Jewish Meditation Talks

Rabbi Jeff Roth Where Can I Not Find You: Opening the Emotional Channel to Divine

What does it mean to say You to God? Our relationship with God forms though listening without language, developing a loving relationship – not with it, which is the idea of God, but with You, the felt presence of God. This place where we address God as You includes the lover and the beloved, raising the question of dualism – what is the me; what is the other. This is the relational aspect of the divine. This is the place where we are known and loved.

Rabbi Jeff Roth Karma, Suffering and Sacred Intention

Also titled, The Metaphysical Musings of a Megalomaniacal Mixed Up Mystic, in this talk Rabbi Jeff Roth discusses the laws of cause and effect and how they apply to suffering and to happiness.

Rabbi Jeff Roth Motivation and Effort

In this talk Rabbi Jeff Roth discusses the benefits of letting the attention be pulled rather than pushed. Through these teachings awareness and experience opens up. “Just by paying attention there are amazing new things that you’ve never experienced before.”

Rabbi Jeff Roth I Think, Therefore I Am In Tsuris

In this talk Rabbi Jeff Roth explains how what the midrash says about the nature of our suffering and the relationship between thinking, desiring, awareness reveals a path to resolving tremendous suffering.

Rabbi Jeff Roth Obstacles to Awareness of the Divine Presence

In contemporary Jewish meditation the Divine is a reference to the interconnected unity of all being. This talk unfolds this metaphor and points out obstacles that occur in “small mind” that aggrandizes the self and cuts one off from unity, compassion and loving-kindness. A set of practice instructions proposes processes to turn the obstacles into compost for spiritual growth.

Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg Mindfulness Practice and the Jewish Year

Reflection on what we seek to remember in practice, developing the capacity to see which stories serve to develop wholesome qualities and reduce suffering. The center of the talk is a tour through the Jewish year, interpreting each holiday as a form of retreat practice and the opportunity to awaken and develop heart qualities.

Rabbi Jeff Roth Truth

Rabbi Jeff Roth explores Truth; awakened attention to what is happening in the moment.

Rabbi Jeff Roth Effortless Effort

Rabbi Jeff Roth discusses how to relax into both your meditation practice and your daily life, and what gets in the way.

Norman Fischer How We Read Torah

In this talk from the 2005 winter ECAMP retreat, Norman provides an overview for a profound reading of the Torah and of our lives. Read more…

Norman Fischer Examining the Unknowable

In this talk from the 2005 winter ECAMP retreat, Norman uncovers the complementary relationship between faith and experience. This 12 minute clip will nourish and ground your curiosity… What is this life?

Rabbi Jeff Roth Ignorance: Ways We Miss the Divine

In this Jewish meditation talk given at the Elat Chayyim Advanced Meditation Program, Rabbi Jeff Roth talks about ignorance and the patterns of mind which prevent us from truly meeting the Divine in our lives. Read more…

Rabbi Joanna Katz Obstacles to peace

Another opportunity to wake up. In this talk, Rabbi Joanna Katz names and gives real-life examples of the obstacles that prevent one from being truly present and consciously with G-d.

Rabbi Alan Lew z Five Steps for Spiritual Transformation

In this Jewish meditation talk given at the Elat Chayyim Advanced Meditation Program, Rabbi Alan Lew speaks of patterns observed in the Torah that reveal the essential experienced ingredients for spiritual transformation. Read more…

Norman Fischer Far Beyond What We Can See

The beginning part of a talk given at the 2005 winter Elat Chayyim Advanced Meditation Program retreat, Norman aids the listener in delving deeper into seeing the true meaning and opportunity of life.

Rabbi Joanna Katz The Things that God Gave You

In the second part (click here to listen to the first part) of a Jewish meditation talk given at a 2005 ECAMP retreat, Rabbi Joanna Katz opens with a quote from the Dalai Lama suggesting that the very purpose of our life is to seek and to move towards happiness. Using a verse from Deuteronomy and stories from her own meditation retreat experiences Joanna describes the merit of being with what is arising.

Rabbi Joanna Katz What Keeps Us From Happiness?

The beginning of a talk (click here to listen to the next part) given at a 2005 ECAMP retreat, Joanna reflects on the isolation, attachment and judgment that prohibits us from experiencing a truly free and peaceful happiness. Joanna uses the Shevah Brachot (seven blessings traditionally said at weddings) as a way of encountering the true happiness that God (and we) wish for ourselves.

Rabbi Joanna Katz Patience & Self Acceptance

In this talk from the 2008 winter ECAMP retreat, Joanna offers teachings about patience and self acceptance. Read more…