Zvi Ish-Shalom on the Role of Dreams in Judaism and How Dreams Continue to Affect his Practice and Study

Join Andrew and Zvi Ish-Shalom for a look at the role of dreams in Judaism. Zvi shares his personal story of how dreams continue to affect his practice and study, and explains their place in the Talumd, Kabbalah, and Kedumah traditions. The conversation then transitions to a deeper look at the “prophetic” mind, and how sleep is 1/60th of death. Zvi then elaborates on how the path is more perceptual than actual, and how this narrative ties into the lucidity principle. Using the archetype of contraction and relaxation, they take an inside look at the “exile principle,” and how the exodus from slavery into the promised land is a potent metaphor for the exile of lucidity, and its eventual return. When we contract we reify, and evict ourselves into bondage by mis-taking mere appearances to be real – exactly what happens in a non-lucid dream. Zvi then shares a mystical Christmas story, and how the Star of Bethlehem shines within each of us. When we open to the natural light within, we are all Messiahs. Join us for this deep dive into the heart of Jewish mysticism, and discover how this tradition connects to Christianity and Buddhism. Zvi’s exploration of ancient Hebrew texts is exhilarating, profound, and beautifully heretical.

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Zvi Ish-Shalom, Ph.D., is an ordained rabbi, a professor of wisdom traditions at Naropa University, and is the founder of Kedumah, a universal path of ancient Hebrew wisdom that teaches a step-by-step approach to spiritual awakening and personal development.

Zvi is the author of the book The Kedumah Experience: The Primordial Torah and the forthcoming Sleep, Death, and Rebirth: Mystical Practices of the Kabbalah.