🎙️From Ashes to Empire: How Torah Took Root—and Thrives—in America

Recorded live at the Columbus Community Kollel’s historic 30th Anniversary Celebration on November 19, 2025, inside the majestic Ohio Statehouse, this rare conversation brings together two of the most consequential leaders of American Torah Jewry—on one stage, in one unforgettable dialogue.

In this landmark episode, Rabbi Aaron Kotler, President Emeritus of Beth Medrash Govoha, and Rabbi Boruch Neuberger, President of Ner Israel Rabbinical College, trace a three-generation journey that reshaped the destiny of Torah in the United States.

They begin with their grandfathers—survivors of the European devastation—who arrived on American shores with little more than unshakable emunah and a daring conviction: Torah could not only survive in America, it could flourish. They continue with their fathers, who transformed that vision into living institutions as Torah life took root and spread across the country. And finally, they turn inward—reflecting candidly on their own leadership, responsibility, and the weight of carrying a mesorah that now shapes tens of thousands of lives.

Along the way, you’ll hear:

The conversation closes with a stirring vision for the future of the Jewish people—rooted in humility, courage, and unwavering commitment to Torah.

This is not a panel.

This is not a speech.

This is a once-in-a-generation conversation between the stewards of the two largest Torah institutions in America.

🎙️ Hosted by: Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein

📍 Presented by: Columbus Community Kollel

📰 Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

🤝 In partnership with:

The Henry, Bertha and Edward Rothman Foundation

(Circleville, Ohio • Cleveland, Ohio • Rochester, New York)

✨ A rare moment. Historic voices. A timeless mission.

🎙️✨ NEW EPISODE DROP! ✨🎙

The KOLOT Podcast proudly presents:

🌟 HaRav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman 🌟

Av Beis Din of London | Renowned Posek | Visionary Leader in Global Jewish Life

🔥 A rare and penetrating conversation exploring halacha, leadership, and Klal Yisrael in the modern world 🔥

💬 Topics include:

📜 Path to Leadership — from Gateshead to London: how his journey shaped a generation of rabbanim and dayanim

⚖️ The Role of a Beis Din Today — protecting and guiding a kehilla beyond dinei Torah and gittin

💡 Halacha in a Modern World — navigating technology, medicine, and finance while preserving mesorah

🌍 Antisemitism & European Jewry — reflections on resilience, unity, and faith amidst rising challenges

🕍 Responsibility Beyond Borders — how a dayan’s psak echoes across continents

🧠 True Mechilah — the Torah definition of forgiveness in an age of public pain and personal growth

👑 Leadership Under Pressure — maintaining composure, clarity, and humility when every decision counts

🌿 Personal Reflections — what decades in communal leadership have taught him about Torah, people, and Hashem’s hashgachah

💎 This episode offers rare depth, balance, and authenticity — a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand how timeless Torah wisdom meets today’s complex world.

✨ The KOLOT Podcast — Conversations that Inspire. Voices that Elevate. ✨

🎙️ Hosted by Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein

📍 Presented by the Columbus Community Kollel

📰 Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

In partnership with the Henry, Bertha and Edward Rothman Foundation of Circleville, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio and Rochester, New York.

🎙️✨ NEW EPISODE DROP! ✨🎙️

The KOLOT Podcast proudly presents

🌟 Harav Uri Deutsch 🌟

🔥 A deep, moving and timely conversation about leadership, chinuch, materialism, mental health, and the state of Klal Yisrael today. 🔥

💬 Topics include:

📖 His inspiring upbringing & journey — from Brisk ➡️ Lakewood

👑 What it means to be B’nei Melachim

🌿 When is gashmiyus too much?

🧠 Mental health through a Torah lens — when to go public, and what message Hashem is sending us

🏫 Today’s chinuch challenges — raising children amidst distractions

🏡 Moving out of town — maintaining growth beyond major Torah centers

🕯️ Simchas Torah on a year marking the yahrtzeit of over 1,200 kedoshim — how do we celebrate withsensitivity and simchah?

🕊️ A Torah view on the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk

💫 Blending Yiras Shamayim & Simchas HaChaim — finding awe and joy in Avodas Hashem

💎 This episode is powerful, raw, and deeply uplifting — a must-listen for anyone seeking clarity, balance, and renewed inspiration in avodas Hashem.

