Common Faith

In an age when headlines spread faster than facts, who controls the story? Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel welcome veteran Israeli-American journalist and political analyst Gil Hoffman, author of The Blood Libel Machine: Exposing the Anti-Israel Hate Network and How to Fight Back, for a revealing conversation about media bias, misinformation, and the battle over Israel's global narrative following October 7.

Drawing on nearly 25 years covering Israeli politics, Hoffman examines what he describes as a coordinated network of organizations, media outlets, and political interests shaping public perceptions of Israel. He discusses the failures that left Israel unprepared for the information war, the influence of social media and international organizations, and the challenges journalists face in separating fact from propaganda. The conversation also confronts the Israeli government's own missteps, the consequences of inflammatory political rhetoric, and the growing divide between Israeli and American Jewish perspectives. As the lines between reporting, opinion, and misinformation become increasingly blurred, Hoffman shares why he believes ordinary people have a role to play in challenging misleading narratives and demanding accountability.

Gil Hoffman:

https://www.gilhoffman.net/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if you didn't have to believe in God to begin exploring religion? Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel welcome Rabbi Noa Kushner, founder of San Francisco's experimental Jewish community The Kitchen and author of Pretend You Believe: How to Enter Religion. Together, they explore why organized religion still matters in an increasingly secular world, and whether faith is something we must understand before we can experience it.

From the barriers that keep people outside religious communities to the power of ritual, belonging, and awe, Rabbi Kushner challenges the idea that belief must come first. She shares how The Kitchen is reimagining Jewish communal life without abandoning tradition, why ancient practices may hold answers to modern questions, and how taking a leap into the unknown can open the door to something greater. It's a conversation about doubt, discovery, and finding meaning in a world that often asks us to figure everything out for ourselves.

Rabbi Noa Kushner:

https://www.thekitchensf.org/staff

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With Israel approaching what could be one of the most consequential elections in its history, the stakes extend far beyond who becomes the next prime minister. Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel welcome Avi Mayer, founder of The Jerusalem Journal and former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, to examine a nation at a crossroads. Three years after October 7, Israelis are confronting difficult questions about leadership, accountability, democracy, national security, and the future of their country.

Can Benjamin Netanyahu maintain his grip on power? Could a new government repair Israel's fractured international standing? And what happens when Israelis begin questioning whether their children have a future in the country they love? Mayer explores the political divisions shaping the October 27 election, the growing debate over military service and economic responsibility, and the consequences of Israel's increasing isolation. He also examines the media's portrayal of Israel, rising antisemitism across the political spectrum, and why American Jews must look beyond the headlines to understand a country still living with the trauma of October 7.

Avi Mayer:

https://www.avimayer.com/

Jerusalem Journal:

https://www.jerusalemjournal.com/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the second of two special High Holiday episodes, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel return to the pulpit, revisiting sermons delivered during Yom Kippur at Park Avenue Synagogue and discussing the personal experiences and ideas that shaped them.

In “Taking Agency,” Rabbi Cosgrove considers one of Yom Kippur's most demanding lessons: even when we cannot control what happens to us, we remain responsible for how we respond. From the biblical story of Judah to the relationships and divisions of our own lives, he challenges us to stop focusing solely on what others have done wrong and instead ask, “How am I responsible? And what is mine to do?”

Then, in his deeply personal Yizkor sermon, “Out of the Picture,” Rabbi Cosgrove remembers his late teacher and mentor, Michael Brooks, whose life was devoted to empowering others rather than placing himself at the center. His example becomes a meditation on memory, mentorship and mortality—and on how we honor those we've lost not simply by remembering them, but by carrying their values and unfinished work forward.

Together, the sermons offer a challenge for the year ahead: take responsibility for the life you are living, recognize what you have been given, and consider what you will leave behind.

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What goes into a High Holiday sermon—and what happens when you return to its message weeks later? In this special episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel look back at Rosh Hashanah at Park Avenue Synagogue, sharing two sermons delivered over the past several weeks and discussing the ideas and experiences behind them.

