Hashivenu

Rabbi Deborah Waxman continues her conversation with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, founder of Lab/Shul and subject of the documentary The Sabbath Queen. They explore how to hold complexity in polarized times, discussing "both/and" thinking around Israeli and Palestinian identity, the theology of love and connection (symbolized by the Hebrew letter vav), and building strong Jewish peoplehood without chauvinism or supremacy. Thei...

Rabbi Deborah Waxman is joined by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie for a vital conversation about the complexities of Zionism, Israeli identity and progressive Jewish values. As delegates on the Hatikvah slate in the World Zionist Congress elections, Waxman and Lau-Lavie discuss the intersection of personal history, political activism, queer and feminist perspectives and Jewish theology. Each reflects on the legacy of Rabbi Mordeca...

In this special episode of Hashivenu, Rabbi Deborah Waxman welcomes Rabbi Jodie Siff and her son Aaron Siff-Scherr to discuss their deep personal and political commitments to progressive Zionism. Together, they reflect on how Jewish education, family experiences, and time in Israel shaped their values and why participating in the World Zionist Congress elections matters. With honesty and nuance, they explore the complexiti...

In preparation for Reconstructing Judaism’s December 15 movement-wide virtual convening, Rabbi Elliott Tepperman and Rabbi Rachel Weiss join Rabbi Deborah Waxman for a deeply thoughtful and nuanced conversation about the difficult and rewarding work of maintaining unity within Jewish communities that sometimes have diverse views on Israel and Palestine and the War in Gaza. Their reflections on how to cultivate spaces of gr...

With the High Holiday season underway, Deborah welcomes Justin Rosen Smolen, Reconstructing Judaism's Vice President for Thriving Communities and Partnerships, for a wide-ranging conversation about covenantal community. They explore how the idea of covenant, from biblical narratives to contemporary community-building, emphasizes relationships, mutual responsibility and interdependence. They consider how liberal religion ca...

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman recently announced that she will step down from her position as CEO of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) in June after leading the organization for the past nine years. Elyse stops by Deborah’s office to look back on her tenure and look ahead to what’s next. The two longtime colleagues commiserate over the day-to-day realities of leading an organization, including a friendly debate o...

Rabbi Deborah Waxman welcomes Cheryl Cook, CEO of Avodah, for a wide-ranging conversation. The two longtime friends and hevrutah partners recall their early conversations about Israel and Palestine (3:00). They discuss the nature of leadership in general as well as their own perspectives as women in leadership (10:10). They touch on the importance of resilience in how they have been able to navigate the turbulence of the l...

Weeks ago, Rabbi Deborah Waxman and founder Yoshi Silverstein scheduled this discussion about embodied Jewish practice and antiracism. Did it make any sense to have this conversation in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre of Israeli civilians and hostage taking, the subsequent and unfolding war and its tremendous toll on Palestinian civilians? After pausing to consider, they decided that such a conversation is more importan...

In ancient times on Yom Kippur, the high priest of Israel presided over an elaborate, mystical service atop the Temple Mount. Today, many traditional synagogues recount this ritual with the avodah service. In this episode, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., speaks with Rabbi Vivie Mayer about what the avodah service — which they acknowledge is mainly attended by the “die-hards” — can teach us today. “What Yom Kippur is really en...

In this special episode, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D and Rabbi Sandra Lawson discuss their respective processes of preparing for the High Holidays. This isn’t about leading services, but about how, as human beings, they undertake an accounting of the soul, leading to repentance for their own actions and forgiveness toward others. The two friends and colleagues delve into Maimonides as interpreted by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg i...

Reconstructing Judaism board member and Tikkun Olam Commission co-chair Shahanna McKinney-Baldon opens up with Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D. and Rabbi Sandra Lawson about her time singing for the ska and reggae band Highball Holiday. The educator, activist and artist, who comes an African American and Ashkenazi family, talks about rediscovering her singing voice in middle age, and shedding certain inhibitions and self-consci...

On Sept. 3, 2019, Richard Cohen’s wife, Marcia Horowitz, was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Horowitz lived 160 more days. In his acclaimed 2021 book, The Smooth River: Finding Inspiration and Exquisite Beauty during Terminal Illness, Cohen, a lawyer and Reconstructionist leader, recounts those days and what the couple learned about life as Horowitz's death approached.

In this special episode, Richard Cohen ...

There’s an increasing focus in popular discourse on allyship, particularly when it comes to people of color and other marginalized groups. What does it mean to be an ally, both to individuals and to groups? How can one begin to do that work in a way that is meaningful and is about helping others and not about assisting one’s ego or placing oneself at the center of the story? In this episode, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D. and...

Helen K. Kim is Professor of Sociology at Whitman College and in 2019 assumed the position of Associate Dean for Faculty Development. She is also the co-author of JewAsian: Race, Religion, and Identity for America's Newest Jews along with her husband Noah Leavitt. In this interview, Kim discusses macro topics such as racism in the Jewish community and the rancorous debate over communal demography. She also discusses more p...

Amanda Mbuvi, Ph.D., is the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College’s new vice president for academic affairs. Mbuvi, a Hebrew Bible scholar and nonprofit leader, is the first Jew of Color to hold such a leadership position at an American rabbinical seminary. We delve into Mbuvi’s desire to deepen how people and communities think about diversity and identity. Mbuvi shares her enthusiasm for using the Bible in general, and Gen...

Marcella White Campbell is executive director of Be'chol Lashon -- a pioneering organization that strengthens Jewish identity by affirming the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the Jewish people. We discuss her multiracial Jewish family's own experiences as a window into the Jewish community's troubled record in welcoming Jews of Color. She reflects on her own growth into leadership, motivated by the rising cohort ...

We're joined by Professor Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, one of fewer than 100 Black American women to earn a doctorate in physics -- and a Reconstructionist! We discuss the insights she draws from her background as a Black and Ashkenazi Jew, and the richness, complexity, and fruitful challenges that diverse voices bring to the Jewish community. She and Rabbi Sandra Lawson discuss their respective experiences as trailblazers wi...

We begin a new season focusing on Judaism, resilience, and racial justice, and welcome a new co-host: Rabbi Sandra Lawson, director of racial diversity, equity, and inclusion for Reconstructing Judaism. We dig deeply into the complexities of engaging in racial justice work within the Jewish community, the necessity for deep listening and empathy toward Jews of color, and the need to draw on resilience practices to stay co...

At this extraordinary High Holiday season, so many people are experiencing losses of many kinds. We speak with Rabbi Margot Stein about the lessons she learned about resilience while navigating profound loss -- the death of her eldest son, Aryeh. We discuss the practices that sustain her, and explore how Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur invite us to choose life, in many ways, again and again.

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