Behind the Bima

Introducing the first episode of Out of the Shadows: A Jewish Approach to Mental Health. Subscribe to the monthly podcast and let us know if you have any feedback.

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There are problems that affect so many and yet so few talk about them, which is why R. Efrem Goldberg and Moshe Yachnes bring you OUT OF THE SHADOWS: A Jewish Approach to Mental Health, hosted by the Boca Raton Synagogue and Onward Living's Adopt Initiative. Rabbi Goldberg and Moshe speak to leaders in the field and discuss contemporary challenges to help us better understand mental health and those who are struggling with it. 

On this inaugural episode we are joined by:

• Dr. Norman Blumenthal: Director of Trauma, Bereavement and Crisis Intervention at OHEL Children's Home and Family Services
• Rachel Tuchman: Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
• Dr. David Pelcovitz: world-renowned expert and the Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Chair in Psychology and Jewish Education at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education
• Elisheva Liss:  licensed marriage and family therapist in the New York area, specializing in helping individuals and couples improve their quality of life and relationships

Resources

• Relief Resources (https://www.reliefhelp.org/) is an international nonprofit organization that provides mental health guidance, education, and treatment recommendations for individuals.
• Amudim (https://amudim.org/) exists to support every individual in need, so that their entire world can benefit, change, and grow.

Shlomo Katz (Hebrew: שלמה כץ) is a contemporary religious Jewish singer in Israel.

Shlomo Katz was born in New Jersey, the son of Chazan Avsholom Katz. His father was an Argentine immigrant from Buenos Aires, and was named for his uncle Avshalom Haviv. His family moved to Israel when he was nine years old and he has subsequently moved back and forth between Los Angeles and Israel. While studying in a Raanana yeshiva, Katz was introduced to the music and teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.

Katz received his rabbinical ordination at Yeshivat HaMivtar in Efrat under Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Chaim Brovender. Shlomo has been invited as scholar in residence to university campuses and synagogues to teach Torah and give concerts, lead melave malkas and kumsitzim. He was the lead Baal Tefilah and spiritual guide in the Carlebach Minyan of Beth Jacob of Beverly Hills.

Today, Shlomo serves as the Rabbi and spiritual leader of Cong. Shirat David in Efrat, where he teaches several Torah classes weekly on various topics.

His brother, Eitan, is also a well known performer and the two often perform together.

Show Notes:

• From Harvest to Dum Dum (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU6BxgzNfMk)
• Niggun of the Birds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nbKB0OEpdI)

00:00 - Intro
16:02 - Interview
1:09:27 - Outro

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS).
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS.
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

This episode celebrates 100 episodes of the show! From Coffee Talk to Behind the Bima, a lot has changed, but so much has stayed the same. Tune in to hear about your favorite episodes and moments from this podcast.

We were thrilled to be joined by Jewish musician Eitan Katz.

A member of an extremely musical family, Eitan Katz discovered that he had not just a love of music, but the talent as well.  Spending his childhood moving back and forth between Los Angeles and Israel, Eitan was exposed to a wide variety of music from his earliest days.  During his high school years, Eitan found himself gravitating towards the music of R’ Shlomo Carlebach which resonated deep within him and prompted him to take up the guitar, an instrument that instantly felt like it belonged in his hands.  By age 16 Eitan had written his first original song, the precursor to many heartfelt compositions that brought the words of davening and Tanach to life in unprecedented ways.

His first two albums, Eilecha, produced by his father, beloved chazzan, Avshalom Katz, and Biglal Avos were released jointly with his brother Shlomo. Eitan has six more solo albums to his credit. While Lemaancha, Boruch Hu, Live in Jerusalem, and Shuvu feature many of Eitan’s original compositions, Eitan Katz Unplugged and Eitan Katz Unplugged 2 feature the niggunim of Shlomo Carlebach. 

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS).
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS.
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Daily Giving's mission is to enable every Jew to easily perform the mitzvah of tzedaka every single day, and to disperse those funds to deserving Jewish non-profit organizations around the world on a daily basis. www.DailyGiving.org.

Just as drips of water over millennia can carve out caves and canyons, one small mitzvah multiplied several times over can move mountains as well.

That’s the belief of Dr. Jonathan Donath, a chiropractor in White Plains, New York, who got an epiphany in 2018 while dropping a dollar bill into the tzedakah box at his shul. “No matter how much money I give to charity, I still get a mitzvah every time I drop a dollar in,” he thought. “How can I guarantee that I do this mitzvah every day for a buck?”

