The Jewish Sufi Pilgrim | Trailer
Welcome to a podcast between the shul and the shrine
A new journey begins today
Welcome to a podcast between the shul and the shrine — a joyful exploration of the shared spiritual and musical worlds in Jewish and Islamic mysticism
While this Substack is primarily dedicated to Turkish Music Therapy, the discipline itself emerged within the overlapping historical sound worlds of the wider Central Asian region — many of which are rooted in mystical ideals and devotional traditions.
The podcast therefore takes a broader perspective, exploring the parallels and resonances (within distinction) between two great mystical traditions, Kabbalah and Sufism, whose teachings and poetry have profoundly shaped the musical cultures of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Silk Road.
Hosted by writer, musician, and independent scholar Lisa England, this series traces the paths where Jewish mystics, Sufi seekers, poets, and musicians met across the Silk Road and the medieval Islamic world. Through history, poetry, sacred music, sacred text, and spiritual philosophy, the podcast follows the living traditions that connect Kabbalistic and Sufi devotional life.
From Abraham Abulafia to Yunus Emre, from the Zohar to the Masnavi, from the scholastic heritage of Baghdad to the musical lineages of Balkh, each episode asks one central question:
What does it mean to walk the path of devotion across (or between, or in the margins of ) confessional lines?
Episodes explore mysticism, pilgrimage, sacred music, and the intellectual exchange between Jewish and Islamic spiritual traditions.
Transcript of the trailer
There’s an expression in Turkish: dört yol — “four ways.” A crossroad.
Historically, crossroads were not tidy places. They were where strangers met. Where languages mixed. Where prayer, trade, argument, and revelation shared the same ground.
Along the medieval Silk Road, Jews, Sufis, nomads, pilgrims, physicians, and poets crossed paths with one another in caravanserai, shrines, courts, and roadside inns.
They debated, translated, borrowed, and listened.
And their sound — especially — traveled faster than doctrine.
This podcast explores those historical crossings. Because sometimes the Divine is encountered in vibration before it is defined by religion.
If you’re curious about Silk Road history, mysticism, sacred sound, and the uneasy beauty of devotional traditions in proximity — meet me at this crossroad.
I’m the Jewish Sufi Pilgrim. Sacred sound is my path. And this podcast is my caravanserai.
Welcome.
Listen and read more
Transcripts and related resources will always be posted here on Substack.
External podcast episode archive:
https://podcast.lisaengland.com
Host website:
https://lisaengland.com
About the host (and writer of this Substack):
Lisa England is a writer, musician, and independent scholar exploring the devotional traditions of the Middle East and Silk Road, especially the historical meeting points between Jewish mysticism and Sufi spirituality. Her work focuses on voice, music, and instruments as carriers of this shared inheritance, beyond the boundaries of theology or dogma.
Currently, she is focused on music as medicine across medieval Central Asia and the Ottoman world, with particular attention to voices and healing practices often overlooked in modern transmission — such of those of Jews and women mystics. She honors the legacy of Dr. Rahmi Oruç Güvenç as a spiritual guide in this work, and a steward of medicinal music traditions from Türkiye and the Silk Road.