwan.
Jan 02, 2020•24 min
Episode 33 Our primary sources point to prayer as a prophetic practice - the direct meeting between human beings and their Creator. The fixed prayers we have are based on this direct communication, and are an attempt and opportunity to reclaim that connection. We’ll explore these themes with the help of Leonard Cohen and the Piaseczner Rebbe. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZLL5kyyw0VXYAUTwXFl7XZr0QZ8ybGR3bMWfNEi6y9U/edit?usp=sharing ***** This podcast is supported in part from a gr...
Dec 29, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Hanukkah teachings from the Piacezner Rebbe
Dec 23, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Episode 32 This week we continue to explore the entryway into tefilla, and look at the heart as the place of prayer, the locus for encountering ourselves together with the Divine. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aJ52Ts6LvEiea-EPIGCO-YSya8GBIqgcOv8nh8TpDvU/edit?usp=sharing ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is by Rabbi Daniel Kohn. To purchase, go to his cdbaby page . Audio is by David Kwan ....
Dec 16, 2019•54 min
Rabbi Ami helps support his teaching from this week with a meditative practice.
Dec 10, 2019•17 min
Episode 31 The Mishnah teaches that the basic orientation to prayer is to bring ourselves into presence, to align ourselves and let our attention rest in the here and now. Here, Rabbi Ami explores the underpinnings of this practice, from the Torah through the Mishnah and into its practical application in preparing ourselves for prayer. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kxS1EBqaSDHrDaMJD0zofTgYTRtlXFVku-VkQJQDveI/edit?usp=sharing ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant fro...
Dec 08, 2019•47 min
Episode 30 Prayer is the centerpiece of our daily spiritual practice, and as we’ve been exploring in the previous sessions, it’s at the heart of what it means to be human. But is it a mitzvah? Is prayer actually a command, or is it something else? Rabbi Ami contemplates the nature of prayer and the relationship between human instinct, creative purpose, and religious obligation. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s_K3yKIMDMlTvgGNEnLu11rJarzusabGrYHJGt81znA/edit?usp=sharing ***** This po...
Dec 01, 2019•57 min
Episode 28 On this episode of Awakening, Rabbi Ami explores prayer as part of our basic identity as human beings. The Jewish tradition teaches that we are born from the prayer of the universe. This is not merely a spiritual or mythic message - it carries a key to understanding our place in the evolutionary process, and guiding us in how we may take part in our purpose as part of this grand ecosystem. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CCtdqR4bhdO3wMs1MbUuacRAlhRRk5wZ0of6dzW71Fs/edit?us...
Nov 24, 2019•54 min
Episode 027 What are the roots of prayer? Where does tefillah come from - in the universe, in the human psyche? The Rabbis identify prayer as emerging from the very fabric of Creation itself, speaking through our own being. Rabbi Ami shares his insight and his deep intuition in this continuation of this new series. Sources: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HKSKtd-0oR6BzxFhaDi9zR1eK21T8UJc4XV1b4CAz9A ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is by Rabb...
Nov 17, 2019•51 min
027 We often translate Tefillah as “prayer”, but what is the meaning of this word in its original form? This class explores a number of uses of this word throughout the Torah, and the way that its meaning is refracted through those stories and their interpretations. Once we can uncover some of the meanings of this word, we can begin to ask - how do we engage in Tefillah? Sources: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11JpDQ3vcNUWYaWw-Gl-pW9lo8ZXiLeoUdNhMqKnBMvU
Nov 10, 2019•55 min
Rabbi Ami announces the new way forward with his focus on prayer.
Nov 08, 2019•31 sec
Episode 026 This is the first class Rabbi Ami ever gave in the Piaseczner Rebbe’s writings. It’s a broad introduction to the Rebbe’s life and writings, including a broad overview of the Rebbe’s various sefarim, historical background about the Rebbe’s life, stories about the Rebbe and his family, and a biographical sketch. The class ends with a framing of the Rebbe’s teachings through a powerful piece from Aish Kodesh. Sources: Aish Kodesh, parshat Yitro
Oct 25, 2019•1 hr 25 min
In honor of David HaMelech, the end of the seal, prayers for salvation and redeeming the beauty of being alive.
