Episode 109 - G-d and the Mafia
What happens when we start treating Hashem like a mafia boss?
You pay your dues.
You keep your side of the deal.
And then the “laundromat” still burns down.
Is our relationship with G-d transactional?
If I’m good, You’ll be good back?
If things go my way, You’re close — and if they don’t, You’re distant?
Or is that projection?
In this episode, four voices wrestle with a question that many feel but few articulate:
Are we constructing G-d based on outcomes — reward and punishment, success and setback — or are we meant to start with relationship itself?
We explore:
The difference between transactional religion and relational connection
Why disappointment can distort our picture of G-d
What Chassidus means when it says the real tragedy isn’t punishment — it’s the absence of simcha
And a radical idea: that closeness to Hashem may not depend on outcomes at all
From mafia metaphors to Maharal, from Auschwitz to Mashiach, from reward and punishment to miracles that are “person-specific” — this is not theology for the classroom.
It’s theology in the moment of frustration.
It’s about what you feel when expectations collapse.
And whether G-d is far — or whether something else is.
Listen in.
And ask yourself:
If Hashem isn’t a mafia boss…
Who is He to you?