Human & Holy

In this deeply honest conversation, Shani opens up about the origins of her love for Torah, a genuine religious crisis she experienced in college, and how wrestling with philosophy ultimately widened her faith. We talk about Jewish womanhood, halacha, and why Shani wants women to stop being afraid of their own bodies and their own questions. With remarkable vulnerability, Shani reflects on the cost of a life given to community, the nights she wasn't home, and the conversation with her daughter that taught her a powerful lesson about accepting the hidden costs of our most idealistic choices.

Rabbanit Shani Taragin directs and teaches in Israel and worldwide. She currently serves on the advisory committee for the Mizrachi Olami Shalhevet program, as Rosh Beit Midrash for the women in Yeshiva University’s new academic program in Israel, and together with her husband, Reuven, as Educational Director for Mizrachi Olami.

Join our new virtual Tanya class! We will be hosting a live, three part series on the divine soul, through Chapter 2 of the Tanya, a space to explore the text through shared study, poetry, curated illustrations, songs, and guided reflection. Link to join us here: https://humanandholy.mykajabi.com/tanyaclass

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To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at [email protected]

To support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.

Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨

Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

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TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00] — Intro

[00:03] — Host's intro

[00:06] — Online Tanya Class Launch

[00:09] — Welcome Rabbanit Shani

[00:12] — How My Love of Torah Developed

[00:15] — The Merging of Study and Teaching

[00:18] — Torah Changes Who I Am

[00:21] — Bible Criticism in the Beit Medrash

[00:24] — Have You Ever Experienced Religious Doubt?

[00:27] — A Personal Faith Crisis

[00:30] — What is the Foundation of Faith?

[00:33] — Judaism Where We Can Question While We Study

[00:36] — Not Just an Ethical System, A Relationship with God

[00:39] — A Love Letter to the Torah

[00:42] — Ideals Put Into Daily Practice

[00:45] — Women's Torah Study

[00:48] — Torah and Daily Life Are Naturally Intertwined for Jewish Women

[00:51] — I Want Women to Feel More Comfortable in Their Bodies

[00:54] — What I'd Like to See Changed

[00:57] — The Human Dimension of My Role

[01:00] — The Hidden Costs of Our Choices

[01:03] — A Conversation with My Daughter About Balance in Motherhood

[01:06] — Communicating the Why Behind Your Choices

[01:09] — Evolving in the Balance Between Family and Public Work

[01:12] — Rapid Fire

[01:19] — Outro

In honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar, we talk about the mystical underpinnings of this month of joy: why humor is the very space where contradictions can breathe, how the soul finds expression in lighthearted depth, why taking ourselves less seriously can be a conduit for our fullest expression, and play as a way to find expression for our soul's experience.

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Join our new virtual Tanya class! We will be hosting a live, three part series on the divine soul, through Chapter 2 of the Tanya, a space to explore the text through shared study, poetry, curated illustrations, songs, and guided reflection. Link to join us here: https://humanandholy.mykajabi.com/tanyaclass

To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at [email protected]

To support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.

Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨

Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

A live conversation with my mother about joy, reflections on life when living so close to hardship, her work caring for people in their most tenuous moments, the privilege of being in a position of giving, raising children with Jewish values outside of a Jewish community, letting yourself dream, and so much more.

Rochel Lazaroff is the co-founder and co-director of Aishel House, a hospitality home for patients and their families visiting the Texas Medical Center, a shlucha, mother of eleven, and Torah teacher. Find out more about her work here: aishelhouse.org. Contact her at [email protected]

Join our new virtual Tanya class! We will be hosting a live, three part series on the divine soul, through Chapter 2 of the Tanya, a space to explore the text through shared study, poetry, curated illustrations, songs, and guided reflection. Link to join us here: https://humanandholy.mykajabi.com/tanyaclass

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To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at [email protected]

To support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.

Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨

Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

Episode sponsored by Naomi Gruber. Dedicated in honor of my dear father’s neshama, דב ברל בן יצחק . May his neshama have the highest aliyah!

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Can any of us experience objective truth? What do we make of the ebbs and flows of our inner worlds? If a spiritual experience felt real, but didn't last, was it ever genuine?

Sharing one of my favorite ideas from the Tanya about truth as a moving target, and why the imperfect, shifting experience of truth is the only way to touch G-d. 

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Source: Chapter 13 of Tanya 

Heads up: Human & Holy is launching an online Tanya course going live this February! More details coming this Sunday.

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To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at [email protected]

To support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.

Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨

Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

A conversation about the deaths and rebirths that we experience throughout our lives, the existential shift of motherhood, the personal language required to choose faith, the philosophy behind Chabad outreach and how it democratizes spirituality, why the concept of Moshiach (messiah) cannot be disentangled from the purpose of the Jewish people, and the small concessions to our vices that have outsized negative impacts on our lives.

This episode is part 3/3 of a series on the Introduction to the Zohar: The Wisdom of Truth by Rabbi Yehudah Leib Ashlag, co-hosted by Tonia Chazanow and Charlotte Broukhim.

Find the book here: share.fund/zoharhhUse code ZOHARHH at checkout for 20% off

Charlotte Broukhim is a Jewish mom from Los Angeles who explores the intersections of Jewish mysticism, science, and politics. She studied comparative religion at Harvard, and her upcoming Substack will share practical reflections and insights at the crossroads of ancient wisdom and today’s world. Find her on instagram @cbroukhim and contact her at [email protected].

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EPISODE SPONSOR: Today’s episode is sponsored by SHARE, a global initiative connecting individuals to the timeless teachings of the inner dimension of Jewish wisdom, known as Pnimiyut Hatorah. Their mission is to inspire soulful living and learning by translating ancient insights for the contemporary moment. You can learn more on Share.Fund.

To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at [email protected]

To support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms.

New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction & Charlotte's Background

03:28 - The Intersection of Mysticism and Science

06:20 - Messianic Vision as Core Jewish Purpose

11:12 - Looking Forward vs Looking Backward

15:45 - Shabbat is a Dress Rehearsal for Redemption

20:31 - Resurrection of the Dead in Modern Times

24:16 - Releasing Our Attachments to our Roles and Accomplishments

27:53 - Becoming a Channel for God Through Unexpected Questions

30:21 - Matrescence and the Ego Death of Motherhood

34:21 - Intergenerational Healing

38:46 - Who is the Zohar's Author?

42:04 - Torah Ideas Are More Powerful Than Historical Proof

46:29 - Faith is a Choice We Make

50:40 - Emunah vs. Blind Faith

55:07 - Spiritual Maturity

59:05 - Mysticism Awakens the Deepest Parts of Our Souls

01:02:29 - Should We Lead With the Mystical Parts of Torah?

01:04:38 - The Democratization of Spirituality

01:09:48 - Even Following Traffic Laws Can be a Mitzvah

01:14:58 - Hashgacha Pratis: Making Meaning of Every Moment

01:17:38 - Is Time Management Holy? The Trap of Wasting Time & Scrolling

01:21:55 - Upping the Stakes Helps Us Overcome Our Vices

01:24:24 - Intensity Driven by Purpose, Not Shame

01:27:11 - Delayed Pleasure Comes Through the Work

01:31:13 - Falling in Love with the Process