In his Erev Rosh Hashanah sermon, Rabbi Cosgrove turns to The Odyssey and its timeless story of homecoming. Like Odysseus returning from his journey changed by everything he has experienced, Rosh Hashanah invites us to come home—to tradition, community, God, and ourselves—carrying the wounds, wisdom, memories, and scars we've accumulated along the way.

Then, in “All in the Jewish Family,” Rabbi Cosgrove draws on the 100-year history of Park Avenue Synagogue's sanctuary to confront a very contemporary question: How can Jews remain one family amid profound disagreements over Israel, Zionism, identity, and the Jewish future? Looking back at earlier generations of American Jews who wrestled with many of the same questions, he makes the case for staying in conversation, making room for disagreement, and remembering what binds us together even when we don't see the world the same way.

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We like to believe that we enter our adult relationships as fully formed people, freely choosing whom we love and how we love them. But what if the frightened, ashamed, guilty, invisible—or even “chosen”—children we once were are still quietly making some of those decisions?

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel welcome internationally renowned psychoanalyst and bestselling author Dr. Galit Atlas, whose new book, Come Closer: Childhood Wounds, Adult Love, and the Secrets of Emotional Intimacy, examines the unconscious connection between our earliest relationships and our adult love lives. Atlas explains why we repeatedly return to what feels familiar—even when the familiar once hurt us—and how childhood survival strategies can become patterns that follow us into marriage, intimacy, and family life.

The conversation also turns toward Jewish experience and inherited trauma. Born in Israel to parents from Iran and Syria, Atlas reflects on growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust and amid Israel's own layers of trauma. She discusses how October 7 reopened deeper wounds in the Jewish psyche and how those events have entered the therapy room—sometimes exposing profound differences within marriages and families.

Ultimately, Atlas offers a hopeful idea: our past shapes us, but it does not have to dictate our future. By recognizing the different selves we carry and understanding where our patterns began, we may gain greater freedom to create something new—in ourselves and in the relationships that matter most.

Dr. Galit Atlas:

https://www.galitatlas.com/

Come Closer: Childhood Wounds, Adult Love:

https://www.galitatlas.com/home-1-1

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sukkot may be one of Judaism’s most mysterious holidays. We leave the security of our homes for a temporary structure, welcome guests around the table, and are reminded that permanence may be more illusion than reality. Rabbi Mark Wildes joins Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel to unpack those ideas—and a particularly moving interpretation of the ushpizin: the biblical figures welcomed into the sukkah who lived in pursuit of dreams they themselves never saw fulfilled.

For Wildes, welcoming people in is more than a Sukkot tradition—it has defined his life’s work. Inspired by a mother who taught her children to notice newcomers at synagogue and invite them home for Shabbat, Wildes went on to found Manhattan Jewish Experience, creating a place for Jews who may feel disconnected, intimidated, or unsure where they belong. He explains why warmth can bring someone through the door, but substance is what keeps them there.

The conversation also explores Wildes’ book, The Jewish Experience: Discovering the Soul of Jewish Thought and Practice, and the renewed search for Jewish meaning following October 7. Wildes describes seeing more people walk through his doors asking fundamental questions: What does it mean to be Jewish? What do Jews believe about God and Torah? Why do we pray? For Wildes, the challenge—and opportunity—is not simply getting people interested in Judaism, but helping them discover that the tradition was theirs all along.

Rabbi Mark Wildes:

https://www.markwildes.com/

https://www.jewishexperience.org/our-team

The Jewish Experience: Discovering the Soul of Jewish Thought and Practice:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/159264712X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Yom Kippur asks us to reflect, repent and repair—but what happens when repair cannot return us to what was? Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel begin with the meaning and traditions of Judaism’s holiest day before welcoming Rabbis Nicole Guzik and Erez Sherman, the husband-and-wife co-senior rabbis of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Their conversation begins with their own preparation for Yom Kippur: the relationships that may never look the same, the stories that remain untold, and the possibility of making room for hope even when remorse or regret remains.

