Thursday Night Call-In Show ☎️ June 4, 2026

The Thursday Night Call-In Show returns after a 9-month hiatus. Topics include sensitive souls, family scapegoating, teaching difficult Torah passages, emotional boundaries, religious trauma, and finding purpose through everyday acts of goodness. Along the way, Rabbi Shais Taub makes the case that Don Quixote is secretly a Jewish character, sings "To Dream the Impossible Dream," debates Elvis versus Roy Orbison, explores ancient color theory, and answers Tanya questions from the live chat. If you have a personal question, dilemma, struggle, or situation you’d like to discuss live on the air, this is your opportunity. No topic is too big or too small—relationships, parenting, faith, emotional struggles, life decisions, personal growth, or anything else that’s on your mind. To be considered for a live call, email info at soulwords dot org with a brief summary of your question or topic. 00:00 — The Thursday Night Call-In Show Returns After 9 Months 02:17 — Why We Stopped Doing the Call-In Show 03:00 — NBA Nostalgia, Michael Jordan, and the Knicks 04:23 — How the Call-In Show Works 05:51 — The Be'er Mayim Black Cherry Soda Sponsor Pitch 07:43 — The Extortion Attempt Ever: The “Con-Con” Story 15:25 — *First Caller: Sensitive Souls Feel Like They Don’t Belong Here* 19:50 — The Soul’s Homesickness and the Limits of Physical Pleasure 21:00 — What Unhealthy Parents Do With Their Shame 22:20 — Does Trauma Create Sensitive Souls? 25:24 — Family Scapegoats and The Emperor’s New Clothes 28:19 — Why Truth-Tellers Get Punished 32:28 — Empaths, Family Systems, and Emotional Abuse 36:25 — The Antidote to Toxic Shame 37:37 — The Danger of Turning Kindness Into People-Pleasing 40:08 — Ending the First Call: Live Chat Chaos & Mustard-Stained Diapers 45:20 — I Need You to Tell Me My Collar Is Sticking Out 47:09 — Paul Simon vs. Las Vegas Elvis 49:43 — Who Sang Unchained Melody Best? 52:54 — Tanya: Can a Beinoni Become a Tzaddik? 54:04 — *Musical Interlude: To Dream the Impossible Dream* 56:19 — Don Quixote, Abraham, and Why the Jews Look Crazy 59:14 — The Original Jewish Neurodivergent: Abraham Avinu 1:02:42 — The Jewish Story Hidden Inside Man of La Mancha 1:03:38 — How Failure Becomes Fuel for Growth 1:07:27 — I Sing to Express My Soul, Not to Perform 1:09:46 — Mashiach Is Coming Anyway—So Why Bother? 1:11:45 — Communist Propaganda Had Great Graphic Design 1:12:32 — *2nd Caller: The Gemara Passage Nobody Wants to Translate* 1:21:03 — Should Torah Teachers Skip “Mature Content”? 1:23:45 — Why I Prefer Teaching These Things Through Torah 1:26:44 — Classroom Teaching vs. One-on-One Parenting 1:31:02 — *Musical Interlude: The Impossible Dream in Hebrew* 1:32:54 — *Musical Interlude: The Impossible Dream in Spanish* 1:34:30 — Question from the Comments on Hisbonenus 1:36:37 — Which English Tanakh Should You Buy? 1:37:48 — Geeking Out Over Chassidus 1:38:44 — The Rebbe’s Lineage and King David 1:41:00 — Midstream Tech Support 1:43:56 — Driving Like a Cop (SCMODS) 1:45:21 — Flowers at Kol Save 1:46:52 — The Greatest Call-In Show Story Ever: The California Dentist 1:48:42 — Opening the Hotline to the Wild West 1:57:44 — Absorbing Other People’s Energy 2:02:00 — Knowing When to Keep Your Heart Open 2:03:44 — When a Spouse Wavers in Religion 2:08:01 — A Husband Is a Partner, Not a Father 2:12:02 — The Shortest Unit of Time 2:12:53 — Defensive Driving Courses 2:14:30 — *Musical Interlude: The Little Bird* 2:22:02 — *Musical Interlude: To Love a Fellow Jew* 2:24:10 — What Color Was Adam? The Subway Face-Off 2:26:32 — Homer’s Wine-Dark Sea & Color Linguistics 2:29:21 — The Red Heifer Isn’t Red 2:33:14 — Blue in Russian (Голубой & Синий) 2:35:33 — Why Purple Doesn’t Actually Exist 2:40:50 — Megillah Pronunciation Errors 2:43:33 — Escaping the Matrix 2:47:18 — *Musical Finale* 2:49:57 — Sitting for Two Hours Out of Pure Kabbalas Ol 2:51:01 — Live From Cairo 2:52:04 — Final Blessings and Good Shabbos --- *For more classes from Rabbi Shais Taub:* 🌐 *Website:* https://www.soulwords.org/ *Follow Rabbi Shais Taub:* 📸 *Instagram:* https://www.instagram.com/rabbi_shais_taub 🎥 *TikTok:* https://www.tiktok.com/@rabbi_shais_taub 🐦 *X (Twitter):* https://www.x.com/ShaisTaub 📘 *Facebook:* https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573478244968 💼 *LinkedIn:* https://www.linkedin.com/in/shais-taub-81a95466/ 🎧 *Listen to the SoulWords Podcast:* 🎵 *Spotify:* https://open.spotify.com/show/51E7XHWFDbZCGJQz7CoAZP 🍏 *Apple Podcasts:* https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soulwords-full-libr… *About SoulWords:* SoulWords is a virtual community hosted by Rabbi Shais Taub, where people come together to explore the spiritual insights of Torah and discover their unique purpose. This platform is here to facilitate your spiritual growth by sharing the mystical teachings of Judaism in contemporary language—making deep wisdom accessible and relevant to your li