A survey by the National Institutes of Health in 2022 showed that roughly 23% of Americans have a mental illness. The percentage makes up 59.3 million adults in the United States. As mental illness diagnoses increase, a number of rabbis and Jewish leaders have created podcasts to reach out to the Jewish community and share insights from the Torah to help with listeners’ mental health.
Here are some good episodes in that genre.
“Happiness Is a Big Problem” — The Jewish Perspective
This short podcast episode of The Jewish Perspective by Rabbi Velvel Belinsky talks about how the Torah leads us to being grateful and how being grateful leads to happiness. Belinsky talks about the Torah portion Chukat and recognizing God’s miracles to develop gratitude. The episode is only about 15 minutes long, but it dives into the topic of expressing gratitude to counter negativity bias and how the Torah instructs us to do so.
“We are hard wired to focus on negativity,” said Belinsky. “We need to make an active effort to focus on positivity.”
“Holding It Together With Donniel Hartman” — Identity/Crisis
Recorded in Israel, Yehuda Kurtzer and Donniel Hartman talk about how to compartmentalize to feel “OK” when the world is going through trauma and how to deal with what we cannot control.
“It’s not that I’m not feeling. I’m feeling a huge amount of things,” Hartman said in this episode. “It’s not that I can’t resonate to what people are feeling and that I don’t feel it too. I feel it. I just don’t let it make me not OK.”
“Eww Self-Care” — Chutzpod!
Rabbi Shira Stutman and Hanna Rosin discuss what “Jewish self-care” means. Stutman says Shabbat is “Jewish self-care,” but without the selfish aspects often portrayed through American capitalism.
Stutman talks about how “self-care” shouldn’t stop at oneself and should be “caring for the self as a means to a greater end, which is caring for others and caring for the world.”
The hosts discuss how the Torah directs Jews to take care of themselves and each other while answering listener questions.
“Why Self-Love Is a Mitzvah” — JGC Podcast
The Jewish Girls Club Podcast explores the Torah commandment “love your neighbor as yourself.” In this short episode, the host Danielle Shai shares different practices to unlearn self-doubt and self-hatred.
Shai says, “Self-love is the foundation for spiritual growth and true connection with Hashem.”
“Moses’ Rebuke & the Art of Receiving Criticism: A Parsha Perspective on Self-Esteem” — Daily Jewish Thought
Rabbi Yisroel Bernath discusses the story of Moses’ confrontation with the tribes of Reuben and Gad in the Torah and the importance of criticism.
“When I feel deep down that I’m worthless, then I hear everything in that context,” Bernath says in the episode.
Bernath touches on six main points: the power of silence, the importance of not taking criticisms personally, the possibility of rebuke coming from a place of love and caring, the possibility of a spouse’s criticism not coming from a place of judgment, finding true self-esteem outside of praise and criticism and criticism as a tool for helping us improve ourselves.
“Let’s Talk About Our Mental Health” — Out of The Shadows: A Jewish Approach to Mental Health
Even though this episode was released in 2023, the topic of mental health is still relevant. Rabbi Efrem Goldberg and Moshe Yachnes spend an hour and a half during their live discussion talking about anxiety, depression, grief and destigmatizing mental health with other rabbis and doctors.
“Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness IV, Shiru L’Adonai” — Judaism Unbound
Rena Yehuda Newman, in Episode 491, focuses on staying grounded when the world feels out of control, exploring Miriam’s story in the Torah and how it relates to modern-day mental health challenges. The episode, Shiru L’Adonai, is the fourth episode of a five-part series of the podcast. Newman explores the “sacred obligation” to “tend your fields of joy” and how Miriam teaches that singing and dancing can and will always bring joy, even in times of sadness or grief.
