The Gray Area with Sean Illing

How to make meaning out of suffering

Sep 20, 2021

David Wolpe, a prominent rabbi at Sinai Temple and author, discusses how we can find meaning in suffering. He explores how spirituality can help us navigate modern crises, focusing on resilience and the dangers of despair. Wolpe emphasizes transforming loss into community action and engaging with injustices, viewing them not as puzzles to solve but as mysteries to understand. The conversation highlights the significance of faith, empathy, and meaningful dialogue in facing life's harsh realities while fostering hope and connection.

56:03

Episode guests

David Wolpe

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Episode notes

Intro

3min

Finding Meaning Amidst Turmoil

11min

Transforming Loss into Action

8min

The Dangers of Despair and the Promise of Progress

3min

The Active Role of Faith in Overcoming Suffering

5min

Navigating Injustice: Puzzle or Mystery?

2min

Faith, Suffering, and Empathy

22min

Vox’s Sean Illing talks with David Wolpe, senior rabbi of the Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, about the role and nature of God, how religion and spirituality can address our modern problems, and how to make sense and meaning out of the suffering and pain we experience. This episode was recorded in the summer of 2020 and first appeared as part of the Future Perfect series The Way Through.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), Interviews Writer, Vox

Guest: David Wolpe (@RabbiWolpe), senior rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles

References:

"Religion without God: Alain de Botton on 'atheism 2.0'" by Sean Illing (Vox; Feb. 24, 2018)
Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times by David Wolpe (Penguin Random House; 2000)

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This episode was made by:

Producers: Jackson Bierfeldt & Erikk Geannikis
Editor: Amy Drozdowska
Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall
VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson

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