The Shema Podcast for the Perplexed

This episode is another installment of our ongoing series, The Power of the Hebrew Months, where we explore the unique spiritual energy of each time in the Jewish calendar. Focusing on Tishrei, Rabbi Pill helps us reframe our relationship with Hashem in healthier, more compassionate terms—like spouses who separate and reconcile, growing closer through the process. Through the scales of judgment, the letter Lamed reaching upward, and the lessons of Ephraim, you’ll discover how the High Holidays are less about fear and perfectionism and more about sincere effort, growth, and reconnection. Listeners will walk away with practical insight into approaching Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos not with dread, but with renewed confidence, joy, and a deeper sense of relationship with their Creator. Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Get the Companion Guide: The Power of the MonthsThis free resource outlines the spiritual focus of each Hebrew month — including its mazal (zodiac sign), tribe, Hebrew letter, body part, and unique avodah. It also includes suggested actions you can take to align yourself with the energy of the time. Click here to download and keep this month-by-month guide as a tool for your own growth and reflection.Explore The Art of PrayerDownload a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here. 

In this closing episode of the Merkavah Series, we explore Malchus as the culmination of all the Sefiros where everything we’ve built within ourselves is finally brought into relationship with another, creating something new that did not exist before. Rabbi Meisel shows how Dovid HaMelech embodies this quality by becoming the vessel through which Hashem’s kingship is revealed in the world. Learning about Malchus teaches us that the deepest fulfillment comes when we empty ourselves to receive from Hashem and then channel that shefa outward into our marriages, our communities, our work by attuning to what others truly need.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Explore Revealing the Hidden with Rabbi Gershon MeiselUncover the depth behind Torah, life, and the spiritual reality beneath it all.🎧 Listen on Spotify | 📺 Watch on YouTube 

In this Merkavah installment we explore Yesod and Yosef HaTzaddik as the foundation that brings spiritual intent into concrete reality. We trace how Yosef’s journey, from betrayal to leadership, models disciplined attachment and holy channeling of passion, the vav that binds heaven and earth. Yesod becomes practical through action, bris milah as covenantal alignment, business and marriage as arenas to root values, and daily mitzvos as the pipeline that carries blessing into the world. Discover how Yosef’s path through suffering to greatness reveals the essence of Yesod: turning trials into foundations, passion into purpose, and becoming the channel through which divine blessing flows into the world. Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Explore Revealing the Hidden with Rabbi Gershon MeiselUncover the depth behind Torah, life, and the spiritual reality beneath it all.🎧 Listen on Spotify | 📺 Watch on YouTubeExplore The Art of PrayerDownload a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here. 

In this episode, we tackle one of the most sensitive and often misunderstood topics in Jewish life: conversion. Together with Rabbi Pill, we explore what the Torah and Halacha actually say about becoming Jewish, what makes a conversion valid, the essential role of beis din, and how kabbalas mitzvos defines the process. We also address the emotional challenges and misconceptions that many face when questions of Jewish status arise. If you’ve ever wondered what Hashem truly requires in this journey, you’ll discover a perspective that cuts through confusion and reveals the eternal clarity of Torah, something that may completely transform the way you see Jewish identity and belonging.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Explore The Art of PrayerDownload a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here.

In this episode, Rabbi Gershon Meisel joins us to explore Aharon HaKohen as the Merkavah of Hod—the attribute of splendor, humility, and peace. Through stories of our sages, Torah insights, and practical lessons, we uncover how Aharon embodied the power of stepping aside, making space for others, and becoming a vessel for Hashem’s presence in the world. This is more than history; it is guidance for our own avodah, teaching us how gratitude, humility, and the pursuit of peace can transform our lives. By listening, you’ll gain tools to bring Hashem’s light into your daily struggles and relationships, and to walk more fully as a living vessel of holiness.         Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up. Explore The Art of PrayerDownload a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here. Explore Revealing the Hidden with Rabbi Gershon MeiselUncover the depth behind Torah, life, and the spiritual reality beneath it all.      🎧 Listen on Spotify | 📺 Watch on YouTube

