Presence in Absence

What can we learn from Torah readings that recount details of rituals and structures that no longer exist? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that the connections we make with other people are sacred and persist even when the other person is not physically with us.

There are moments when God’s face feels hidden and faith itself seems beyond reach. Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that even when we cannot see the face of God directly, we may still encounter the divine in the face of another.

When is stubbornness a flaw and when does it become necessary for a people to survive? From Menachem Begin's stance against accepting reparations from Germany to the Israelites worshiping the Golden Calf, Rabbi Zuckerman discusses the characterization of Jews as a a "stiff-necked people."

Join us as Cantor Davis and cantorial intern Kelsey Bailey discuss all things Purim spiel, and get to know Kelsey better.

Rabbi Zuckerman explores why the Torah goes into such detail about the clothing one should wear in a sacred space. Clothing, according to the Torah, is not decorative. Rather, it binds us and shapes us. In the biblical imagination, clothing does not merely express identity – it creates identity. 

Rabbi Zauzmer discusses the recent Super Bowl ad about antisemitism and encourages us to spend more time fighting antisemites than we spend fighting one another. 

Rabbi Zuckerman speaks about the repatriation of the body of the last hostage in Gaza, Master Sergeant Ran Gvili – linking his return home to this week’s parashah, where Moses carries Joseph’s bones out of Egypt.

Cantors Davis and Reisner revisit the pipeline issue from their last episode and share a preview of a special melody for "The Song of the Sea," coming up this Shabbat.

Freedom is born not only through God’s miracles, but through human agency. Drawing on the Torah reading, Václav Havel, and contemporary politics, Rabbi Cosgrove challenges us to stop “living within the lie,” reclaim our moral voice, and take agency in a consequential time.

Rabbi Pink, a Minnesota native, discusses the unrest in his home state, and shares how a teaching from this week’s Torah portion can help us understand what is happening and how to respond.