Oct 20, 2019•41 min
The central practice of Yom Kippur is vidui - confession of wrongdoings. What is the goal of this? Is it make us feel guilty and ashamed? How does this lead us to teshuva or closeness to God? On this episode of Awakening, Rabbi Ami explores the role of vidui and teshuva on Yom Kippur, and look to Rebbe Nachman of Breslov to help guide us through its transformative process. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Rabbi Daniel Kohn. To purchase, g...
Oct 06, 2019•1 hr 1 min
“When we blow the shofar, we ourselves don’t make a sound; we express the breath of our hearts, “the voice of my Beloved is pounding…” it’s the Divine voice within our hearts, screaming to us, to give it space to be revealed… that is the sound of the shofar” Sources: Derech Hamelech, Rosh Hashana תרפ״ו ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is by Rabbi Daniel Kohn. To purchase, go to his cdbaby page . Audio is by David Kwan ....
Sep 26, 2019•51 min
Where does Teshuva begin? Where can we turn to draw on faith? In this piece for Rosh Hashana, the Piaseczner reframes Teshuva as tuning into the frequency of life, and Emunah as being a platform for the Divine. Learn along with Reb Ami in part one of a two part series. Source: Derech Hamelech, תרפ״ו ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is by Rabbi Daniel Kohn. To purchase, go to his cdbaby page . Audio is by David Kwan ....
Sep 22, 2019•46 min
Episode 025 Rosh Hashana is a day of awe - the kind of awe that comes from closeness, and a revealed encounter with our Creator. In this piece brought by Rabbi Ami, the Piaseczner Rebbe explores the nature of this revelation, and points us inward to discover the meeting point with God within our own prayers, through our own voice. Sources: Derech Hamelech, Rosh Hashana, ״קולי שמעת אל תעלם אזנך לרוחתי לשועתי״ ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is...
Sep 15, 2019•36 min
Episode 024 This is a teaching on exile, the exile of the soul, of the world and of the Divine itself. Oftentimes we think that teshuva - the return to God - is about overcoming our own shortcomings, and repenting for our sins and misdeeds. But the Piaseczner Rebbe reframes teshuva, not as a narrowly focused battle with ourselves, but as something much more fundamental: our deep need and desire to return home. Beneath all of our prayers, there is a single, persistent prayer, “God, why have You a...
Sep 08, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Episode 023 In this continuation of the Piaseczner Rebbe’s teaching on prayer and Torah learning, we explore two kinds of pleasure on the spiritual path - the pleasure of grasping for something that you cannot grasp, the experiences that give us greater hunger for more; and the pleasure of integrating our experiences of the unknown, and coming to know something deeply in our bodies and minds. Join Rabbi Ami’s teaching as the Rebbe brings us closer to both of these modes of being, and offers us a...
Sep 01, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Episode 022 In this piece from Derech Hamelech, the Piaseczner Rebbe guides us on the search for wholeness in our spiritual path. In prayer, we can encounter our wholeness, can experience an undifferentiated light that surrounds us in its totality. Torah study is the search to come to know that light, to recover our wholeness and absorb it into the particular vessels of our body and mind. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is by Rabbi Daniel Koh...
Aug 25, 2019•1 hr
Episode 21 The Piaseczner Rebbe’s Hashkata meditation is a step-by-step practice with detailed instructions for developing our inner workings (middot). It is the work of quieting the constant stream of thoughts, cultivating positive qualities in ourselves, and being our own best parent. Rabbi Ami guides us through this practice, and places it in the broader lens of the Rebbe’s teachings. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute . Music is by Rabbi Daniel Kohn...
Aug 18, 2019•1 hr 2 min
On Tisha B’Av, we ask unanswerable questions. We gaze into the wounds of the world and don’t turn away from the pain. Rather we search for ways to be with it, and find a way to rebuild through it and with it. This Torah from the Aish Kodesh is about showing us a path forward from within the darkness. In this powerful piece from Aish Kodesh, the Piaseczner leads us into deep questions about suffering. From within the darkness, he shines a path for us towards finding connection, empathy, hope and ...
Aug 10, 2019•1 hr 12 min
Episode 020 This short piece from the Piaseczner Rebbe’s journal offers us a powerful invitation to experience prayer in intimate connection with the natural world, and all of Creation. After reading through this piece to unpack its meaning, Rabbi Ami ends with a brief meditation to apply the Rebbe’s words in practice. Sources: Tzav Vezeiruz 18 ***** Please take a moment to complete our listener survey so we can help improve our offerings, and get to know more about those learning with Rabbi Ami...
Aug 04, 2019•21 min
