Join me for a live class at The Torah Cafe. We explore the intersection between the ten days of repentance and October 7th, asking how to take a heroic stance on teshuva.Av Rav Mike

Sometimes history and the Hebrew calendar coincide in remarkable ways. Join Rav Mike and guest R' Aaron Leibowitz as they discuss the nature of the the spiritual and material challenges faced by the Jewish people today. The conversation touches on the limits of agency, the nature of responsibility and the question of how we hold the pain of past an…

American Jewry stands at a crossroads, facing great risks and real opportunities. Success in such a moment requires clarity of vision, confidence in identity and readiness for action - all elements of a heroic stance. This first class of Rav Mike's recent US tour is an exploration of what Jewish heroism is, how it can be cultivated in our lives and…

There are many models of Jewish hero, and the healer is among the most important. In a time when Israeli Jews are struggling to be victorious warriors, here is a call for American Jewry to pick up the task of healing. Because if victory means nothing more than smashing your enemies, we are still left with a broken world in the end…

Malchut is good made manifest.This class introduces malchut, the seventh and final step in the Torah’s heroic journey. Malchut is the ability to bring the pieces into right relationship - in the personal dimension as identity, between people as leadership and facing creation as Divine consciousness. On the heroic journey it is a manifestation of th…

Here is a pre-Pesach conversation with R' Yehuda HaKohen of the Vision Movement where we explore the narrative arc of the Passover story and the nature of freedom. Along the way we touch on the State of Israel's struggle to be free of foreign influence, and how every Jew can become more of who they truly are.…

Yosher is integrity, the ability to hold the line.This class introduces yosher as the sixth path of Jewish heroism. The quality of integrity guides us in forming a right relationship with self, other and world – all the facets of truth uncovered on the path of emet. The class begins by touching on how integrity is a quality of heart, and then goes …

It's not every day that you turn fifty. here are some birthday thoughts from Rav Mike - and a blessing to all who tune in!Av Rav Mike

Here is a discussion with R' Aaron Leibowitz about some of the emotional and spiritual challenges posed by the uncertainty of our national situation, and what Purim might teach us about finding a way forward.Av Rav Mike

Emet is where the light of the Infinite enters our story. It is the engagement of truth without and within which requires a struggle with the shadow and the unknown. This class introduces emet, the struggle to embrace truth, as the fifth path of Jewish heroism. It begins with an exploration of the Torah's approach to truth as a holistic process wit…

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from hardship and endure prolonged pressure - two qualities which are essential to any hero's journey. This episode explores the quality of חוסן/chosen which is the root of how we understand mental as a path in Jewish Heroism.Av Rav Mike

Mesirut is the threshold of heroism. It is the power of breaking through which can push a story, a life journey and even history past the bounds of what appears possible.This class introduces mesirah, the power to give more than you have, as the fourth path of Jewish heroism. It begins by introducing the element of heroism which involves breaking b…

R' Yehuda HaKohen gives his perspective on heroism, Jewish and universal. The conversation explores the nature of villains and enemies, the mission of the Jewish people and a vision for their heroic future.Av Rav Mike

We have arrived at the generation of victory. The challenge is knowing what that means. Here is a heroic thought on what the "netzach" (eternal) in "nitzachon" (victory) has to teach us about our task today.Av Rav Mike

How do I take a stand, and what does it mean when I do?This class opens with Avraham as the Ivri, the Hebrew. That name marks him as a descendant of Ever, immigrant from the other side (ever) of the river, and visionary who took a stand opposite the whole world over the Oneness of God. The first section ties these aspects of the Ivri together into …

Here is a conversation with Gil Troy - historian, Zionist thinker and senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (https://jppi.org.il/en/). He shares his insights on Zionism and American Jewish identity in light of our current war, as well as offering thoughts on what heroism looks like for the Jewish people today. Check our www.jewishhero…

