Podcast Episode

The Living Jewishly Podcast

A Psychedelic Judaism?: Purim and the Quest for a Spiritual High

Mar 08, 2022 Episode 69

Living Jewishly / Ami Silver

“‘The good guys and the bad guys’: it’s a day where there’s a lot of clarity and a lot of energy focused on that… We really are going to fight evil on this day and yet, at the same time, we’re undoing part of our rigid perspectives.”

— Ami Silver

During Purim, we’re encouraged to drink to the point of intoxication — in fact, up until we perhaps have trouble distinguishing between good and evil. What is the meaning behind this teaching, and how can we take a fresh look at it in our modern context, in which many people and clinical researchers are exploring new types of intoxicants… including psychedelics?

This episode of the Living Jewishly podcasts is a special episode dedicated to exploring the holiday of Purim, its emphasis on intoxication, and whether it’s time for Purim to open up to the world of psychedelics.

Dr. Elliot Malamet’s guests are Rabbi Rachel Rosenbluth and Rabbi Ami Silver, a psychotherapist, clinical social worker, and Director of Emergent Education for Shefa, an organization that provides integration support and opportunities for the Jewish psychedelic community to ground their experiences within Jewish tradition.

This episode discusses the spiritual potential of psychedelic substances, the spiritual value of transcending rigid frames of mind and judgments, and how to integrate the lessons of Purim in the days that follow.

“What happens if we had a small moment in our year where we actually released ourselves from knowing, from being caught in our heads, and analyzing the world through knowledge?”

— Bluth

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

The value of occasionally breaking free from the shackles of the mind and exploring the knowledge of the body
The events of Purim being the truest reception of the Torah and foundational to the way that people receive it
How different shifts in consciousness affect the ways that we approach and integrate spiritual lessons — and how to create safer experiences

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Highlights:‌ ‌

00:52 Intro

03:10 Ami Silver & spiritual virtue of not-knowing

07:01 Bluth & release from knowing

08:42 Perspective & morality

12:20 Purim as true reception of Torah

14:15 Fear of bypassing

15:18 Seriousness, play & transformativeness

17:01 Effects of drinking v. psychedelics

19:16 Set, setting & dosage

22:46 Enhancing religious practice