Podcast Episode: Revelation and Return — Religious Professionals Share Their Stories From the Hopkins Trial
The NYU–Johns Hopkins Religious Professionals Study explored the effects of psilocybin on clergy from diverse faith backgrounds, including rabbis, ministers, and imams. Participants reported profound spiritual experiences, with many describing a deepened sense of vocation and connection to the divine. Since its release, the study has become a landmark in understanding how psychedelics may intersect with spiritual leadership, receiving significant media coverage—from Michael Pollan’s New Yorker piece to Jay Michaelson’s thoughtful response.
In this episode, recorded live on September 16, 2025, we hear firsthand accounts from study participants about how these experiences impacted their spiritual lives and trajectories.
Rev. Dr. Seth Jones and Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles share moving reflections on how psilocybin deepened their understanding of the sacred and shaped their vocations, in a conversation moderated by Rabbi Zac Kamenetz. While Sughra Ahmed was unable to join us live, her voice and perspective are part of a broader conversation still unfolding.
The Q+A portion brought out some of the richest reflections of the event, with thoughtful questions from attendees and generous responses from our speakers.This program was a collaboration between Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support, Ligare: A Christian Psychedelic Society, and Ruhani, an organization focused on the intersections of Islam, Muslim cultures, and psychedelics.
https://www.shefaflow.org/
https://www.ruhanispirit.org/
https://www.ligare.org/
Featured Guests
Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles
Professor of New Testament at Perkins School of Theology (SMU) and Director of the Baptist House of Studies.
She is the author of six books, including Reading John for Dear Life and 1 Corinthians: Searching the Depths of God, and is currently writing Psychedelics and Soul Care: What Christians Need to Know (Eerdmans). Dr. Clark-Soles is also certified in Psychedelic Assisted Therapies and serves as a Field Scholar with the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality. jaimeclarksoles.com
Rev. Dr. Seth Jones is an ordained minister, writer, and spiritual scholar whose work explores the intersection of beauty, mysticism, and extraordinary spiritual experiences. With a Doctorate of Ministry in Semiotics, Church, and Culture from Portland Seminary, his career has spanned ministry, finance, and communal living—reflecting a lifelong commitment to reinvention and spiritual inquiry. He has served diverse church communities from Yellowstone National Park to coastal Maine, and is currently based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he works as a Spiritual and Grief Counselor for a hospice organization and is completing a book on the meaning-making of peak experiences. Seth is passionate about preserving beauty and spiritual depth in a rapidly changing world.
Moderator Rabbi Zac Kamenetz is a rabbi and community leader based in Berkeley, CA. As the founder and CEO of Shefa, Zac is leading a movement to integrate safe and supported psychedelic use into the Jewish spiritual tradition, advocating for the healing of individual and inherited traumas, and inspiring a Jewish religious and creative renaissance in the 21st century. He is a qualified instructor ofMBSR and is trained in ketamine-assisted care through Inbodied Life. Zac is certified in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy by the Hakomi Institute of Northern California.
Rabbi Zac speaks with Dr. Marc Aixalà, author of “Psychedelic Integration: Psychotherapy for Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness” a telecommunications engineer, psychologist, psychotherapist and certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator specializing in supporting people who face challenging experiences with expanded states of consciousness. They discuss what psychedelic integration can look like, the challenges of integration these experiences, and risks of overlooking integration of psychedelic journeys.
Dr.Marc Aixalà Biography: Marc Aixalà is a Telecommunications Engineer and Psychologist with a Master's degree in Integrative Therapy and Strategic Brief Therapy. He is a senior Holotropic Breathwork facilitator and trainer, certified with Grof Transpersonal Training, and the author of Psychedelic Integration: Psychotherapy for Non-Ordinary States.
With extensive experience in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, Marc has worked in clinical applications of psilocybin for depression at Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and trained with MAPS in the therapeutic use of MDMA. He served as an integration psychotherapy specialist with ICEERS and co-founded the ICEERS Integration and Support Service. Marc has also contributed to psychological emergency services through Kosmicare, working as a volunteer, team leader, and trainer.
