I’ve long believed that one of the most promising avenues to apply design skills and creativity to is in designing communities, social rituals, and spiritual practice that suits the modern world. And, as such, there’s no one I can think of that exemplifies this better than Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie. I think this conversation, which is full of wisdom and fun, is a great introduction to exactly the type of spiritual design we need to see more of. So let’s jump right in with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie. – Eran Dror

Check out Rabbi Amichai on the latest episode of Eran Dror’s podcast Remake – a podcast about Design, Systems, and Society.

In this conversation Rabbi Amichai and Eran talk about:

  • How the Jewish concept of the set table served both as a happy early memory, and as an organizing principle for his later work.
  • How Covid 19 made rituals and online communities more important than ever.
  • His orthodox roots as the scion of an ancient and respected rabbinical dynasty, and his journey of self discovery through theater, drag, and art.
  • His creation of storytelling, a way to bring to life the ancient ritual of the reading of the Torah, and the Maven Method he developed to spread the practice further.
  • The emergence of Lab/Shul and the community around it.
  • The power of spiritual design and a well-designed practice in transforming our lives and our communities for the better.

And also discuss:

  • How is religion used as a tool in the service of humanity?
  • What happens if you bring scripture to the 21st century as a performance?
  • Why is the tribal wisdom of small circles within a bigger circle so important?

Listen to the full conversation here!

Remake is a podcast about Design, Systems, and Society. And I’m Eran Dror, a product designer and researcher of eastern religions. In each episode I interview someone who’s trying to change our lives for the better in some meaningful way, whether through a new product, new venture, or new way of looking at the world, and I try to understand how they came to it, what makes them tick, and what we all can learn from them. I truly believe Design is strategic, that it goes to the core, that it’s at the root of what it means to be human. In this show we explore an expansive view of design, and cover Systems Thinking, AI Ethics and Safety, Social Innovation, Secular spirituality, and the future.