Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchR. Elie Kaunfer on Acharei Mot-Kedoshim: When God Feels Distant: The Response of the Kaddish
The Kaddish contains an anomaly: a liturgical phrase used to respond to God's name, but no triggering mention of God's name. Noting God’s missing nam…
3 years, 4 months ago
R. Avital Hochstein on Yom Ha-Atzma'ut: Sanctity and Land
The concept of the “קדושת הארץ - sanctity of the Land” simultaneously gives meaning to, and creates a tremendous challenge to, life in the State of I…
3 years, 4 months ago
R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Tazria-Metzora: Praying for the Healing of Others
Asking God for healing is a core aspect of prayer. But the ideal form of this prayer (as expressed in the Amidah) pushes us to widen the circle of ou…
3 years, 4 months ago
R. Avi Killip on Yom HaShoah: Legacy
There is no Judaism—no understanding of Jewish history or culture or theology—without accounting for the Shoah. This part of the Jewish story is now …
3 years, 4 months ago
R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Shemini: Stoicism and Grief
Imagine how Aharon must have felt, watching his sons die, on what should have been the greatest day of his life: the inauguration of the system of sa…
3 years, 4 months ago
R. Avi Killip: Hameitz and Uncovered Pits
What can cleaning for Pesah teach us about the limits ownership and responsibility? R. Avi Killip shares reflections on the holiday from this year's…
3 years, 4 months ago
Feeling the Way You Should Feel: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #5
How can God command us to feel a particular emotion? While we often can't change feelings on demand, Shabbat offers a pathway for how actions and rit…
3 years, 5 months ago
R. Elie Kaunfer on Parashat Tzav: The Eternal Nature of Gratitude
How are we meant to conclude the Amidah? What is the emotional orientation to the end of an intense encounter with God?
3 years, 5 months ago
On Being Essential: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #4
Every single Jewish soul is as integral to the Jewish people as every letter in the Torah scroll. No person is dispensable.
"Mitteler Rebbe's Kapelya…
3 years, 5 months ago
With All of Your Might: The Tisch with Dena Weiss #3
It can feel impossible to approach an infinite and all-powerful God. But God desires closeness with us, with the limited power that we do have, in al…
3 years, 5 months ago