Rabbi Sam Blustin: Unveiling the Divine - Connecting with God Through Prayers and Rituals

Sep 12

In the episode “Unveiling the Divine: Connecting with God Through Prayers and Rituals” of my What is God? podcast, we explored various understandings of God and connecting with the Divine through prayers and rituals. As a Rabbi who focuses on prayers and rituals, Rabbi Sam shared how his journey into the exploration of the Divine and becoming a Rabbi began with a simple prayer, which resonated with me because even as a child, I’ve always been fascinated by prayers and the unique experience they bring.

We delved into the idea of a broken God and how we, as humans, are God’s hands that can help repair the world. We also reflected on the idea of God as the ultimate source of love. Thus, the absence of love is what brings forth evil. We then explored how prayers and rituals can help our listeners connect and be one with the Divine.

As we talked more about the ineffable nature of God, that led us to the question, why God? As I contemplated my whys, I was able to find my answers on why I chose this, why people choose that path they take. Rabbi Sam also shared his reasons as to why God and we realized how the answers to our whys made us the people we are today. Believing in a Higher Power allows us to step in and become who we can be in this world. It allows us to be part of something bigger. This conversation allowed me to see the inclination of religious groups and individuals to be part of a community and to focus on creating meaningful connections with other people.

Rabbi Sam also shared one of his favorite books, Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, which he often draws inspiration from for his rituals and religious gatherings. He talked about the key elements of a good ritual, which I eagerly took notes of.

In the latter part of this episode, Rabbi Sam sheds light on the disparity between the God we’ve been told about and the God we experience. As someone who passionately helps people bridge this gap, he presented the three options he observed as to how people deal with it. He also shared his wisdom on how to effectively reconcile our relationship with the Divine. If you want to hear more about Rabbi Sam’s teaching, you can visit his website at http://samblustin.com/. You can also listen to his liturgical music on his Youtube channel, Sam Blustin.

Rabbi Sam Blustin: Rabbi, singer-songwriter, songleader, and composer of singable liturgical music shares the transformative power of prayers and rituals in understanding and relating to God.

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“We can attempt to explain God but we can never explain God. God is above all praise and blessing.”

- Rabbi Sam Blustin

Together, we delve into: