Yesod Blocks: Foundational Torah

Ep #60: Stopping, Mind, Body

On Shabbat, we walk the edge, operating in the  space between stopping and being. Learning to access our inner states of being, to access Hashem, in the space created by emerging from our Melakha funnels, is the key to unfurling the Neshama into higher form.

Embodied Torah Ep #5: Embodied Tefilla

Tefilla is an internal process of alignment. We have different tools we can use to activate the process of aligning ourselves with Hashem. The Siddur is the most known tool, but the physical actions we engage in during Tefilla are also part of the toolkit at our disposal. Understanding their impact and structure allow us to take our Tefilla from something habituated to something intentional, something alive.

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Ep #53 Baruch She’amar

In this episode, we begin moving into the next layer of existence explored in the system of Tefilla. Olam HaYetzira is the layer of "form" in which raw materials reflect intention and conviction. 

Embodied Torah Ep #3: Alignment

Embodied Torah Part 3 is out! In this episode, Ariella and I discuss the concept of alignment, exploring how it pervades Torah and our living. The word "tefilla" actually means "alignment," but this is even deeper than it sounds. The stack of elements that the Torah calls the "tzelem elokim" (image of God), comprising the various tools (including our bodies) we use to manifest ourselves into the physical world, can move in and out of alignment, causing us mental, emotional and physical pain and suffering. Detecting these misalignments and flooding them with the truth-light of Torah is the key to healing them. Join us for this episode and check us out at Yesod Blocks and Yoga With Ariella.

Ep #46: Melakha, Cooking and Balance

In this Erev Shabbos episode, we explore the balance of pulling back from melakha (the application of consciousness to the physical world in order to create higher order and organization in a permanent way) while still having some involvement with it on Shabbos. Often, because of the Etz HaDa'at ( the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil), we think in polarities, imagining that melakha is bad on Shabbos, and must be avoided at all cost. The truth is far more complex...

Ep #45 Women, Men and Torah

Female and Male, male and female, what are these models? How do they interrelate with the world of obligation and Torah? The answer is both more simple and more profound than today's cultural tendencies suggest...

Embodied Torah Ep #2: Breath

Welcome to Episode 2 of Embodied Torah! In this episode, we explore the concept of the breath, how breathing impacts our total neshama/body dynamic, and the underlying Torah depths of breathing. Ariella walks us through some breathing tools to help us harness this powerful aspect of our being. Breathing is a core way of making room for Hashem within us, and this episode will reveal why and how that’s true. Also, check us out at yesodblocks.com and yogawithariella.com for more profound content and tools for embodied Torah living. Thanks for listening and for your support:).

Ep #42: Thought Fabric and Torah

Torah is the body of Hashem's thoughts, the way He thinks about things in the world. We can absorb those thoughts, and the underlying perceptions (de'ot) they embody, allowing us to become more real, true and clear.

Ep #41: Carrying, Sages, Rabbinical Decrees

This Erev Shabbos episode analyzes more forms of melakha, as well as the underlying depth of rabbinical decrees.

Ep #40: Stacks, Breaks, and Integration

Breaks in between a bracha and the corresponding action have a particular impact on the structural purpose of a bracha. We often think of the concept of "hefsek" as technical, but its depth is truly profound.