My Jewish Story: Epic Conversations

Welcome to Episode 5 of My Jewish Story with Rabbi Jeffrey Weill.

In this episode, Rabbi Weill chats with Rabbi John Linder, who hails proudly from Buffalo, New York. After careers in the recycling industry and as a community and labor organizer, John studied for five years at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, including a year in Israel. He was ordained as a rabbi at 46 years old.

John served at B'nai Joshua Beth Elohim (BJBE) in Chicagoland for five years before moving to Phoenix, where he served as senior rabbi of Temple Solel from 2008 to 2025. John then served as interim rabbi for the Leo Baeck Centre in Melbourne, Australia.

Rabbi Linder is married to Nancy. They are proud grandparents to twin granddaughters and have a son and daughter-in-law.

Host and Creator: Jeffrey Weill

Editor and Social Media Director: Bethany Subang Milano

Music: The Night Owls of Chicago

Contact: [email protected]

A Wild Rabbit Production

Welcome to Episode 4 of My Jewish Story with Rabbi Jeffrey Weill.

In this episode, Rabbi Weill chats with Rabbi Cantor Kim Harris, who serves Congregation B’nai Chaim near Denver, Colorado. Raised in the fundamentalist Christian tradition in South Carolina, Kim converted to Judaism as a young woman. While working as a first-grade teacher, she pursued her calling to become a cantor and attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and Jerusalem. She served as a cantor for Temple Beth-El in Northbrook, Illinois for 11 years.

Then, while leading B’nai Chaim in Colorado, she studied for and received rabbinic ordination. Rabbi Cantor Kim’s cantorial master’s thesis, “Southern Voices: The History and Music of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, Charleston, South Carolina,” appears in libraries across the country. She has written music for URJ Books and Music and is involved in the Multifaith Leadership Forum, Together Colorado, and the Association of Rabbis and Cantors for Jewish Renewal.

Rabbi Harris is married to Brian, a Jewish educator. They have two children and five grandsons.

Host and Creator: Jeffrey Weill

Editor and Social Media Director: Bethany Subang Milano

Music: The Night Owls of Chicago

Contact: [email protected]

A Wild Rabbit Production

Welcome to Episode 3 of My Jewish Story with Rabbi Jeffrey Weill.

In this episode, Rabbi Weill chats with Rabbi Josh Rose, a teacher of Jewish thought and culture whose work centers on close engagement with Jewish texts for and with contemporary seekers. Rabbi Rose was ordained by Hebrew Union College in 2007 and served both Reform and Conservative congregations before leaving synagogue life to found Co/Lab: Reimagine Jewish, which offered innovative Jewish programs through art, ideas, and culture.

Co/Lab then gave rise to Art/Lab: Innovating Jewish Arts and Culture, for which Rabbi Rose serves as Rabbinic Advisor. He also holds a master's degree from Harvard Divinity School.

Rabbi Rose lives with his wife and three children in Portland, Oregon.

Host and Creator: Jeffrey Weill

Editor and Social Media Director: Bethany Subang Milano

Music: The Night Owls of Chicago

Contact: [email protected]

Welcome to Episode 2 of My Jewish Story with Rabbi Jeffrey Weill.

In this episode, Rabbi Weill chats with Benji Bearman. founder and CEO of Liquid Screen Design. Benji served as Chief Operating Officer of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and of Ramah Day Camp. He is board president of Sigma Alpha Mu, the national "Sammy" fraternity. 

Benji and his family belong to Ezra-Habonim, Niles Township in Skokie, IL.

Benji describes the intense and effective Jewish education he received as a child at his Conservative congregation in Minneapolis, and what motivated him to become so deeply immersed in Jewish life. He and Rabbi Weill discuss what, as parents, they consider a Jewish "win" for their children. They talk about the tremendous benefits, and the sacrifices, of sending kids to Jewish day school.  Benji also reveals his preferences about the length of Shabbat services what's to eat at kiddush lunch. 

Benji and the rabbi discuss the lakes of Minneapolis. Lake Calhoun is now officially called Bde Maka Ska, a Dakota name meaning White Earth Lake. 

Host and Creator: Jeffrey Weill

Editor and Social Media Director: Bethany Subang Milano

Music: The Night Owls of Chicago

Contact: [email protected]

Welcome to Episode 1 of My Jewish Story with Rabbi Jeffrey Weill.

In this episode, Rabbi Weill talks with his friend, Rabbi Matt Reimer, who takes the helm of Temple Israel of the City of New York in Manhattan shortly after this conversation. Rabbi Reimer was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2007. He has served various pulpits throughout the country. For the last several years, he has been Associate Director of the URJ’s Transition and Crisis Support team.

Reimer played quarterback for the Israeli National Flag Football team, competing in the International Flag Football World Cup. Rabbi Weill and Rabbi Reimer, and their friend Rabbi Josh Rose, host of the podcast Weird Being Jewish. 

In this episode, Rabbis Weill and Reimer explore the question of whether a religious career is a "calling" or a choice and whether rabbis need prayers to pray -- or does Simon & Garfunkel work just as well? Rabbi Reimer delves into the random (is anything random?) encounters that led him to the rabbinate. He also talks about how playing soccer in the Maccabiah Games as a teenager was much more sport than Jewish pride. And a whole lot more.  

Welcome to My Jewish Story: Epic Conversations.

Hosted by Rabbi Jeffrey Weill, this podcast explores the stories, experiences, and journeys that shape Jewish life today.

Listen to the trailer for a preview of upcoming conversations and be sure to subscribe for future episodes.

New episodes every other Tuesday.

A Wild Rabbit Production.