Change and Self-Acceptance: Rav Shagar’s Paradox of Teshuva
Is teshuva about changing ourselves, or is it about accepting who we are?…
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VideosThe Hasidic Rebbe Who Left it All — And Then Returned
Why did this Hasidic Rebbe move from Poland to Israel, only to change his name, leave religion, and disappear to Los Angeles?
- Essays
- Essays
What Teshuva Means to Me
I could probably tell my life story through the thoughts that have occupied…
articles
Loving God and Studying Torah: The Telos of Teshuva
Torah study requires mind, heart, and soul, Rabbi Dr. Michael Rosensweig writes. How, though, does it relate to teshuva?
podcast
Mark Moskowitz: Within: What Going to Jail Taught Me About Teshuva
On this episode of 18Forty, we have a deeply moving conversation with Mark Moskowitz, an author, speaker, and coach, to talk about his search for meaning in federal prison.
podcast
Martha Minow: When Law Should Forgive: On the Limitations of Teshuva
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Martha Minow, a legal scholar and a professor at Harvard Law School, about forgiveness, law, and the boundaries of teshuva.
podcast
Matisyahu: Teshuva in the Spotlight
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to musician Matisyahu Miller—known as “Matisyahu”—who has publicly re-embraced his Judaism and Zionism since October 7.
podcast
Alex Clare: Changing in Public
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Alex Clare – singer and baal teshuva – about changing identity and what if questions.
podcast
Miriam Gisser: Recovery as Change
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Miriam about changing, or even rebuilding, one’s life.
podcast
Agnes Callard: A Philosophy of Change
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Agnes Callard – professor of philosophy and author – about the philosophy of change.
articles
Change and Self-Acceptance: Rav Shagar’s Paradox of Teshuva
Is teshuva about changing ourselves, or is it about accepting who we are? For this paradox, Rav Shagar says, it’s both.
articles
How to Say Sorry
Apologies should be easy—but they seem to be anything but. The Talmud shares timeless wisdom to help us say a better sorry.
articles
What Teshuva Means to Me
I spent so much of my life building up these anxiety-inducing transitions, these Death of Superman narratives, when the real moments of personal growth and identity formation often happened in the moments in between.
articles
Teshuva: A Timeline
To help you come to terms with yourselves, and to avoid the hard work of change and therapy, we put together a history of teshuva, from the great before to today.
articles
Teshuva Is Endless
Teshuva is beyond any words, ideas, or concepts because it is not something we do but something we are.
articles
Teshuva Is Messy and Beautiful. That’s What Makes It Real.
Rav Judah Mischel and singer Alex Clare shed light on the beauty and complexity of teshuva, namely in their own lives.
articles
The Rehearsal of Teshuva: Three Reflections on the Process of Change
Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal is the teshuva tool you didn’t know you needed. Here are three reflections to aid you in the process.
articles
Why Developing a Healthy Body Image is Part of Teshuva
Eating disorders and body-image issues are a universal struggle. Fixing this is a religious imperative.
articles
Real Change Is a Process—and It Takes Time
Human desire wishes that we change at the moment we want to, but real change, real teshuva, takes time.
podcast
Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld: What We Can Learn About Teshuva From Jewish Outreach
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, R. Beryl Gernshenfeld, one of the leaders of the Jewish outreach movement, joins us in talking about what we can learn about the process of transformation that occurs in Jewish outreach.
podcast
Shais Taub: Teshuva of Innocence and Experience
On this episode of 18Forty, we have a wide ranging conversation with Shais Taub, a renowned Chabad scholar and author of the book God of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addition, about the mechanics of teshuva.
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Rav Daniel Kalish: The Song of Teshuva
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Rav Judah Mischel: A Change in Progress
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rav Judah Mischel – executive director of Camp HASC and founder of Tzama Nafshi – about change and teshuva.
podcast
Yabloner Rebbe: The Rebbe of Change
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Pini Dunner and Rav Moshe Weinberger about the Yabloner Rebbe and his astounding story of teshuva.
podcast
The Books of Shabbos
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk about two impactful books about Shabbos and their authors.
