Podcast

SoulWords- Full Library

Courses, Education

Rabbi Shais Taub has delivered Torah lectures and classes to audiences on six continents. He writes a popular weekly column in Ami Magazine and is the author of the bestselling book, G-d of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction as well as several groundbreaking works on Tanya including: the Tanya Map teaching tool, the Soul Maps curriculum, and the audio series Mapping the Tanya. He currently serves as scholar-in-residence at Chabad of the Five Towns in Cedarhurst, NY. His lectures and classes may be found on SoulWords.org.

Episodes
302
Releases
Weekly
Typical length
1 hr 25 min
On air since
2024
Latest episode
4 days ago

Episodes

302 episodes, newest first

  1. Abraham and the Inn | Beyond the Story: Vayera (Ep. 4)

    Show notes

    Why did Avraham welcome weary travelers to an oasis in the middle of the desert, wine and dine them with five-star hospitality, and then threaten them with a massive bill if they refused to thank G-d after the meal? Rabbi Shais Taub takes a fresh look at this famous story from Parshas Vayera to uncover a deep psychological truth: why the illusion of self-reliance makes us spiritually numb, and how feeling helpless can actually awaken genuine gratitude.

    PDF Link: https://www.soulwords.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Vayera-Student-Handout_compressed.pdf

    38 min
  2. Abraham and Great Wealth | Beyond the Story: Lech Lecha (Ep. 3)

    Show notes

    Why did Hashem promise Avraham that his descendants would leave Egypt with great wealth? And why did Rochel choose to remain buried along the road rather than alongside Yaakov in Me’aras HaMachpelah? Rabbi Shais Taub connects these two stories to reveal the purpose within spiritual descent—and how the places we think of as mere passageways can become the very places where we make a home for Hashem.

    PDF Link: https://www.soulwords.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Avraham-and-the-Promise-of-Great-Wealth_compressed.pdf

    45 min
  3. Noah Building the Ark | Beyond the Story: Noach (Ep. 2)

    Show notes

    Why did Noach spend 120 years building the teivah and work around the clock feeding its animals while so much of his mission unfolded miraculously? Understanding when Hashem requires human effort and when He provides without it reveals the true relationship between hishtadlus and bitachon: our work creates a vessel, while the blessing comes entirely from Hashem. Teachings and stories from the Baal Shem Tov and other tzaddikim show why blessings come through natural channels, where our energy belongs, and how to recognize whether our trust in Hashem has reached beyond our intellect into our hearts.

    Rediscover the Torah stories you’ve known since childhood. In this weekly live class, Rabbi Shais Taub uncovers their deeper mystical and spiritual meaning, revealing practical lessons for our relationships, challenges, and everyday lives.

    PDF Material: https://www.soulwords.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Animals-Enter-Teiva_compressed.pdf

    57 min
  4. Adam Naming the Animals | Beyond the Story: Bereishis (Ep. 1)

    Show notes

    Why was Adam’s ability to name the animals proof that his wisdom surpassed that of the angels? In the first episode of BEYOND the STORY, Rabbi Shais Taub explores the deeper meaning of this familiar Torah story—and what it reveals about our ability to recognize the Divine within physical life. Rediscover the Torah stories you’ve known since childhood. In this weekly live class, Rabbi Shais Taub uncovers their deeper mystical and spiritual meaning, revealing practical lessons for our relationships, challenges, and everyday lives.

    59 min
  5. Likkutei Sichos: Simchas Torah

    Show notes

    Shemini Atzeres reveals the essential unity of the Jewish people that endures beyond Yom Tov. Dancing with our feet and a closed Torah scroll expresses an unlimited connection to Hashem that transcends intellect. Connecting the Torah’s end, “l’einei kol Yisrael,” back to its beginning, “B’reishis bara Elokim,” demands that we reveal the G-dliness within ourselves and the world, with unconditional Ahavas Yisrael as the ultimate sign that our soul’s essence has been revealed. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Shemini Atzeres / Simchas Torah in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/2d93343...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tlaz...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 49 min
  6. Likkutei Sichos: Sukkos

    Show notes

    The festival of Sukkos is named after the sukkah because it is the mitzvah that encompasses the entire person from the very start of Yom Tov, enabling us to elevate even our most ordinary activities into Divine service throughout the year. True joy comes from drawing on the infinite Source through kabbalas ol, rather than relying on our own limited capacities. The incomparable joy of Simchas Beis Hashoevah comes from transcending our usual boundaries, as even the highest human faculty—the intellect—finds its fulfillment in submitting to what lies beyond reason. The story of the Sadducean priest who denigrated the water libation and was pelted with esrogim shows how kabbalas ol gives intellect its proper foundation and allows it to reach its full potential. Without the Beis Hamikdash and its sacrificial offerings, the mitzvah to rejoice physically on Yom Tov is fulfilled through drinking wine, including on Chol HaMoed. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Sukkos in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/ad3ca1b...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p7J3...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf.

