My Teacher Podcast

Rabbi Jack Riemer is a master story teller and preacher and one of the most frequently quoted rabbis in the U.S. who artfully describes the relevance of timeless Jewish wisdom in our modern world. He is often referred to as the “rabbi’s rabbi” among Jewish clergy, because he has taught and mentored so many of his colleagues.  The late Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel wrote: "Jack Riemer’s words are songs of hope and faith. Listen to them as I do." 

Rabbi Riemer is rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Tikvah (now Shaarei Kodesh) in Boca Raton, Florida. He is co-author, with Rabbi Elie Spitz, of Duets on Psalms: Drawing New Meaning From Ancient Words. To inquire about an autographed copy, contact Ben Yehuda Press. Rabbi Riemer is also the author of Jewish Insights on Death and Mourning Finding God in Unexpected Places: Wisdom for Everyone from the Jewish Tradition and coeditor of So That Your Values Live On: Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them.

Rabbi Riemer's retelling of a story about Rabbi Paul Plotkin is found in Rabbi Paul Plotkin's book, The Lord Is My Shepherd: Why Do I Still Want?

Here is an excerpt in which Rabbi Paul Plotkin shares in his own words the story that Rabbi Riemer refers to in the podcast.  Thank you to Rabbi Paul Plotkin for granting permission to share this excerpt. 

For more about Natan Sharansky, see his memoir Fear No Evil. 

Check out the other podcast hosted by Rabbi Ed Bernstein: My Teacher Podcast. 

Check out the other podcast hosted by Rabbi Ed Bernstein: NeshamaCast: the Podcast on Jewish Spiritual Care, produced by Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. 

This podcast is being published on April 30, 2023, and is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Harold Kushner, of blessed memory, who died on April 28, 2023 at the age of 88. Rabbi Kushner is best known for his best selling book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. He wrote a total of 14 books, many of which were also best sellers. While known world-wide for his writing and lecturing, Rabbi Kushner was a beloved pulpit rabbi and served 25 years as the spiritual leader of Temple Israel, a Conservative synagogue in  Natick, MA and many more years as their Rabbi Laureate. For more information about Rabbi Kushner's illustrious career, see his New York Times obituary. 

In January 2014, Rabbi Kushner gave a lecture at Temple Torah (now Temple Torat Emet) in Boynton Beach, FL, where Rabbi Ed Bernstein was then serving as spiritual leader. A few months earlier, Rabbi Bernstein and Rabbi Kushner both attended the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Biennial Convention in Baltimore, MD.  During the convention, they recorded a brief interview that served as a teaser for Rabbi Kushner's upcoming visit to Boynton Beach. The conversation touched on When Bad Things Happen to Good People as well as two other books by Rabbi Kushner, When Children Ask About God and Living a Life That Matters. Rabbi Kushner had a gift for speaking and writing about sophisticated subjects in an accessible way. In this 10-minute interview a decade later, he distills complex issues in  clear and vivid terms and in such little time.  Here is Rabbi Ed Bernstein's conversation with Rabbi Harold Kushner on October 13, 2013, which you may also find on YouTube. May the  memory of Rabbi Harold Kushner be for a blessing.

Rabbi Bernstein is grateful to Barbara and Jay Wiston for introducing him to Rabbi Kushner and for envisioning Rabbi Kushner's public lecture in Boynton Beach in 2014. 

Special thanks to Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, President and Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, and his team for their invitation and for granting permission to distribute this podcast on the My Teacher Podcast feed. 

Check out the rich selection of Jewish educational offerings at valleybeitmidrash.org, where you will find recordings of some of the most distinguished teachers in the English speaking world. Find their calendar of upcoming events and subscribe to the several VBM podcasts: Jewish Ideas to Change the World; Pearls of Jewish Wisdom on Living With Kindness; and Social Justice in the Parsha.

Watch this talk on YouTube.

Source sheet for this talk:  https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/407988   

See Rabbi Edward Bernstein's essay: "The Roar of the Cat Rabbi: The Vital Role of Introverts in the Congregational Rabbinate, originally published in Keeping Faith in Rabbis: A Community Conversation on Rabbinical Education, Rabbi Hayim Herring and Elie Roscher, Eds., Avenida Books: USA: 2014, pp. 130-147. 

