Congregation Schaarai Zedek

About Congregation Schaarai Zedek

This podcast features sermons from Shabbat and holiday services at Congregation Schaarai Zedek in Tampa, Florida. Congregation Schaarai Zedek is a Reform Jewish congregation established in 1894. Today, our Temple family is made up of more than 3,000 adults and children spanning four generations. We have been very fortunate to have strong spiritual leadership and an active membership throughout our 100 year history. We are led by Rabbi Joel Simon, Rabbi Micahel Weiss, Cantor Deborrah Cannizzaro, and Rabbi Emeritus Richard J. Birnholz. For more info about CSZ, please visit our website: www.zedek.org.

Publisher

Congregation Schaarai Zedek

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Jul 2018

Latest episode

25 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

131 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Sept 2026

   "Lord, Prepare Me to Open the Gates

   Welcome to the Schaarai Zedek Podcast, where you'll find live recordings of sermons, divrei Torah, teachings, and reflections from our Erev Shabbat and High Holy Day services. Whether you're listening on your commute, during a walk, or from home, we're glad to have you with us. This Episode: "Lord, Prepare Me to Open the Gates" Delivered by Rabbi Preston Neimeiser on Yom Kippur, Sept. 21, 2026. What does it take to open the gates of righteousness? Rabbi Neimeiser begins with the words of Psalm 118, which inspired the name of Congregation Schaarai Zedek, and traces a path through generations of Reform Jewish leaders who understood that changing the world begins by opening and changing ourselves. From the 17 Reform rabbis who answered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s call to action in St. Augustine in 1964 to the evolving practices and institutions of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Neimeiser explores a tradition that has never stopped wrestling with how to meet the needs of each new generation while remaining rooted in Jewish identity, learning and responsibility. Along the way, he reflects on the people, camps and experiences that shaped his own Jewish life, including the recent loss of Paul Reichenbach, a longtime leader of the Reform Movement whose influence reached generations of young Jews. On Yom Kippur, as we confront our own mortality and consider the legacy we will leave behind, Rabbi Neimeiser reminds us that while the institutions and programs that formed us may change or disappear, the work continues. By making ourselves sanctuaries and giving the next generation the tools to make and remake the world, we help hold the gates open a little longer. In the new year of 5787, may we walk through those gates not alone, but together, hand in hand with God and one another.

2. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Loyalty, Actually

   Welcome to the Schaarai Zedek Podcast, where you'll find live recordings of sermons, divrei Torah, teachings, and reflections from our Erev Shabbat and High Holy Day services. Whether you're listening on your commute, during a walk, or from home, we're glad to have you with us. This Episode: "Loyalty, Actually" Delivered by Rabbi Joel Simon on Kol Nidre, Sept. 20, 2026. What makes a person, relationship, community or cause deserving of our loyalty? And what happens when something or someone we love disappoints us? Beginning with an unexpected question on a restaurant survey, Rabbi Simon explores the complicated nature of loyalty, from the Israelites and the Golden Calf to the relationships, institutions and communities that shape our lives today. Drawing on Jewish tradition and the tension between love and rebuke, Rabbi Simon considers the difference between loyalty and blind allegiance. True loyalty does not require us to ignore wrongdoing, abandon our values or remain silent. Instead, it can call us to use our voices, make room for truth and accountability, and recognize that love and disappointment can exist within the same relationship. On the sacred night of Kol Nidre, when we reflect on the promises and commitments that bind us, Rabbi Simon invites us to examine our own loyalties: Which should we renew? Which require us to speak up? Which remain worthy of our patience and commitment? And which may finally require us to let go? In a time when many feel disconnected from people and communities that once felt like home, this sermon asks how we can remain true to our values while leaving room for disagreement, compassion and relationship, building bonds in which we can feel supported, safe, trusted and, ultimately, at home.

3. 

   15 Sept 2026

   HinAIni: Keeping It Real in an Artificial World

   Welcome to the Schaarai Zedek Podcast, where you'll find live recordings of sermons, divrei Torah, teachings, and reflections from our Erev Shabbat and High Holy Day services. Whether you're listening on your commute, during a walk, or from home, we're glad to have you with us. This Episode: "HinAIni – Keeping it Real in an Artificial World" Delivered by Rabbi Joel Simon on Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 12, 2026. Artificial intelligence is becoming part of nearly every aspect of our lives, from the way we work and learn to how we communicate, create and even seek advice. But when does AI help us, and when does relying on it mean surrendering something that should remain authentically ours? Beginning with his own experience using ChatGPT to help prepare a lesson at Jewish summer camp, Rabbi Simon explores the balance between embracing the possibilities of new technology and preserving the human thought, relationships and responsibility that give our lives meaning. Drawing on Jewish teachings about pride and humility, the ethics of learning, and the biblical call of Hineni, "Here I am," Rabbi Simon considers where AI can serve as a valuable tool and where our humanity must remain at the center. As we enter the new year of 5787, this sermon invites us to ask not simply how we will use artificial intelligence, but how we will remain authentically present in a world increasingly shaped by it. In our decisions, creations, relationships and life's paths, may we always be able to say: Hineni. Here I am. This is me.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

11 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

78

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

77

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Guest appearances

Books guests

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