Thoughts & Prayers

How does prayer connect us to one another when we’re divided by belief, distance, or time? In this final episode of Thoughts & Prayers, host Jessica Fisher explores how Jewish prayer can both strengthen and strain our sense of peoplehood. From the universal call of the shofar to the discomfort of praying beside those we disagree with, this episode asks what it means to belong to a people who do no...

What happens when the Israel of our prayers looks different from the Israel of our headlines? In this episode of Thoughts & Prayers, host Jessica Fisher explores how the creation of a Jewish state has transformed Jewish prayer, and how prayer shapes Israeli life. Through stories and reflections from Na’ama Levitz Applbaum, Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, Tomer Persico, and Akiva Mattenson, the episode asks...

What does it mean to say “God bless America” — and who are we praying to when we do? In this episode of Thoughts & Prayers, host Jessica Fisher examines how Jewish prayer and American politics intertwine, from the synagogue’s prayer for the government to benedictions on the national stage. Featuring Elie Weinstock, Annie Lewis, Lauren Holtzblatt, and Akiva Mattenson, the episode asks how prayer re...

How do we balance our individual spiritual needs with our responsibilities to community? In this episode of Thoughts & Prayers, host Jessica Fisher explores the tension between private devotion and communal obligation when it comes to how we pray. Through moving stories and reflections from Yossi Klein Halevi, Maayan Statman Shaw, Elana Stein Hain, and Akiva Mattenson, the episode asks what we owe...

In the first episode of Thoughts & Prayers, host Jessica Fisher explores one of the oldest and most unsettling questions in Jewish life: Does prayer work? Through deeply personal reflection and conversation with Sara Labaton, Josh Warshawsky, and Akiva Mattenson, the episode traces how ancient mystics, modern rationalists, and everyday seekers wrestle with the meaning and purpose of prayer — wheth...

Uncover the complexity, beauty, and struggle at the heart of Jewish prayer in Thoughts & Prayers, a new limited podcast series from the Shalom Hartman Institute. The series invites listeners into a deep exploration of the relationship between religion and modernity through the lens of Jewish prayer. In each episode, host Jessica Fisher weaves together personal stories, classical texts, and convers...