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LEARN how to answer anyone’s questions — including your own. Learn the full framework in the LIVE COURSE: https://soulwords.org/how 📅 Course starts March 16 Many of you know that I just lost my mother, and just over a year ago I lost my father. One of the Jewish customs is the recitation of a prayer called Kaddish, which can only be said in a minyan—a public gathering of congregational prayer. Saying Kaddish means showing up three times a day. It’s very demanding. In many ways it takes over your life. A friend of mine, a fellow rabbi who actually loves prayer, told me he was hating it. The pressure of having to be there, on time, three times a day—it felt stressful. “Why would a loving God require this of me?” he asked. I didn’t have a great answer for him, but I shared the reflection that worked for me. I’m an introvert. Being in public places exhausts me. After losing a parent, there’s always regret, always the feeling that it could have been different. My nature would have been to isolate and ruminate and probably become pretty depressed. But because I had to show up for Kaddish, I was forced to be out and about among people. Not schmoozing. Not seeking social interaction. Just being around other human beings. And that has a grounding effect. There’s an idea called “third places.” First place is home. Second place is work. A third place is somewhere that’s not home and not work—a place where you’re simply among other people. These places are essential to mental health and trust. Today, many of those third places have dried up. One of the last vestiges of our third places are our houses of worship. So whether you are Jewish or not, go to your place of worship. Don’t even go expecting a spiritual experience. Just go. Sit in the back. Be among people who are not your family and not your coworkers. As healthy, functional human beings, we need these places. Sometimes the way we connect to God is by being among His children. While we may imagine that spirituality happens alone on a mountaintop, the reality is that God likes it when His kids play together nicely. Just go hang out with some other people in a third place. And you may end up finding God. #Loneliness #MentalHealth #Isolation #Community #ThirdPlaces --- *For more classes from Rabbi Shais Taub:* 🌐 *Website:* https://www.soulwords.org/ *Follow Rabbi Shais Taub:* 📸 *Instagram:* https://www.instagram.com/rabbi_shais_taub 🎥 *TikTok:* https://www.tiktok.com/@rabbi_shais_taub 🐦 *X (Twitter):* https://www.x.com/ShaisTaub 📘 *Facebook:* https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573478244968 💼 *LinkedIn:* https://www.linkedin.com/in/shais-taub-81a95466/ 🎧 *Listen to the SoulWords Podcast:* 🎵 *Spotify:* https://open.spotify.com/show/51E7XHWFDbZCGJQz7CoAZP 🍏 *Apple Podcasts:* https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soulwords-full-library/id1450892501 *Support Our Work:* 💳 *Donate:* https://www.soulwords.org/donate/ 💰 *PayPal:* https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/soulwordspayments 💵 *CashApp:* https://cash.app/$soulwords 🪙 *Venmo:* https://venmo.com/u/soulwords *About SoulWords:* SoulWords is a virtual community hosted by Rabbi Shais Taub, where people come together to explore the spiritual insights of Torah and discover their unique purpose. This platform is here to facilitate your spiritual growth by sharing the mystical teachings of Judaism in contemporary language—making deep wisdom accessible and relevant to your life.