    3 hr 17 min
  7. Likkutei Sichos: Haazinu

    Show notes

    When the Jewish people align their will with Hashem's will through good resolutions during the Ten Days of Repentance, heaven and earth yield to them so they can elevate abundant material blessings into spiritual purpose. By examining why Moshe and Yeshayahu used inverted expressions of closeness and distance when addressing heaven and earth, we see how true spiritual harmony requires mutual integration of transcendent holiness and practical action. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Haazinu in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/f5ffaed...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lJez...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    41 min
  8. Likkutei Sichos: Vayeilech

    Show notes

    The presence of both the engraved Tablets and the written Torah scroll in the Holy of Holies illustrates how the transcendent, beyond-logic self-nullification of Rosh Hashanah bridges into our daily, rational lives to draw spiritual blessings down into tangible, material reality. The words Teshuvah (return to one’s core essence), Tefillah (connection and attachment), and Tzedakah (justice as Hashem's entrusted custodian) simply cannot be translated as repentance, prayer, and charity. Every individual must balance active material contribution (the Kohen Gadol's golden vestments) with pure, unpretentious inward devotion (the simple white linen) to enter their own internal Holy of Holies. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Vayelech in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/6f46216...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t0TN...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf..

    1 hr 18 min
  9. Pre-Selichos Farbrengen

    Show notes

    Gathering near the Ohel ahead of the first Selichos, this farbrengen cuts through the traditional heaviness of Elul with a refreshing, empowering Chassidic truth: the path into the New Year is paved not with dread and rebuke, but with radical unity and clarity of purpose. Drawing from classic Chassidic stories—from Reb Shmuel Munkes confronting a fire-and-brimstone preacher to the Alter Rebbe’s piercing reminder to focus on what we are needed for—this gathering reframes the entire High Holiday season. Discover why our ultimate judgment depends on embracing every single Jew without condition, how standing near the Rebbe's Ohel turns us from passive seekers of blessings into active emissaries of miracles, and why true joy (simcha) comes from stripping away self-importance to simply show up and do the unique job Hashem created you to do.

    1 hr 48 min
  10. Likkutei Sichos: Rosh Hashanah

    Show notes

    The wordless cry of the shofar expresses every Jew’s essential bond with Hashem, eliciting His promise of a good and sweet year as we recommit ourselves to living according to His will. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Rosh Hashana in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    Support our work. Please donate! https://charidy.com/rst

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/2a19ed1...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GvXE...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    25 min
  11. Likkutei Sichos: Nitzavim

    Show notes

    The covenant between the Jewish people and Hashem confirms the essential unity of every Jew—from the “heads” to the “feet”—which requires looking honestly at oneself before judging others. Both physical and spiritual tzedakah must be given with humility and equality, and by helping another Jew, we become recipients of an even greater Divine blessing. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Nitzavim in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    Support our work. Please donate! https://charidy.com/rst

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/23b9822...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L4vj...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 49 min
  12. Likkutei Sichos: Ki Savo

    Show notes

    Offering bikkurim teaches both that all success comes from Hashem and that one can sanctify material life itself by using worldly possessions in His service. The rebuke read before Rosh Hashanah is not punishment but a cleansing that prepares us to receive an even greater revelation of divine blessing. Rabbi Akiva recognized that painful events ultimately produce good, while Nachum Ish Gamzu perceived that everything is inherently good from the outset—a perspective that will be fully revealed in the Messianic era. The various acronyms of Elul encompass Torah, prayer, charity, teshuvah, and redemption, enabling every aspect of the person to become united with Hashem. By asking Hashem for tzedakah rather than blessings measured according to our merits, we appeal directly to His unlimited essence and draw down a sweet new year beyond all limitations. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Ki Savo in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3bbbfcb...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10fa1...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf..

