In 2016 Rabbi Dani Passow was a participant in a study exploring the effects of the hallucinogenic agent psilocybin on clergy. He also wrote his masters thesis on a study examining the effects of psilocybin on depression and anxiety in cancer patients. With Purim coming up and altered states of consciousness on our minds, Rabbi Passow will use traditional sources and his own experience to reflect on what these substances may offer the Jewish community and their potential risks and downsides.

Dani Passow is Rabbi and Senior Director of Public and Alumni Programs at Harvard Hillel and a Harvard Chaplain. Prior to assuming his current role, he served as the Orthodox Rabbi at Harvard Hillel, Assistant Campus Rabbi Columbia/Barnard Hillel, and rabbinic intern at Congregation Shaarei Tefillah. Dani holds a Masters of Science degree in Biostatistics from Harvard and has published papers on genomics, cardiovascular disease, and the placebo effect in various scholarly medical journals. A graduate of Cooper Union’s engineering school, Dani studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion and Yeshivat Maale Gilboa and received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, where he won the Dov Zakheim Talmud Prize.