In this episode of Sages of the Talmud, timed for the upcoming Yom Kippur, we introduce the Ten Martyrs as both a doorway into ten towering sages and a frame for how the Talmud was forged through courage, sacrifice, and resilience under Rome. We explain why their story appears in the Yom Kippur Musaf and clarify the idea that the death of the righteous brings atonement, and address the hard question of suffering for those most devoted to Torah. Through vignettes of these tremendous figures, we connect their lives and deaths to our present reality, where Torah is widely accessible, yet antisemitism persists. We close by inviting listeners to see their own comfort and freedom as a call to deepen learning, strengthen emunah, and honor those who preserved Torah for us.  Listening will give you timely context for Yom Kippur, a clear introduction to ten central sages, and practical inspiration to live with more devotion, courage, and responsibility.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Explore The Art of PrayerDownload a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here.Download the Sages of the Talmud Study GuideDeepen your learning with the Sages of the Talmud companion study guide. This evergreen resource provides historical timelines, key sages, and a glossary of essential terms — designed to follow along with the entire series and revisit anytime. Free to download and always relevant. Click here to get your copy. 

In this episode we are joined by Rabbi Gershon Meisel to explore how Moshe Rabbeinu embodies the sefirah of Netzach—endurance, victory, and eternity. We discuss why Moshe, the greatest of all leaders, is rooted in Netzach, how Netzach channels mind, heart, and action into lasting habits, and how it must be balanced with Hod’s humility and gratitude. Through Moshe’s role in bringing Torah into the world, we learn that true victory is not about conquest or success alone, but about transforming ourselves, elevating our struggles, and carrying Hashem’s presence into every step of our lives.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up. Explore The Art of Prayer  Download a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here. Explore Revealing the Hidden with Rabbi Gershon Meisel Uncover the depth behind Torah, life, and the spiritual reality beneath it all.       🎧 Listen on Spotify | 📺 Watch on YouTube

In this first episode of The Hebrew Months Series with Rabbi Pill, we explore the unique energy of Elul, a month of teshuvah and alignment. Our sages teach that the months of the Jewish year are not just markers of time, but windows of opportunity, each with its own avodah and pathway for growth. Elul’s symbols, the mazal of the Betulah (Maiden), the letter Yud, the tribe of Gad, the left hand, and the daily shofar blasts, each reveal how to realign with Hashem and our truest selves. But rather than seeing Elul as a season of guilt and repentance, Rabbi Pill reframes teshuvah as a return to alignment: uniting thought and action, living in the present moment, and even the surprising idea of “doing teshuvah on your teshuvah.” If you’ve heard the standard Elul messages before, this conversation will give you a fresh perspective, and practical ways to channel the energy of the month into lasting transformation.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Explore The Art of PrayerDownload a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here.Get the Companion Guide: The Power of the MonthsThis free resource outlines the spiritual focus of each Hebrew month — including its mazal (zodiac sign), tribe, Hebrew letter, body part, and unique avodah. It also includes suggested actions you can take to align yourself with the energy of the time. Click here to download and keep this month-by-month guide as a tool for your own growth and reflection.

In this episode we continue our seven-part series on the Merkavah, the Divine Chariot, with Rabbi Gershon Meisel. Together we explore Yaakov Avinu, the Merkavah of Tiferes (harmony, beauty, and truth). Rabbi Meisel explains how Yaakov’s life of struggle, resilience, and faith shaped him into the embodiment of balance and truth, and how his experiences mirror the challenges every Jew faces. We discuss the meaning of Tiferes, the role of truth (Emes) in contrast with falsehood, and how Yaakov’s journey guides us in becoming a chariot for Hashem in our own lives.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback,  discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Want to keep going deeper? Explore Revealing the Hidden with Rabbi Gershon Meisel—uncovering the depth behind Torah, life, and the spiritual reality beneath it all.      🎧 Listen on Spotify | 📺 Watch on YouTubeExplore The Art of Prayer – a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here. 

In this episode Rabbi Yaghobian returns to explore the timeless struggle that began in Gan Eden and continues in every Jew’s life today. Together we examine the true meaning of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, how Adam and Chava’s choice reshaped the human condition, and why our challenge is not just knowing truth but aligning our will with Hashem’s. Rabbi Yaghobian explains how intellect, emotion, and desire interact, why temptation masks itself as logic, and how our daily struggles—large and small—are all rooted in that first test. Far from abstract philosophy, the lessons here are profoundly practical for navigating decisions, battling rationalizations, and strengthening our connection to Hashem.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.Explore The Art of Prayer – a collection of beautifully designed blessings (brachos) including Modeh Ani, Asher Yatzar, Netilas Yadayim and more.  Free to download and perfect for your home by clicking here.