Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture. Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky discuss the seventh and final […]

ICE Is The New Black

With Election Day rapidly approaching, there are many issues of concern to each voter before they cast their ballot. But the Jewish voter is not monolithic. In each episode of “Behind the Ballot Box,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky speaks to rabbis and Jewish communal professionals about a specific issue at stake in this election and why they believe it should be front and center in the minds of voters.

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With Election Day rapidly approaching, there are many issues of concern to each voter before they cast their ballot. But the Jewish voter is not monolithic. In each episode of “Behind the Ballot Box: Jewish Values and Our Vote,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky speaks to rabbis and Jewish communal professionals about a specific issue at stake in this election and why they believe it should be front and center in the minds of voters.
Host Rabbi Jesse Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ speaks with Rabbi Sharon Brous, Founder and Senior Rabbi of IKAR in Los Angeles about the relationship between politics and Torah. Each prior episode dealt with a specific issue at stake in November’s election. In this final episode, they discuss how synagogues, Jewish communal institutions, and rabbis should or should not take a stand on issues that are often deemed as “political,” how they grapple with members of their community that may disagree with them, and how we rebuild a very broken and divided society after the election. Don’t forget to vote!
How do you listen to Behind The Ballot Box? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Behind The Ballot Box: On Politics and Torah (with Rabbi Sharon Brous)

With Election Day rapidly approaching, there are many issues of concern to each voter before they cast their ballot. But the Jewish voter is not monolithic. In each episode of “Behind the Ballot Box: Jewish Values and Our Vote,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky speaks to rabbis and Jewish communal professionals about a specific issue at stake in this election and why they believe it should be front and center in the minds of voters.
Host Rabbi Jesse Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ speaks with Rabbi Leonard Sharzer, MD about the future of healthcare in America and how November’s election, and the future of the Supreme Court may impact that. Rabbi Sharzer is Assoicate Director for Bioethics Emeritus of the Finkelstein Institute of Religious and Social Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In their conversation, they explore how the Jewish community — and the government — should act during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, how rabbinic tradition prioritizes healthcare over anything else, what Pekuach Nefesh (saving a life) really means, and what the rabbis say about medicare for all. Vote like your life depends on it, because as they acknowledge in their conversation about the future of healthcare in this country, for many, their life does depend on it.
How do you listen to Behind The Ballot Box? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Behind the Ballot Box: On Healthcare (with Rabbi Len Sharzer)

With Election Day rapidly approaching, there are many issues of concern to each voter before they cast their ballot. But the Jewish voter is not monolithic. In each episode of “Behind the Ballot Box: Jewish Values and Our Vote,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky speaks to rabbis and Jewish communal professionals about a specific issue at stake in this election and why they believe it should be front and center in the minds of voters.
Host Rabbi Jesse Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ speaks with local Voting Rights and Voting Access Activist Jordana Horn Gordon. Jordana is co-chair of NCJW/Essex’s ‘Get Out The Vote’ Initiative and chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ CRC’s Election Committee. She is also a podcaster and contributing editor for Kveller. Join them as they discuss mail-in voting during a pandemic, how to make sure your vote is counted, voter suppression, and how the mishnaic concept of not separating yourself from the community means fighting to make sure every vote counts.
How do you listen to Behind The Ballot Box? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Behind the Ballot Box: On Voting Rights (with Jordana Horn Gordon)

With Election Day rapidly approaching, there are many issues of concern to each voter before they cast their ballot. But the Jewish voter is not monolithic. In each episode of “Behind the Ballot Box: Jewish Values and Our Vote,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky speaks to rabbis and Jewish communal professionals about a specific issue at stake in this election and why they believe it should be front and center in the minds of voters.
Host Rabbi Jesse Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ speaks with Seffi Kogen, Global Director of Young Leadership at American Jewish Committee (AJC) about what Donald Trump and Joe Biden each think of the US-Israel relationship. We know that there are many issues at stake in November’s election that concern the Jewish community. Many assume that Israel is ‘the issue.’ Join Jesse and Seffi as they talk about the Abraham Accords, Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, Joe Biden well-known story of visiting with Golda Meir during his first trip to Israel, and how Trump’s relationship with Netanyahu has changed the American Jewish community’s view of Israel and the Prime Minister. They discuss what it means to be a Zionist, when it is appropriate for the American Jewish community to criticize decisions by Israel’s government and how a candidate being “good for Israel” is actually quite subjective.
How do you listen to Behind The Ballot Box? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Behind the Ballot Box: On Israel (with Seffi Kogen)

With Election Day rapidly approaching, there are many issues of concern to each voter before they cast their ballot. But the Jewish voter is not monolithic. In each episode of “Behind the Ballot Box: Jewish Values and Our Vote,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky speaks to rabbis and Jewish communal professionals about a specific issue at stake in this election and why they believe it should be front and center in the minds of voters.
Host Rabbi Jesse Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ speaks with Rabbi Noah Farkas of Valley Beth Shalom in Los Angeles, California about how the Jewish community should help the homeless in this country. Rabbi Farkas is an appointed commissioner and former Chairperson of the LA Homelessness Services Authority and recently led a two-year campaign to address homelessness in Los Angeles county, galvanizing a coalition of faith-based communities. They discuss how despite what we teach in our tradition, the Jewish community too often treats our homeless neighbors as invisible, and how to respond especially now during a pandemic and economic downturn, in which the homeless or near-homeless population has increased and the number of shelters have decreased. Their conversation highlights what ethics and values of Jewish tradition should guide our thinking before voting in November’s election, when considering how to help the most vulnerable.
How do you listen to Behind The Ballot Box? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

ICE Is The New Black

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