The second core episode of the Jewish Heroism Project! Check out www.jewishheroism.com for source sheets and supplementary videos.Life is work. What are we laboring for and whom do we serve? This class introduces avodah, work, as the ability to actualize creation’s potential and the first path ofheroism past the gate of good. It explores humanity’s…

A brief thought on the message of the 10th of Tevet. We are a people under siege, and when facing such a situation a hero has to learn to read the writing on the wall.Av Rav Mike

The first core episode of the Jewish Heroism Project! Check out www.jewishheroism.com for source sheets and supplementary videos.There are good things worth fighting for. But what is good? The first class of the Jewish Heroism Project introduces the Torah’s definitionof heroism as mesirut nefesh l’man tov, going beyond limited self for the sake of …

Rav Mike's annual Hanukkah class in honor of the yarzheit of his father Charles M. Feuer, Betzalel ben Avraham. Also the official launch party of the Jewish Heroism Project - www.jewishheroism.com. The class unpacks the meaning of gevurah, what it can teach us about the Maccabean war and our present national struggle.…

The questions our nation faces today are painful and even frightening. Here is a conversation for those seeking to raise their morale and their morals.Av Rav Mike

Israel is at war, and there are many battlefield on which the conflict is playing out. In this interview Rav Mike engages International Spokeman and media warrior Yishai Fleisher in an analysis of the important question - what is narrative war?Av Rav Mike

A conversation with R' Johnny Solomon about the Torah of healing, vision and action in the face of national tragedy.Av Rav Mike

A brief conversation between Rav Mike and Eitan Ben Avraham about our present situationAv Rav Mike

Here is a conversation with Rav Aaron and I engaging some of the questions raised by the war we are now waging - how we got here, how to handled it and how to think about where we are headed. God bless and stay strong!Av Rav Mike

Here is a taste of what is to come - both this week and this year! Because of its roll on Yom Kippur the book of Jonah is one of the most read books of the prophets, yet it remains one of the least. Here are some insights on how Jonah's story connects to Jewish Heroism that offer a "prequel" for the Jewish Heroism Project as well as some insights f…

Introducing the Jewish Heroism Project! Thanks so much to Israel365 for inviting me to speak about the importance of Heroism, and how it has the potential to change the Jewish people and the world.Av Rav Mike

Sign up for this coming year's class through TJS live - https://www.patreon.com/TJSLivesubscription?fan_landing=true&view_as=publicDo it now and get access to a FREE Elul webinarAv Rav Mike

The Israeli Judicial Reform protests come the same week 18 years after the Gush Katif protests and 2,000 years after the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. What can we learn from Tisha B'Av and the Nine Days about modern Jewish and Israeli unity? Sometimes the echoes of history are so loud that they seem to drown out the present. This con…

There is no way to give closure to six seasons of a story, but you have to try! Here is an interview with R' Mike that looks back on the lessons of history and reflects on the challenges of today. It also announces tomorrow's new project - so stay tuned for more amazing stories!Av Rav Mike

Was Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in 2000 the trigger for what the Arab community calls the Al Aqsa Intifada? Or was this a pre-planned assault orchestrated by the likes of Marwan Barghouti, Raed Salah of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel and even the Palestinian Authority?In this final installment of the Temple Mount…

Why is the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism a lighting rod for terrorist attacks and central to Israeli-Arab peace negotiations? Learn about how the Har HaBayit shifted from being acknowledged by Muslim leaders in the 1920s as a Jewish site to a complete denial by Yasir Arafat by the 1990s. The Oslo Accords, the Camp David Summit and react…

Another show live and on the road! Here is a talk on behalf of the Valley Beit Midrash entitled "Is There a Future for American Zionism? American Zionism in the Era of the Ethnic State."Image: Public Domain Dedication. Public Use Notice of Limitations: https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyrightAv Rav Mike

I am on the road! Here is an interview with educator and activist R' Shmuly Yanklowitz where we discuss what it means to be both progressive and orthodox, as well as his vision of the Jewish story present and future.Av Rav Mike

