We're In This Shift Together Mekorah Institute

Tapping into ancient wisdom to shed light on modern problems is essential for grounded cultural transformation. Today's guest is Natan Margalit—the author of The Pearl and the Flame—a book which synthesizes traditional Jewish insights and contemporary ecological theories to envision a more integrated, connected, and hopeful path for humanity.   

Natan Margalit is a rabbi and scholar with 30 years of experience in teaching, writing, organizing and congregational leadership. Raised in Honolulu, as a young adult he spent 12 years in Israel where he received rabbinic ordination. He returned to the U.S. and earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies at U.C. Berkeley with focus areas in Talmud, Literary Theory, and Anthropology.
He has taught at Bard College, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Hebrew College Rabbinical School, and now is chair of the Rabbinic Texts Department at the ALEPH Ordination Program. He is also Director of the Earth-Based Judaism track of the A.O.P., and is founder of the non-profit Organic Torah. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons.

Can commissioning public art ensure a happy afterlife? Many wealty merchants in medieval Italy sure hoped so! Dr. Brian Pollick opens a window for us into their worldview and how it can enrich our own.   

Brian was born in England in 1946 but grew up in Toronto after his parents
emigrated in 1952. After getting his BA from York University in 1967 he
embarked on multiple careers that included teaching, correctional services,
community and family justice services, and Information Technology
development. He has been a senior executive manager for the federal and
BC governments, as well as the non-profit and private sectors. He left paid
employment in 2007 and spent a year in France and Italy with his wife,
Heather Lindstedt, where he developed a passion for medieval art.
Brian returned to University in Victoria in 2009 and has since obtained his
MA and PhD in Art History. His particular area of research is how art
commissioned by wealthy merchants in 14 th C Italy was used by them as a
way of affirming and broadcasting their identity as honest business persons
and honourable civic and Christian citizens who were worthy of salvation.
He has presented numerous papers at Canadian and international
conferences and published several articles on this subject.
Brian has one son, Ian, and is the proud grandfather of two boys, Austin
and Logan who live in Toronto. Brian’s next major undertaking will be
pursuing another PhD at the University of Victoria, this time in history
looking at the institution of the Grand Tour.

Being of service to the world means more than just working for a cause you believe in: it's also about striving to live harmoniously with who you truly are.

In this episode, Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman describes her own journey to becoming a climate activist and spiritual leader. Through many years of seeking and searching, she discovered the best ways her talents could be utilized to help a planet which is struggling. In this conversation, Rabbi Shoshana and Rabbi Matthew also delve into the benefits of spiritually-based activism and Rabbi Shoshana shares some personal lessons from parenting a neurodiverse child.

Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman is a writer, mother, and climate activist in Boston. She serves as a rabbinic ambassador for Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, and as the Director & Co-Founder of The Artist Beit Midrash of Hebrew College and JArts. 
Rabbi Shoshana’s song “The Tide Is Rising,” which she co-wrote with her husband Yotam Schachter, has spread widely as an anthem in the climate justice movement. Her writing has been published in various venues including The New York Times, Tablet Magazine, YES! Magazine, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, and Rooted & Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her original album Guesthouse is available on streaming platforms. 
She is currently at work on a book of essays, a picture book version of “The Tide Is Rising,” and a project with Sunrise Movement to build out a new fundraising initiative.
Rabbi Shoshana is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, JOIN For Justice, and Oberlin College where she was also a Henry David Thoreau Scholar. She was ordained by Hebrew College in Newton, MA and lives in Boston with her husband and son. She spends much of her time humbly doing her best to parent through a creative and neurodiversity-affirmative lens.

Her essay "Becoming a Mom During the Climate Crisis" is available at: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/becoming-mom-climate-crisis

Four contemplatives  share, reflect and face challenging questions. Christian, Buddhist and Muslim healers and teachers join Rabbi Matthew Ponak to discuss the gifts that our traditions can offer the world in these changing times — and the ways in which these traditions are (or ought to be) changing  as well.

