Bringing weekly Jewish insights into your life. Join Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz, Rabbi Michelle Robinson and Rav-Hazzan Aliza Berger of Temple Emanuel in Newton, MA as they share modern ancient wisdom.
From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life
Claim This Podcastby Temple Emanuel of Newton
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597 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Bringing weekly Jewish insights into your life. Join Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz, Rabbi Michelle Robinson and Rav-Hazzan Aliza Berger of Temple Emanuel in Newton, MA as they share modern ancient wisdom.
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Publishing Since
11/24/2018
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Recent Episodes
June 20, 2026
Shabbat Sermon: Choosing Teams Over Titles with Ritual Coordinator AJ Helman
<p>I need all of you to join me on a sports-nerd journey, for a second, because the Knicks just won their first championship since 1973. I’m aware this may not be the right crowd for this, but my parents are from New York, and as the famous song says, “I was born a Knicks fan, it’s genetic.” To say this championship meant a lot to New York and the Knicks would be an understatement, but what really made this championship so special was not just that the Knicks won, but how they won.</p>
June 20, 2026
Talmud Class: Living Without Closure
<p>We all love closure. We would all love to know that a danger we had worried about has passed, that we can exhale. All good. All safe. Peace. Nothing to worry about anymore. Open a bottle of wine. Rejoice.</p><p>Sometimes that happens. And other times, perhaps most times, it does not.</p><p>How do we do life when the closure we wish for is not to be had? That is a question for us in our personal lives. That is certainly a question for Israel and the Jewish people now.</p><p>No Israeli commentator or thought leader that I have heard or read believes that the existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear regime has passed. The war was begun because Iran’s nuclear ambitions and repeatedly stated desire to destroy Israel were an existential threat. The ceasefire that was announced this week does not resolve that existential threat. How do Israelis, and the Jewish people, and all who would oppose nuclear annihilation of a people, do life without closure—with the threat still unresolved?</p><p>For our last Talmud class of the year, we are going to examine the tractate Ta’anit, which deals with an existential threat to ancient Israel: drought. No rain meant no water to drink, no water to support vegetation, no produce, no food. Drought meant famine. Drought meant hunger.</p><p>How to handle this ancient existential threat to life? Ta’anit, which means fast (as in Yom Kippur) offers us two models for living when we cannot exhale, for life without closure. The threats (drought/famine and Iranian nuclear ambition) are different. But our <a href="https://shulcloud-images-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/7772/uploads/20260620%20Talmud.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">limited options</a> for living with them are the same.</p>
June 13, 2026
Shabbat Sermon: Singing God’s Words with Rabbi Jeffrey Summit
<p>Singing God’s Words: The Meaning and Experience of Chanting Torah</p><p>Drawing from his book, Singing God’s Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism, the first in-depth study of the meaning and experience of chanting Torah among contemporary American Jews, Rabbi Summit discusses how and why a growing number of American Jews see the chanting of Torah as one of the most authentic expressions of their religious identity.</p><p><strong>About Rabbi Jeffrey Summit</strong></p><p>Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, Ph.D. holds an appointment as Research Professor in the Department of Music and Judaic Studies at Tufts University. He is the author of Singing God’s Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism (Oxford University Press) and The Lord’s Song in a Strange Land: Music and Identity in Contemporary Jewish Worship (Oxford University Press). His CD Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings) was nominated for a GRAMMY award. His CD with video Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music and Interfaith Harmony in Uganda (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings) was awarded Best World Music CD by the Independent Music Awards. His research and writing focus on music and identity, music and spiritual experience, music and advocacy, and the impact of technology on the transmission of tradition. Rabbi Summit holds emeritus appointments at Tufts as Emeritus Neubauer Executive Director of Tufts Hillel and Emeritus Jewish Chaplain.</p>
597 total episodes available
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- What is From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life?
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This podcast updates weekly.
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