Shlomo Pill: 'Mysticism is really just a mapping of human experience'

For Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Pill, self-satisfaction is the biggest obstacle to living a more spiritual life. Based on the teaching of the Arizal, Rabbi Isaac ben Solomon Ashkenazi Luria, he argues that a sense of lack is what promotes true spiritual growth.

Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Pill is a professor at Emory University School of Law, where he earned his SJD. He is also a research scholar at The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. Rabbi Dr. Pill is the co-author of Setting the Table: An Introduction to the Jurisprudence of Rabbi Yechiel Mikhel Epstein’s Arukh HaShulhan and has published numerous articles in a variety of forums.

Now, he joins us to answer eighteen questions on Jewish mysticism with Rabbi Dr. Benji Levy including how mysticism is the soul of the Torah and prayer is the avenue through which we recognize God’s role in reality.

Here are our questions:

What is Jewish mysticism?

How were you introduced to Jewish mysticism?

In an ideal world, would all Jews be mystics?

What do you think of when you think of God?

What is the purpose of the Jewish people?

How does prayer work?

What is the goal of Torah study?

Does Jewish mysticism view men and women the same?