🎧 LISTEN & WATCH NOW!

📹 TorahAnytime

🎧 Spotify

🍎 Apple Podcasts

▶️ YouTube

✨ The KOLOT Podcast — Conversations that Inspire. Voices that Elevate. ✨

🎙️ Hosted by Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein

📰 Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

In partnership with the Henry, Bertha and Edward Rothman Foundation of Circleville, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio and Rochester, New York.

🎙️✨ NEW EPISODE DROP! ✨🎙️

KOLOT Podcast proudly presents:

🌟 “The Life and Legacy of Mr. Avi Shulman” 🌟

with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky, National Director of Community Development at Beth Medrash Govoha

⸻

📌 Part One: Leadership & Vision

💼 National Director of Community Development at Beth Medrash Govoha

➡️ Journey from St. Louis ➡️ Lakewood

➡️ Working alongside Rabbi Aaron Kotler

➡️ Building cities through new Kollelim

➡️ Navigating the challenges — and triumphs — of community growth

⸻

📌 Part Two: Wisdom, Inspiration & Legacy

👨‍👦 Honoring his father-in-law, Mr. Avi Shulman z”l

💬 Personal memories & lessons learned

📖 Exploring the new book: 'Live Your Life by Design' 96 Takeaways from the life of Mr. Avi Shulman

🤝 The unique bond of mentor ➕ family

🌟 Carrying forward a legacy of wisdom, guidance, and inspiration

⸻

🎧 Tune in to hear how Rabbi Levitansky balances building Jewish communities nationwide while simultaneously keeping alive the timeless lessons of one of the greatest mentors and educators of our time.

📰 Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

A project of the Columbus Community Kollel, and The Henry, Bertha & Edward Rothman Foundation

Circleville, OH • Cleveland, OH • Rochester, NY

⸻

🔥 Available now on:

📱 Apple Podcasts | 🎵 Spotify | ▶️ YouTube

🎙️ NEW EPISODE ✨

This Elul, we’re going deep — back to the Beis Midrash, the Roshei Yeshiva, the Rebbeim who shaped generations… and forward into how those timeless lessons still guide us today.

🔥 From the unforgettable Elul atmosphere at Ner Yisroel

💡 To the personal guidance of Gedolim and the balance between following a Rebbe vs. becoming an independent thinker…

💬 To the lifelong question: “What would my Rebbe say…?”

We sit down for an eye-opening and heartfelt conversation packed with stories, inspiration, and practical takeaways.

Along the way:

🔹 Memories of Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman zt”l and Rav Dovid Kronglass zt”l in shaping Yomim Nora’im

🔹 The sweetness of Torah under Rav Kulefsky zt”l

🔹 Rabbi Herman Neuberger’s legendary askanus — and what we can all learn from it

🔹 The powerful relationships with Roshei Yeshiva that continue to guide life decisions today

✨ It’s not just history. It’s not just inspiration. It’s the blueprint for how to live with depth, direction, and joy in 5786 and beyond.

🎧 Tune in, be inspired, and carry Elul into your year with new energy.

This podcast is a project of the Columbus Community Kollel in partnership with the Henry, Bertha and Edward Rothman Foundation Circleville, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio and Rochester, New York

Contributing Sponsor:

Michael Milch and Diamond & Denim Recruiting – If you own or operate a business in healthcare (nursing homes, drug rehab, ABA therapy, home health, urgent care), skilled trades (electric, roofing, construction), or professional services (accounting, law), then Diamond & Denim Recruiting can help you find top-tier talent at competitive rates. To get in touch, email [email protected] or call 412-874-8157.

Media Sponsor: Columbus Jewish News

Next Episode: Harav Uri Deutsch!! Stay tuned!!

🎙️ KOLOT Podcast – Last episode in Season 4

🚀 From the battlefield to the boardroom → Meet Dr. Stephen Markovich, CEO of OhioHealth, retired Major General, and former Commander of the Ohio Air National Guard.

🇭🇷 His family story begins in Croatia… ✈️ his journey carried him through military leadership, a bold career shift to medicine, and eventually the corner office of a $6B healthcare system leading 35,000 employees.

🔥 In this conversation, we dive into:

…and so much more!