Charlotte Z. Rotterdam is a Buddhist teacher, meditation instructor and contemplative educator. She received the title of Magyu Lopön, lead teacher of the Mother Lineage at Tara Mandala Retreat Center, by Lama Tsultrim Allione in 2016. She is the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education at Naropa University and an Instructor in Naropa’s Core College, World Wisdom Department, and Graduate School of Psychology. She co-developed and teaches Naropa’s Mindful Compassion Training, a secular program to cultivate compassion in personal, professional and societal contexts. Charlotte received a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. The mother of two boys, she has published essays on the intersection of spiritual practice and daily life in Lion’s Roar, Buddhadharma, Mandala and Fearless Nest, an anthology. www.skymind.us.

Sameera Qureshi, MS OTR, is an Occupational Therapist and Sexual Health Educator. For the last thirteen years, she’s worked at the intersections of mental and sexual health education within Muslim communities, both in Canada and the United States. After working in non-profit spaces for the majority of her career, she founded her own business in the Fall of 2020, titled Sexual Health for Muslims. The goal of her work is to revive Islamic traditions of the soul for online sexual health education and therapeutic services for Muslims. Sameera regularly facilitates professional development opportunities for sexual and mental health providers who intersect with Muslim clients. You can learn more her work on Instagram @sexualhealthformuslims, and through her website www.sexualhealthformuslims.com.

Gordon Peerman, D.Min., is an Episcopal priest, psychotherapist, and mindfulness meditation teacher living in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the author of Blessed Relief: What Christians Can Learn from Buddhists about Suffering, and his most recent book, The Body Knows the Way: Coming Home through the Dark Night. He teaches at One River Wisdom School Nashville, an interspiritual gathering, and leads retreats and workshops on the intersection of contemplative practice and psychological growth. He has taught mindfulness practices at Vanderbilt’s Osher Center for Integrative Health, and at Vanderbilt Divinity School he taught courses in pastoral theology and Buddhist-Christian Dialogue. His website is www.oneriverwisdomnashville.org

We're changing things up in this episode! Our guest Rabbi Joel Goldstein asks the questions — challenging Rabbi Matthew about the experimental home ritual "Oasis Time." This innovative practice is inspired by Shabbat but not bound by its traditional customs. Rabbi Matthew and his family have been testing it out in an effort to capture the essence of spiritual refreshment in a shareable way for our time. Join us for thought-provoking dialogue about the edges of religious evolution between two scholars who come from very different places along the spectrum of Jewish practice. We are also briefly joined by Joel's dog!
Rabbi Joel Goldstein is a former engineer turned Rabbi who brings his love for Torah, education, curiosity, and deep Jewish knowledge to all aspects of life. Rabbi Joel received ordination from Hebrew College and from Rabbi Daniel Landes. He is currently an instructor in Jewish legal codes for semikha (ordination) students at Yashrut. He is the former Campus Rabbi at Syracuse University and spent his last year in Rabbinical school serving as the Rabbi of the only year round synagogue in Hull, MA. In his free time, Rabbi Joel loves spending time with his family and creating source sheets on various Jewish topics.


This episode was recorded on April 7, 2022. 

Promoting spiritual health for individuals, churches and organizations of all kinds is Rev. Sandra  Summers' speciality. She lays out what it is, why we need it and how to bring it into our lives. We also delve into The Great Resignation's effects on clergy, being authentic, balancing our use of technology and the surprising relationship between pregnancy and intuition. 

Sandra is a Christian pastor's kid who attempted to stay in college forever before answering her call to ministry. Currently, Sandra serves in a variety of ministry settings including in hospitals, activist organizations, and private practice. Sandra’s call is to help others stay in love with who and what is theirs to love in these exhausting times. As a Spiritual Coach she partners with individuals to assess their Spiritual Health and create compassionate accountability. In addition, she partners with churches and non-profit teams to engage in workshops and presentations so that helpers are helped. Sandra is ordained in the United Church of Christ, with dual standing in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She currently lives in Memphis, TN with her husband, Rev. Sam Teitel, her son Gideon, and their rescue dog Tommy.

Check out Rev. Sandra Summers at sandrasummers.com