Rabbi Everett Gendler (August 8, 1928 - April 1, 2022) was an American rabbi, known for his involvement in progressive causes, including the civil rights movement. He has also been widely referred to as the founder of the Jewish environmental movement. About ten years ago at the Rabbinical Assembly Convention in Atlanta, he recorded a conversation with Rabbi Ed Bernstein on Jewish environmentalism. At the time Rabbi Bernstein was Spiritual Leader of Temple Torah, now Temple Torat Emet, of Boynton Beach, FL. Rabbi Bernstein was experimenting with podcasting and recorded interviews with various thought leaders that were then published on Temple Torah’s podcast. That feed is no longer online. Rabbi Bernstein's interview with Rabbi Gendler from that series is presented here. 

A transcript of Dr. King’s public dialogue at the RA Convention with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Rabbi Everett Gendler was published in Conservative Judaism Journal, 22:3, 1968, pp. 1-19. This was one of Dr. King’s final major public appearances prior to his assassination ten days later on April 4.

Rick Recht is one of the top touring musicians in Jewish music playing annually in numerous venues in the US and abroad.  Rick has revolutionized and elevated the genre of Jewish rock music as a powerful and effective tool for developing Jewish pride and identity in youth and adults across the US. Rick is the national celebrity spokesman for the PJ Library and is the Executive Director of Songleader Boot Camp – a national songleader training immersion program held in various cities around the U.S.  Rick is also the founder and Executive Director of Jewish Rock Radio, the very first high-caliber, 24/7 international Jewish rock online radio station! Rick is also the Executive Director of JKids Radio. Rick’s music is available through iTunes and other major music sellers. Rick's songs played during this episode are used with permission of Rick Recht. 

Vocabulary:

The following Hebrew/Yiddish words were mentioned in conversation but not immediately translated: 

Tzimtzum: Literally, "reduction." In Kabbalistic literature the word describes God holding back the Divine Presence to give space for humanity and the rest of the world to function at their own natural pace. Rick was referring to holding himself back to give space for others to shine. 

B'shert: Yiddish for "meant to be."

T'fillah: Jewish prayer; refers to a single specific prayer or to the wider activity of prayer.  

For questions and comments, email Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected].

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On February 25, 1996, a terrorist suicide bomber detonated himself on the No. 18 bus in Jerusalem, killing 26 innocent people, including Matthew Eisenfeld and Sara Duker. Their loss devastated everyone who knew them, and the attack that took their lives had geopolitical ripple effects that are evident still today. The personal example of Matt and Sara continues to inspire those who knew them. 

In this special two-part series of My Teacher Podcast, Rabbi Ed Bernstein is joined in conversation by Mike Kelly, an award-winning journalist and columnist for The (Bergen) Record of New Jersey and the USA Today Network, who did extensive reporting on this attack. In Episode 11, Ed interviewed Mike on the arc of his career and his reporting on this story that led to his acclaimed book, The Bus on Jaffa Road. In this work, Mike chronicles a single act of terrorism and what happened as the American families of the victims attempted to seek justice through U.S. courts. The book, which was published in 2014, has been described by reviewers as “destined to become a literary classic”, “non-fiction at its very best” and a “masterpiece” that “goes deep below the rhetoric on the ‘war on terror’.”

In this episode, Mike interviews Ed on his relationship with Matt and Sara and their legacy as recorded in part in the book that Ed edited: Love Finer Than Wine: The Writings of Matthew Eisenfeld and Sara Duker. The book was recognized as a 2016 National Jewish Book Awards Finalist in the category of anthologies and collections. It received  coverage in various publications including The Forward, Florida Sun-Sentinel, The Jewish Ledger of West Hartford and the Cleveland Jewish News. Here's a photo of Ed editing the JTS Memorial Volume that would eventually become Love Finer Than Wine. 

Mike Kelly is the author of many prize-winning projects and columns. Prior to  The Bus on Jaffa Road, he wrote two other non-fiction books. His first book, Color Lines: The Troubled Dreams of Racial Harmony in an American Town, published in 1995, tells the story of one town’s struggles to achieve racial harmony after a white police officer shot and killed an African-American teenager. The Washington Post called the book “American journalism at its best.” 

