Did you have a profound spiritual experience in your youth?

Rabbi Rick Jacobs' spiritual connection came during his summer camps in Northern California. Forging a bond with the natural world shaped his approach to blending traditional religious practices with universal spirituality, and they also inspired an appreciation for spiritual experiences outside conventional settings of worship.

Now serving as the President of the Union for Reform Judaism, he emphasizes the importance of curiosity, asking questions, and caring for people of all backgrounds in the universal quest for holiness.

In today’s episode, Rabbi Rick and host Simran Jeet Singh explore how open-heartedness can fuel a journey of lifelong learning and how engaging with ambiguity can actually lead us to a path toward growth.

Resources:

• Union for Reform Judaism
• You can find him on X
• If only Netanyahu would say this to congress - Times of Israel
• Why we’ll fight Israel’s new extremist political agenda - Jewish Chronicle

Check out Simran’s work on his website at simranjeetsingh.org.

Wisdom & Practice is produced in partnership with PRX and the Aspen Institute, with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Music by Raj Kanwal Singh.

This episode was produced by associate producer, Serena Chow, producer, Rithu Jagannath and senior producer, Morgan Flannery. Our project manager is Edwin Ochoa, our show is mixed by Tommy Bazarian and the executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.