Human & Holy

Get a free download of Human & Holy's conversation cards for your Sukkah by becoming a monthly supporter of Human & Holy at humanandholy.com ❤️* * * * * * *The sukkah is called the "shade of faith," but what happens when we sit inside it and feel nothing? What if we are entering Sukkos feeling more tapped into the uncertainty of life's winds, than the certainty of G-d's hug? Today, we explore Sukkos as a full-body experience of faith, absorbed simply by showing up to be there. Shoshana shares how she envisioned herself in the Sukkah's embrace when she was curled up inside the radiation machine for cancer treatment, and teaches the deeper Torah behind how we can carry the Sukkah's lingering touch through the inevitable joy, uncertainty, illness and hiddenness that we experience in daily life. * * * * * * *Shoshana Judelman is passionate about learning and growing through Chassidus. She is the founder of Nekaveh Lecha women’s seminary. She gives shiurim in Chassidus for women across Israel and in Midreshet Rachel V’Chaya in Jerusalem. Her shiurim can be found on Spotify and SoundCloud (Shiurim with Shoshana Judelman). Shoshana is also a guide at Yad Vashem and leads journeys to Poland and other countries for JRoots. She can be contacted at [email protected] inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at [email protected] support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.* * * * * * *TIMESTAMPS:00:00 — Introduction 01:48 — Welcome to Human & Holy02:24 — Why Sukkos is Shoshana’s favorite holiday03:25 — Entering the sukkah and reenacting the Clouds of Glory05:17 — How lockdown changed the way Shoshana’s family celebrates Sukkos06:19 — Intellectual versus embodied knowing08:27 — Why do we celebrate Sukkos after Yom Kippur?09:09 — The Golden Calf and the departure of the Clouds of Glory10:21 — Yom Kippur, forgiveness and returning to relationship with Hashem11:39 — The deeper embrace that follows rupture and repair13:09 — Sukkos as a bridge between Yom Kippur and ordinary life15:50 — A mitzvah rooted in presence rather than constant action16:36 — Learning to see life through the lens of Hashem’s reality18:00 — Building a reservoir of emunah for a random Tuesday in February20:11 — The storm that destroyed Shoshana’s sukkah22:42 — How the community rebuilt the sukkah within hours24:00 — What a temporary structure teaches us about uncertainty25:22 — The sukkah as the shelter of trust and haven of faith27:33 — When it feels as though the Clouds of Glory have holes28:02 — Life as a spiritual training ground30:25 — Can painful experiences really be understood as expressions of love?31:31 — Turning the sukkah into an “emunah gas station”33:19 — Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis shortly before Sukkos35:53 — Carrying the sukkah’s embrace into treatment37:11 — Did Shoshana feel Hashem’s presence during radiation?38:31 — The different “flavors” of Hashem in celebration and hiddenness39:30 — “I don’t like it, but I know that this is also You”40:55 — Practical ways to experience the sukkah more deeply41:25 — The spiritual meaning of the arba minim43:34 — Drawing embodied knowledge into the heart44:28 — Bringing Divine love into our eyes, speech, posture and emotions47:11 — How deeper Torah transforms our experience of a mitzvah48:54 — Slowing down and using imagination while shaking the lulav50:04 — Spending more time in the sukkah without pressuring ourselves to feel52:11 — Shoshana’s message: believe that you can grow and change53:05 — Growth is happening even when we cannot see it54:02 — Carrying hope into the new year55:00 — Closing and ways to support Human & Holy

A conversation about Teshuvah through the dual lens of clinical attachment theory and Torah sources. We explore why perfect attunement in any relationship is a myth, and how the rupture and repair cycle of Teshuvah is actually what deepens our connections, rather than threatening it. Rus Devorah walks through how our early attachment styles get unconsciously projected onto our relationship with God, and offers concrete practices for moving toward a more secure, honest connection with Hashem during this season of return. Rus Devorah Wallen is the founder and owner of Torah Therapeutics. She is an accomplished musician, performer, social worker, psychotherapist, administrative consultant, lecturer, and community leader whose work bridges psychology and Torah wisdom. Find out more at toratherapeutics.com. Article referenced in this episode: https://substack.com/@toratherapeutics/p-212834537* * * * * * *To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at [email protected] support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.* * * * * * *TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 ---- "Back to the future," not back to who you were00:00:18 ---- Host intro00:01:33 ---- Rupture, Repair, and the God We Think We Know00:02:42 ---- The myth of perfect attunement 00:04:46 ---- Why rupture & repair creates a more stabilized relationship00:05:07 ---- Attachment 00:07:55 ---- Projecting childhood attachment templates onto God 00:09:44 ---- Is it trauma,or is it truth? 00:10:49 ---- The HALTS acronym00:13:12 ---- "The prisoner can't free himself from his own cell" 00:15:20 ---- Mapping secure / anxious / avoidant attachment onto our relationship with God00:15:50 ---- What secure attachment looks like relationally 00:19:30 ---- Bringing the secure-attachment framework into relationship with Hashem00:20:19 ---- Avoidant attachment with God 00:23:09 ---- Moving from an unhealthy attachment pattern toward a more secure connection with God00:24:23 ---- Step one: learning to love yourself unconditionally 00:25:26 ---- The shofar's sounds (tekiah, shevarim, teruah) as a metaphor for inner emotional release00:27:12 ---- "Back to the future" — becoming fuller, not returning to a former self00:30:35 ---- Teshuvah as "a descent for the sake of an ascent" 00:34:12 ---- The difference between reunion and real repair — Rambam's stages of teshuvah00:41:31 --- Controlled stress as models for growth00:42:44 ---- Starting with the smallest possible action00:43:48 ---- Practical example: rebuilding belief in God one tiny step at a time00:45:22 ---- Finding an outside perspective to guide the process00:45:48 ---- Secure attachment with God makes room for doubt 00:47:00 ---- Coming to God honestly, without whitewashing pain00:48:31 ---- Needing secure human relationships first00:52:13 ---- Reconciling a loving, all-seeing God with the felt experience of suffering00:52:59 ---- Her stroke story; trusting there was a purpose in crisis00:55:26 ---- Teshuvah creates something new, not a return to a childhood faith00:56:52 ---- Holding childlike wonder within an adult relationship with God00:58:23 ---- Using imagination and visualization to access sweetness 01:00:20 ---- What if your childhood has no sweet memories to draw from?01:03:26 ---- Building everyday resilience through imaginal rehearsal01:04:16 ---- Bringing our full, imperfect selves to God01:06:40 ---- Avinu Malkeinu: God as both King and Father01:07:25 ---- Closing question 01:08:01 ---- Host's outro