🎧 Tune in for a powerful, raw, and deeply human conversation with one of Ohio’s most dynamic leaders.

👉 Available on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

From selling luxury cars to shaping national policy, Senator Bernie Moreno’s journey is anything but ordinary. In this candid conversation with Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein, Moreno shares how his immigrant upbringing fueled his drive, how building one of America’s most successful auto empires shaped his leadership, and why he left the private sector to serve the people of Ohio in the U.S. Senate.

We dive into:

If you value strong leadership and love a great success story, this episode will inspire you to lead with purpose — no matter your arena.

🎧 KOLOT with Rabbi Hillel Kapenstein — Real conversations. Extraordinary guests. Timeless lessons.

In this special live interview recorded at the Kollel for Young Professionals, we sit down with Dr. Luan Phan, Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University, for a powerful and personal conversation about mental health, trauma, and resilience.

Dr. Phan reflects on his journey from Vietnam to the U.S., growing up as the son of a war veteran, and how those early experiences shaped his career in psychiatry. He shares how treating war veterans helped him move from distrust to trust, and how that path led him to a deep understanding of resiliency — what it really means to recover and grow through adversity.

We explore:

🟦 This episode is sponsored by Brad and Holly Kastan — thank you for your generous support.

🙏 Special thanks to everyone who submitted questions in advance, including:

Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Coach Jim Tressel, Michael Milch (PGH), Rabbi Yitz Frank (CLE), Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-D 1st Distric), Howard Shear, Julie Tilson-Stanley (JewishColumbus), Sivan Rahav-Meir (Israel) — and many more!

Whether you’re a parent, professional, or simply someone trying to stay grounded in turbulent times, this conversation offers clarity, inspiration, and tools for a stronger tomorrow.

In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Rabbi Yoel Gold, the storyteller behind the viral videos that have touched millions across the Jewish world.

Raised in Williamsburg and known back then simply as “Yoile,” Rabbi Gold opens up about his parents’ divorce and how those early challenges unexpectedly led him to the Adelphia Yeshiva, where he formed a life-changing bond with Rabbi Dovid Trenk zt”l. That relationship set him on a path to becoming a rebbe, a leader, and eventually a visionary content creator.

He shares the moment a child’s advice pushed him to start his first video, and how that single decision snowballed into a movement of storytelling with soul. It was shortly afterwards Rabbi Gold founded Hashkifa.

We also get a sneak peek into his latest and boldest production yet — releasing this Tisha B’Av — about traveling to the Vatican in an emotional and daring effort to locate the Menorah from the Beis HaMikdash.

To wrap things up, Rabbi Gold plays along with a few rapid-fire questions for some light fun and personal insight.

Tune in for a powerful journey of resilience, vision, and emunah. To watch the trailer and purchase the video, visit www.hashkifa.com

In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Dr. Apoorva Ramaswamy—physician, mother, and wife of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy—to explore her remarkable journey from India to the United States, and from medical student to a leading surgeon at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Ramaswamy shares how her father’s professional challenges shaped her resilience, how he redid his residency in a new country, and why she felt called to medicine in the first place. She opens up about the deeply rewarding and humbling experience of helping cancer patients rebuild both physically and emotionally, and the critical role that balance plays in recovery.

We also discuss the path she and Vivek are navigating as they aim to become Ohio’s next Governor and First Lady. Dr. Ramaswamy speaks candidly about what it means to “do it all”—as a mother, doctor, and partner supporting a bold political vision—and how she’s raising her children with the values and work ethic to achieve their own and unique American dream.

Finally, we look ahead to her vision for national unity and the contributions she hopes to bring to Ohio and the country if she becomes First Lady.

We conclude this conversation by paying tribute to Vivek's grandmother, Thankam Ammai, who passed away nearly a week after celebrating her 100th birthday. She was surrounded by her family members who all cherished her and will always carry her in their hearts - remembering the value of each other. This episode is a testament to perseverance, purpose, and the power of family.

Upcoming episodes will feature Rabbi Yoel Gold followed by Dr. Luan Phan. Stay tuned!!

We would like to thank our sponsors:

Lead Sponsor:

Roderick C. White Jr. and Radha Lachman KashiKonar

Contributing Sponsor:

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