How We Lost the Fire and How to Get It Back: Elevation’s Mission w/ Rav Doniel Katz

What if the essence of Judaism was never meant to be about behavior alone, but about dveykus, a deep soul-level connection to the Divine?

That is what this conversation is about.In this episode of In Search of More, I sit down with Rabbi Doniel Katz, founder of the Elevation Project, who has been on a mission to revive the spiritual technologies of Torah that most of us were never taught. Doniel is not interested in making Judaism more modern or palatable. He is trying to make it real again. To bring back the tools like meditation, breathwork, and inner refinement that our tradition always had but buried out of fear, trauma, and exile. We talk about what dveykus actually means, not a vague spiritual buzzword but a lived experience of radical presence and attachment to God.

We explore how Judaism lost that fire and how Elevation is working to restore it. Doniel has faced pushback, even being called a heretic and written off by segments of the ultra-Orthodox world who would rather preserve the image of holiness than wrestle with what holiness really demands.

Together we dig into how to navigate criticism without alienating supporters and how to stay focused on the mission instead of getting lost in endless battles.

One of the parts of our conversation that stayed with me was Doniel’s take on psychedelics. While he stopped short of claiming they are found in Judaism as some suggest, he was willing to explore the role these experiences might play in the larger search for the Divine. Hearing that from someone so rooted in Torah made me pause and consider how broad and inclusive our spiritual conversations can really be.

For me this was not only an interview but also a mirror. I walked away asking myself how much of my own energy goes into fighting battles instead of building what I set out to build. That is why I believe this episode will challenge you, not just to think differently about Judaism, but to reflect on your own search for more.

See you on the other side,

Eli