Real Rabbi NYC

Don’t we all suffer from imposter syndrome to some extent? Moses, and even God, does. Is it self-sabotage when God repeatedly hardens Pharaohs heart? Or is there a more subtle message and meaning behind it?

I’m just landing from my trip and the high of being ordained, and it’s hard to integrate all of it, and so easy to fall back into old patterns. It’s hard to learn to listen to the body in order to prevent a crash. This is when illness descends. We’ve all been there. Va-era is about difficulty speaking and difficulty hearing. It’s about how we shut down due to trauma. And it has some hints about ho...

I’m officially a rabbi now! And I really like keeping things real, as hard as these truths are to say. It’s how I was brought up, and it remains a big part of my values. You can hear my ordination speech here, and how it relates to the week’s parsha.

As I am about to be ordained in just five days, I am ending and beginning. So is Genesis and the Jewish people. How will my leadership change, and who will lead the Jewish people? What happens to Joseph? Listen for a really interesting commentary coming from Leon Kass in The Beginning of Wisdom. Also—Have you ever thought of writing your own eulogy? Or death-bed confession, your Viduy? Whaaat?? Yu...

Are we Israel? From dust to dust? Or are we like the Egyptians who want everlasting life? What do we learn from Jacob and Joseph about doing honest life review? Listen and find out!

We can not heal if we are not whole, if our souls are divided. This is the state of Joseph’s soul, caught between his loyalty to Pharoah and his family of origin. The question remains, what are Joseph’s true colors?

Dreams and fear don’t mix well. If I’d let fear stop me from fulfilling my dream of becoming a rabbi (in just three weeks!!), I wouldn’t be here today! And. The parsha starts out with us wondering about whether Jacob continuing to live in his father’s fear, and passing down that fear to future generations.

In this episode, as I am about to be transformed by receiving smicha/ordination, Jacob becomes Israel. It’s the beginning of transformation for him. He must face his demons and his illusions of separation. You’ll hear a beautiful old midrash, a rabbinic story, and Rami Shapiro’s interpretation of the angelic world and the stoic self. Listen! It’s fun!

Jacob is on the run, from his brother, but also from himself. As a flawed human being, perhaps undeserving of love after the awful things he has done, he discovers that God is there for him despite these things. In opening to the Divine, he has taken his first baby step into a different kind of future. It is love that gives him the patience to endure life’s travails.

I’m in the final countdown—six weeks until I’m ordained as a rabbi! When we come to these big moments in life, we may have a fairy tale version of how things will play out. The parsha called Toldot shows how real life is, and how hard we try to control the outcomes. But holding on tight can lead to disaster and heartbreak.

In this episode I tell of how I was challenged to question a choice I made about a choice a certain image representing rabbis when I am becoming a rabbi that this image doesn’t represent. Is it perpetuating a stereotype—or is it defying it? And what does this have to do with faith, with the parsha this week? Above all, why is faith so important? (And visit my website, whose link you’ll find in the...

How do we cope with the mess of the world and our country, keep trust and hope alive, and remain active and engaged? Our great spiritual leaders who have inspired huge movements have some answers, as does the Jewish mystical tradition. Does the Torah?

In the sea of social media, we are all trying to make our names great. So God says to Abraham, “Go out” and “I will make your name great.” But at what cost? Traditional societies didn’t live for the individual, but for the collective. How can we do both?

If we really picture what happens in Noah with the destruction of all human and animal life on Earth—save one family—it’s a painful sight. It also hits way too close to home at the moment. In what ways do we numb ourselves to the pain, should we always be empathetic, or can we find more productive ways to deal with it. Take a listen to hear my thoughts. It’s not a pessimistic view in the end!

In this episode I tell the story of a beautiful interfaith baby naming and what it means to be made in God’s image.

The holidays that mark the beginning of the Jewish new year are a combination of joy and sadness all mixed together. It’s really kind of confusing the way the Torah readings don’t even begin with Rosh Hashanah, which would be the most logical thing to do. Beginnings and endings are never completely one thing or another. Just like the Jewish cycle, life blurs all the lines that we would like to hav...

In Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur is a time to face our own deaths, remember those who have passed before us, and to be cleansed of our wrongdoings. Feelings around all of this are complicated. The famous Israeli poet teaches us of the varying voices of our parents, both harsh and loving—and the eleventh and twelfth commandments. And I talk about my journey through the day.

In this episode, I share some surprises that found me on Rosh Hashanah, at home and at Jury Duty, examine what it means to approach Yom Kippur with awe, and the different types of forgiveness—and the criminal justice system. (Who are we to judge?)

In this episode, I explore the idea of inclusivity and the problem of exclusivity in Judaism, and what it means to lead a holy life. How do we? And why is it so hard? What are the mixed messages we get from Torah?? Hopefully you’ll get some answers as we enter the Jewish New Year.

In this episode I explore the blessings of life and Torah in contrast to the many enumerated curses in this week’s parsha. How do we tackle the two extremes, and what meaning do we make of them? (Visit my website, lnegditamid.us, to learn more about me and my offerings!)

My daughter’s wedding happened this past Sunday. She married a man who is not Jewish. In this episode, I consider the question of building a “fence around the Torah,” where our traditions need to be upheld and where the fences need to be lowered.

In this episode, I talk about transitions, their joys and pain, and ritual. Personally, I’m going through many transitions at the moment, including my daughter’s wedding. But Jews, and the entire world, are going through huge transitions. I discuss the strange ritual at the end of this week’s parsha, some ancient rituals we still hold on to, and I attempt to answer the question of how rituals can...

This week I talk about generosity, as we are told in Torah, and as I struggle to take care of myself and my health while also welcoming many people who will be sleeping at my house for my daughter’s wedding next week.

In this episode, I explore patriarchy, patriarchal relationships, and how our Torah both reflects these but also might have something to teach us about how to go forward to create a new way of living. I discuss Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy as discussed with Tami Simon on her podcast, Insights From the Edge, and how it all brings us back to Torah.

In Moses’ plea to God in this week’s Torah portion, there’s an element of desperate and panic. We, also, tend to panic when we think we must have or do something, and we may silently ask, please, please, please, make it so.” But do we always have such clarity that we know for sure what’s right, or is it sometimes in retrospect that we realize we weren’t praying for the best thing after all.