Jewish Matters

Genesis Unveiled # 5 From Avraham & Sarah to Yitzhak and Rivka , Overview and Insights on the Parshat Chaye Sarah in 20 minutes with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman The parsha chronicles the end of the generation of Avraham and Sarah with their passing, and the marriage of Yitzhak to Rivka which will be begin the next chapter in the lives of the patriarchs and matriarchs.  The death of Sarah introduces the...

Genesis Unveiled # 4 on Parshat Vayera in 20 Minutes: Abraham’s Tent with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast The parsha begins with Abraham and Sarah’s legendary hospitality, which is compared and contrasted with Lot, her brother.  The differences in how he extends his hospitality and in the birth of his children are striking, for these ethical acts become warped in Lot’s family.  Th...

Avraham The Spiritual Seeker # 3 Genesis Unveiled in Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman Abraham’s life begins with a journey, a story of breaking free from the beliefs of his society and leaving his land.  What was Avraham and Sarah’s greatness, and what are we supposed to learn from it?  What was special about Avraham and Sarah that they merited to be the founders of the Jewish pe...

Noah: A Complex Personality with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast The story of Noah is a tragic one, for the world and for Noah.   What were Noah’s qualities that he deserved to be saved, and what were his shortfalls?  We will explore the next stage in the unfolding of the history of humanity according to the Torah. 

Creation and the Fall of Man #1 Genesis Unveiled with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast Genesis is an enigmatic book, it is a book of stories, yet it is also philosophy, ethics, history and science.  Join us as we explore the Torah’s outlook on the story of the garden of Eden, the order in the natural world, human nature, free will and more…

How Did Shmini Atzeret (8th day Holiday) Become Simhat Torah? with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast Simhat Torah is one of the most joyful days of the Jewish calendar, yet is is a relatively recent holiday.  Some say that Shmini Atzeret, the 8th day of the Sukkot festivities, is the most special day of the year. How can that be if there is not specific mitzvah associated with it, a...

Sukkot: Finding Spirituality and Joy in Nature with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast. Sukkot is a fun holiday, yet the deeper meaning seems to be tied to our appreciation of nature: being outdoors in the sukkah and the four species.  We will explore how this is meant to bring us joy, and a greater appreciation for wonders of the natural world.   

Harnessing Yom Kippur for Personal Change and Growth on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman Kippur is not so fun, so why is it one of the most attended Jewish holidays?  Because we sense its power and its potential to be a meaningful day.  We will look at how to use Yom Kippur as a vehicle for change and personal growth.  We will also discuss how to navigate YK this year with no/lim...

Drawing Inspiration from the Rosh Hashanah Serivce #3 Holidays Series on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman High Holiday Services can be very overwhelming, and for good reason.   The service is not short, the language of the prayerbook is not simple and it is an intimidating day. The good news is that we can make Rosh Hashanah an inspiring and uplifting day by looking at the meanin...

How To Succeed For the Coming Year with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman.   This year has been full of  challenges, how do we transform next year into a year of success?  Learn how to use Rosh Hashanah as a tool for happiness and blessings in the coming year.  We will use Jewish Wisdom to look at the High Holiday service as guidebook to personal fulfillment. 

The Power of the Shofar # 2 The High Holidays Series on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman Blowing the Shofar is an unusual way to celebrate the New Year, how do we make it into a transformative experience.  We will explore the different meanings behind the shofar and the sounds we blow, and how we can make hearing the shofar into a deeply meaningful moment.

Ze’ev Jabotinsky “Jewish Pride and Strength” # 13 Great Jews with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast Jews had been the victims of anti-semitism for millennia, Ze’ev Jabotinsky would teach our people to defend ourselves and fight for our lives and for a Jewish State.  He created the Revisionist Zionist movement to inspire Jews to take our fate into our own hands, and through the Beita...

