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Imagine with Us

Imagine with Us

By Rabbi Michael Lerner and Cat Zavis

Join Rabbi Michael Lerner and Cat Zavis as we explore how we can co-create a caring society - one that centers the needs of people and the planet rather than corporate interests. How might our economic, education, legal, and political systems look if guided by love, generosity, empathy, justice, and peace? We discuss nuanced, psycho-spiritual analyses of the political landscape, moving beyond materialist-reductionism and shame. Come imagine with us. Imagine with Us is a project of Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives. Learn more about us at tikkun.org and spiritualprogressives.org
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Ep15: Judaism Unbound with Rabbi Michael Lerner

Imagine with UsNov 17, 2022

00:00
40:31
Ep15: Judaism Unbound with Rabbi Michael Lerner

Ep15: Judaism Unbound with Rabbi Michael Lerner

[1] Original Podcast posted on Judaism Unbound, a digitally-driven, radically open center for education serving as a catalyst for an entirely new era of Judaism.

[2] Lerner has written a number of books over the years — some of our favorites include Jewish Renewal, which you can purchase here, The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right, available via this link, and Revolutionary Love: A Political Manifesto to Heal and Transform the World, available here.

[3] In discussing the influence of AIPAC on elections, Lerner references a recent congressional primary in Michigan. For more on this, see “Pro-Israel group pours millions into primary to defeat Jewish candidate,” a piece in the Guardian written by Chris McGreal. You can also check out a piece in Tikkun, entitled “‘Anti-Israel’ and ‘Pro-Israel’ in Michigan Election,” written by Ronald Aronson.

[4] Learn more about Jim Wallis, a progressive Christian theologian that Lerner references, via this link.

[5] For the article Lerner references, published in Tikkun as the first written by a gay and Orthodox rabbi — under a pseudonym — click here and skip to pages 41-42. The piece was written by Steven Greenberg, initially under the pseudonym Yaakov Levado, and is entitled “Gayness and God: Wrestlings of an Orthodox Rabbi.”

[6] Sign up to attend regular Torah Study (via Zoom) with Lerner’s community here!

Nov 17, 202240:31
A Hopeful Sign in Troubled Times
Jul 28, 202124:21
Violence in Israel/Palestine

Violence in Israel/Palestine

In this episode, we discuss the ongoing conflict and rising violence in Israel/Palestine.

Ha’aretz Article

You can learn more and register for the JCC East Bay Tikkun Leyl Shavuot (where Rabbi Lerner and Cat Zavis will be teaching) here.

Tikkun Magazine - www.tikkun.org

Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) - www.spiritualprogressives.org

Email: cat@spiritualprogressives.org (subject heading - Imagine with Us)

Rabbi Lerner’s book Revolutionary Love at www.tikkun.org/revlove

Emma’s Revolution -  www.emmasrevolution.com

May 13, 202125:51
Anti-Racist Struggles After Minneapolis Guilty Verdict

Anti-Racist Struggles After Minneapolis Guilty Verdict

Welcome to Imagine with Us podcast with Rabbi Michael Lerner and Cat Zavis. In this episode, we celebrate the guilty verdicts in Minneapolis even as we mourn ongoing police murders of African Americans. The same day Chauvin was convicted, a 16 yr old African American girl in Columbus, OH was shot dead by police. Guilty verdicts are not enough to achieve the fundamental changes needed in the criminal justice system and to end racism in our society.

Apr 21, 202117:09
Fascism Rising: Lessons from the Holocaust
Apr 08, 202127:50
Celebrating the Covid Relief Bill and Dreaming of More
Mar 10, 202128:28
Unity Post-Impeachment?
Feb 16, 202128:23
Creating a Caring Government
Feb 03, 202129:51
After Last Week's Coup Attempt
Jan 14, 202138:59
Dream Big: Imagine a Truly Transformed and Loving World
Dec 24, 202025:57
The Liberatory and Spiritual Meaning of the Holidays
Dec 17, 202028:10
Steps Toward Overcoming Racism

Steps Toward Overcoming Racism

Welcome to Imagine with Us podcast with Rabbi Michael Lerner and Cat Zavis. In this episode, we build on our discussion from last week on grieving and look at it through the lens of the ongoing police brutality and murders of black people. What can we do to challenge racism? How can we educate white people? And how do we avoid blaming and shaming people so they can hear the ways that racism harms them as well?

Dec 10, 202027:44
Grieving the Great Psychological and Spiritual Deprivation

Grieving the Great Psychological and Spiritual Deprivation

Welcome to Imagine with Us! In this episode, we discuss how we can acknowledge and responsibly steward our grief to give birth to healing. Between COVID illness and loss, distance, loneliness, economic stress, blatant injustice, and environmental catastrophe, so many of us are experiencing distress. The longer we are deprived of psychological and spiritual care, the more we prevent grief from serving as a foundation for the healing transformation of our world.

Dec 04, 202036:06
Why aren’t more people progressive? Part 2

Why aren’t more people progressive? Part 2

In this episode, "Why aren't more people progressive? Part 2", we step back and look at the dynamics of human life in the past 10,000 years that continue to shape how we understand our options for achieving security, safety, and peace. We then move to a discussion of the importance of building a social change movement that moves social energy from fear to hope and builds a loving community so more people are inspired to participate and join us.

Nov 20, 202033:06
Why aren’t more people progressive? Part 1

Why aren’t more people progressive? Part 1

Welcome to Imagine with Us podcast with Rabbi Michael Lerner and Cat Zavis. We’re excited to bring you our first episode in which we discuss how it is that over 70 million people voted for a candidate that so many more people deem to be both corrupt and frighteningly dangerous. How can we understand the lure of hate-filled politics beyond the narrow analysis that “all his supporters are racist or stupid” and respond to this moment with empathy, revolutionary love, and justice so we can build a future that embraces us all?

Nov 12, 202016:25