Inward with Rabbi Joey Rosenfeld

S5:E8 The power of concealment over and above disclosure. Difficulty over and above that which is easy. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan.

In preparation for Yom Kippur, Rabbi Joey shares his thoughts on the book of Jonah in light of the Ishbitzer, Midrash, the Sod Yesharim, Rav Kook, Yeats, Melville and more.

S5:E7 ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan.

A guest shiur n Cedarhurst, NY featuring the works of R' Tzadok, R' Kook, the Vilna Gaon, R' Hutner, the Arizal, the Zohar and Marcel Proust. 

S5:E6 The freedom of the mind in response to the reality of the world. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan.

S5:E6 Rabbi Joey attempts to find the lynchpin that ensures the existence of the gap between the finite and the infinite on this episode of Inward. For Izhbitz/Radzyn the key can be found in their conception of lack. As opposed to the typical vision of lack as a deficiency that results from some fall from grace and perfection, lack is seen as a fundamental element of human subjectivity. Lack existed prior to any human error, and as such should be seen as a constitutive element that forms rather than disrupts the human experience. There exists within each and every individual qua human being an essential lack around which their subjectivity is formed. For Izhbitz/Radzyn the goal is not to overcome this lack by filling it with some external substance, but rather to confront the lack, living in and through it to find one's ownmost spiritual form. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan.

S5:E5 On a new episode of Inward, Rabbi Joey describes the psychological mood that emerges from the doubtful nature of being and the questioning that is born there. For Izhbitz/Radzyn the fact that questions will ultimately always remain unanswerable is symptomatic of the nature of the soul. No matter how far along the rungs of spiritual development the subject moves, there will always be a gap that persists between the finite creation and Infinite Creator. This space - which remains relative to each individual according to their own particular situatedness - assures that the ultimate spiritual gesture remains faith as opposed to knowledge. This leads to the Izhbitz/Radzyn alignment with the negative theological impulse inherent in Jewish mysticism and philosophy which sees the possibility of truly grasping the essence of the Infinite as an impossibility. Instead of leading to hopelessness and despair, the ultimate truth that there will always be a distance between the finite and the infinite leads to the space of apophatic faith that seeks to say what cannot be said in spite of its unsayability. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan.

S5:E4 Join Rabbi Joey as he continues developing the theme of his previous episode as he describes the natural consequences of living in a world of doubt. For Izhbitz/Radzyn the doubtful nature of subjectivity leads to the unique role questions play in the development of faith. Using Avraham as a paradigm for the particular shape of Jewish faith, we show how the ultimate role of questioning to allow oneself to be put in question. The concealment of the ultimate ground of being opens unto a world where doubt outweighs clarity just as questions outweigh answers. For Izhbitz/Radzyn the question becomes an ontological question that will remain in spite of the answer. Each person has within themselves an ultimate question that cannot be answered. Instead of being seen as a deficiency, the ontological question forces the individual into the space of faith beyond question and answer. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan. 

S5:E3 In this episode of Inward, Rabbi Joey attempts to describe the origin of this world’s difficulties. What is it that makes being human so intense? In order to answer this question, we descend into the world of Izhbitz/ Radzyn’s conception of the primordial transgression, the episode of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”. For Izhbitz/Radzyn, this tree undergoes a name change where it becomes “the tree of doubt”. The typical conception of epistemological doubt which sees doubt as an unfortunate symptom that exits so long as the world is unredeemed is aligned against the novel conception of ontological doubt which sees doubt as a fundamental building block in the constitution of human subjectivity. Doubt becomes the propelling force behind authentic human subjecthood. It is specifically within a world of doubt that choice becomes a possibility. We also discussed the relative nature of doubt. One begins with doubt that stems from a lack of knowledge. Once knowledge is acquired the original doubt is erased. The new experience of knowledge gives birth to a new, hitherto ungraspable level of doubt ensuring that doubt will always stand above and beyond the apex of knowledge. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan. 

S5:E2 Rabbi Joey continues his new series by examining the question of being human in the writings of Izhbitz/Radzyn. It is axiomatic that this world is difficult, and that to live in this world is to expose oneself to struggle. For Izhbitz/Radzyn, however, the difficulty and struggle of being human is specifically why this world is worthwhile. Interpreting the Rabbinic sentiment that “it would have been easier not to be born”, the world of Izhbitz/Radzyn uncovers what is missing in this statement, namely that it does not say it would have been better. Working off the assumption that it is still better to be human in spite of its difficulty; we discuss the deepening of experience that takes place- not in spite of difficulty- but precisely because of it. ***** This podcast is supported in part from a grant from the Hadar Institute. Music is by Zusha. Help support them by purchasing their music. Audio is by David Kwan.