Teshuva
Rav Judah Mischel: A Change in Progress
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rav Judah Mischel – executive director of Camp HASC and founder of Tzama Nafshi – about change and teshuva.
podcast
Rav Judah Mischel: A Change in Progress
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rav Judah…
podcast
Alex Clare: Changing in Public
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Alex Clare…
podcast
Yabloner Rebbe: The Rebbe of Change
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Pini…
podcast
Agnes Callard: A Philosophy of Change
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Agnes Callard…
podcast
Miriam Gisser: Recovery as Change
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Miriam about…
podcast
Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld: What We Can Learn About Teshuva From Jewish Outreach
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, R. Beryl Gernshenfeld, one of…
podcast
Antonio García Martínez: Optionality and Choosing Judaism
In this episode of 18Forty, tech entrepreneur Antonio Garcia Martinez discusses his…
podcast
Kayla Haber-Goldstein: Questioning the Answers: Rebuilding Your Faith
On this episode of 18Forty, we have a frank conversation with author…
podcast
Shais Taub: Teshuva of Innocence and Experience
On this episode of 18Forty, we have a wide ranging conversation with Shais Taub,…
podcast
Mark Moskowitz: Within: What Going to Jail Taught Me About Teshuva
On this episode of 18Forty, we have a deeply moving conversation with…
podcast
Child & Parental Alienation: Keeping Families Together
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we discuss parental alienation.
podcast
Rav Daniel Kalish: The Song of Teshuva
<span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span><span data-mce-type=”bookmark”…
podcast
Martha Minow: When Law Should Forgive: On the Limitations of Teshuva
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Martha Minow,…
podcast
Infidelity: Consequences and Aftermath
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to an anonymous…
podcast
Joshua Leifer and Shaindy Ort: How Progressive Activists Rediscovered Traditional Jewish Life
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Joshua Leifer…
podcast
Yussie Zakutinsky: Connecting to a Disconnected Jewish People
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Yussie Zakutinsky,…
podcast
Tuvia Tenenbom: How a Secular Jew Came To Love the Haredi World
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Tuvia Tenenbom,…
podcast
Emmi Polansky: Finding Agency as a Single Mother
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Emmi Polansky, known…
podcast
Matisyahu: Teshuva in the Spotlight
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to musician Matisyahu…
podcast
Joey Rosenfeld: What Does Jewish Mysticism Say About This Moment?
How can our generation understanding mysticism, philosophy, and suffering in today’s chaotic…
book
Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming
With every day, and every decision, we change, experiencing life in a way that we couldn’t imagine or envision earlier. Heraclitus, the storied pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, is famous for noting that one cannot step in the same river twice, which is a statement both about time and change. Both the river and the foot (or person wielding the foot) change with every moment, so that the circumstances will never be identical; a person can never step in the same river twice. How then can we aspire for better, for change, if we don’t know who we will become through the process of that change? How can we work towards a new way of seeing the world, if we are still guided by our old lenses? This book is an exploration of the questions about change you didn’t know you struggled…
book
BaDerech: Along the Path of Teshuva
How can we walk along the road of change with authenticity? In his new book, Rav Judah Mischel guides us on the complex and often difficult path of personal growth, through the thick undergrowth of doubts and anxieties that can sometimes accompany hope for a better life. In this book, stories and teachings converge, in a personal and powerful guide to growth. This book is the perfect accompaniment for the month of Elul and can inspire thoughtful introspection in all contexts. To see some of the dynamics of this book in practice, pair this book with the Autobiography of Malcolm X.. While this pairing may seem strange to those who don’t know much about Malcolm, if you make it to the end of this fascinating work, you may learn how these two books share a deeper kinship than you, or…
book
Transformative Experience
How can we make a decision about the future, when the person we will be when we experience the realities of that decision is a different person than we are today? In her book, L.A. Paul, a professor of philosophy in Yale famous for her ideas about “transformative experience,” explores the deepest questions of decision making. In this deeply human book of philosophical inquiry, Paul argues that we consider our life’s decisions as decisions to discover the experience of life, as our own experiences unfold from the decisions we make. If that doesn’t make sense to you yet, read the book; Paul is a far better articulator of her thought than we are.