Hill Havurahdcast

In Episode #22, Rabbi Hannah talks to a photographer who has been capturing Capitol Hill in photos for almost 20 years. Elizabeth Dranitzke, who grew up on Capitol Hill herself, talks about her work, how it has changed because of the pandemic, and the impact her Covid-era photography has had on the community.

Jody Tick is Rabbi Hannah's guest on Episode #21. As COO of the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest food provider for food-insecure people in the DMV, Jody has a really important perspective. She talks to Rabbi Hannah about feeding the hungry in the age of Covid, and how food distribution has changed, and how people can support the food bank (and their neighbors who rely on the Food Bank). She also talks about how remote learning is going for her sons, one of whom has special needs.

Havurah member Brad Sherman joins Rabbi Hannah in this episode of the Havurahdcast, and talks about splitting his time between his family in DC and his Congressional district in Southern California, the Trump presidency, foreign affairs and what Rep Sherman thinks will happen this November.

This is a special episode about what Yavneh will look like this year, since many parents are wondering how online Hebrew school will work. To talk about this, Rabbi Hannah gathered the Hill Havurah's Rabbi Educator Julie Gordon, as well as several Yavneh teachers AND our new Special Education teacher! They'll talk about their plans to teach, interact with students, and even take advantage of the online format, to build Jewish community,

In this episode, Rabbi Hannah talks to two experienced educators about the daunting issue of school openings. Havurah members Patti Kolb and Rachel Breitman both work at Washington Latin Public Charter School, and bring their administrative, teaching, and parenting/grandparenting insights to the conversation.

In this midsummer episode, Rabbi Hannah interviews the Hill Havurah's newest elected Board member Chris Jaikaran - baseball fan, cybersecurity analyst, and one of many interfaith family members in the Havurah. Chris tells Rabbi Hannah about growing up in his own interfaith family in Guyana, and answers Rabbi Hannah with her own internet privacy questions. After talking to Chris, Rabbi Hannah marks this saddest day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha B'av (July 29-30), by reciting the entirety of a contemporary poem written for Tisha B'Av in the age of this pandemic: Eli Tsiyon v’Areha — Coronavirus, by Daniel Olson & Rabbi Benjamin Goldberg.

As Deputy Chief Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, Havurah member Aaron Hiller had a front row seat to the historic hearings to impeach President Trump. He worked closely with U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler on the proceedings, and opens up to Rabbi Hannah about that time, how he balanced working the impeachment hearings with his family life, and his Jewish upbringing. Aaron's 4th grade son Joey zooms in from Massachusetts, where he is staying with his grandparents, to chat with Rabbi Hannah about his golf game and his thoughts about school this fall.

Rabbi Hannah has the inside scoop on the new Jewish museum set to open in DC in 2022! Turns The Hill Havurah's very own Rebekah Sobel is Director of Interpretation at the soon-to-open Capital Jewish Museum (https://capitaljewishmuseum.org), which will document stories of Jewish life in DC and is currently collecting items and stories. Rabbi Hannah asks Rebekah about her work, and also her experience at the Holocaust Museum, where Rebekah worked for ten years before joining the Capital Jewish Museum.

Rabbi Hannah is back from a week's break in the woods of West Virginia! In Episode #14, our musician-composer-rabbi interviews indie rock singer-songwriter, and Havurah member, Joe Hurowitz, who leads the band The Mercy Alliance. Joe talks about his music, his Judaism, and his daughter Maddie, who is preparing for her batmitzvah and is also joins Rabbi Hannah on this episode to talk about that.

In episode #13, Rabbi Hannah Zooms with Havurah member and artist Sarah Burford to ask how she finds the space to pursue her art while parenting a young toddler. Sarah's artwork includes the signature Tree Of Life image for this podcast, though Rabbi Hannah asks her about her dramatic collages. Sarah also shares some thoughts on how her Judaism informs her art, and a late-life discovery about her Latvian family and World War II.