    Support our work. Please donate! https://charidy.com/rst

    2 hr 11 min
  13. Likkutei Sichos: Ki Seitzei

    Show notes

    Engaging in the spiritual battle to refine the animal soul guarantees divine assistance and enables one to transform worldly energy into spiritual gain. Constructing a ma'akeh (guardrail) is an independent mitzvah requiring a blessing, teaching that whenever one embarks on a new endeavor or a new year, higher spiritual safeguards are required. While the literal eradication of Amalek awaits the Messianic era, every individual is obligated daily to wage a spiritual war against the apathy and coldness of Amalek through the warmth of prayer. Chai Elul introduces the vitality of Chassidus into the month of Elul, enabling sincere regret over the past to coexist harmoniously with the deep joy of returning to Hashem. The final twelve days of the year before Rosh Hashanah are dedicated to a month-by-month accounting focused primarily on one's involvement in the inner dimensions of Torah and disseminating its wellsprings. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Ki Seitzei in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    Support our work. Please donate! charidy.com/rst

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3a47513...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yujy...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 45 min
  14. Likkutei Sichos: Shoftim

    Show notes

    The month of Elul is a “city of refuge” in time—a period of honest self-examination and teshuvah, in which each person is given the opportunity to redirect his life-force toward holiness by taking refuge in Torah study. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Shoftim in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/fcec90a...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ijMY...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 8 min
  15. Likkutei Sichos: Re'eh

    Show notes

    The signs of a kosher animal—split hooves and chewing the cud—represent the spiritual balance and continual self-examination necessary to elevate one’s involvement with the physical world. The King’s accessibility in Elul is not permission to remain comfortably “in the field,” but an invitation and empowerment to improve. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Re'eh in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3ec000d...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l8nh...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 24 min
  16. His Father’s Shoes—20 Av Farbrengen

    Show notes

    In accordance with the Rebbe’s request that gatherings be held on his father’s yahrzeit to study his teachings, this Chof Av farbrengen explores the life and Torah of Harav Levi Yitzchok Schneerson—from his heroic leadership under Soviet persecution to newly revealed documents surrounding a 1937 show trial. At its center is a remarkable letter thanking his son, the Rebbe, for a pair of shoes, which becomes a profound lesson about engaging with, elevating, and ultimately overcoming a hostile world.

    Presented by Rabbi Shais Taub of SoulWords and Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin of Jewish Educational Media.

    📖 Study Companion Download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18w_C...

    💰 Donate to Keren Levi Yitzchak: https://KerenLeviYitzchak.org

    2 hr 5 min
  17. Likkutei Sichos: Eikev

    Show notes

    Just as recognizing the symptoms of an illness brings us halfway to the cure, understanding the stages that lead to exile enables us to begin bringing about redemption.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/e15f4f3...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g5YO...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 10 min
  18. Likkutei Sichos: Va'eschanan

    Show notes

    The cities of refuge teach that Torah provides a clear path to safety and that every Jew must become a living signpost, actively guiding others toward Torah even when the results of those efforts remain unseen. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Va'eschanan in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/d27b235...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HVC9...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 45 min
  19. Likkutei Sichos: Devarim

    Show notes

    Just as Parshas Devarim marks the Jewish people's descent from the miraculous existence of the wilderness into ordinary life in the Land, Shabbos Chazon teaches that every descent into physicality is ultimately for the sake of a greater ascent and a more permanent dwelling place for Hashem. The extraordinary joy of Shabbos Chazon reflects the hidden reality that the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash is itself part of the process that leads to the eternal redemption, where every apparent loss ultimately produces an even greater gain. Like a teacher who momentarily withdraws from a student in order to grasp an even deeper insight to share, Hashem's seeming concealment during exile is itself an expression of His deepest love, calling us to strengthen our yearning for Him until the final redemption. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Devarim in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/4c9ee50...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iT2g...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 32 min
  20. Likkutei Sichos: Matos-Masei

    Show notes

    The 42 wilderness journeys represent the continuous human obligation to treat yesterday's spiritual plateaus as today's limitations and to constantly move forward, whether climbing to higher spiritual rungs or breaking out of a low state with a single step.This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Matos-Masei in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

    📄 PDF of Sicha: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/08c4f08...

    📄 PDF of Sicha in English by SIE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13XsO...

    📖 Buy Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 at Kehot: https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinf...

    1 hr 37 min