Sunset Series #9 New Generation New Conversation: An Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue for Moving Forward with Sulaiman Khatib  & Rabbi Yehuda HaKohen on Jewish Matters Podcast Hear West Bank Jew and Palestinian discuss the failures of the peace process, the rival narratives contextualizing our conflict and fresh ideas for achieving a real peace that can satisfy both peoples.

Elul: Preparing for the High Holidays on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman The Month before Rosh Hashanah is a the most special month of the Jewish year.  It is the time when we prepare ourselves through introspection, personal growth and self-improvement.  Will discuss the themes of the holidays and practical steps to personal self-transformation. 

Theodor Herzl "The Father of Modern Zionism"  on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman Herzl   dedicated his life to his vision of a Jewish State, founding the World Zionist Congress and lobby word governments for the right of Jews to their own homeland.  Tragically he died at a young age driving tirelessly towards his goal. 

The New Zionist Identity: Bridging the Israel-Disapora Divide with Professor David Graizbord on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman Has “Israeliness” become a new expression of Jewish identity in the diaspora? —an unselfconscious and largely secular expression of national kinship and solidarity, as well as of personal and communal purpose.  Can this new brand of Zionism be the bridg...

Christian Support for Israel: The Power of Faith-Based Diplomacy with Josh Reinstein on Jewish Matters Podcast. Josh Reinstein Director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and President of the Israel Allies Foundation  takes a unique approach to explaining what lies behind the recent wave of support for Israel and the counter force, and he clarifies what path should be taken moving forward.

Putting Passion Into Prayer #2 Going Deeper on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman With the high holidays coming up (yes Rosh Hashanah is a month away), let’s take a new look at prayer.  Prayer is challenging, yet it is central to Jewish practice, community, and our relationship with G-d.  How can we keep our prayers dynamic, especially when synagogue life is limited?  We will talk...

Rabbi JB Soloveitchik “Tradition and Modernity” on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman Rabbi Soloveitchik was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. He was a seminal figure who bridged the world Traditional European Jewry with the modern world of America, the Yeshiva world with Academia.  Talmudist, Philosopher and Orator, he dedicated his life to his students at Y...

Jewish Meditation: A Path to Inner Peace # 1 Jewish Spirituality -Going Deeper  in Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman When we think Meditation we usually think of Eastern religions.  Judaism has a long standing tradition of meditation.  We will talk about how meditation is different than prayer, and how it can help us achieve inner peace.  We will also experience a Jewish meditatio...

Iran, China & The New Threat To Israel with Guest Speaker Elliot Chodoff # 7 Sunset Series  on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman  Our Topic:  Explosions have been going off all over Iran in the past week.  Who is responsible for them and could this lead to retaliation or a war against Israel by Iran?  Will the new agreement with China embolden Iran in ways not seen before?  Hear f...

Kabbalah & Astrology: Is My Fate In The Stars? # 4 Kabbalah 101 -Jewish Spirituality Series  Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman We all want to know our destiny, can we find it in the stars?  Kabbalistic and Jewish texts incorporate Astrology in its teachings, is there Jewish Astrology and if so when and how can we use it?

Extraordinary Jewish Personalities # 10 Elie Wiesel "The Voice of Justice" on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman From Chasidic boy to Auschwitz survivor to moral conscience of the world, Elie Wiesel was perhaps the most well-known Jew throughout the world of the past generation.  He dedicated his life to challenging mankind to remember and confront the horrors of the Holocaust in o...

Jewish Spirituality: Kabbalah 101 # 3 -Fixing A Broken World. The most difficult challenge to belief is suffering and evil in the world.  If G-d is good, why does it appear the world is ‘bad’, painful.   We will look at a Kabbalistic approach to the existence of evil and darkness in the world, and how we are to respond to it

Extraordinary Jewish Personalities # 9 Natan Sharansky "The Prison of Zion" on Jewish Matters Podcast Natan Sharansky is one of the true heroes of our time.  Hear the story from his beginnings as a Refusnik to becoming a Minister in the government of Israel, and of his 9 years in a Russian Prison where he took on the Soviet system and vanquished them.  A few years after his release the Soviet Unio...