Religiously Curious and Spiritually Independent with Rabbi Rami Shapiro PhD, Amy-Jill Levine PhD & Marc Zvi Brettler PhD Harvesting Happiness

Walk into a Christian church that preaches from the Old Testament and then walk into a synagogue that teaches from the Hebrew Bible, the scripture should be similar, right? Well, not exactly. Even though both books are known to depict the same stories, many factors go into how we interpret them. Certain works may be highlighted in one religion or omitted by another. To explore the intricacies of religion and spirituality, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with three authors and religious scholars about the purpose of religion, religious texts, and spirituality. Rabbi Rami Shapiro is a highly decorated, yet unorthodox Rabbi who has studied many religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, and is a Mason in the Scottish Rite. He joins Lisa to discuss the fine points of his book, Judaism Without Tribalism: A Guide to Being a Blessing to All the Peoples of the Earth, and to share spiritual practices that can be used to elevate us all. Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler discuss, the role of women in the bible, the different versions of the Bible, and the innumerable and diverse interpretations of individual religious texts based on research gained while writing, The Bible With and WIthout Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently.