Episode 15: Celebrating Life and Purim; on Drug and Alcohol Abuse w/Rabbi Mark Borovitz

“For me, Truth is more important than my job… it’s more important than you liking me. Because as soon as I hide… I die. And we haven’t realized that as a people.”

— Rabbi Mark Borovitz

The Jewish holiday of Purim has a long tradition of drinking a lot and getting wild. So I thought it fitting to bring on the show Rabbi Mark Borovitz for this special holiday episode.

A little bit about our Purim Episode guest this week: Rabbi Mark Borovitz..

Officially ordained in 2000 at the University of Judaism with a Master’s in Rabbinic Literature, Rabbi Mark Borovitz combined his knowledge of Torah and street smarts to shape his calling: helping recovering addicts find their way in the world. Spiritual Leader, Author, Senior Rabbi, CEO, ex-con, recovering alcoholic, and overall anomaly, he is able to reach both the addict and the congregant, and de-stigmatize this life threatening disease. Continue reading “Episode 15: Celebrating Life and Purim; on Drug and Alcohol Abuse w/Rabbi Mark Borovitz”

March 15, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 14: Starting a Brick and Mortar in the Tech Age of Apps w/Emily Weisberg

““When my daughter is playing with Legos… when the dad goes into work his boss is a woman, and when the mom goes into work – she is the boss!””

Emily grew up in a small town in Wisconsin where she started writing recipes and drinking coffee at the ripe old age of 7. She started working in restaurants when she was 14 and has hardly stopped since. She learned Spanish, developed an interest in coffee, went to college, shopped at the farmer’s market a lot, ate at some amazing restaurants, lived in Peru for a while and eventually got married in Jerusalem where she and her husband lived. They came back to the U.S. with a toddler and an even stronger desire to build a diverse community around food. Enter: Moss Café. Emily, her husband Alex and their two little ones live in Riverdale and can probably be found at the café. Continue reading “Episode 14: Starting a Brick and Mortar in the Tech Age of Apps w/Emily Weisberg”

March 8, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 13: Breaking The Mold, Creating New Ways To Be and Do Jewish w/Roey Kruvi

“Any good innovative organization will tell you that you have to be okay with failure – that they look to ‘not’ have consensus. That those are the ideas that forge new spaces and opportunities.”

— Roey Kruvi

Roey Kruvi is the Senior Director of Immersive Experiences at Moishe House. He was born in Haifa and lived in different parts of Israel before moving to California at the age of 10, where he has been ever since. Since relocating to Encinitas, he has taken on several new hobbies, using his free time to surf, horseback ride, learn the piano, practice yoga, and spend time with his family. He graduated from UC Berkeley with bachelor’s degrees in geography and interdisciplinary studies. Roey appreciates opportunities to live communally, skill share, laugh at himself, laugh with others, go to potlucks, breathe (thanks, lungs!), read books, negotiate bus fares, and eat lunch by gorging on farmers market samples.

Roey’s passion and dedication are in informal education of youth, especially in wilderness and/or outdoor settings, and he has several years’ experience designing and implementing experiential education curriculums, both in and outside of the Jewish world. Also, he’s a big fan of being alive and not taking himself too seriously. Roey is a cancer survivor and doesn’t sweat the small stuff. Roey is also the founder of Beacons Tech Consulting, a business that provides affordable tech solutions to small and medium-sized nonprofits. Continue reading “Episode 13: Breaking The Mold, Creating New Ways To Be and Do Jewish w/Roey Kruvi”

March 1, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 12: Just A Dash of Orange Blossom Water with cookbook author Sara Gardner

“Food is a really great way of connecting folks who may have never met, in a way that is so much easier and sometimes even more effective than, say, talking to a person.”

— Sara Gardner

Sara Gardner is the Associate Director of Young Adult Programs at Hebrew College. Before joining the college’s Adult Learning team, Sara conducted research on the culinary heritage and cultural identity of Sephardic Jews in Madrid as a Fulbright Scholar. Sara is also the creator and head blogger of Boka Dulse, a food blog dedicated to Jewish food history, and regularly contributes to The Nosher, a Jewish food publication sponsored by MyJewishLearning.com.

An avid cook and food historian, Sara also teaches cooking classes – some of her past teaching engagements include with the Reform Jewish Community of Madrid and The Gefilteria. She is also the editor of the recently-published cookbook, The Rosh Hashanah Seder Cookbook: Stories and Recipes from the Reform Jewish Community of Madrid, currently available on Amazon. In 2016, Sara graduated with a BA in International Literary & Visual Studies and Spanish (with a minor in Hebrew) from Tufts University. Continue reading “Episode 12: Just A Dash of Orange Blossom Water with cookbook author Sara Gardner”

February 22, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 11: Creativity To Get You On Stage In Front Of 10k w/Andrew Lustig

“Anytime I’m creating something, or working, I always ask either myself or somebody else: ‘what am I not thinking of?’”

— Andrew Lustig

Andrew Lustig is a ‘Jewish Spoken Word Artist’ whose poetry has reached millions, in viral videos and in hundreds of live performances. Andrew has delivered keynote addresses for Hillel, URJ, USCJ, UJIA and BBYO and written Annual Campaign films for JFNA, UJIA, Pardes and JFGD. A 2013-14 Dorot Fellow in Israel, Andrew is a Pardes alumnus, a Limmudnik, and a frequent attendee on Or HaLev retreats. From 2013-2017 Andrew has worked as an artist-in-residence at the Brandeis Collegiate Institute in Los Angeles. Andrew is the co-founder of the Muslim Jewish Interfaith Coalition and a 2019 facilitation trainee with Resetting the Table. Continue reading “Episode 11: Creativity To Get You On Stage In Front Of 10k w/Andrew Lustig”

February 15, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 10: Inviting All To Participate; Inclusion and Disability Advocacy w/Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

““You can do everything the other kids can do. You just do it differently!””

