Judaism Unbound

Rest to Return is a podcast for a restless world. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is your host. This series is rooted in Shabbat, an ancient Jewish practice that teaches us how to belong to time. Here, rest is a sacred rhythm woven into who we are. We continue by gathering around a single question: What makes time sacred?

1. The concept that each of us is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the Divine Image, comes from Genesis 1:27.


2. The first person who I heard crystalise the idea that we need to reach REM sleep in order to dream was Rev Dr Tony Lim, during a gathering of Spiritual Innovators at the Fetzer Institute.


3. The idea that dreaming is one-sixtieth of prophecy comes from Berakhot 57b.


4. The concept of the Jubilee can be found in Leviticus 25:8-16.


5. I first learned about Soli-lunar time from Seasons of our Joy: A Modern Guide to the Jewish Holidays by Reb Arthur Waskow z”l.


6. Geoffrey Chaucer was a writer and poet who lived in the 1300s; he was best known for having written The Canterbury Tales.


7. I learned “Who Make the Future?” at Let My People Sing; the song is by Abigail Bengson of the Bengsons.

Enjoy the live version of Lay it Down, Let it Go here.

Check out the Rest to Return webpage for photos, info about the Rest to Return retreat, and more!

This episode is brought to you by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Rest to Return exists because we believe slowing down is a spiritual act. IJS believes that too. For over two decades, IJS has been helping people go deeper, through Jewish mindfulness meditation, contemplative prayer, sacred text study, and embodied practice. Their offerings range from online courses and silent retreats to immersive cohort programs for seekers of all experience levels, clergy, and spiritual leaders who are ready to live and lead from a more grounded place. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is part of IJS’s core faculty, and the wisdom you'll hear in this series is very much in that spirit. If this podcast is stirring something in you, IJS is a place to go further. Explore their programs, and more ways to learn and practice with Keshira, at jewishspirituality.org, including:

• View the latest offerings from IJS in our program catalog


• Join Keshira and others on retreat this August: Returning Anew


• Learn more about Shevet, IJS's community for younger adults (20s-30s)


• IJS has several online free practices with Keshira and our other faculty including our live Daily Sit, our weekly Shevet Sit for younger adults (under 40), and monthly Affinity Sits for Jews of Color, LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities. Click here for more information.


• Join our mailing list to be notified about our upcoming fall courses, including Keshira's Earth, Moon, Mindfulness year-long class.

Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman discuss the history, shadow-sides, and positive possibilities for observing the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’av (the 9th of Av) — understood by many to be the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. What is Tisha B'Av? How has it been observed -- and, often, not-observed -- in American-Jewish communities? How can it help us consider the flow of the Jewish calendar as a whole? This episode is a first in a two-part mini-series exploring the past, present, and future of the 9th of Av.

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Eight incredible students from the UnYeshiva's certificate program in Unbound Judaism will be graduating, on August 2nd! Mark your calendars, so that you can be there to celebrate their amazing achievement. You can register to attend via this link!

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!

Rest to Return is a podcast for a restless world. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is your host. This series is rooted in Shabbat, an ancient Jewish practice that teaches us how to belong to time. Here, rest is a sacred rhythm woven into who we are. We continue by gathering around a single question: What is sacred time?

1. The names victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life building, whose memories are always close to my heart are: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger. May their memories be for a blessing always.


2. Mishenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha comes from the Talmud (Ta’anit 29a:18).


3. I first learned about the cycles of the moon from Jane Hardwicke Collings at the School of Shamanic Womancraft.


4. This quote comes from Ahad Ha’am (Asher Ginsburg)’s Yalkut Katan (meaning “Small Collection”) which was published in the journal Hashiloaḥ, in 1898.


5. Lex Rofeberg is co-founder of Judaism Unbound!


6. This quote is found in Courtney Carver’s book Gentle: Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want; she is quoting writer and psychologist Nicola Jane Hobbs who originally asked the question.


7. The concept of the shmitta cycle originates in Exodus 23:10-11, Leviticus 25:2-7, and Deuteronomy 15:1-3.


8. God breathing life into Adam’s nostrils comes from Genesis 2:7.

Enjoy the live version of Lay it Down, Let it Go here.

Check out the Rest to Return webpage for photos, info about the Rest to Return retreat, and more!

