Ep. 70- Noa Amalia Arazi: Conversion to Judaism

Ep. 74- Gemstones' Healing Powers

The fact that gemstones have healing properties is rooted in the Bible. In Exodus 39:10-14 it lists 12 gemstones that were to be placed in the breastplate the high priest in the Temple, each stone corresponding to a son of Jacob. The Kabbalists (e.g. Rabbeinu Bachya (1255-1340), on Exodus 28:15) teach that based on what we know about the life of each of those sons, we can derive what the healing powers of each respective stone are. In this episode, we go through each stone and its healing properties. (The English definitions of the stones come the research of the Italian physician Abraham Portaleone (d. 1612, a student of Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu haKohen of Izmir), in his book Shlatte Giborim, which I learned of from Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutch from the Living Torah museum in Brooklyn, New York.) In Summary: 1) Ruby (Reuben)- Strength, energy, and healthy pregnancy 2) Topaz (Shimon)- Cools the body, calm 3) Emerald (Levi)- Insight, wisdom, ability to self-express 4) Garnet (Yehuda)- Self-confidence, enemies run from you 5) Sapphire (Yissachar)- Heals eye-sight (inc. third eye), pain, swelling, depression 6) Diamond (Zevulun)- Helps with sleep 7) Opal (Dan)- Creativity/ vision 8) Agate (Naftali)- Balance, protection from plague 9) Amethyst (Gad)- Courage and strength of mind 10) Beryl (Asher)- Digestion, wisdom and understanding 11) Onyx (Joseph)- Attractive to others 12) Jasper (Benjamin)- Good reputation

Ep. 73- God: Being or Principle?

In this short episode, we discuss whether G-d is more of a being or a principle.

Ep. 72- Rabbi Josh Zebberman: Couples Counseling

In this episode, I sit down with Rabbi Josh Zebberman, who is a rabbi and couples counselor. He shares his unique approach to counseling, which involves focusing more on & highlighting what's working well, and less on what's not working as well. He shares many stories of different clients and how this approach has helped. We get into Hasidic and Kabbalistic discussions related to this approach. You can find him on his website rabbijosh.org [https://rabbijosh.org]; instagram @rabbijoshzebberman [https://www.instagram.com/rabbijoshzebberman].

Ep. 71 - Katia Bolotin

Katia Bolotin, a Torah educator and speaker, writer, pianist and composer, is the author of the recently published book "Making it Relevant," which is about finding practical meaning and application from the weekly Torah portion. In this conversation we talk about King David's life, various lessons from Psalms, resilience, optimism, setbacks, a perspective on sadness, and more! You can find her book on Amazon here [https://www.amazon.com/Making-Relevant-Timeless-Torah-wisdom/dp/B0FRSWS2B2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3Q1HV9IHYK6IS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pLUw-JJXdgp3xgp_b94jMzZuFJsBkGZYcROc4W0ODSv4xvsBPzK_QxeOY05u7rTDq6kqDDsUCU1Lp33Nd9lTs_vaEQqMGzAHpi6FAUo4q1hQ0i6jCS7MA2O86EY5AMSHClXVeoNnLvT0BHn7Lm9p81GNI6cKpJvcPTyStuoLkmb2YQZHUYVktL7Uujmv-ny7IW4SL3PB3Ufw_iXlx3fJLGNCxQyh7R3Z4D0aa--vWXw.J9Gr0YRRMK71ABjTTwj2BcOX8chGbpjhl1e5SJ9ywYg&dib_tag=se&keywords=katia+bolotin&qid=1778677172&sprefix=katia+bolot%2Caps%2C683&sr=8-1], or from Mosaica here [https://mosaicapress.com/product/making-it-relevant/?srsltid=AfmBOop6Q1j10uACERcl0nN8vJLVAG_Sk3u42XYRRCBHmdaGH60qLetL&v=4605f628f91d], and her music on streaming platforms.

Ep. 70- Noa Amalia Arazi: Conversion to Judaism

In this episode I sit down with Noa Amalia Arazi, the founder of "Destined to be a Jew," an organization that supports thousands of people converting - and considering converting - to Judaism. We discuss her personal story converting to Judaism, the top reasons why people decide to convert, where across the globe most conversions take place, how long conversion takes, common challenges, how it feels to convert/ if it feels totally different, how much is one expected to know before converting, and more! You can find her on instagram @destined_to_be_a_jew [https://www.instagram.com/destined_to_be_a_jew], on her website here [https://dtbj.info], and on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/dtj.info], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@DestinedToBeAJew], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@destined_to_be_jew], and on her Whatsapp community.