Park Avenue Synagogue Podcast

Rabbi Zauzmer discusses why Naomi is the real main character in the Book of Ruth, and how we can learn from her journey back to joy and wholeness after unimaginable tragedy.

As debates over Zionism grow increasingly fraught within American Jewry, Rabbi Cosgrove explores how the meaning of Zionism itself has shifted across generations. Drawing on the wilderness narratives of the Book of Numbers, he argues for a Judaism rooted in memory, responsibility, and engaged Jewish self-determination.

From commencements to demonstrations outside synagogues, we are struggling to answer the same urgent question: When does protest deepen democracy, and when does it fray the ties that bind? Rabbi Cosgrove argues for a Judaism that honors dissent while insisting upon dignity, restraint, and covenantal responsibility.

Rabbi Zuckerman explores Albert Einstein’s relationship to Zionism and the dangers of reducing complex history to sound bites and half-truths.  

We welcomed JTS Chancellor Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz to share remarks during Shabbat dinner, and honor her extraordinary service and leadership, which have left a lasting imprint on our community.

Blame is easy; self-reflection is hard. Rabbi Cosgrove explores the instinct to deflect responsibility onto others and calls, in the spirit of Aharei Mot-K’doshim, for a turn inward, where critique begins with humility, responsibility, and the courage to examine oneself.

How do the Jewish people remember tragedy? In this time of memorial and celebration, Rabbi Zuckerman turns to a lesson from the rabbis in the aftermath of the destruction of the temple: to not mourn a devastating loss is impossible, but to mourn too much is also not permitted. Life continues. 

What holds the Jewish people together across difference and distance? Rabbi Cosgrove explores the triad of time, text, and territory, beginning with Jewish time as the rhythm that shapes how we live and belong.

Rabbi Zuckerman delivers a poignant message on the final day of Passover: Jewish life is found not only in its grand expressions, but in its quieter ones as well.

Rabbi Pink explains how the Passover Seder demonstrates the importance of asking questions and learning from everyone around us.

What does it really mean to be free? On the Shabbat of Passover, Rabbi Zauzmer encourages us to ask this question and suggests that if we can never put our phones down, we are not truly free.

Touching on one rabbi's response to a pro-Palestine campus display and the Passover Seder, Rabbi Zuckerman reminds us that to be a Jew is to tell a story that begins in pain, but does not end there; rather, it's to insist that there is a path from suffering to hope.

Do you tell the Passover story as a tale of “us” versus “them”? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that binary distinctions between good and bad do not tell the whole story, not in the past, and not now. He encourages us to acknowledge and thank non-Jews who have supported our people.

With baseball season beginning this week, Rabbi Zauzmer discusses automatic balls and strikes, and the humility that the new rule brings to the game.

What can we learn from Torah readings that recount details of rituals and structures that no longer exist? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that the connections we make with other people are sacred and persist even when the other person is not physically with us.

There are moments when God’s face feels hidden and faith itself seems beyond reach. Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that even when we cannot see the face of God directly, we may still encounter the divine in the face of another.

When is stubbornness a flaw and when does it become necessary for a people to survive? From Menachem Begin's stance against accepting reparations from Germany to the Israelites worshiping the Golden Calf, Rabbi Zuckerman discusses the characterization of Jews as a a "stiff-necked people."

Join us as Cantor Davis and cantorial intern Kelsey Bailey discuss all things Purim spiel, and get to know Kelsey better.

Rabbi Zuckerman explores why the Torah goes into such detail about the clothing one should wear in a sacred space. Clothing, according to the Torah, is not decorative. Rather, it binds us and shapes us. In the biblical imagination, clothing does not merely express identity – it creates identity.