Dear Reader,
I am excited to inform you that this newsletter’s second season will begin, with the help of G-d Alm-ghty, one week from today. Reminder: If all goes according to plan, the Stupendous Substack Spring starts on Wednesday, February 22nd and will continue for ~4 months with a weekly essay. Three-quarters of the new posts will be for paid subscribers only, in addition to their usual ability to access the entire archive. Paid subscriptions have been un-paused as of today. If you haven’t yet become a paid subscriber, I’d recommend you subscribe today, so that you don’t miss any paid content (the first paywalled post will publish on March 1st.)
I continue to draft and prepare this season of posts, with a significant number near completion and others already “in the can” and scheduled for release to your inbox. I want to use the rest of this post to get you as excited about the content as I am. To that end, I want to share a table of contents and posting schedule for the coming months. Please remember that this is not set in stone and could still be subject to significant change. Much could happen between now and when they post, from rearrangement to entirely different content to switching between free and paid. The goal, as always, is to present you with something entertaining and edifying that I’d enjoy reading. This goal drives any changes that might occur.
Alright, now that I am fully disclaimed, I present to you the
“Not A Jungle” Season Preview
1. The Jewish Psychonaut
1st of Adar - February 22nd - Free
The role of psychedelic experience in Jewish spirituality.
2. The Mistake of All Mistakes
8th of Adar - March 1st - Locked
Beginning of the main series of posts this season. The self is bigger than the universe.
3. You Are Not Physical
15nd of Adar - March 8th - Locked
The self is beyond matter and existence, as described in Tanya, ch. 5.
4. You Are the Protagonist
22nd of Adar - March 15th - Locked
The history of a charade called “it’s not about you.”
5. G-d-Gendered
29th of Adar - March 22nd - Free
The transgender moment and the mystical impulse at the end of history.
6. The Selfless Self
7th of Nisan - March 29th - Locked
Why the true selflessness is found only by turning inward and not, as the world demands, by turning outward. In honor of hakhel.
[Pesach/Passover Break]
7. The Protagonist Chooses G-d
28th of Nisan - April 19th - Locked
All prerequisites met and all things in the universe depending on him, the protagonist finally chooses a King, as described in Tanya, ch. 41.
8. The Self at Sinai
5th of Iyar - April 26th - Locked
Mt. Sinai is simultaneously mystical/subjective/inner and historical/objective/world event; this is its greatness, rather than its flaw; the self speaks.
9. Circumcision & Idolatry
12th of Iyar - May 3rd - Locked
The inner explanation of a strange ritual reveals it to be the sine qua non of radical monotheism, the self serving the Divine Self.
10. Unusual Proofs for the Existence of G-d
19th of Iyar - May 10th - Locked
A peek inside my collection of unusual demonstrations of the Creator’s existence.
11. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Self Factory
26th of Iyar - May 17th - Locked
On artificial intelligence, reflections, bananas, and metaphors.
12. The Deal With the Samech Mem
4th of Sivan - May 24th - Locked
How austere Judaism attracts austere souls; a paean to The Little Midrash Says and other strange and scary things.
13. The Rebbe and Geocentrism
11th of Sivan - May 31st - Locked
Okay, the world revolves around me, but does it, actually, revolve around me? And what is science, anyway?
14. The Maharal’s Lost Continent
18th of Sivan - June 7th - Free
The 3rd, concluding part to an old unfinished series. How the teachings of the Maharal’s descendant, the Alter Rebbe, allow us to finally reach the lost land of Israel.
15. Alfred
25th of Sivan - June 14th - Paid
You want to be Batman. I want to be his butler. We are not the same.
16. It’s Fine That You Don’t Respect the Lubavitcher Rebbe
2nd of Tammuz - June 21st - Free
A study in genuine selflessness.
[Extras]
Phew! Even the list took work. I’m gonna grab a drink. Here’s to a great season. L’chaim!
Yours,
Tzvi