Currently, he is actively involved in clinical trials with psilocybin and is deeply committed to mentoring and training the next generation of psychedelic therapists. As a teacher, he created the ICEERS Integration Training and collaborates with various training programs for psychedelic therapy and integration, sharing his expertise with professionals who support those navigating non-ordinary states.
Based in the countryside, Marc offers psychotherapy in Barcelona, and he continues to support the therapeutic and professional growth of the psychedelic therapy community.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website here.
Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Natalie Lyla Ginsberg, Global Impact Officer of MAPS and co-founder of the Jewish Psychedelic Summit, speaks with Rabbi Zac about the potential and challenges of creating Jewish psychedelic community in this moment. Along with other collaborators, Natalie hosted the Aravah Festival this past October, a Sukkot-themed celebration in Mendocino, CA.
Natalie Lyla Ginsberg Biography: Natalie Lyla Ginsberg (MSW) is the Global Impact Officer at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, (MAPS) and the co-founder of the Jewish Psychedelic Summit. Natalie joined MAPS in 2014, founding the Policy & Advocacy department, and serving as its director for 5 years. At MAPS, Natalie initiated and co-developed MAPS’ Health Equity program, including MAPS' first MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color, and co-authored the first study interviewing Palestinians and Israelis who have shared ayahuasca ceremonies. She is currently conducting a study with Columbia University interviewing MDMA couples therapists. Before joining MAPS, Natalie worked as a Policy Fellow at the Drug Policy Alliance, where she helped legalize medical cannabis in her home state of New York, and worked to end race-based marijuana arrests. Natalie was born and raised in New York City and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA. She received her B.A. in history from Yale College, and her master’s of social work (M.S.W.) from Columbia University."
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website here.
Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Rabbi Zac speaks to Dr. Roman Palitsky, Director of Research Projects for Emory Spiritual Health and a Research Psychologist for Emory University School of Medicine. Zac and Roman discuss the launch of a joint research project between Emory and Shefa, Jewish Journeys, the first population study of Jewish attitudes, practices, and needs towards psychedelics, generously funded by Common Era.
Dr Roman Palitsky's Bio: Roman Palitsky, MDiv, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of Research Projects in Spiritual Health at Emory University, and he is faculty in the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality. His research applies a bio-psycho-social-spiritual approach to improving behavioral interventions by ensuring that the treatments we offer are responsive to care seekers’ cultural needs and strengths. His work in psychedelic treatment research reflects these commitments by seeking to make psychedelic therapies rigorous, effective, and accountable to the many patient populations who might benefit from them, and to support those care seekers who may experience adverse effects.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website.
Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
This episode is apart of Awakening Consciousness: Shefa’s High Holiday Beit Midrash Session Four with Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed Hitorerut: The Call to Awakening Source sheet here. More from Dr. Hellner-Eshed here.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website.
Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
This episode is apart of Awakening Consciousness: Shefa’s High Holiday Beit Midrash Session Three with Victoria Hanna Seal Us in the Book of Life: An Embodied Prayer Practice More from Victoria Hanna on Instagram here.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website.
Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
This episode is a part of Awakening Consciousness: Shefa’s High Holiday Beit Midrash.
Session Two with Rabbi Ami Silver Life Breathing Through Us: A New Paradigm for Teshuva Source material here. More of Ami's teachings here. Listen to Ami's podcast "Awakenings" here.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website.
Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
This episode is apart of Awakening Consciousness: Shefa’s High Holiday Beit Midrash
Session One with Rabbi Dr. Art Green Awesome Rebirth: Approaching Rosh Hashanah Source sheet here. Art Green’s website here. Hosted by Ami Silver
In the memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and all those innocent lives who have been lost, Rabbi Zac shares some of his psychedelic torah to end this year and look out to the next. This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website. Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Rabbi Zac speaks to Robert Ansin, CEO of Healing Hearts Changing Minds, about his experience of awakening to love and unity after high-dose psilocybin experiences, and his commitment to support marginal communities in the psychedelic field. Robert Ansin Biography: Massachusetts-born entrepreneur Robert Ansin has always been driven by two passions: to innovate and to give back. After attending three life-changing psilocybin retreats in Jamaica, he was inspired to create Healing Hearts Changing Minds. Ansin now wants to give others the opportunity to process their own traumas and unpack the roots of their mental health problems―and then go back to their communities to spread the healing. Robert is the proud father of two children, Indigo and Olly. This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website. We are grateful. Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Rabbi Zac speaks with psychologist, author, researcher and podcaster Dr. Hillary McBride. Zac and Hillary speak about the notion and practice of embodiment, connecting with Divinity, and working with psychedelics as means of coming into relationships with one’s body. You can read more about Hillary's work and buy her amazing books here.
Dr. Hillary McBride's Bio: Hillary McBride, PhD, is a Registered Psychologist, researcher, podcastor, and author, but underneath all of that she is a human, who loves asking questions about what it means to be human, how we heal and grow, and what it means to be a body. She publishes written works for community and academic audiences about embodiment, trauma, eating disorders, mental health and spirituality; her bestselling book The Wisdom Of Your Body was released in 2021, Practices for Embodied Living was released in early 2024, and her next book Holy Hurt: understanding and healing from spiritual trauma will be released in spring 2025. Her award winning CBC podcast Other People's Problems was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times as essential listening, and she is on faculty with the Psychedelic Somatic Institute, and the co-developer of Katalyst Mental Health Ketamine Assisted Therapy program. What makes her feel alive is her daughter's laugh, her love for her partner and close friends, asking unanswerable questions, and spending time in or near the ocean.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website here.
Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Rabbi Zac speaks with Dr. Leor Roseman, a leading interdisciplinary psychedelic researcher. Zac and Leor speak about the potential for healing through psychedelic use from many perspectives--the role of visualization, the experience of “breakthroughs,” and the importance of groups and communities in healing work.
Dr. Leor Roseman's Biography:
Leor Roseman is a Senior Lecturer and Psychedelic Researcher at the University of Exeter, and the chair of RIPPLES, a new non-profit for psychedelic-assisted peacebuilding. He has previously worked at the Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, under the mentorship of Prof. Robin Carhart-Harris and Prof. David Nutt, supporting the foundational work of an emerging research field. His interdisciplinary research covers neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology, anthropology and conflict resolution, using various research methods such as fMRI, quantitative, qualitative, micro phenomenology, ethnographic, and participatory research.
Currently, Leor is investigating relational processes and group dynamics in psychedelic rituals. He is interested in how psychedelics enhance connectedness, group bonding (communitas), and sociality and can serve as a social cure. Furthermore, together with Palestinian and Israeli activists and researchers, he is developing a praxis of research & action which utilizes the potential of psychedelics for peacebuilding, liberation and justice. They hope to create a participatory approach that focuses on personal and societal healing and considers action and healing intertwined.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website here. Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Dr. Rachel Yehuda, one of the world’s foremost experts on epigenetic trauma and psychedelic-assisted therapies, joins Rabbi Zac for a conversation about the significance of the Jewish story as a foundation for processing ancestral traumas. They speak about Rachel’s upbringing, the history of trauma research, and the future of MDMA-assisted therapy. Dr. Rachel Yehuda Bio: Rachel Yehuda, PhD, is an Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Trauma. She is also Director of Mental Health at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Yehuda is a recognized leader in the field of traumatic stress studies, PTSD, and intergenerational trauma. In 2019, Dr. Yehuda was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her seminal contributions to understanding the psychological and biological impact of traumatic stress. In 2020, Dr. Yehuda established and now directs the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research. This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website here. Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Lineage! Archaeology! Secret psychedelic histories! Drug policy and tikkun olam! Rabbi Zac receives the Purim wisdom of altered states by Mitchell Gomez, executive director of DanceSafe, a nonprofit health education and harm reduction organization based in Denver, CO.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website here. Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Once a year, Jews are invited to expand their consciousness with the aid of a sacred psychoactive substance to dissolve the binary boundaries between human existence. What other special states of consciousness exist within the Jewish mystical tradition? How are they integrated into daily life? Are they congruous in any way with psychedelic experiences? Rabbi Zac explored these questions and more with Dr. Alan Brill, scholar of Jewish theology and spirituality. Read more about Dr. Alan Brill here and his new book. This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website here. Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
In this month’s episode of the Jewish Psychedelic Podcast, Rabbi Zac is joined by Dr. Steven Radowitz, chief medical officer of Nushama Wellness in New York. Rabbi Zac and Dr. Radowitz talk about the Jewish mystical tradition and healing, how ketamine therapy is utilized at Nushama, and the role of aesthetics in creating safe and supportive containers for a psychedelic experience.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website. We are grateful. Our intro and outro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Content Warning: This conversation will touch on topics of kidnapping, terrorism and violence including murder. In 2002, Tamara Pearl learned that her brother, Daniel, had been abducted and murdered by Al-Qaeda in Pakistan. For over twenty years, she has worked with this personal “waking nightmare” as an inquiry into the nature of evil and how individuals and communities create containers of healing to move from fragmentation to wholeness. In this conversation, Rabbi Zac will speak to Tamara about her own healing journey, as a Jewish psychedelic-assisted therapist living in a time of tragedy and confusion, what tools, skills and inner resources we can rely on when we encounter pain, betrayal, and evil in and out of psychedelic consciousness.
On this episode of the Jewish Psychedelic Podcast, Rabbi Zac speaks with riter, journalist, editor, consultant, educator, and guide to all things Jewish-Psychedelic. Madison speaks about her family and growing up with Ram Dass, her psychedelic journey to Jewish spiritual practice, and what she things are the most important happenings in Jewish psychedelic space. These stories and more can be found in her forthcoming memoir, Exile and Ecstacy, now available for pre-order. Stay connected with Madison on Instagram @madisonmargolin and at her website.
This podcast is offered as a free community resource by Shefa: Jewish Psychedelic Support. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website. We are grateful.
Our intro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
On this episode of the Jewish Psychedelic Podcast, Rabbi Zac is joined by Rabbi Yosef Goldman, composer, prayer leader, educator, and singer. Yosef’s new album of Jewish music, “Abitah,” will be released on Rising Song Records on September 21st. The conversation delves into the profound connections between music and Torah, creativity as a Jewish practice for healing, and spiritual connection, celebrating the spirit of this sacred month of Elul.
These programs are offered as a free community resource. If you feel moved to donate to support this work, you may do so on our website, and all gifts made through the month of Elul (August 18- September 15) will be matched dollar for dollar. Stay connected with R’ Yosef on Instagram @yosgold
or at https://yosefgoldman.bandcamp.com/album/abitah
Our intro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
Throughout millennia, Jews have explored individual and communal consciousness through a variety of techniques and traditions. More recently, Jews have played an outsized role in the “psychedelic renaissance” as researchers, practitioners, and advocates, including prominent leaders. A surge of interest in these substances creates an opportunity to reflect on non-ordinary experiences in Jewish life and theology more broadly. This panel, hosted by the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, included Sam S. B. Shonkoff, the Taube Family Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, Melila Hellner-Eshed, Professor of Jewish Mysticism in the Department of Jewish Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, as well as a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and Jay Michaelson is an affiliated assistant professor at Chicago Theological Seminary and the author of nine books on Judaism and contemplative practice.
Watch on Youtube here.
Listen on Soundcloud here.
Our intro music is an excerpt of the song Ein Od by Yosef Goldman.
