Mishneh Torah, Those Who Defile Bed or Seat 1-3 · Beginner voice, Standard

Hook

Have you ever felt like your physical body was simply too messy, too loud, or too awkward for a spiritual life? Maybe you woke up with a cold, your joints are aching, you are dealing with your monthly cycle, or you just feel completely out of touch with anything resembling a soul. We often get this unspoken message from modern culture—and even from some religions—that spirituality is a clean, pristine, floating-on-a-cloud kind of experience. We think we have to silence our bodies, ignore our physical discomforts, and look like polished models of perfection to be worthy of connecting with the sacred.

But what if the ancient Jewish tradition actually wants us to look directly at our messy, leaky, beautifully biological realities?