Rabbi Mordecai Finley: A Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt On Moral Philosophy, Virtue & The Inner Pharaoh

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

Health & Fitness, Education, Self-improvement, Society & Culture

4.8 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 July 2021

⏱️ 132 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Our time is defined by a crisis of consciousness and broken spiritual connection. Driven by a materialist, zero-sum approach to everything, we seek answers in ego, money, power and consumption. It’s an addiction that’s wreaking havoc on the planet—and ultimately leaves us empty. Short of a spiritual reconciliation or outright revolution of the heart, I fear for the future well-being of humanity. It is this terrain that today we tread with spiritual psychologist, historian, philosopher, and the world’s only rabbi with a black belt in jiu-jitsu, Rabbi Mordecai Finley, Ph.D. The co-founder of Ohr HaTorah Synagogue in Los Angeles, Rabbi Finley holds a doctorate in Religion and Social Ethics from the University of Southern California. He’s taught Holocaust Studies, Talmud, Rabbinic Literature, Jewish Law and Ethics, and other courses at USC, USC School of Law, and Loyola Law School. And he is a founder and the former president of the Academy for Jewish Religion. Rabbi Finley’s gift lies in wisdom counseling, and today we are gifted just that. This is a rather extraordinary deep dive into the teachings of moral philosophy, spiritual psychology, skepticism, and stoicism. We deal with anger & fear, the relationships that divide ourselves and others, and what Rabbi Finley calls The Inner Pharaoh, the internal oppressor who keeps us trapped with the crushing persistence of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. In addition, Rabbi Finley helps answer questions like: what does it mean to pursue a life of virtue, wisdom, depth, purpose, and meaning beyond the material? how do we parse our inner voice from the ego? how do we connect our inner consciousness to the divine? how do we end cycles of anger, disappointment, and dissatisfaction? and most importantly, what is the role of spirituality in 2021? But the most powerful lesson imparted is the importance of thinking well. Exploring the depths of your motivation. And understanding that only you can heal yourself. FULL BLOG & SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/richroll614 YouTube: bit.ly/rabbifinley614 Rabbi Finley is a beautiful soul. I sincerely hope you find this conversation as powerful and fascinating as I did. Peace + Plants, Rich Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	There is a definition of self because when people identify their ego self thoughts, feelings,
0:08.7	emotions as this self, I say, you know, there is such a larger self that you're going to
0:15.4	discover and you want to get out of that prison because you're observing the world through
0:21.2	prison bars.
0:23.7	And if you think that's all there is, you're going to stay in that cell.
0:28.0	If you actually want to break the shackles and break out of those prison bars, there's
0:30.6	a way.
0:32.7	The main way you know you're living in that prison is suffering.
0:35.8	If you're suffering or you're causing other people to suffer unnecessarily, there's
0:41.0	an indication that your identification of self is insufficient.
0:45.1	The examined life, you have to examine the contents of consciousness and go to the deepest
0:50.2	place you can and do it every day.
0:52.6	You'll hit the waters.
0:54.5	You'll hit the living waters of the soul.
0:58.8	That's Rabbi Mordekai Finley and this is the Retroll Podcast.
1:17.3	What does it mean to pursue a life of virtue, of purpose, of meaning beyond the material?
1:25.2	Well, all you spiritual beings enjoying your human experience.
1:29.2	Today, we transcend the mortal coil to explore such terrain and we're going to do it with
1:35.3	the world's only Rabbi with a black belt in Jujitsu and the first Rabbi to ever appear
1:42.1	on this podcast.
1:43.9	Rabbi Dr. Mordekai Finley.
1:47.0	Rabbi Finley holds a doctorate in religion and social ethics from the University of Southern
	...

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