“Matthew Ponak is a rabbinic pioneer and spiritual entrepreneur whose musical skills blend seamlessly with his religious insights to bring an embodied spirituality to seekers of all faiths and none.
Matthew’s evolving vision of an evolving Judaism steps beyond the limits of a supposed Jewish essentialism, shatters the imposed conformity of an imagined Jewish continuity, and allows the iconoclastic daring of Jewish creativity to reinvent who is and what it means to be a Jew in the 21st century.”

— Rabbi Rami Shapiro

“When we started working together I was straight up terrified of how my emotions felt in my body and tried to avoid experiencing them because they were overpowering to the point that I thought they would never end. Matthew guided me gently right into them with his terrific intuitive sense of when to let something be, which made the whole experience feel so safe and affirming and comfortable. What we discovered inside the physicality of emotion was honestly mind blowing. I have had such a shift in my perspective where I now experience my body as an infinite garden full of mystery and treasures, the emotions are the point of entry to this great mystery. Every session with Matthew has been a wild journey where we discovered the most profound and unexpected treasures. He has a really sharp sense of when language resonates with embodied experience. The authenticity and ebullience with which he reflected my experience back to me was really fundamental for making this work so transformational and collaborative.

Matthew is a very gifted guide and I honor him for the faith he has helped to restore in me.”

— Susannah Slocum

“I highly recommend Matthew as a spiritual mentor. He worked with me adeptly in helping me sort through and move forward with both the intellectual and more 'holistic' obstacles in my spiritual development...
As a mental health counselor myself, I appreciated Matthew's clinical instincts-- making space for my personal exploration, encouraging me, asking questions, and offering his own input tentatively (which is to say, tactfully). I especially appreciated his willingness/openness to work with me despite what felt to me as my peculiar spiritual issues-- specifically, the fact that I'm mostly atheist. He was always willing to "get lost" with me, providing expert advice while allowing me to "be the expert" of my own experience and process.

If you choose to work with Matthew, you will have a spiritual mentor who will respect your individual journey while offering helpful resources from his personal journey as well as his academic studies.

You will be finding a responsive resource who will help you make spiritual progress.”

— Matt L.

"Rabbi Ponak is a deeply empathic, intuitive, and creative healer. My sessions with him brought me back to a relationship with my body that was soothing and grounding."

— Rabbi Moshe Givental

"Matthew Ponak is the Norman Blake of nigunim (wordless Jewish melodies). Ponak's music isn't flashy - it's real, and beautiful."

— Joey Weisenberg, Creative Director of Mechon Hadar’s Rising Song Institute 

“Matthew is a wonderful teacher who makes class accessible to students of all kinds from any religious or non-religious background. He injects humor and stories into his teachings to keep everyone engaged, but is able to communicate a powerful message. I highly recommend taking any class that speaks to you!”

— Kim Vareika of Vareika Personal Training and Yoga

“Learning with Rabbi Matthew is an intellectual adventure marked with song and ruach. He eagerly shares his broad range of knowledge and in-depth experience with anyone lucky enough to listen. I love how he can introduce new perspectives on old ideas, skillfully taking lessons from past chassidic masters and combining them with the latest concepts in Qi Gong, meditation and philosophy. His infectious smile and amazing energy are real motivators for his students. If I had any complaint, if you could even call it that, I would say that in every class he suggests new books and sources that I would love to explore but never have enough time for!”

“Matt combines two sets of qualities that are not usually found together: deep Jewish erudition, sharp insights, and understanding of our rich textual tradition on the one hand, and on the other, a contemporary sensibility and an accessible menshlichkayt that allows him to reach and inspire people of any age. He knows what he is talking about, AND you can talk to him!”

“As a curious female octogenarian my spiritual journey has been long and challenging. Now as I dance towards death I have found in Matthew Ponak an exceptional life teacher. He is young enough to be my grandson, yet brings that digital-savvy wisdom of youth, grounded in the body, related to the Kabbalah and Torah, which has helped me integrate, becoming whole by finding pleasure and joy in everyday existence.”

“I have learned with/from Rabbi Matthew in a group setting and in chavruta one-on-one learning. Rabbi Matthew brings a fresh eye and enthusiastic energy to any learning and teaching he does. He is able to focus in very close on a text but also has the knowledge and ability to draw in strands from a multitude of other areas, including music, Chasidut, the natural world and more. He has a great depth and breadth of Jewish knowledge but also brings experience and knowledge in other areas to whatever he is teaching. He articulates his ideas and insights with clarity, care and a sense of calm.”

"The class was a revelation! I knew each Hebrew letter has a numeric value but had no idea about the haunting mystical meanings hiding in each component stroke. Rabbi Ponak's beautifully organized class included several different learning modalities. Each session was deeply informative, meaningfully illustrated, and surprisingly interactive given the Zoom format. His responses to student input were dependably authentic and refreshing."