Chutzpod!

Fun fact: Rabbi Shira is not only a rabbi, she’s also a therapist! So she’s uniquely equipped to answer this week’s listener question: When should you seek counseling from a rabbi and when should you see a therapist? Shira and Hanna debate the merits of both types of counseling and find themselves asking why do Jews love therapy so much?! Listen to Hanna on Radio Atlantic: How American Became Addi...

🎶 No graduation day for you 🎶 As Hebrew Schools around the country supply their students with lulavs and etrogs for the upcoming Sukkot holiday, Rabbi Shira and Hanna talk about all things religious education. What’s the goal? Is it working? Is Hebrew School just a B’Mitzvah Factory? (and is there anything wrong with that?). Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal , the Senior Director of Youth and Family Educa...

Even if you can’t make it to Aspen you can hear Rabbi Shira’s sermon for Yom Kippur this year. Drawing on her own experience visiting the Langa Township in Cape Town, South Africa, the Yom Kippur Haftarah reading and some Ursula LeGuin, Shira urges us all to “shrink the frame” to a human-sized small town of responsibility, practice Teshuvah and reject willful blindness. Watch this sermon Read The...

Chutzpod is back to usher everyone into the New Year! And as we approach 5787, a listener wonders how to show up authentically, even if that means bringing the mood down. Rabbi Shira and Hanna wonder why we feel pressure to have a “happy” new year and encourage everyone not to bring the Jewish equivalent of a sanitized Christmas letter to their high holiday celebrations.  Read This Is Real and You...

Listen to this special bonus episode recorded live at Aspen Jewish Congregation on August 12, 2026.  As America approaches 250 years, this conversation looks at the enduring relationship between Jewish life and the American experiment. Through historical reflection and contemporary insight, speakers will explore how Jewish tradition and democratic ideals have shaped one another—and what that long...

Chutzpod is coming back with new episodes and new real-life questions September 9th! Rabbi Shira and Hanna will talk about when to see a rabbi over a therapist, how to navigate a mixed-observance marriage and is believing in aliens Jewish??  Subscribe to automatically get all new episodes. And submit your own questions to be featured on an episode! Support Chutzpod! Submit a question Contact Chutz...

In our Season 7 finale, Hanna again poses as a yeshiva bocher. Shira takes her through a very special double Torah portion: Achrei Mot-Kedoshim Leviticus 16:1–20:27. She talks about why Leviticus is such a grab bag of rules and laws with seemingly no real narrative order, some of the more controversial laws on sex, homosexuality and female impurity and how to view this part of the Torah as a guide...

What does Judaism say about accepting “dirty” money? A listener has been watching the online debate about how her alma mater should handle money from a prominent donor associated with Jeffery Epstein. She asks how does Jewish tradition handle this moral predicament? And at what point are institutions complicit spiritually and ethically when they accept tainted funds? Rabbi Shira and Hanna talk abo...

Is covering your mirrors during shiva a superstition or Jewish law? What about breaking the glass at a wedding? Tashlich?  Rabbi Shira and Hanna discuss the ideas of Jewish luck and bad luck and where they fit into law and tradition. And they welcome a VERY special guest – Hanna’s mother Miriam. Her sister has had a string of bad accidents and she wants to know if changing her mezuzah will ward of...

Is it Kosher to question Kashrut? A listener writes, “Why do Jews have Kosher rules? And how would you suggest a previously unobservant Jew approach Kashrut, if at all?” Rabbi Shira admits that teaching the laws of kashrut is one of the hardest things she has to do as a rabbi. She does her best to make sense of it all and gives her best pitch for a mindfulness-based Jewish eating practice. FAQ abo...

Wine is central to Jewish ritual, but what if drinking isn’t safe for you? A listener in recovery dreads what used to be his favorite holiday, Passover. He writes that he dreads all the wine talk and dreads having to explain why he's opting out. He asks, "Can I skip the Seder this year?" Rabbi Shira and Hanna are joined by Rabbi Sue Reinhold of the Torah of Recovery to explore why wine matters, ho...

With the world feeling particularly heavy, Rabbi Shira and Hanna wonder if, in addition to moments of anger and resistance, they can find a way to bring joy into this year’s Passover Seder. They’re joined by Rav Jericho Vincent , the founding rabbi of Temple of the Stranger , a growing mystical Jewish community in Brooklyn, NY.  Listen to Jericho’s podcast Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness...

After a listener misgenders someone at synagogue, a torrent of feelings, recriminations and emails ensue, leading one congregant to email another with the subject “Hey Asshole.” Rabbi Shira and Hanna welcome Rabbi Lily Solochek of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London, whose work focuses on creating inclusive Jewish communities, especially for queer and trans people and families.  Visit The Liber...

