For years, Seth has been searching for a mystical experience that might reveal something extraordinary about his life. A Jewish educator and musician, he looks for encounters with the divine through music, prayer, and eventually psychedelic retreats, hoping for the kind of revelation that changed the lives of biblical prophets. But what happens when the experience you've been longing for turns out to be nothing like you imagined? A surprising and deeply personal story about the search for meaning, the desire for certainty, and what it takes to encounter the sacred.
When Moses turned and saw the bush that burned but was not consumed, it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, it was a map. Maybe the bush had always been burning. It just took someone willing to turn, to notice, to say this is sacred ground. Everyday Mystics tells the real stories of people who have had that turning. Small, ordinary moments that cracked open into something larger. Their stories of transformation weave Jewish wisdom bringing forward an old/ new way of understanding mystical experience and the everyday. These are stories of when the ordinary becomes sacred, the familiar becomes mysterious, and Judaism becomes beautifully unbound.
References
[1] Citation: Exodus 2:4 ““His sister stationed herself at a distance, to know what would befall him”
[2] Citation: Leviticus 10:1 “Now Aaron’s sons Nadav and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, laid incense in it and they offered before God (Esh Zara) alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them.”
[3] Leviticus Rabbah discusses reasons for the death of Nadav and Abihu, among them, intoxication. Here is a strong article articulating the different stories around what the sages thought about Esh Zara and subsequent loss of life.
[4] Citation: Yerushalmi, Kiddushin 4:12 “You will one day give reckoning for everything your eyes saw which, although permissible, you did not enjoy"
[5] ummm… tell me more about psychedelic retreats! Shefa, a Jewish psychedelic community, offers a variety of retreats that utilize psilocybin in therapeutic and responsible ways sourced in Jewish wisdom.
[6] Citation: 2 Kings 3:15 “Now then, get me a musician.As the musician played, GOD’s hand came upon him.”
[7] Citation on Miriam’s vision are a mashup between Sotah 13a and Exodus Rabbah 1:22 where we read, “"My mother is destined to give birth to a son who will save Israel from Egyptian bondage." Here’s a quick article outlining the different early stories about Miriam’s prophecies.
[8] If you want to learn more about Miriam as a prophet and leader of the Jewish people, you might enjoy Jericho Vincent’s podcast “Survival guide for a spiritual wilderness”
[9] Citation: Genesis 28:16 “God was in this place and I did not know”
[10] Seth refers to the psilocybin retreats as “Journey work” here is a link to a place that uses the same terminology.
[11] Citation: Taanit 9a (Rashi on Numbers 20:2) “...during the entire forty years they had the “well” through Miriam’s merit.”
[12] Citation: Pirkei Avot 5:6 “Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs”
[13] If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, consider Tikvah Center, a Jewish recovery center, Rabbi Kerry Olitzky's vast library of resources and Rami Shapiro’s book “Recovery- the sacred art- The 12 steps as a spiritual practice.”
