But there's a certain connection point where they're bringing you in from your world into our collective Jewish world. There are great rabbis there who are really relatable – brilliant, secularly educated – and deeply steeped obviously in Jewish studies and philosophy and Talmud and everything. There are many points that bring out the power of that place. I went to an institute called Machon Shlomo. SL: Well, the yeshiva that I went to when I first went to study… MR: Did you have any rabbis like that for you? That's somehow weirdly super relatable, because it just breaks down that wall – that barrier between teacher and student, rabbi and disciple – which could be even more obtrusive. They see the old guy at the front who's a Dead Head or ex-Dead Head and can relate. I'm also doing justice to the great world out there of culture and good music that people today don’t have access to. Even though most students don't understand my music – that's part of the shtick. If someone's teaching, you need to be relatable. And it's a connection because I'm opening up people to my world, which is personal. The cultural references are really key because it creates an interaction and a vibe, of course. You want people to take home something and you want to use the entire experience as a way of opening people up so that they are in tune with the message. What I will do is crystallize the idea, the message that I feel is powerful so it can resonate. SL: I have a GPS point of where I get to. You build story, you build experience, you build connection. You have a central point in the message that you want to get to and then you build around it. SL: When you teach, there's a stream of consciousness. Does that just come to you? Is that just your second language? MR: So many of your references in teaching are cultural. In a room full of kids, I like to start it off with something where they can actually hear some music and there's a whole song about it. I was giving a class last night about Sodom and Gomorrah. I'll listen to it because it's Jerry Garcia and Hunter, but I wouldn't just turn it on. SL: I don't know what it means to be a fan. MR: Are you a fan of the Jerry Garcia Band? SL: I was just listening to it when I came in – “ Gomorrah.” MR: This is probably not the question I would leadoff with most rabbis, but what's the last Grateful Dead song you listened to?
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