If there is one Going Places episode you listen to this season, let it be this one.

It revolves around this question: how do we heal the world?

Today, we're speaking with Hadar Cohen, an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic, and artist whose work focuses on multi-religious spirituality, politics, social issues, and community building.

Hadar comes from a 10th-generation Jerusalem family with lineage roots in Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq, and Iran.

Her story is one that we don’t often hear in the mainstream conversations in the Global North, because she comes from the Sephardic Jewish lineage.

This branch of Judaism originated in Spain at the time of Moorish Al Andalus and is closely related to the traditions of the Near East, rather than Europe.

Listen to the Episode

What you’ll hear:

  • The Jewish mystical concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world
  • How Judaism is rooted in social justice
  • What it means to be an Arab Jew
  • The erasure of Arab Jews from the region's history
  • Debunking the myth of 'Arabs versus Jews'
  • Hadar's research in Andalusia and Morocco
  • What it was like growing up Syrian Arab Jew in Jerusalem
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"Spirituality is about developing the muscles of courage to face reality." – Hadar Cohen
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Spiritual Skill-Building

 Hadar's school, Malchut, teaches Jewish mysticism and direct experience of God

How do you practice love, compassion, humility, and courage?

These are the questions Hadar explores at her spiritual school, Malchut.

Where the modern educational systems focus on teaching content, Malchut's spiritual skill-building is oriented around the cultivation of character traits.

The school's mission is to support participants in ending cycles of trauma and suffering within themselves, creating the foundation for a more liberated and compassionate world.

Learn more about Malchut on its website.

Check out our interview on YouTube →

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What you can do right now:
• Follow Hadar on Instagram @hadarcohen32
• Read Hadar's writing on Substack
• Listen to Hadar's podcast, Hadar's Web
"In the US, we see the effects of not having tools to navigate the mind, body, or heart. We live in a sick society because we've completely abandoned our internal worlds." – Hadar Cohen
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