Welcome to Your Jewish Neighborhood
Your Jewish Neighborhood is a podcast from Temple Isaiah. Through interviews, we seek to explore various dimensions of Reform Judaism and its approach to Israel, school, work, worship, relationships and a host of other aspects of our lives.
You can listen here on the Web site, by downloading the MP3 file, or by subscribing to receive new episodes as soon as they’re published. You can subscribe via RSS here or through Apple iTunes.
Your comments are always welcome! Post a comment here on the show blog, send email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call our comment line at 206.339.0059.
For episodes #1-37, please visit our original location.
Thanks for listening!
YJN #230 - 01/29/12 - Rabbi Shanks on the Founding of Temple Isaiah 60 Years Ago This Year
Rabbi Judy Shanks looks back at the founding of Temple Isaiah 60 years ago as the synagogue celebrates its anniversary in 2012.
This week’s one and only link:
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.4MB, 11:08), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
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YJN #229 - 01/07/12 - Nina Simone Grotch, Associate Director, Anti-Defamation League
YJN host Michele Holtz interviews Nina Simone Grotch, associate director for the Anti-Defamation League responsible for education. In the interview, Ms. Grotch touches on anti-semitism and the ADL’s role in addressing hate crimes aimed at any group.
The ADL is a leading provider of anti-bias education and diversity training programs that help create and sustain inclusive home, school, community and work environments. Ms. Grotch directs the educational programs of the Anti-Defamation League’s Central Pacific Region, headquartered in San Francisco. She has over 20 years experience facilitating interactive workshops for children, youth, and parents and teachers. As the Associate Director, Ms. Grotch is responsible for Holocaust education and facilitating anti-bias workshops for schools and community groups about issues of prejudice and discrimination.
This week’s links:
- Anti-Defamation League
- What is Anti-Semitism?, from the ADL
- Anti-Semitic violence doubled in 2009, from the Jerusalem Post
- The shocking statistics ab out anti-Semitism in America, YouTube video
- FBI’s 2010 hate crime statistics from Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism
- Public education Campaign to End Campus Anti-Semitism, from the US Commission on Civil Rights
- Simon Wiesenthal Center
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.64MB, 11:35), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
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YJN #228 - 12/19/11 - Rabbi Shanks on the Significance of Chanukah
Rabbi Judy Shanks explores the significance of Chanukah in the context of the wide range of Jewish holidays and festivals. She also looks at some dimensions of Chanukah, including food.
This week’s links:
- Chanukah, from the Jewish Virtual Library
- Rabbis shed light on Chanukah’s importance, from the Palm Beach Daily News
- The Meaning of Chanukah, from Being Jewish
- Eight Days of Chanukah—What’s the Spiritual Significance, from aJudaica.com
- Judaism 101: Chanukah
- Chanukah, American Style, from the American Jewish Historical Society
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.75MB, 11:51), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
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YJN #227 - 12/11/11 - The Campaign for Youth Engagement
Rabbi Alissa Forrest explains the URJ’s Campaign for Youth Engagement and how it is being activated at Temple Isaiah.
This week’s links:
- The URJ’s Campaign for Youth Engagement
- Jewish Parents: how to Get Teens to Keep Engaged After 13, from Radical parenting
- Preventing Post B’nai Mitzvah Dropout-itis, from Reform Judaism Online
- Study Finds ‘Man Crisis’ in Liberal Jewish Circles
- Keeping Our Kids on the Derech, an Orthodox perspective
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 3.5MB, 8:50), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #226 - 11/14/11 - Digital Era Synagogue Communications
There was a day when synagogue communications consisted of paper newsletters and flyers delivered via mail. These days, paper is supplemented—and often supplanted—by digital communications, from email to Web pages and, increasingly, social media like Facebook and Twitter. In this episode, Temple Isaiah’s communications director, Deb Phillips, explains the changes and how Temple Isaiah is leveraging the channels.
This week’s links:
- Who Reads Synagogue Newsletters?
