Hashivenu - Episodes Tagged with “Judaism”

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie returns to discuss Jewish chosenness, love, and his film Sabbath Queen

Reconstructing Judaism — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:00:00 -0500

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. Their conversation weaves together personal narrative, liturgical innovation, and theological reflection, modeling nuanced dialogue about coexistence, justice, and evolving Jewish tradition to honor the dignity of all people while navigating disagreement with courage and compassion.

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Special Guest: Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie.

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The Sabbath Queen (Film Site) — Find a screening near you, background information, and related materials.
Lab/Shul — Lab/Shul is the experimental, artist-driven, God-optional Jewish community co-founded by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie.
Evolve: Rabbi Toba Spitzer on Chosenness — Rabbi Toba Spitzer argues that “chosenness” implies unjust superiority and needs to be replaced with a sense of shared moral responsibility.
The World Zionist Congress and Reconstructing Judaism’s Engagement with Israel — Learn about Reconstructing Judaism's efforts to promote a democratic, pluralistic, human-rights-centered vision for Israel and support for a two-state solution.
Octavia Butler Resources (for contextual reference) — Learn more about Octavia Butler’s writing and themes.
B'Yachad, Reconstructing Judaism's movement-wide convention — Details about Reconstructing Judaism's 2026 convention, including programming related to peoplehood without chauvinism and community-centered resilience. Registration is open now!

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, CEO of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Reconstructing Judaism — Thu, 16 May 2024 06:00:00 -0400

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 over the pros and cons of “zeroing out” one’s email inbox (4:54). Elyse explains how being willing to let some things go in order to focus on what’s important has helped her decision making as a leader (9:21). Elyse reflects on how the RRA has changed over the last nine years and on the accomplishments she’s most proud of, such as increased collaboration amongst rabbinical associations (15:30). Deborah and Elyse discuss the nature of change and how although it can be scary, it is often a positive (26:22). Finally, Elyse shares her favorite verse from the Talmud and why it’s resonating with her as she approaches this transition (34:00).

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Special Guest: Rabbi Elyse Wechterman.

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Cheryl Cook, CEO of Avodah

Reconstructing Judaism — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 06:00:00 -0400

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 last 10 years (12:10). Cheryl lays out the mission and work of Avodah (16:30). Later, Cheryl asks Deborah to reflect on the role of gender in leadership and Deborah shares how her feminist ideals shape her approach (18:15). Cheryl talks about stepping into the role of CEO in 2015 as a mother of young children and how she is making the effort to model a different kind leadership for other women (23:00). They close by looking ahead to future generations of leaders that they hope will include not only women, but Jews of Color and people from underrepresented groups as well (33:03). At the start of the show, Deborah catches us up on all things Hashivenu and previews her upcoming 10th anniversary celebratory event “When Women Lead" (happening Wednesday, April 3rd at 7pm EDT). You can find ticket information here.

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Special Guest: Cheryl Cook.

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How to become our fullest, most expressive selves? Practice, practice, practice

Reconstructing Judaism — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 06:00:00 -0400

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 important than ever, both to themselves and listeners. Silverstein, founder and director of the Mitsui Collective, explains that in difficult times like these, embodiment practices can help us understand and name the extent to which strong emotions are having an impact on us. Awareness and practice are key to being able to respond to stressful stimuli in a healthy way. He outlines several simple practices that can help, including orienting and box breathing, and quotes Viktor Frankl, the psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor whose writing deeply informs how humans understand trauma. "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Special Guest: Yoshi Silverstein.

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S4 Ep. 9: Season of Reflection and Repentance

Reconstructing Judaism — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 06:00:00 -0400

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 in her new book On Repentance and Repair. (Among his many contributions, Maimonides, a medieval Torah scholar, philosopher and physician, outlined five steps needed to make true repentance.) Rabbi Sandra describes her difficult relationship with her late mother, and the forgiveness needed to truly care for her mother during illness. The two widen the lens and examine repentance from a societal point of view: how can society account and repent for harms caused to so many groups: Blacks, indigenous Americans, Asian Americans and so on. The two agree that an American reckoning with its troubled legacy is needed. “I think about teshuvah and when it comes to racial justice work, my focus first of all, is primarily within our Jewish spaces,” Lawson says. “I have found that many Jews who benefit from white privilege tend to continue to look outward on racial justice in the larger world, which is fine. But that also needs to be with our own internal work.”

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

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