In this twelfth episode of The Power of the Hebrew Months, I explore how the month of Av can help us live with experiences that seem impossible to reconcile. Av teaches us how to remain connected to Hashem when compassion feels hidden, how to stop treating painful emotions as proof of spiritual failure, and how to direct powerful traits like anger, ambition, intensity, and fear toward a higher purpose. By learning to hear the unity beneath judgment and mercy, mourning and consolation, and revelation and concealment, we gain a practical framework for staying faithful during uncertainty, recognizing hidden growth, and bringing the divided parts of ourselves into the service of 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.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.

What if the greatest obstacle to spiritual growth isn't a lack of knowledge, but a weak foundation? In this episode, Rabbi Michael Cohen joins me as we explore Rav Dessler's profound meditation on the opening words of Mesillas Yesharim. Together, we discover how to build a life in which every role, every decision, and every mitzvah is rooted in a single purpose, why truth must move from the mind into the heart before it can transform us, and how living with Yiras Shamayim can reshape the way we experience every moment of life.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.Connect with Rabbi Michael CohenReach out to Rabbi Michael Cohen to learn more about his one-on-one coaching work, where he applies the teachings of Strive for Truth to help individuals untangle inner confusion, clarify priorities, and live more grounded, self-expressed lives. To inquire or connect, email him at [email protected] or connect through LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/michaelcohen101/

In this profound episode, we explore the ultimate purpose of life through the lens of Torah wisdom and the extraordinary stories of near-death experiences. Joined by Rebbetzin Nomi Freeman, we delve into the transformative insights shared by individuals who glimpsed the spiritual realm, aligning their experiences with the timeless truths of Torah and mitzvos.Discover the deeper meaning behind life’s challenges, the ripple effect of our actions, and the profound importance of kindness, Torah study, and fulfilling mitzvos. Through inspiring firsthand accounts, this episode sheds light on how we can focus on life’s true mission and build an eternal legacy.This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking clarity, purpose, and a deeper 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

What if I told you that the Creator of the Universe wrote a letter to comfort you during these challenging times since October 7th?In this episode, we're joined by Jake Turx, senior White House correspondent and chief political correspondent for Ami magazine, and a political contributor at Newsmax. Jake analyzes Sefer Ovadia, the shortest book in the Prophets section of the Tanach, with just one chapter and 21 verses. Despite its brevity, it delivers a powerful message of divine justice and the fate of Edom.This is a message dictated by the Almighty to His prophet, Ovadia, 2,800 years ago, specifically for you today.

In this episode of The Power of the Hebrew Months, Rabbi Pill and I explore the avodah of Tammuz: learning to perceive reality through the eyes of Torah. We discuss how the meaning we attach to life's events often shapes our experience more than the events themselves, and how many of our greatest struggles stem not from what we see, but from how we interpret it. Tammuz provides a framework for finding Hashem within moments of confusion, uncovering hidden opportunity within apparent setbacks, and transforming the way we relate to challenges, disappointment, and uncertainty.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.  

What was the Korban Chatas really designed to accomplish?Most people view the Chatas as a sin offering, but this episode explores a deeper possibility: that the Korban Chatas was actually a structured framework for personal transformation. Building upon themes from The Structured Path of Deveikus, we examine the thesis that the Chatas follows the same transformational architecture revealed at Krias Yam Suf, a process designed to move Torah from Binah to Daas, from intellectual understanding into lived reality. By walking through each stage of the Chatas process from recognition and investment to ownership, consequence, elevation, and internalization we uncover a remarkable Torah system for transforming knowledge into experience, desire into deveikus, and even failure into spiritual growth.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.

In this special installment of Strive for Truth, Rabbi Michael Cohen and I step back from our study of Rav Dessler's essays to explore how these profound ideas apply in everyday life. Why do so many people remain stuck despite sincere efforts to grow? How do the stories we tell ourselves, our hidden assumptions, and our internal dialogue shape our relationships, careers, spiritual lives, and personal happiness? Drawing upon both Rav Dessler's teachings and his experience coaching individuals, Rabbi Cohen shares practical insights and real-life examples that demonstrate how greater self-awareness can help us move beyond old patterns, see reality more clearly, and create meaningful change in 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.Connect with Rabbi Michael CohenReach out to Rabbi Michael Cohen to learn more about his one-on-one coaching work, where he applies the teachings of Strive for Truth to help individuals untangle inner confusion, clarify priorities, and live more grounded, self-expressed lives. To inquire or connect, email him at mailto:[email protected] or connect through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcohen101/

What if the wilderness wasn't merely a place, but a stage of life that every person must eventually pass through? In this episode of From Binah to Daas, I explore the Torah's concept of the Midbar as the space between who we were and who we are becoming. Drawing on the journeys of Adam HaRishon, the Jewish people, and our own life experiences, we examine how Torah presents recurring patterns that operate on the level of the individual, the nation, and humanity itself. Along the way, we uncover why transformation requires uncertainty, why the Midbar lasted forty years, what the Golden Calf, the spies, and Korach teach us about navigating major life transitions, and how periods that feel like detours may actually be Hashem's preparation for our next mission. If you've ever felt caught between an ending and a beginning, this episode offers a Torah framework for understanding why.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 of the Strive for Truth series, Rabbi Michael Cohen and I explore a powerful essay from Rav Dessler on Emunas Chachamim and the danger of mistaking surface-level events for the deeper reality behind them. We discuss how our personal biases distort not only how we see situations in the moment, but also how we connect cause and effect over time. Through examples from the Purim story, the Holocaust, and everyday life, we examine why Torah teaches us to rely on the wisdom of the sages and how much of what we confidently call “reality” may actually just be the story we’ve constructed in our own minds. 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.Connect with Rabbi Michael CohenReach out to Rabbi Michael Cohen to learn more about his one-on-one coaching work, where he applies the teachings of Strive for Truth to help individuals untangle inner confusion, clarify priorities, and live more grounded, self-expressed lives. To inquire or connect, email him at mailto:[email protected].

In this episode I explore a deeply transformative idea from the writings of the Baal HaSulam regarding the true purpose of Torah and Matan Torah. We often measure spiritual success through knowledge, observance, or identity, but what if Torah was given to accomplish something far deeper within the human being itself? Together we examine the illusion of separateness, the connection between self-love and fragmentation, why Sinai did not permanently transform humanity, and how Torah and mitzvos function as a gradual process of reshaping consciousness from isolation toward connectedness, responsibility, and alignment with 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.