- Marketing the Shul: What’s Working and What Needs to Work
- U.S. Synagoges Lag in Use of Web and Social Media Technologies
- Temple Isaiah’s Facebook page
- Rabbi Judy Shanks on Twitter
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 5.44 MB, 13:34), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN - #225 - 10/23/11 - Cantor Korn on Selicot
The High Holy Days may be over, but we’ll jump back to the beginning and look at Selichot, why it begins the Days of Awe, why it starts at midnight and how synagogues make it uniquely special for their congregants.
This week’s links:
- Questions and answers about Selichot from the Orthodox Union
- Selichot: Prayers of Repetence, from MyJewishLearning.com
- Selicot at the Western Wall, from YouTube
- When do we begin saying Selichot and why?, from AskMoses.com
- Music of Selichot and the High Holy Days from Sinai Temple, Springfield, MA
- Selichot for iPhone and iPad, from The Jewish iPhone Magazine
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.51MB, 11:15), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
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YJN #224 - 09/25/11 - Why Hebrew Letters are Used as Numbers
Numbers and numerology are always interesting with it comes to Hebrew and Judaism. Cantor Leigh Korn explores the origins of numbers, a few oddities related to them, with a brief diversion into Kabbalah.
This week’s links:
- Hebrew Numbers
- Numbers in Hebrew
- Video Lesson: Hebrew 101 - Numbers & Days
- The Confusion of Hebrew Numbers
- Kabbalah: Meaning of Numbers
- Symbolism of “Chai”, 18
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.55MB, 11:22), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #223 - 09/01/11 - Rabbi Graetz on Israel and the Arab Spring
Rabbi Roberto Graetz examines the impact of the Arab Spring—the popular uprisings against despotic rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab countries—on Israel. This interview was originally recorded in July 2011.
This week’s links:
- Arab Spring spells uncertainty for Israel, from BBC
- Israel’s Arab Spring?, from The Huffington Post
- Israel must not ignore the Arab Spring, from Haaretz.com
- Israeli Summer is no Arab Spring, from USA Today
- What the Arab Spring Means for Israel and Palestine, from NPR
- Has the Arab Spring arrived in Israel?, from Al Jazeera English
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 3.99MB, 9:57), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #222 - 08/02/11 - Rabbi Graetz on Judaism and “End Times”
Rabbi Roberto Graetz looks Jewish beliefs and mythology around the end of the world in the context of current apocalypse myths—from the 2012 craze to the recent claims of the end of the world by a radio minister.
This week’s links:
- The apocalypse in Judaism from Jewish Encyclopedia
- Apocalypse Then, from Reform Judaism magazine
- Revelation/Apocalypse vs. Torah Prophesies?
- Apocalyptic Literature in the Old Testament and Early Judaism, a bibliography
- Apocalypses and the Apocalypse, from Messianic Jewish Musings
- Jewish End of Days, a blog dedicated to “a Jewish perspective on the end times and the coming of the Messiah”
- Judaism section of the Wikipedia listing for “End Time”
- Mashiach: The Messiah listing from Judaism 101
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.97MB, 10:09), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #221 - 07/12/11 - Val Morehouse Reads “The Castle on Hester Street”
Content Summary Temple Isaiah librarian Val Morehouse reads Linda Heller’s book, “The Castle on Hester Street.”
This week’s links:
- The Castle on Hester Street on Amazon.com
- Reviews and discussions of The Castle on Hester Street
- Linda Heller’s website
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.84MB, 12:06), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
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YJN #220 - 06/28/11 - Satan in Judaism
Content Summary Rabbi Roberto Graetz compares the jewish view of Satan to that of other faiths. (Hint: He isn’t “The Devil.”)
This week’s links:
- Satan from JewishEnyclopedia.com
- Jews believe in The Satan, and not in the devil, from WhatJewsBelieve.org
- Do Jews Believe in Satan? from About.com
- Does Judaism Believe in Satan? from BeingJewish.com
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 2.9MB, 7:14), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #219 - 06/11//11 - Rabbi Forrest on Making Shabbat Meaningful
Content Summary Rabbi Alissa Forrest explores ways to make Shabbat meaningful in our 24/7-connected world, including celebration with your Jewish community.