His second book, Fresh Jersey: Stories from an Altered State, a collection of his columns about New Jersey, published in 2000, was described as “wonderful, touching, funny, perceptive” by best-selling novelist Mary Higgins Clark.

Mike Kelly’s newspaper journalism has taken him to homeless colonies, drug dens, prisons and courtrooms as well as assignments in Iraq, Africa, Cuba, Malaysia, Israel (including the West Bank and Gaza) and Northern Ireland. He has covered many major stories, including the 9/11 attacks, the Clinton impeachment, Hurricane Katrina and the Bridgegate scandal.  He has provided analysis for NPR and major TV news programs. He lives in Teaneck, NJ. For more on Mike Kelly, visit www.mikekellywriter.com and follow him on Twitter @MikeKellyColumn.

For questions and comments, email Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected].

Follow the My Teacher Podcast on social media:

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On February 25, 1996, a terrorist suicide bomber detonated himself on the No. 18 bus in Jerusalem, killing 26 innocent people, including Matthew Eisenfeld and Sara Duker. Their loss devastated everyone who knew them, and the attack that took their lives had geopolitical ripple effects that are evident still today. The personal example of Matt and Sara continues to inspire those who knew them. 

In this special two-part series of My Teacher Podcast, Rabbi Ed Bernstein is joined in conversation by Mike Kelly, an award-winning journalist and columnist for The (Bergen) Record of New Jersey and the USA Today Network, who did extensive reporting on this attack. In this episode, Ed interviews Mike on the arc of his career and his reporting on this story that led to his acclaimed book, The Bus on Jaffa Road. In this work, Mike chronicles a single act of terrorism and what happened as the American families of the victims attempted to seek justice through U.S. courts. The book, which was published in 2014, has been described by reviewers as “destined to become a literary classic”, “non-fiction at its very best” and a “masterpiece” that “goes deep below the rhetoric on the ‘war on terror’.”

In the next episode, Mike interviews Ed on his relationship with Matt and Sara and their legacy as recorded in part in the book that Ed edited: Love Finer Than Wine: The Writings of Matthew Eisenfeld and Sara Duker. 

Mike Kelly is the author of many prize-winning projects and columns. Prior to  The Bus on Jaffa Road, he wrote two other non-fiction books. His first book, Color Lines: The Troubled Dreams of Racial Harmony in an American Town, published in 1995, tells the story of one town’s struggles to achieve racial harmony after a white police officer shot and killed an African-American teenager. The Washington Post called the book “American journalism at its best.” 

His second book, Fresh Jersey: Stories from an Altered State, a collection of his columns about New Jersey, published in 2000, was described as “wonderful, touching, funny, perceptive” by best-selling novelist Mary Higgins Clark.

Mike Kelly’s newspaper journalism has taken him to homeless colonies, drug dens, prisons and courtrooms as well as assignments in Iraq, Africa, Cuba, Malaysia, Israel (including the West Bank and Gaza) and Northern Ireland. He has covered many major stories, including the 9/11 attacks, the Clinton impeachment, Hurricane Katrina and the Bridgegate scandal.  He has provided analysis for NPR and major TV news programs. He lives in Teaneck, NJ. For more on Mike Kelly, visit www.mikekellywriter.com and follow him on Twitter @MikeKellyColumn.

Here is the photo of Matt and Sara that sits on Mike's desk. 

For questions and comments, email Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected].

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Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz is the eighth Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and, with her appointment in 2020, she is the first woman to lead the institution in its 134-year history.

Dr. Schwartz, who earned her PhD at JTS, was instrumental in the addition of Jewish gender studies to the JTS curriculum. As a scholar of American Jewish history, she brought to light the previously overlooked contributions of women to the development of American Judaism and expanded our understanding of modern American Jewish society and culture. During her career, she has taught courses exploring Jewish identity, the Jewish family, the depiction of Jews in American popular culture, and Jewish gender studies. Her award-winning book, The Rabbi’s Wife, examines the role of rabbis’ wives in the development of American Jewish life. She is also the author of The Emergence of Jewish Scholarship in America: The Publication of the Jewish Encyclopedia and numerous articles on modern Jewish life, including pioneering research into the founding of the Ramah Camping Movement. 
 

