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What is morality, faith, and our place in the world? Not easy questions. Many look to religion to answer these questions. Religion certainly does provide answers but not in the way we're used to. The answers we're given are really only starting points to help guide us on a path to greater wisdom. That path is a difficult one because it demands us to be present. To think outside the box. It demands us to struggle with God as opposed to thoughtlessly receive "the answer." In the struggle and through this tension we grow.This podcast explores these topics and more from the Jewish religious tradition with a psychological perspective. Judaism struggles with justice, belief, and morality spans thousands of years. More than anything, the hallmark of Jewish wisdom is not in it's answers. It's in how it demands questions. ----- Rabbi Yonasan Bender LCSW, received his ordination from Rav Yitzchak Berkovits, head of the Jerusalem Kollel and Aish HaTorah. He is a graduate of Hebrew University's Paul Baerwald School of Social Work. He completed post graduate training in a wide array of therapeutic approaches. These approaches range from CBT to Psychodynamic therapies. Before Hebrew University, he studied at Washington University in St. Louis and Drake University. Yonasan majored in philosophy and ethics. Yonasan is a member of the Association For Contextual Behavioral Science. He's a key member of the clinical team at The Place, the Jerusalem Centre for Emotional Wellbeing. Yonasan is a Dialectical Behavioral Therapist skills trainer and a group leader for the National Educational Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder' Family Connections program. He specializes in treating anxiety, depression, anger, poor self-esteem, insomnia, and marital conflict.

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Check latest episodes from Struggling With God podcast

How Truth Is Made

2021/10/05

The definition of truth is not clear cut in Judaism. Is there one "truth" to be grasped or is truth something more organic than that? After giving the Torah, does God have a say in changing the truth found in Jewish law? This class discusses this topic through the lens of the famous debate between Rabbi Eliezer The Great and his students.

Surviving Spirituality With Law

2021/09/21

Jewish parables, refereed to as medrashim, are speckled throughout the Talmud. They're nuanced, esoteric, and captivating. They also contain within them the spirit of Judaism. This course discusses the power of metaphors and parables. It also discusses how Judaism relates to them. With a deep understanding of moral law, these texts open up to us a deep well of wisdom. Without that background, these metaphors remain closed to us, best case scenario. The worst case scenario is they destroy any chance of a truly spiritual life. Wisdom well used gives life. Wisdom misused ends it.

Actualization Through Setting Limits

2021/09/07

Knowing what the right thing is and doing it are extremely different. God revealed a higher purpose but Judaism's struggle is how to actualize that purpose. How do we build a better life for ourselves? This class discusses how rabbinical additions to Jewish law actualize Judaism's purpose. Rabbinic restriction is, in essence, what taps into divine meaning. By struggling to make God’s law livable we are able to understand God's deeper purpose.

Discovering Yourself

2021/08/31

Taking yourself seriously means realizing no one else who has ever lived can compare to you or what unique gifts you have to offer this world. Figuring out what that exactly means is no small job. This class offers some practical psychological advice in getting closer to understanding yourself and making the changes necessary to live your hero’s journey.

The Impossibility of Meaninglessness

2021/08/17

It’s no secret there’s a trend in the Western world towards meaninglessness and nihilism. Talk to any college aged teen and you’ll see they’re hard pressed to find a good reason to care about anything bigger than themselves or they know someone else that’s in that boat. Some possible causes are the dramatic rise in depression and anxiety or that old religious and communal institutions that provided a structure to make sense of the tragedies of life no longer speak to many. No matter the reason, to weather the storms life is filled with, a deeply held belief in meaning is key to turning back the tide. This class provides one paradoxical way to finding meaning that can only be found in suffering.

The Living Chain of Tradition

2021/06/13

Separating the Jewish people and it's cultural character from Jewish law isn't easy. For thousands of years the culture has dedicated itself towards one primary goal - keeping the living word of God alive for each generation. In the words of the famous psychologist Carl Jung, the Jewish people are perhaps the only society that has collectively made the infinite unconscious almost entirely conscious. This class outlines what that chain of tradition is and the nuts and bolt of how it works. Who were the different groups that kept Judaism going? What did each contribute towards Jewish law? What makes the Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions different?

Climbing the Ladder of Tradition

2021/05/23

Being larger than the Encyclopedia Britannica it's an understatement to say the Talmud is complicated text. For the first few generations of it's existence it wasn't even written down but memorized. So, it's not surprising its authors tried to build in memorization hacks in how they constructed it. One hack is that it was created with a male personality type in mind. This class takes on the issue of gender and tries to answer the question - what makes men and women different?

What Did Moses Know and When?

2021/05/16

Creating the world was probably one of the easier things God has done. What's hard is going that next step and letting in all of humanity on "the plan." This class outlines the five basic source tests to Judaism and struggles with the question of what each offers and how they are different.

Bringing It All Together

2021/05/11

Most people think they understand love. Sure, we’ve all felt it but understanding it is a different ball game. You need an entire life to figure that one out. In reviewing the past several classes one thing comes into focus we don’t often realize. There’s a lot of reasons to run away from love and sometimes fight against it. We confront fear of being hurt, confusion in what to do, and the pain of taking a risk.

Integrating The Victim and Hero

2021/03/25

Are there victims in this world? Yes. Should we ignore this Fact? No. Yet, learning to balance this reality with the fact you are also a hero is key to overcoming tragedy. In every relationship taking on the victim role is the single most destructive thing you can do. So, how can you hold these two truths of life at the same time. How can you be the Hero?

The Prohibition of Gullibility

2021/02/25

Divine morality doesn’t end with the revelation at Mount Sinai. Much more is required than unquestioning obedience. Jewish authorities have always maintained that Torah is also rooted in human reason. Jewish morality is a complicated system of value judgements. But, someone has to be awake driving behind the wheel. That being the case, the “614th” commandment runs deep – thou shalt not be gullible.

Outside The Letter Of Divine Law?

2021/02/18

The nature and detail of Jewish Law is vast . Massive volumes of legal texts painstakingly detail every area of practical life and then some. So, if that’s the case, what room is there for the idea of living outside the letter of the law? Isn’t going above and beyond a type of insult to God? After all, He already outlined what to do, so why not just listen to Him?