The Voices of Emanu El Podcast

Blessing the Mothers: Love, Loss, and Legacy

On this Mother’s Day Shabbat, Rabbi Pam Silk reflects on the many faces of motherhood: joy and exhaustion, gratitude and grief, presence and absence. Drawing on Torah, contemporary stories, and the language of Jewish blessing, she honors mothers, grandmothers, caregivers, and all who “mother” in less conventional ways, while making space for those who find this day complicated or painful. This heartfelt sermon invites listeners to name the women who shaped them and to carry their love forward with tenderness and intention.

Holding On and Letting Go: Shabbat in a Time of Terror and Hate

In this searing Shabbat sermon, Rabbi Pam Silk departs from her planned d’var Torah on the Jubilee year to confront the anguish unleashed by the murders of two young Jews, Sarah Milgram and Yaron Lishinsky, in Washington, DC. She names their killings as an act of terrorism fueled by anti-semitism, exposes how contemporary anti-zionism often masks and amplifies Jew-hatred, and reflects on the chilling reality of Jews being targeted simply for learning, worshiping, and gathering in Jewish spaces. Even as she refuses to minimize the pain, Rabbi Silk turns to the Torah’s call to Shabbat as a sacred pause — a “container, a frame around the chaos, a breath between the screams” — that can steady frightened souls and replenish the courage to live openly, proudly, enthusiastically Jewish in a world where hatred has grown louder and more acceptable.

Kindling the Light: Baha’alotecha and Finding Clarity in the Cloud

Rabbi Pam Silk begins with a childhood memory of being told to “turn off the lights,” then turns to Parashat Baha’alotecha to explore the menorah, the divine cloud, and the fire that guided our ancestors through the wilderness. She reflects on how intentional light — both physical and spiritual — can orient us when we feel stuck under “cloud cover,” craving certainty yet unsure where to go next. This uplifting sermon calls listeners to keep kindling their inner lamps, to share their brightness with others, and to trust that God’s guiding fire will eventually illuminate the path ahead.

Containing the Uncontainable: Order, Chaos, and a God Who Won’t Fit in a Box

Starting with a love letter to The Container Store, Rabbi Oren Hayon moves from color‑coded bins and lucite organizers to Parashat Bamidbar and the wild revelation of Shavuot. He contrasts the Torah’s obsession with census, structure, and perfectly ordered camps with the thunder, fire, and uncontainable holiness of Sinai, asking what it means to seek both spiritual scaffolding and sacred spontaneity. Rabbi Hayon invites listeners to cherish the rituals that keep life grounded while making room for wonder, grief, love, and God’s presence that can never be neatly packed away.

Korach, Pride, and the Power of Belonging

In this Pride Month teaching, Rabbi Josh Fixler and Cantor Rollin Simmons revisit the rebellion of Korach to explore what happens when voices are silenced and belonging is denied. Drawing connections between the Torah’s challenge to authority and today’s struggles for LGBTQ+ dignity and inclusion, they ask how Jewish communities can honor holy dissent, expand compassion, and create space for every soul to stand proudly at Sinai. Listeners are invited to reflect on allyship, spiritual courage, and the sacred responsibility to lift up those on the margins of our camp.​
Priestly Blessing: Music by Ze'evi Tovlev
How Would the World Look: Music by Elana Arian, English lyrics by Abigail Pogrebin

The Name of the Game: What We Call Each Other Matters

Rabbi Josh Fixler explores the spiritual weight of names: how Torah names reveal destiny and how the labels we use today can wound or heal. Through stories from Jewish text and modern life, he considers what it means to misname, rename, or courageously claim one’s true name in a world that often flattens identity. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on how language shapes relationships and how choosing names with care can become an everyday act of holiness.

L'Cha Dodi: Welcoming the Shabbat Bride

L'Cha Dodi welcomes Shabbat and the Shabbat Bride; this jazzy, moving version from Cantor Rollin Simmons during Emanu El's Warehouse Shabbat service, kicking off the month of Elul, is based on Mumford & Son's "Awake My Soul."

Grief Is Praise: A High Holy Day Cemetery Service

In this special High Holy Day episode of Voices of Emanu El, Rabbi Oren Hayon leads a Kever Avot service from the quiet grounds of Congregation Emanu El’s cemetery, Emanu El Memorial Park, in the “sacred valley of time” between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Drawing on Geraldine Brooks’ memoir Memorial Days, the Hebrew poetry of Psalm 118, and the teaching that “grief is praise,” Rabbi Hayon reflects on love, loss, and the honest, unvarnished grief that Jewish tradition embraces as part of life’s sacred rhythm. Listeners are invited into a tender space to remember parents, spouses, children, teachers, and friends, to honor the stories that live on in us, and to hear the blessing of our tradition: Zichronam Livracha—may their memories always be for a benediction.

Reopening Old Wells

Join Rabbi Oren Hayon for a moving exploration of heritage, legacy, and spiritual inheritance. In this Heritage Shabbat sermon, Rabbi Hayon draws from the Torah to reveal how we, like Isaac, are called to uncover the wells of Jewish wisdom left by our ancestors and keep them flowing freely for future generations. Using the metaphor of Isaac's work to reopen the wells his father Abraham had dug — only to have them sabotaged — Rabbi Hayon explores the profound difference between the English word "heritage" (with its echo of loss and bereavement) and the Hebrew concept of morasha (an inheritance that affirms presence, blessing, and intentional generosity).
Perfect for anyone interested in:
✨ Jewish theology and spiritual heritage
✨ Torah interpretation and Jewish teachings
✨ Legacy giving and community stewardship
✨ How ancient wisdom speaks to modern challenges
 

Holy and Broken: From Moral Distress to Moral Resilience

In a world full of brokenness, how do we keep going? Sometimes we’re asked to carry heavy things — brokenness, regret, hope. This week’s teaching from Rabbi Josh Fixler explores moral distress, moral residue, and the power of moral resilience, from the story of Moses to the struggles of today’s caregivers.