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When Rabbi Natan Margalit looks at a dead tree on the ground he probably doesn't see what we see. He sees a divine spark of the creator. Everything, you see, is infused with that cosmic power. Reb Natan has a book out called the Pearl and the Flame. We had a great talk on this week's episode of NTKR. Have a listen.

There is, shall we say, a lot of turbulence in the Jewish world right now. Sometimes that turbulence becomes toxic and conversations are polarizing. One person who wants to change all that is the Executive Director of a progressive Jewish thought leadership and lobby group called Jspace. Her name is Maytal Kowalski and she joins me from Vancouver on Not That Kind of Rabbi.

Sometimes we see what our parents do and think that it would be a great idea to follow in their footsteps. Especially when they both chose the same profession. In this episode of Not That Kind of Rabbi I speak with a next generation Rabbi who did his best to resist the siren call of spiritual leadership. Didn't work. He's a Rabbi, but not that kind of Rabbi. Arik Labowitz is,and has been for a while, the Rabbi at Canada's largest Renewal Synagogue, Or Shalom.

When Amichai Lau-Lavie realized he was gay, he knew he had to make a choice: hide his identity to abide by his Orthodox upbringing, or be true to himself. It wasn't an easy call for a man whose ancestors had been rabbis for generations—including his uncle and cousin, who both served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. Ultimately, Lau-Lavie decided to split the difference. As an out gay man, he became an Jewish leader, drag performer and rabbi, founding Lab/Shul—a "God-optional" experimental community for Jewish gathering—in New York City. Now, he's also the star of a documentary about his controversial career, Sabbath Queen, which is currently touring the American film festival circuit. If anyone is "not that kind of rabbi," it's Amichai Lau-Lavie—and he joins Ralph Benmergui this week on Not That Kind of Rabbi, a show about spirituality and personal journeys.

On the latest episode of Not That Kind of Rabbi, Ralph talks to Rabbi, Zen practitioner and spiritual rascal Rabbi Rami Shapiro. Shapiro is the author of 36 books, his latest being Zen Mind--Jewish Mind. The Rabbi believes that everything is God. There is no outside or inside of the divine . The Divine is in everything , we just have to be available to experience it.

Devon Spier has long COVID. The artist, poet and spiritual guide has spent days bedridden, feeling ill and angry at God. But that forced pause gave her time to reflect on her life, art and beliefs, and she began to realize more emphatically how God, for her, exists in liminal spaces—in the wilderness, in small moments of peace and beauty between devastation and pain. These thoughts led her to create a new exhibit that blends art, design, poetry and spirituality. "18 Plus One" is on display at the Gerrard Art Space in Toronto from Oct 2 - 9, ahead of a fuller exhibit at the JCC Ann Arbor in Michigan from December 2024 to February 2025. Spier joins Ralph Benmergui—who is, like Spier, also not a rabbi but kind of vaguely close to one—on Not That Kind of Rabbi for a fulsome conversation about artistic expression, humanistic empathy and the meaning of God.

More Jewish couples are deciding to skip a ritual That has been a part of Jewish life for four thousand years. the Brit Milah. The circumcision of a male Jewish child at eight days old. Circumcision today has a scientific and a religious aspect. We'll explore those in this edition. of Not That Kind of Rabbi with my guest, a pediatric surgeon (retired) and a Mohel, Someone who performs circumcisions.

On this episode of Not That Kind of Rabbi, Ralph Benmergui speaks with neohasid.org founder and author of the book, Kabbalah and Ecology, Rabbi David Seidenberg, on how we can restore the spiritual bond with an earth based Judaism.

Rabbi Zelig Golden likes to describe Judaism as a religion of deep roots, interconnectivity, compassion and feminine divinity, reminding the world that Adam came from the adamah. It's this philosophy that inspired Wilderness Torah, an organization based in California that promotes "healing, belonging and resilience," in an attempt to reshape how Jews feel about their culture—and the planet. But this is not eco-Judaism, or pantheism, or humanism. To better understand the philosophy, Rabbi Golden sits down with Ralph Benmergui for a deep conversation about earthly exile, Mother Nature and the panentheism inherent to his worldview.

Growing up in the Orthodox movement, Neshama Carlebach would hear it a lot: "It's a shame your father never had sons." The father in question, the acclaimed Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, instead had two daughters—and the implication was that his legacy as a prolific songwriter, whose repertoire includes the popular 1965 folk anthem "Am Yisrael Chai", would die with him. Neshama didn't let those comments stop her—in fact, the opposite became true. After growing up in Toronto, Neshama ended up following in her father's footsteps, first becoming an acclaimed singer, teacher and songwriter, and now embarking on a years-long journey to becoming a rabbi. Her theological studies changed tone after Oct. 7, sparking a new desire in her to be "a rabbi who fights" for her community. But what's remained consistent has been her stubborn defiance of societal expectations. Neshama joins Ralph Benmergui on Not That Kind of Rabbi to discuss her life and music, and explain what it's like raising two sons to carry on the Carlebach legacy in an increasingly antisemitic world.

In this episode of Not That Kind of Rabbi, Ralph speaks with actor, director, producer, and playwright Saul Rubinek.

Rabbi Aaron Rotenberg realized at a young age he was drawn to Jewish studies. After graduating from Jewish day schools around Toronto, he decided to attend the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative rabbinical school in New York City, for five years—only to end up a Renewal rabbi years later, ordained just this month. As the spiritual leader of the Annex Shul in downtown Toronto—and one of a handful of Renewal rabbis in the city—his goal is to connect with younger audiences. That means leading unconventional services including music, dance parties and an emphasis on Earth-based Judaism. Just ahead of Tu b’Shevat, Rabbi Rotenberg sat down with Ralph Benmergui on Not That Kind of Rabbi for a lengthy discussion about the Renewal movement, eco-spirituality and the age-old relationship between Jews and the land.

With the recent news of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and the eventual return of the remaining Israeli hostages, tensions remain high between pro- and anti-Zionist communities here in Canada, who've stood sharply divided on the foreign conflict for 15 months. Members of those communities may still be holding hatred or anger in their hearts—leading to increased depression, anxiety and isolation. But according to Dr. Robert Enright, forgiveness is a choice rooted in mercy—and doesn't come at the expense of moral justice. As the co-founder of the International Forgiveness Institute, Enright has dedicated his career to studying forgiveness and the effects it has on the human brain and body. He joins Ralph Benmergui on the latest episode of Not That Kind of Rabbi.

Once upon a time, Toronto was a sleepy city. The atmosphere shut down at night. Red tape and cultural meekness kept things status quo. But through the 1970s and 1980s, the city's younger generations changed how things work—and one of the biggest players behind the scenes was Gary Topp. A music promoter and independent movie theatre operator, it was Topp—along with his colleague, Gary Cormier, together known as the Two Garys—who first brought and promoted The Ramones, The Police, Slayer and other countercultural icons to Canadians for the first time. Topp also began operating the Roxy Theatre, an art deco building on the Danforth, for punk concerts and movie screenings that wouldn't be shown anywhere else in the country. Last month, Topp's transformative career was printed in a coffee table book, He Hijacked My Brain: Gary Topp's Toronto, recalling legendary stories and performances from decades past. He joins his old friend Ralph Benmergui (who also grew up in Forest Hill, not far away) for a walk down memory lane in exploring his influence on the cultural fabric of the city—and what's changed in the music scene today.

On Oct. 9, around 2,500 strangers packed Montreal's Place des Arts concert hall to sing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" in surprisingly perfect harmony. The melody was beautiful. In a video recording posted online, tears and smiles are visible as people sing out the familiar chorus. You could say it was a spiritual performance—unless you're Nobu Adilman, who co-organized the event, for whom this mass choir has always been about enjoying life. While people often feel tapped into a higher power, Adilman is more pragmatic about the whole thing. Adilman, along with his artistic partner, Daveed Goldman, founded the group Choir! Choir! Choir! in a living room more than a decade ago. The idea was simple: strangers singing songs together. Those first contributors had so much fun, Adilman and Goldman decided to keep it going. The group grew in popularity until they amassed hundreds of thousands of social media followers and tour dates that rack up hundreds, even thousands of paying attendees. And before all that, Adilman worked at CBC with a young Ralph Benmergui. Adilman reconnects with his old mentor on Not That Kind of Rabbi to discuss the origins of his hit group and the innate spirituality of music.