Daniel Raphael Silverstein, at The Blogs

May 13, 2024, 12:57 AM

For many of us who care deeply about Israel and the Jewish People, the past seven months have sometimes seemed like a terrible nightmare. Several of the factors which underlie our sense of security have been severely undermined, which has...

Nov 2, 2023, 1:00 AM

A letter to Jews around the world

Sisters and brothers, you are not alone. All of our people, Am Yisrael, around the world are feeling a great deal of grief and fear right now. This is the hardest moment we have faced as a people in decades. Ironically, I...

Oct 22, 2023, 1:24 AM

A Letter to the Diaspora

We are one people. As we have been reminded yet again so painfully: United we stand, divided we fall. May we never need reminding again. We need you, and you need us. But what does it mean to be a part of this...

Oct 11, 2023, 1:36 PM

A Prayer for Israel

Infinite Source of life, Power and Guide of our ancestors, You have given us the gift of being alive. You constantly breathe the breath of life into us. For millennia we have wrestled with You, the Infinite Mystery, and with our fellow humans,...

Oct 8, 2023, 5:28 AM

Simchat Torah: Divine Union in the Bomb Shelter

In Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are both celebrated on the same day. Our mystics teach that this day is the spiritual pinnacle of our entire year. Not only is this day the culmination of the entire High Holiday period,...

Aug 1, 2023, 10:04 AM

The Heart Work of Tu B’Av

Tu B'Av, the 15th day of our current month of Av, which arrives on Tuesday night, is described by our ancient rabbis as one of the most joyful days in our entire year. The Mishnah, describes how when the full...

Apr 2, 2023, 11:43 PM

The Birth of Freedom: A Haggadah Companion for 5783

In response to the situation in Israel over the past few months, I have created a companion document for the Haggadah, that speaks directly to this moment. It is suitable both for those who are here in Israel, and...

Mar 28, 2023, 11:05 PM

A Prayer for a Country Poised Between Demise and Rebirth

(Please read out loud if you're able and willing...) May we remember that our faces are mirrors of each other, our fears are mirrors of each other's, our hopes are mirrors of each other's, and all of our children will...

Mar 26, 2023, 6:54 PM

Who’s to blame? The Messiah

If you live in Jerusalem, you may have noticed recently that members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidic movement have started attaching large, yellow flags to traffic lights and street signs at prominent points throughout the city. In general, I have a...

Oct 28, 2022, 6:33 PM

‘Religious Zionism’ is neither of those

I grew up in Bnei Akiva, the world's largest Religious Zionist youth movement. For more than a decade, I participated and led hundreds of programs and camps for the movement, which I loved, and still love, dearly. A highly respected...

About Me

Daniel Raphael Silverstein is a rabbi, educator, meditation teacher and MC/poet. He lives in Israel with his family, where he directs Applied Jewish Spirituality, an online portal which makes the transformative spiritual wisdom of our tradition accessible to all who seek it. https://www.appliedjewishspirituality.org/

Contact Me