That idea takes on deeper meaning through their book, Grieving a Child: A Companion Guide for Clergy. Born from years of conversations with a family that experienced the death of a child, the guide addresses what religious training and traditional rituals cannot always prepare clergy to face: what happens before, during and long after devastating loss. From navigating shiva and anniversaries to remembering milestones a child never reached, Guzik and Sherman argue that pastoral care cannot end when the formal mourning period does.

At the heart of the conversation is a powerful image: the scar. Repair may be possible, Rabbi Guzik explains, but repair does not mean returning to what existed before. A scar remains; what can change is how we see it, carry it and allow it to become part of our lives. The rabbis also offer practical wisdom for anyone trying to comfort a grieving family: don't make their loss about your own experience, don't offer assurances, don't be afraid to speak about the child—and don't disappear once shiva ends. Sometimes the most meaningful words are simply, this is heartbreaking, and I'm still thinking about you.

As Yom Kippur draws near, the conversation becomes ultimately not only about death, but about life: the people we remember, the relationships we carry, and the community that surrounds us as we enter another year.

Rabbi Nicole Guzik:

https://www.sinaitemple.org/about/clergy-senior-staff/rabbi-nicole-guzik/

Rabbi Erez Sherman:

https://www.sinaitemple.org/about/clergy-senior-staff/rabbi-erez-sherman/

Grieving a Child: A Companion Guide for Clergy:

https://momentmag.com/clergy-child-loss/?srsltid=AfmBOorNTf4Eket9D6YuZSPKW8lfVDlfzqHhrL1VYkOUBqIwx8xAEuXD

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does Rosh Hashanah ask of us beyond apples, honey and the promise of a new beginning? Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel begin their Rosh Hashanah special with a candid conversation about the High Holidays—the joy of renewal, the weight of Yom Kippur and the difficult work of repairing relationships before we ever enter the synagogue.

They are joined by renowned theologian, scholar and activist Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg, who reframes Rosh Hashanah as something even more fundamental: the holiday of creation. For Greenberg, recognizing that life is finite gives every human being a responsibility to decide how we will use the time we have. Every word, relationship and action presents a choice between forces that strengthen life and those that diminish it.

That idea also sits at the heart of Greenberg’s new collection, Life Against Death. The conversation moves from the Holocaust and the renewal of Jewish life to October 7, Israel, Zionism and the increasingly difficult relationship between Israel and American Jewry. Greenberg and Cosgrove wrestle with how Jews can defend Jewish self-determination while remaining willing to criticize Israel and its government—and why a healthy Jewish community needs room for disagreement, competing voices and genuine pluralism.

At the beginning of a new year, Greenberg ultimately offers both a challenge and a hopeful vision: human beings have extraordinary agency. We cannot perfect the world all at once, but moment by moment, choice by choice, we can move it toward life.

Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg:

https://www.hadar.org/about/people/rabbi-yitz-greenberg

Life Against Death:

https://tinyurl.com/y3vby2r7

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Jewish High Holidays are built around memory, renewal, and the passage of time. But what happens when time itself has broken? As Rosh Hashanah approaches, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel welcome Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh was taken hostage on October 7, 2023 and murdered in captivity after 328 days. Rachel’s new book, When We See You Again, gives voice not to recovery or closure, but to what she calls “packages of pain.”

Rachel remembers Hersh as “the perfect ordinary, and the blessed ordinary”—a curious young man with a remarkable capacity to listen. She recalls the final moment she saw him, walking out the door after Shabbat dinner and turning back to say, “Love you. See you tomorrow.” Nearly three years later, Rachel remains frozen there even as the world moves forward.

That collision between Jewish time and the timelessness of grief sits at the heart of the conversation. Yizkor commands Jews to remember, but Rachel remembers every waking second. Instead, she says she would prefer eight minutes of amnesia—a striking challenge to notions of faith, ritual, healing, and resilience.

And yet, there is yet. Rachel speaks about the parts of her former life she cannot return to “yet,” and searches for a “why” powerful enough to help her bear the “how” of living without Hersh. This is not a conversation about moving on, but about what it means to keep moving at all.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin's Book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GFSNF8GV?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue:
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.