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary and is, as far as she is aware, the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. A sought after speaker, spiritual leader and educator, Rabbi Tuchman has taught at numerous synagogues and other Jewish venues throughout North America and was named to the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36 for her innovative leadership concerning inclusion of Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life. In 2017, she delivered an ELI Talk entitled “We All Stood At Sinai: The Transformative Power of Inclusive Torah”. Continue reading “Episode 10: Inviting All To Participate; Inclusion and Disability Advocacy w/Rabbi Lauren Tuchman”

February 8, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 9: How to Tackle Huge Projects; on Talmud and Haiku creation w/Rabbi Avi Strausberg

“Dictionary for the Day:

Talmud: Interpretations on the Torah (Hebrew Bible).
Daf Yomi: Studying a page (daf) per day (yom).
Haiku: a very short form of Japanese poetry in three phrases.

Rabbi Avi Strausberg: creative thinker about how to make torah and talmud wisdom come alive in new and exciting ways.”

Rabbi Avi Strausberg is the Director of National Learning Initiatives at Hadar, and based in Washington, DC. Previously, she served as the Director of Congregational Learning of Temple of Aaron in St. Paul, Minnesota. She received her rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College in Boston and is a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She also holds a Masters in Jewish Education. While pursuing her studies, Avi was honored to serve as a rabbinic intern at Kehillath Israel and Temple Sinai. Continue reading “Episode 9: How to Tackle Huge Projects; on Talmud and Haiku creation w/Rabbi Avi Strausberg”

January 31, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 8: Travel and Global Jewish Communities w/Rabbi Elie Lehmann

““There are two existential postures that I try to live my life inside of… The first one is: compassionate curiosity. That’s the ability to experience people and places with compassion on the one hand, a loving eye toward who they are and what they do; and a certain sense of curiosity that are questions bubbling up. And always wanting to learn more, and be more in contact with, and ask more, and integrate into. Not in a way of challenging or putting down, but through a lens of compassion and an open heart.””

— Rabbi Elie Lehmann

Rabbi Elie Lehmann is the Campus Rabbi at Boston University Hillel. He has rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College in Boston. He loves supporting young adults find innovative and meaningful ways to feel confident in their Jewish identity, knowledge, and practice. He has worked with NGOs in several countries over the past decade. As Director of the Kulanu Global Teaching Fellowship, Elie has worked with several Jewish communities in Africa and Latin America. Elie is an alumnus of Mechon Hadar, Columbia University and The Jewish Theological Seminary. In his spare time Elie enjoys cooking, cycling around new neighborhoods, and playing drums. He lives in Cambridge, MA, with his wife Anya Manning and their son. Continue reading “Episode 8: Travel and Global Jewish Communities w/Rabbi Elie Lehmann”

January 25, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 7: The Bravery Needed to Lead As Your Authentic Self w/Rabbi Rachel ‘Bluth’ Rosenbluth

““My activism is an outgrowth of my spiritual and religious life. I think that if we are told to walk in the ways of the divine, and if we are created in tzelem elokim.. in the image of the divine, then the only thing that can mean is to live with compassion. To try to cultivate peace, and healing, and goodness.””

— Rachel “Bluth” Rosenbluth

Rabbi Rachel “Bluth” Rosenbluth is currently studying for rabbinic ordination at Yeshivat Har El, a co-ed Orthodox Rabbinical program in Jerusalem. She is the Founder and Educational Director of Achvat Amim Ruchani, a program for Israeli-Palestinian peace and justice volunteer work, focused on Jewish learning. Born in Toronto to two amateur Klezmorim, Bluth lives in a plant-filled home in Yafo.

Bluth graduated from McGill University in 2012, having majored in International Development Studies and Buddhism. At McGill, she had valuable experiences in community-based development and sustainable food systems through environmental field research in East Africa, and working on permaculture farms. She worked as the Director of Education for Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs in Toronto, combining her passion for sustainability and social justice with Jewish education and community building. Continue reading “Episode 7: The Bravery Needed to Lead As Your Authentic Self w/Rabbi Rachel ‘Bluth’ Rosenbluth”

January 18, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 6: Discussing Depression, Growth and Surviving Suicide Loss w/Dr. Natalya Bogopolskaya

““A lot of times people ask: how do I return to my ‘normal’ life after someone close to me has died?
-You will have to find a new normal.”

— Dr. Bogopolskaya on Professor David Schonfeld

Dr. Natalya Bogopolskaya has a Doctor of Psychology degree in school psychology from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She obtained her Master of Education in school psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and Bachelor of Arts in psychology, French, and Russian from Claremont McKenna College.

She is also a nationally certified school psychologist, having interned and worked in schools districts in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and now Los Angeles, where she currently resides. Her dissertation was on the relationship between resilience traits, post-traumatic stress disorder, and post-traumatic growth in suicide loss survivors. Continue reading “Episode 6: Discussing Depression, Growth and Surviving Suicide Loss w/Dr. Natalya Bogopolskaya”