The Voices of Emanu El Podcast

Preparing Our Hearts: A High Holy Days Music Preview with Cantor Rollin Simmons

As Elul invites us to pause, reflect, and prepare for the High Holy Days, Cantor Rollin Simmons shares a musical preview of the season ahead in this special episode of Th

Tell the Whole Story: Ki Tavo, Elul, and the Basket We Bring

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Pam Silk reflects on the Torah’s first-fruits ritual in Parashat Ki Tavo and its enduring call to tell the whole story: t

The Torah Inside a Chicken Sandwich

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Oren Hayon examines tzaar ba’alei chayim, Judaism’s call to take the suffering of living beings seriously. Beginning wit

The Courage to Question: Truth, Prophecy & Conspiracy Theories

In a world where misinformation and conspiracy theories can make it difficult to know what to believe, Judaism calls us to do something essential: ask questions. In this

Practice Seeing: Blessing and Hardship

In Parashat R’eih, Moses tells the Israelites: “See, I set before you this day blessing and curse.” But what if blessing and hardship are not always separate paths? What

Hidden Treasure and Torah: A Journey from Krakow to Eikev

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Josh Fixler shares a recurring dream that sends Itzhak on a long, uncertain journey from Krakow to Prague in search of tr

The 516th Prayer

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Oren Hayon wrestles with one of the Torah’s most heartbreaking moments: Moses’ repeated, fervent prayers to cross the Jor

Devarim, the World Cup, and the Rhythms That Hold Us

This week on The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Pam Silk opens the book of Devarim with a surprising companion: the World Cup. From Cape Verde refusing to lose, to Argentina’s

The Encampment of Time: Shabbat and the Freedom to Stop

What if true freedom isn’t just the right to keep moving, but also the right to stop? In this episode, Rabbi Oren Hayon shares a story from his rabbinical school days in

From Sea to Shining Sea

In this episode of Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Oren Hayon shares a reflection on Micah’s timeless charge to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God" as America be

"What to the American Jew Is This 4th of July?"

On this special Independence Day episode of Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Josh Fixler asks a piercing question first posed by Frederick Douglass: “What to the American slave

Medicine, Faith, and Fear: From Ancient Tablets to Modern Pandemics

From Babylonian clay tablets to COVID-era conspiracy theories, Rabbi Oren Hayon sat down recently down with vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez and Assyriologist Dr. Irving

Debate for the Sake of Heaven: Juneteenth and America at 250

What makes a rebellion and what makes a revolution? When does passionate disagreement become a holy argument and when does it collapse into a struggle for power. In this

The Grasshopper Feeling: Crossing New Thresholds

In this episode of The Vocies of Emanu El, Rabbi Pam Silk weaves together summer camp send-offs and the Torah portion Sh’lach L'cha, where twelve scouts survey the Promis

Let It Rise: Learning to Let Go

This week on Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Oren Hayon reflects on Aretha Franklin’s “Call Me,” the Torah portion Beha’alotcha, and the haunting image of a menorah whose flame

Reproductive Freedom is Religious Freedom

Rabbi Josh Fixler recently sat down with Reverend Katey Zeh, CEO of the Religious Community for Reproductive Choice, for a powerful conversation about reproductive justic

Cooking Israel, Sharing Shabbat: A Conversation with Adeena Sussman

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Oren Hayon is joined by NYT Best Selling cookbook author Adeena Sussman to talk about “easy-breezy Tel Aviv-y” cooking, S

Ownerless Like a Wilderness: A Beginner’s Mind in a Noisy World

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Josh Fixler asks a deceptively simple question: What is the difference between a desert and a wilderness? Through the len

Running the Race of Jubilee: Making Room for Everyone to Win

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Pam Silk weaves the spectacle of the Kentucky Derby into the timeless teachings of the double Torah portion B’har B’chuko

The Children Are Watching

In this episode of The Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Oren Hayon reflects on Parashat Emor and the doubled command to “speak” and to “say.” What looks like redundancy in the T