The Shema Podcast for the Perplexed

In a world that feels more advanced than ever, why does everything also feel more unstable? In this episode, we learn from Rabbi Michael Cohen as we explore a powerful insight from Rav Dessler that challenges the assumption that progress leads to improvement, and instead reveals how our intelligence, success, and achievements can either elevate us or quietly pull us off course. This conversation will help you think more clearly about your own life, not just what you’re building, but what it’s doing to you, and whether your efforts are aligning you with truth or simply amplifying what’s already inside. We also examine what it means to live in a generation that has rebuilt so much, while asking the deeper question of whether something more subtle still needs rebuilding within ourselves.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].

Our Siddur is replete with prayers for the coming of Moshiach. It is something that for millennium we have anticipated. After listening to Rabbi Yaghobian speak on this matter, I felt like a character from the 90’s movie Pulp Fiction; a woman who was overdosing from a heroin, only to be brought back to life via an adrenaline shot through her sternum into her heart.  Rabbi Yaghobian’s words were like that adrenaline shot, causing me to wake up and see, that the Era of Moshiach is no longer an idea for some distant future, but the reality we live in today, as we are now living in the Era of Moshiach.WARNING: Listening to this episode will create an insatiable desire to learn Torah, do mitzvos with intention, improve ones’ character traits and help out their fellow Jews by supporting Jewish Outreach organizations.

In this episode, I delve into a profound teaching from Rabbi Nachman that underscores the importance of aligning our knowledge (Daas), compassion (Tiferes), and foundation (Yesod). This alignment serves as a powerful conduit for channeling blessings from Hashem into the world. It involves the skillful use of prayer, likened to a finely honed spiritual sword. These insights hold universal relevance and can guide us into the upcoming year, ensuring that you not only attract but also receive a bountiful supply of spiritual and material blessings for both you and your loved ones.