a conversation with

Reb Judith Goleman and Basha Hirschfeld

In Judaism we are “commanded" to do certain things, to keep aligned with God's wishes for the world. These commandments are called mitzvot. They include everything from daily prayers to visiting the sick. 

In Buddhism we are told, “If you want to be happy, think of others.” 

Both belief systems help us to open our hearts to others, but they approach it in very different ways. Join Reb Judith Goleman and Basha Hirschfeld as they explore the similarities and differences in the Jewish and Buddhist approaches to doing good deeds.

Rabbinic Pastor Judith Goleman, MFT, is a chaplain and also has a private practice in individual and couple counseling. As teenager she fell in love with the joyous tales of the Hasidic Rabbis of the 18th century, who saw God as the deep nature of everything in Creation (including us in our true potential). As an adult she encountered this spirit in the Jewish Renewal movement, and was ordained as a Rabbinic Pastor in this spiritual approach. It also informs her psychotherapy practice.

Barbara (Basha) Hirschfeld has been a student of Buddhism for over 25 years, and of Judaism all her life. She is one of a few lucky students of Ani Pema Chodron and through her of the Shambhala lineage, as first taught by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. She teaches meditation in the North Bay at various venues and owns and runs a retreat space in west Sonoma County called “Open Sky Retreat Space.” Her favorite thing is to bring together the two wisdom traditions, and to explore how her Buddhist training can inform her Jewish faith.