• By Jeff Roth
•  chants, dudele

Presenter: Rabbi Jeff Roth
Event & Date: N/A
Podcast Notes:
One approach to addressing the Divine was offered by Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, a Hasidic rebbe in the second generation of followers of the Baal Shem Tov. He offered his theology in the form of a song, known as a dudele (from the Yiddish word du for “you”). Levi Yitzchak presents us a way of looking at the world through the eyes of the teaching “Everything is God and nothing but God.” And in doing so, he personalizes the experience of mindfulness.

The dudele is originally written in Yiddish; the translation below is mine. It stays close to the text, except for the beginning and the end. The opening address to God, Riboyno shel oylom, literally means “Master of the world,” but I replaced it with the metaphor I have been using in this book. I also added the last three stanzas to include formal mindfulness practice experiences. Here is a recorded version of the dudele:

Below is a talk Rabbi Jeff Roth gave at a Three Week Retreat in 2014, which includes the Dudele.

You Are Love (Rabbi Jeff Roth)

Jeff starts by talking about Moses at the Burning Bush, and how God teaches us
to live in the here and now. Jeff looks at talking directly to God, and paying
loving attention to each moment of life.