If Rest to Return has evoked something in you, if these episodes have helped you slow down, breathe a little deeper, or reconnect with what matters most, you might be interested in Rest to Return: A High Holiday Deceleration Retreat, which I'll be co-hosting this September. Nestled amidst New England beauty, 25 Jewish leaders - some Jewish professionals, some people who are Jewish and leaders - will gather for a retreat centered around rest as a form of teshuvah, returning to ourselves. Through creativity, reflection, and connection, we'll immerse in slowness and spaciousness as a way to prepare ourselves for 5787. If you're a Jewish leader and you've been longing for something like this, check out www.keshirahalev.com/sacredpause to learn more and express interest before July 10.

This episode is brought to you by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Rest to Return exists because we believe slowing down is a spiritual act. IJS believes that too. For over two decades, IJS has been helping people go deeper, through Jewish mindfulness meditation, contemplative prayer, sacred text study, and embodied practice. Their offerings range from online courses and silent retreats to immersive cohort programs for seekers of all experience levels, clergy, and spiritual leaders who are ready to live and lead from a more grounded place. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is part of IJS’s core faculty, and the wisdom you'll hear in this series is very much in that spirit. If this podcast is stirring something in you, IJS is a place to go further. Explore their programs, and more ways to learn and practice with Keshira, at jewishspirituality.org, including:

• View the latest offerings from IJS in our program catalog


• Join Keshira and others on retreat this August: Returning Anew


• Learn more about Shevet, IJS's community for younger adults (20s-30s)


• IJS has several online free practices with Keshira and our other faculty including our live Daily Sit, our weekly Shevet Sit for younger adults (under 40), and monthly Affinity Sits for Jews of Color, LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities. Click here for more information.


• Join our mailing list to be notified about our upcoming fall courses, including Keshira's Earth, Moon, Mindfulness year-long class.

Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman conclude a mini-series of Judaism Unbound conversations that have been exploring the principle of bodily autonomy -- and how it intersects with Judaism. They bring new elements to previous conversations about abortion, the pill, mass incarceration, and gender, along with exploring what bodily autonomy looks like in Jewish rituals like fasting for Yom Kippur.

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!

Rest to Return is a podcast for a restless world. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is your host. This series is rooted in Shabbat, an ancient Jewish practice that teaches us how to belong to time. Here, rest is a sacred rhythm woven into who we are. We continue by gathering around a single question: Where do we find permission to rest? 

1. Here is the Rauh Jewish Archives entry about Congregation Torath Chaim.


2. You can learn more about the Torath Chaim Cemetery here(23:12-25:10).


3. The concept of b’tzelem Elohim comes from Genesis 1:27.


4. You can learn more about Kohenet Jo Kent Katz and her work here.


5. You can learn more about Kohenet Jo’s work with Transcending Jewish Trauma here.


6. Abraham Joshua Heschel calls Shabbat “a sanctuary in time” in his book, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man.


7. You can learn more about Octavia Raheem and her work here. The quote that I refer to in this podcast comes from her podcast, Leaders Devoted to Rest.

Enjoy the live version of Lay it Down, Let it Go here.

Check out the Rest to Return webpage for photos, info about the Rest to Return retreat, and more!

This episode is brought to you by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Rest to Return exists because we believe slowing down is a spiritual act. IJS believes that too. For over two decades, IJS has been helping people go deeper, through Jewish mindfulness meditation, contemplative prayer, sacred text study, and embodied practice. Their offerings range from online courses and silent retreats to immersive cohort programs for seekers of all experience levels, clergy, and spiritual leaders who are ready to live and lead from a more grounded place. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is part of IJS’s core faculty, and the wisdom you'll hear in this series is very much in that spirit. If this podcast is stirring something in you, IJS is a place to go further. Explore their programs, and more ways to learn and practice with Keshira, at jewishspirituality.org, including:

• View the latest offerings from IJS in our program catalog


• Join Keshira and others on retreat this August: Returning Anew


• Learn more about Shevet, IJS's community for younger adults (20s-30s)


• IJS has several online free practices with Keshira and our other faculty including our live Daily Sit, our weekly Shevet Sit for younger adults (under 40), and monthly Affinity Sits for Jews of Color, LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities. Click here for more information.


• Join our mailing list to be notified about our upcoming fall courses, including Keshira's Earth, Moon, Mindfulness year-long class.