Episode 528 - Secular Studies ain't that Secular!

Daily Dose of Relevant Jewish Wisdom Shared by Rabbi Rafi Lipner.You are welcome to read about the genesis of this podcast which is described below, but in short: The goal of this podcast is to provide a daily short but powerful nugget of Jewish wisdom that could be used to inspire and empower our everyday lives. From how we deal with relationships, where we find fufillment, strategies on dealing with life's challenges, or most importantly, how we strive to achieve our greatest aspirations, Judaism has thousands of years of wisdom to inspire how we navigate life. This podcast will share it 5 minutes at a time.My Dear Friends,                                                                                                     This podcast was borne from an idea I spontaneously had, a challenge, but most importantly an opportunity, inspired by my 2020 New Year’s experience.On January 1st 2020, the global Jewish community celebrated the 13th Siyum Hashas (Completion of the Talmud which is comprised of 2711 pages of complex and deep discussions as part of the Oral Transmission of Jewish life and philosophy).As we know, “New Year’s” is seen as a time of resolutions, and this celebration is the culmination of what it means to “commit” to something big, to realize that the way we achieve something big is one day at a time, with not only commitment, but consistency.While “The Daf”, might not be for you (yet), it does remind us that we should all consider as part of our “New Year’s” resolution, a commitment to learn Torah every day. I am certain that a commitment to making daily learning a priority will change you, change your family, and strengthen your connection to the Jewish people unlike any other commitment.I am certain that a commitment to making daily learning a priority will change you, change your family, and strengthen your connection to the Jewish people unlike any other commitment.So, I thought of the following idea... While many people might not be able to or interested in committing to the daf, what if we committed to learn together every day for just a few minutes for the next 2711 days, so that when the next cycle of Daf Yomi is completed, all of us could also celebrate that we learned a Torah thought together every day for a consecutive 2711 days as well?I think that would be awesome, and thought you might as well. After all, Torah belongs to young and old, women and men, right and left… It should be something we come together over.How would we do this?I will share an idea every day with those interested on a WhatsApp group (which after 400 people turned into this podcast) and will send out a three-to-seven minute Torah thought for that day that you can easily listen to at your convenience. Ideas shared might span the areas of Jewish philosophy, the Torah portion, holiday insights, or a myriad of other ideas. I will try my best to make it relevant and inspiring. It would be great to have you join us on this journey.The new cycle of the Daf started, Sunday January 5th and will end Monday, June 7th, 2027. Yep, JUNE 7, 2027. That is a long ways away... but the only way to get there is one day at a time. As they say, "the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step." It would be an honour to share the challenge with you.If you are interested, please follow along on your favourite podcast player or email me at ravlipner@gmail to add you to the whatsapp group.Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts, and you are definitely welcome to forward this to whomever else you think might be interested.Warmly,Rabbi Rafi