This week’s links:
- How to Make Shabbat More Meaningful
- “Get Off the Internet, It’s Shabbat!”
- Is it considered Melacha to use the internet on Shabbat?
- Shabbat in the Community
- Reimagining Shabbat, by Rabbi Eric H. Yoffe
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.60MB, 11:28), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #218 - 05/09/11 - Rabbi Forrest on Teen Trip to Religious Action Center
Content Summary Rabbi Alissa Forrest looks back on the teen trip to Washington D.C. and the Union for Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center (RAC).
This week’s links:
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.16MB, 10:23), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
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YJN #217 - 04/18/11 - Some Pescah music
Content Summary These freely-downloadable selections from Cantor Rabinovitz feature traditional melodies for seder. The last one, Shir HaShirim, runs 34 minutes by itself (so we saved it for last).
This week’s links:
- Passover tunes (the source for this week’s music)
- Jewish music, including Sephardic tunes
- Passover songs and music
- Music for Passover
- Passover Music (from Holiday Spot)
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 16.3MB, 40:55), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #216 - 04/03/11 - Rabbi Shanks on Rabbin Sabbaticals
Content Summary Rabbi Judy Shanks provides some background on the tradition of rabbinic sabbaticals and recounts her most recent sabbatical, which she spent in Bhutan.
This week’s links:
- Preparing For A Rabbinic Sabbatical From The Perspective Of The Congregational Leadership, from the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
- Sabbatical Preparations, from Rabbi Adam Morris of Denver, Colorado’s Temple Micah
- Rabbinic Sabbatical Overview (PDF)
- Official Bhutan website
- Bhutan Travel Information and Travel Guide from Lonely Planet
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 5.54MB, 13:49), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #215 - 03/10/11 - Two Books, Two Views of Israel’s Political Situation
Content Summary Rabbi Judy Shanks discusses two books that examine Israel’s future from the political left and right.
This week’s links:
- Saving Israel, by Daniel Gordis (from the right)
- Saving Israel on Amazon.com
- Reviews of “Saving Israel
- The Holocaust is Over, by Avraham Burg (from the left)
- The Independent’s feature story on “The Holocaust is Over”
- The Holocaust is Over on Amazon.com
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 5.42MB, 13:32), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
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YJN #214 - 02/20/11 - What Jews Wish Their Christian Friends Knew About Judaism
Content Summary Rabbi Judy Shanks reviews some things Jews wish their Christian friends knew about Judaism.
This week’s links:
- What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew About Judaism
- A Yahoo Answers contribution
- Jewish Answers to Christian Questions
- Our Christan Friends
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 6.77MB, 16:54), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
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YJN #213 - 01/23/11 - Cantorial Concert at the Vatican
Content Summary Temple Isaiah’s Cantor Leigh Korn recounts his visit to the Vatican, where he joined 20 other Reform cantors for a concert.
This week’s links:
- American Cantors to Perform at Vatican, from The Jewish Week
- Cantor Sally Neff’s Vatican Audition (video)
- Mah Ashiv Ladonai, conducted by Cantor Korn, video from YouTube
- 20 Jewish cantors walk into a church—it’s no joke, from JTA
- American Conference of Cantors
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 4.96MB, 12:24), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
YJN #212 - 01/09/11 - Rabbi Greninger on Talking to Young Children about Death
Content Summary Rabbi Nicki Greninger, Temple Isaiah’s education director, explores the issues associated with discussing death with young children and various Jewish approaches, as well as those taken by Temple Isaiah.
This week’s links:
- How can I explain death to my Jewish grandchild? from “Ask the Reform Rabbi”
- Life, Death and Mourning, from Judaism 101
- A Time to Grieve, A Time to Teach, from The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- The Jewish Bereavement Project
- How to Talk to Your Kids about Death, from the Jewish Journal
- Jewish Beliefs on the Afterlife, from Religion Facts
Welcome to “Your Jewish Neighborhood,” a podcast by Temple Isaiah with your host, Michele Holtz.
Download the podcast file here (MP3, 7.66MB, 19:07), or by clicking the link at the top of the page to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen right now!
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