He looked for an organization that was doing this and couldn’t find one. So, he and a couple of his friends had a website built and created a nonprofit: dailygiving.org.

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS).
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS.
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Bat Galim Shaer is an educator and public figure, married to Ofir and mother to 5 daughters and one son - the late Gil-ad z’’l - who was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Gush Etzion in the summer of 2014 along with his friends Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrach.  With over 20 years of experience in various educational frameworks, Bat Galim has presented lectures and initiated conferences to promote and foster unity within Israeli society. She is one of the creators of Israel’s "Unity Day" project which has grown to include the participation of tens of thousands of high school students, soldiers, organizations and communities in Israel and throughout the world.

00:00 - Intro
21:17 - Interview
1:13:45 - Outro

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS).
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS.
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Daniel Leslie Grunfeld is an American professional basketball player, who last played as a small forward for Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played briefly for Hapoel Holon, but left the team due to its financial problems, and signed a two-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem starting at the beginning of November 2011.

He is the son of former New York Knicks guard, and former Washington Wizards executive, Ernie Grunfeld. In high school, he averaged 23.9 points per game and was the MVP of his conference. In college, at Stanford University, he was first team All Pacific-10 Conference as a junior. He has also played professionally for EWE Baskets Oldenburg, Aguas de Valencia Gandía Bàsquet, CB Valladolid, and Bnei Hasharon.

He is the author of 'By the Grace of the Game' (https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Game-Hol..., a multi-generational family epic detailing history’s only known journey from Auschwitz to the NBA.  

00:00 - Intro
15:18 - Interview
1:04:21 - Outro

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS).
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS.
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Chava Willig Levy is an award-winning author and an advocate for individuals with disabilities. As a person who gets around in a motorized wheelchair, she has shattered many stereotypes about people with disabilities in the workplace, in the community, in the classroom and on the college campus. An internationally known motivational speaker famous for her humor, passion and compassion, Chava has captivated audiences ranging in size from 50 to 3,500.

Millions of people have read Chava’s articles, featured in national publications including Family Circle, Woman’s Day, McCall’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, Parents magazine, Jewish Action and Stagebill.

Notes:

- Find her book, A Life Not with Standing: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Standing-Chava-Willig-Levy/dp/1492814954

00:00 - Intro
6:15 - Interview
1:06:55 - Outro

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS).
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS.
 Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss  is a prolific speaker and a student of Rav Moshe Feinstein.  He served as a rabbi in Staten Island for decades and currently lives and teaches in Lakewood.

00:00 - Intro
19:58 - Interview
1:18:16 - Outro

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS).
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS.
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Hillel Fuld is an American Israeli technology blogger, vlogger, business advisor, and international speaker. Fuld's work focuses on the Israeli high tech industry, guidance for startup companies, and marketing tips for growing a business or personal brands. 

Fuld has been recognized as one of the most influential people in the Israeli tech industry, and has been ranked in the top ten of global technology bloggers. In 2018, he was the keynote speaker at the Touro College Division of Graduate Studies commencement in New York City. 

00:00 - Intro 
4:58 - Interview 
1:06:48 - Outro 

Connect with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: 
Website: https://rabbiefremgoldberg.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/efrem.goldberg 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rabbigoldberg 

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS). 
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS. 
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Dovi Safier is a business professional who enjoys researching unexplored chapters of Jewish history, with a primary focus on the yeshivos of the interwar period. 

Yehuda Geberer (https://yehudageberer.com/) is a researcher of Jewish History and a popular tour guide of Jewish Historical sites in Europe. He spends much of his time conducting group and private tours around Europe as well as Israel, for families, groups and institutions from a variety of background and ages. Tours to Europe and Israel focus on the story of the Jewish People in the modern era and this remains the primary focus of his research. He is also the host of Jewish History Soundbites (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-history-soundbites/id1464086460), a popular podcast profiling personalities and episodes from our glorious past. Since its inception in May 2019, the large community of listeners who regularly tune in to Jewish History Soundbites has grown significantly, constituting a diverse and educated audience from many countries around the world. 

Together, they write the For the Record column in Mishpacha Magazine (https://mishpacha.com/contributors/dovi-safier-and-yehuda-geberer/). 

Notes: 
•Find Yehuda (https://twitter.com/JSoundbites) and Dovi (https://twitter.com/safier) on Twitter 

00:00 - Intro 
11:55 - Interview 
1:27:28 - Outro 

Connect with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: 
Website: https://rabbiefremgoldberg.org/ 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/efrem.goldberg 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rabbigoldberg 

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS). 
Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS. 
Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.