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Stories We Tell: How Do You Use It
Have you ever had a great idea that wasn’t useful until you applied it? This week, join Rabbi Phyllis Sommer of Am Shalom in Glencoe, IL, as she tells the story of a rabbi and a soap maker who explore this idea and realize their professions have more in common than they might have thought.
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Stories We Tell: Zoo Seder
On this special Passover episode of Stories We Tell, Rabbi Mark Kaiserman, Rabbi of the Reform Temple of Forest Hills, tells the story of a little girl who’s excited for a very different Passover seder her family is planning and how a little imagination might be what we all need right now.
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Stories We Tell: My Havdalah Set
Have you ever seen yourself as the “most” important? Have you felt your contributions mattered more than others, only to find out it actually took a group effort to accomplish your goal? This week, we’re treated to an original story by Alice Myers, actress and daughter of Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, who talks about this idea from the perspective of a havdalah set.
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Stories We Tell: The Perfect Seder
What is the real meaning of Passover? Is it ritualizing the seder and reading the Haggadah, or is there something more? This week, Rabbi Esther Lederman, the Union for Reform Judaism’s Director of Congregational Innovation, tells a story about a rabbi, a water carrier, and the prophet Elijah, and asks what it means to truly celebrate this sacred festival.
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On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Acharei Mot and Kedoshim - "Loving the Stranger" Isn't Always Intuitive
Let's talk about love: Torah talks about three kinds of love - and in fact, the phrase “love the stranger” appears in the Torah 36 times. Why is it written so often? Who is "the stranger," anyway? And who might be the strangers in our own lives? In this episode, which originally aired in April 2017, Rabbi Rick Jacobs talks about what it means to move from strangeness to equality to, finally, closeness and love.
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Stories We Tell: Two Frogs and a Little Encouragement
Has there ever been a moment when you wanted to give up on a goal because others said it was too hard? Has there ever been a moment when it seemed like all you could hear were cheers of encouragement to keep going? This week, we hear a story about two frogs who were in this exact same situation from Rabbi Rachel Greengrass of Temple Beth Am (Pinecrest, FL)
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Stories We Tell: Finding God on the Mountain
A man was told that he could find God at the top of the highest mountain, so he climbed to the peak and waited patiently for God to show up. Join Rabbi Phyllis Sommer as she tells this story about what it truly means to find God in ways we might have never even considered.
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Stories We Tell: The Weight Of One Good Deed
A wealthy man dies at the age of 120. He wasn't a particularly good man, nor a particularly bad one. So, when asked by the heavenly court if he can think of a truly good deed he's done that will outweigh the bad, he recalls one in particular. However, he needs some help from his defending angel attorney to make his deed look better than it actually was. Originally included in the collection Three Times Chai by Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, this story compels us to reexamine our own deeds and if they can truly measure up on their own.
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Wholly Jewish: Robin: Driven by Curiosity and Joy
In this episode: Teacher, Disney Alum, father, Black man, and husband are only some of the many identities belonging to our guest this week! Meet Robin, a gentleman, a scholar and a delight to all who know him.
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Wholly Jewish: Destiny: Jews Like Us are Out Here
What do we all have in common? We all live - and balance - complex and nuanced identities, that, when braided together, make us wholly ourselves - and “Wholly Jewish.” Join April Baskin, the Union for Reform Judaism’s former vice president for Audacious Hospitality, as she speaks with Jews of Color who share their experiences, insights, and how their identities enrich and create a more vibrant Jewish community.
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