Positive Judaism Podcast

Neshimat Tamid: Eternal Soul Album. Songs for Inspiration, Happiness, and Wellbeing with teachings. Enjoy!

You are invited to the 2019 Positive Judaism Summit. Please join us March 14, 2019 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for a day long gathering. Our theme this year is "From Survive to Thrive." Learn more and register at www.positive-judaism.org. Looking forward to seeing you at the Summit.

While Positive Judaism is our effort, the opportunity for a Positive Christianity, a Positive Islam, and a Positive Buddhism, etc., will be the most important advancement in religion in the modern era. Each tradition contributing their own distinct philosophies, practices, and culture for wellbeing, happiness, and life satisfaction. We are at just the beginning.

The Jewish sages of 2000 years ago asked, “Who is Rich?” They had very interesting answers to this question - some which may surprise you - but may also help you imagine a new way to think about your relationship with money and the the positive ways that you can earn, spend, and use your money to create a happier you and more positive world.

There is a yiddish word that describes a polite, smart, and thoughtful child -- a mentsch -- and who does not want to have a mentch as a child? It takes more than faith, hope and good luck to have a kind and loving child and so I’m going to offer you some fresh ideas about how to raise a mentch by focusing on your child’s strengths and adopting a new framework called Strengths Based Parenting. This approach will help you raise your child’s level of wellbeing and happiness -- and the result will be the mentch you have always dreamed your child would become.

It has been shown that religious people are happier and more satisfied with life than non-religious individuals and that people who participate in religious communities are happier and physically healthier than people with no religious affiliation. In this episode, Rabbi Darren Levine speaks about the role of prayer in raising the level of wellbeing and happiness in life.

Many people believe that Passover is simply about the retelling of a 2000 year-old Jewish story from freedom to slavery -- but it is so much more. Within this ancient tale are the virtues for living a positive life: gratitude, kindness, love, bravery, and hope. These are the very qualities that guide people to wellbeing and increased life satisfaction.

A study was recently completed of 200,000 university graduates that were asked about their life goals. 77% of them stated that making money was their most important goal. However, the research in wellbeing and life satisfaction concludes that there is only a slight relationship between wealth and happiness. Rather as you will learn in this episode, happiness comes not from having more, but by becoming more.

People want to have to have happy, united and lasting family love - but it takes more than desire. A Positive home takes effort and must be built into the DNA of how a family functions. There are plenty of studies and articles showing what is wrong with today’s family, I’m interested in what is right - and what is working. This episode is for anyone looking to create a positive and loving family environment.

Divorce can be painful, confusing, and sad - but it can also be freeing, a fresh start, and a new beginning. Divorce can ruin people, forever sour their lives, char them with resentment, and destroy them spiritually. However, there is another way forward: The Positive Divorce. A Positive divorce depends on a mindset and in most situations, it depends on the ability to forgive. Having lived through it himself, Rabbi Darren Levine can say with conviction that in certain situations, divorce is a mitzvah.

In this episode, Rabbi Darren Levine will be speaking about marriage and how critical a positive marriage is to having a happy and overall meaningful life. But sadly, many people are unhappy in their marriages and ours has become a culture of divorce and broken families. However, there are some key virtues that couples can adopt to strengthen and deepen their bond. He puts marriage expert Dr. John Gottman’s Love Ratio and Trust Metric tools in a Jewish context and takes you into his study to meet Jonathan and Carole, and to learn some of their secrets to a happy and fulfilled married life.

Positive Judaism is a new vision for Jewish life in the 21st Century which lives at the intersection of religious living and the science of wellbeing and happiness. Positive Judaism is a practical and spiritual approach to increasing your happiness and wellbeing. It’s not a doctrine, it’s not a movement, and it’s not a formula. Positive Judaism is a new approach to religion that applies Jewish living, Jewish teachings, and the Jewish experience of 3000 years to improve the state of happiness and wellbeing in your life and those around you.