Should Jews be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount? Or will it inflame Muslim sensitivities? Learn the history of this debate from the Six Day War in 1967 when General Moshe Dayan argued with Rabbi Shlomo Goren on the issue, to the fire started by Australian tourist Denis Michael Rohan, the shooting by Allan Goodman, through the 1980s up until the …

Every tale has a point around which it revolves, and for the Jewish Story that is the Temple Mount. Here is the opening round in a new series tracing the way in which the sacred mountain in the middle of Jerusalem is still at the center of our story.Av Rav Mike

A live webinar on behalf of for Fuel For Truth: Israel Education & Advocacy Training, on "The Crisis of Israeli Sovereignty." First Rav Mike lays out his innovative approach to three dimensions in which sovereignty is exercised - territorial, economic and cultural. Then in the question and answer he engages the judicial reform protests, the purpose…

Here is my call for a constructive alternative to the current mass protests against judicial reform being debated in Israel's Knesset. Along the way we touch some historical context about Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak, Meir Kahane's Kach party and what the Israeli Declaration of Independence actually says. On t…

The final installment in the series on the tri-partite part nature of American antisemitism. This episode revisits all three forms of Jew-hatred characteristic of society in the United States and touches base with their manifestation in the new millennia. Along the way we identify the narrative endgame driving each of these stories of destruction a…

Just a little touch of pre-Purim madness! Rav Mike Feuer discusses the Jewish holiday of Purim, the Book of Esther(Megillah) and how it relates to us today Image created by Wolfgang Beyer with the program Ultra Fractal 3https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcodeAv Rav Mike

Part six of the series on Antisemitism takes a turn toward the manifestation of hate in the progressive culture of America. In addition to outlining some of the theory and history of hate on the American left, this episode also outlines the glory and complications of the rise of 'tikkun olam' as the civil religion of liberal Jews.imagehttps://www.f…

Is Judeophobia getting worse in the US? Kenneth Jacobson has worked for the Anti-Defamation League since 1971 and as deputy director, he shares his unique view on the history of Jew-hate in America.Av Rav Mike

This episode opens up our exploration of the third face of American antisemitism with the backstory of progressive Jew hate. Listen in to uncover the ongoing impact of Soviet era propaganda, and to learn what is "the socialism of fools."Av Rav Mike

When the cracks start to open up in American race relations, Jew-hate seeps into the mainstream. Here is an episode about Reverend Jesse Jackson, Minister Louis Farrakhan and the evolution of black antisemitism.image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gotovan/49958357796/license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode…

Sometimes you have to get out of your own head in order to know what you really think. Here is an episode where my good friend Eitan Ben Avraham interviews me on the fundamental tensions underlying the Israeli/American Jewish relationship and how they find expression in our present political challenges.Image by - https://www.flickr.com/photos/thoma…

Jew hate has two fundamental elements no matter where it manifests - one connected to the role Jews play in society, the other the role we play in the mind of the hater. This episode opens a new facet of American antisemitism as we turn from white hate to black, and try to understand the roots of them both.…

Part two of our exploration of the new face of the oldest hate focuses on the history of Jewish response to antisemitism through a look at the ADL. As a bonus you get a brief interview with my mom!Av Rav Mike

It's an old topic, but somehow seems to be making yet another comeback. Here is the introductory episode in my quest to understand the rebirth of humanity's oldest hatred in the United States today.Image attribution: Ted Eytanlic: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcodeAv Rav Mike

Here is my annual Hanukkah class in honor of my father, Charles Feuer/Betzalel ben Avraham ob'm. As the end of the Hasmonean kingdom that was established after the Hanukkah war, the Sages decreed "cursed by the man who teaches his son Greek wisdom." This talk explores what that wisdom might be, how to hold it off and why doing so is central to our …

Here is an interview with my dear friend and co-author Dave Mason. In it we explore imagination as a tool of spirituality, the challenges of co-writing a novel and the idea of an Age of Prophecy.Join the Age of Prophecy 7-day challenge at https://theageofprophecy.com/self-fulfilling-prophecy/Av Rav Mike