Park Avenue Synagogue Podcast

Words aren’t just words—they carry history, impact, and, sometimes, danger. Rabbi Cosgrove explores how language evolves, why “Free Palestine” can no longer be dismissed as harmless, and what it means to speak—and stay silent—in an age of rising antisemitism.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenu...

Why do we read Ruth on Shavuot, and why at Yizkor? In a world governed by law, Ruth teaches the power of hesed – unearned, enduring kindness. Rabbi Cosgrove reflects on memory, love, and the quiet acts that bind us to one another, in life and in loss.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn on...

Listen as Rabbi Cosgrove and Jon Frankel, PAS member and guest co-host for this episode, interview Dan Grunfeld, former professional basketball player and son of former New York Knick and NYC high school basketball legend Ernie Grunfeld, as they discuss Dan’s book, By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, f...

Recorded in front of a live audience, listen as Rabbi Cosgrove talks to Shuly Rubin Schwartz, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), joined by JTS students, including our own Rabbi Aiden Pink, as they highlight how JTS has adapted to the modern world.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @Par...

Can a person guilty of moral failure ever be redeemed? Reflecting on the posthumous reinstatement of Pete Rose, Rabbi Cosgrove explores the balance between justice and mercy, sin and atonement. In a world desperate for integrity, he argues, moral accountability, especially from our leaders, is the cornerstone of national character.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Insta...

In the wake of a papal-political clash over “the order of love,” Rabbi Cosgrove explores Judaism’s own moral calculus: how to love one’s neighbor while prioritizing one’s own. Drawing on the Bible, rabbinic tradition, and current events, he examines where faith, ethics, and communal responsibility meet—and sometimes collide.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram an...

Listen as Rabbi Cosgrove talks to Rabbi Daniel Ross Goodman about his past studies of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, how it led to his recent book, Soloveitchik's Children: Irving Greenberg, David Hartman, Jonathan Sacks, and the Future of Jewish Theology in America, and what it meant to be a student of "The Rav."

In front of a live audience, Rabbi Cosgrove and Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013, discuss a wide range of current events and issues that are relevant to Israel, both its politics and its people.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn on all platforms, an...

What makes the seder different from all other nights? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that above all, it’s the questions that frame the entire evening. He urges us to listen to everyone’s questions with open hearts and minds and to allow that every question can have more than one right answer.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with...

When alternate notions of what’s in the best interest of the Jewish community compete, how do we know what’s right? Reminding us that we are not the first to face this dilemma, Rabbi Cosgrove recalls Rabbi A.J. Heschel, urging us to find the quiet inner voice of conscience.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follo...

Rabbi Cosgrove and Yizhar Hess, vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization, discuss why American Jews should vote for Cosgrove and the MERCAZ USA (Conservative Movement) (Slate 17) in the elections that run through May 4.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn on all platforms, and check...

Rabbi Cosgrove interviews Snir Pilus from Brothers for Life (BFL), which gives critical and immediate help to Israeli soldiers injured in combat. Among other initiatives, the organization pairs recently wounded soldiers with other injured soldiers to support each other during recovery.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected wit...

Listen as Rabbi Cosgrove is joined by Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz, the senior rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom in California and the author of a new book, The Case for Dual Loyalty: Healing the Divided Soul of American Jews, as they discuss the post-October 7 relationship between American Jews and Israel.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay conne...

What model of leadership serves our people best? Absolute adherence to principle or willingness to compromise? The book of Esther prompts Rabbi Cosgrove to examine both approaches, share his own answer, and advise that we must be tolerant of those who choose differently than we do.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PA...

Where do we find holiness? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that while a beautiful sanctuary may inspire us, holiness is to be found in the connections between people, between ourselves and others. He urges us to pursue holiness by practicing respectful dialogue with those with whom we disagree.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected wit...

It is tempting to see things as black or white, right or wrong, good or bad. Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that reality is not so neat. He urges us to be generous in standing together as we deal with the messiness of conflicting truths.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn on all platforms, and...

In the wake of the October 7 attacks and many universities’ lack of strong response to rising antisemitism on campus, Marc Rowan, major funder and Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, encouraged university donors to “close their checkbooks” until major changes are made on campus. Looking at the current state of affairs, Rowan and Rabbi...

What are the qualities of a leader? Looking to the examples of both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Moses, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that a great leader is one who stands up for righteousness while honoring the sentiments of opposing factions who do not agree on what is the truth.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Fo...

After participating in a mission to Israel for parents and their Gen Z children seeking to gain a common language for discussing the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to realize that no resolution is possible without empathy for the other side.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Fo...

Bucky Apisdorf, founder of Let’s Do Something, an organization that promotes advocacy, safety, and healing in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks, recounts his experience on Oct. 7 and how his life changed after the death of his best friend at the Nova Festival.    For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenue...

What does it mean to celebrate victory by planting a flag? Rabbi Cosgrove cautions that true victory includes respecting the dignity of our opponents and that only when we refrain from provoking and demeaning our adversaries can we hope for a permanent, peaceful resolution of conflict. For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook. Want to stay connected with PA...

Rabbi Cosgrove is joined by Rabbi Rebecca Keren Jablonski to discuss her new book, Confessions of a Female Rabbi: Relevant Religion in an On-Demand World. Together, they explore her efforts to foster a deeper connection to Jewish life for “unshuled” Jews.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn...

Listen as Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, Senior Rabbi of New London Synagogue, discusses the history and current incidents of antisemitism in London and the world.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn on all platforms, and check out www.pasyn.org for all our virtual and in-person offerings.

What is your American story? Rabbi Cosgrove offers four questions to guide conversations at the Thanksgiving table.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn on all platforms, and check out www.pasyn.org for all our virtual and in-person offerings.

Listen as Rabbi Cosgrove speaks to  renowned scholar and author Rabbi Yitz Greenberg about his new book, A Triumph of Life: A Narrative Theology of Judaism, which explores the relationship between humanity and God.   For more Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, follow @Elliot_Cosgrove on Instagram and Facebook.   Want to stay connected with PAS? Follow us @ParkAvenueSyn on all platforms, and check out  www.pas...