Is Botox kosher? What about filler, extensions or hair dye? Can a good Jew be too vain? And does Judaism value beauty?  A listener reaches out for help when her two daughters are horrified to discover their feminist mom has a secret desire for luxurious lashes.  Rabbi Shira and Hanna help her navigate personal vanity, Jewish values and 21st century parenting. And they reveal their own insecurities...

We’re back for Season 7! Purim is a time to reveal the hidden, unmask your shadow self and, perhaps, get super sloshed. But a listener wonders about having a psychedelic experience on Purim. Rabbi Shira and Hanna get advice from Rabbi Zac Kamenetz, the founder of Shefa , an organization working to integrate safe and supported psychedelic use into the Jewish spiritual tradition. Learn more about Sh...

Chutzpod is coming back with new episodes and new real-life questions February 25th! Rabbi Shira and Hanna will talk about using psychedelics on Purim, whether it’s ok to be vain and how synagogues can be more inclusive to trans members.  Subscribe to automatically get all new episodes. And submit your own questions to be featured on an episode! Support Chutzpod! Submit a question Contact Chutzpod...

Did you know that 29% of American Jews struggle to make ends meet?  What you are about to hear is a session from the 2025 Jewish Federation of North America General Assembly,  the JFNA GA, entitled Redefining Jewish Life Through the Lens of Economic Reality.  In this session, we examined 2025 data on Jewish poverty in America, and discussed how our communal narratives about money and class obscure...

Rabbi Shira and Hanna end the season with a torah study jam packed with family dynamics, sibling rivalry, maternal manipulations, nation-building and birthright. Read Parashat Toldot Support Chutzpod! Submit a question Contact Chutzpod! Subscribe to Chutzstack Follow Hanna on Instagram Follow Shira on Instagram Follow Shira on Facebook Follow Chutzpod on Facebook Follow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn...

Rabbi Shira and Hanna help a listener who was invited to a family wedding in Israel, but doesn’t want to go.  How important are weddings? And what if your conflicting feelings and grief are just too painful? This is a must-listen for anyone experiencing a shift in Jewish identity when it comes to a relationship with Israel.  Rabbi Shira and Hanna help a listener navigate his changing feelings and...

As many of you are traveling for Thanksgiving this week, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes.  Dogs on a plane are kosher, but are they annoying? Rabbi Shira and Hanna discuss the Jewish ethics around animals. And, is the Torah ableist?  If you have any interesting Jewish travel moments, let us know! Read more about Jewish pet names Read more about Rosh Hahanah LaBehemah  Learn about abl...

Our Chutzsquad sends in so many great questions about death and dying. Today, Hanna and Rabbi Shira attempt to answer as many as possible.  Why, how and when do we say Mourner’s Kaddish, and for whom? What happens when you don’t have access to your loved one’s body and what’s the Jewish approach to a eulogy? Listen to Death With Dignity episode Read more about the Mi Sheiberach  Read more about th...

Ever wish you could listen in as a group of rabbis kibbitz about their jobs–the good, the bad and the ugly? Rabbi Shira hosts a roundtable for her rabbinic friends where they can laugh, commiserate and get some things off their chests.  We’re joined by Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt of Adas Israel in Washington D.C . and Rabbi Seth Goldstein of Temple Beth Hatfiloh in Olympia, Washington. Support Chutzpo...

Everyone loves to play Jewish geography, right? But what if you find the practice exclusive, confusing or even offensive? Is it time to reconsider and leave “bageling” in the past? Why don’t you ask a convert to tell their story? Sing-a-long to “Wherever You Go” Support Chutzpod! Submit a question Contact Chutzpod! Subscribe to Chutzstack Follow Hanna on Instagram Follow Shira on Instagram Follow...

A listener tells Rabbi Shira and Hanna that her rabbi uses AI to write sermons…and she doesn’t like it.  What are the Jewish ethics of AI? And how does Shira utilize this new technology? Read more about “the law of the land is the law” Support Chutzpod! Submit a question Contact Chutzpod! Subscribe to Chutzstack Follow Hanna on Instagram Follow Shira on Instagram Follow Shira on Facebook Follow Ch...

What’s most important when it comes to preserving Jewish tradition for future generations? Is it sharing Jewish stories? Food? Singing Hatikvah as a lullaby?  And what if…the baby isn’t even Jewish?  Rabbi Shira and Hanna offer advice to a soon-to-be Saba who wants to share his Jewish joy with his grandchild. Support Chutzpod! Submit a question Contact Chutzpod! Subscribe to Chutzstack Follow Hann...