Dr. Schwartz’s teacher, Dr. Ismar Schorsch, was the sixth Chancellor of JTS. Read his bio here.

Dr. Schwartz’s immediate predecessor is Dr. Arnold Eisen, the seventh Chancellor of JTS.
 

Dr. Schwartz’s grandparents Morris and Edith Rubin owned the historic Rubin’s Delicatessen in Brookline, MA, the only kosher deli in New England. After 90 years of operation, the deli closed in 2019. Read more here.

See Dr. Schwartz’s 2020 High Holidays message on YouTube.

Listen to Dr. Schwartz’s interview “Mourning in Public” on JTS’s “What Now?” Podcast with Sara Beth Berman. 

For questions and comments, email Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected].

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Rabbi Amy Eilberg is the first woman ordained as a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. She serves as a spiritual director, kindness coach, and peace and justice educator.  She recently served as the Coordinator of Jewish Engagement for Faith in Action Bay Area, a multi-faith, multi-racial social justice organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to that she served as the director of the Pardes Rodef Shalom (Pursuer of Peace) Communities Program, teaching Jewish civil discourse to rabbis, synagogues and Jewish organizations.  Her book, From Enemy to Friend: Jewish Wisdom and the Pursuit of Peace, was published by Orbis Books in March 2014. She received her Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 2016.

See Rabbi Eilberg interviewed in: And the Gates Opened: Women in the Rabbinate,  a 2005 JTS retrospective produced on the twentieth anniversary of Rabbi Eilberg’s ordination.

During the interview, Rabbi Eilberg discusses her teacher Sylvia Boorstein. Here is an interview of Sylvia Boorstein on the program “On Being” with Krista Tippett. Rabbi Bernstein cites Sylvia Boorstein’s work in his 2019 Yom Kippur sermon, "Don't just do something, sit there! And other ways to confront mortality."

Rabbi Eilberg's mentor at Brandeis University, Rabbi Al Axelrad, will be recognized by readers of Mitch Albom's best-seller Tuesdays With Morrie, the ultimate "My Teacher" story. Dr. Morrie Schwartz, Albom's beloved teacher, was a sociology professor at Brandeis and was a friend of Rabbi Axelrad. After Schwartz succumbed to ALS, Rabbi Axelrad conducted his funeral in 1995. On the last page of Tuesdays With Morrie, Albom writes: 

"The funeral was held on a damp, windy morning. The grass was wet and the sky was the color of milk. We stood by the hole in the earth, close enough to hear the pond water lapping against the edge and to see ducks shaking off their feathers. 

"Although hundreds of people had wanted to attend, Charlotte kept this gathering small, just a few close friends and relatives. Rabbi Axelrad read a few poems. Morrie’s brother, David—who still walked with a limp from his childhood polio—lifted the shovel and tossed dirt in the grave, as per tradition. 

"At one point, when Morrie’s ashes were placed into the ground, I glanced around the cemetery. Morrie was right. It was indeed a lovely spot, trees and grass and a sloping hill. 

“'You talk, I’ll listen,' he had said. I tried doing that in my head and, to my happiness, found that the imagined conversation felt almost natural. I looked down at my hands, saw my watch and realized why. 

"It was Tuesday."

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie (p. 206). Crown. Kindle Edition. 

For questions and comments, email Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected].

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Rabbi Susan Talve is the founding rabbi of Central Reform Congregation, the only Jewish Congregation located within the city limits of St. Louis. When other congregations were leaving the city for the suburbs, Rabbis Susan joined with a small group to keep a vibrant presence in the city to be on the front line of fighting the racism and poverty plaguing the urban center.

During the conversation, she refers to her relationship with choreographer and social activist Katherine Dunham who made her home in East St. Louis. In 1992, the then 82-year-old Dunham staged a hunger strike  to protest the US Government’s denial of asylum to Haitian boat people.  Rabbi Talve describes her interaction with Dunham at that time.   

Rabbi Talve discusses her congregation providing sanctuary to protesters during a 2017 demonstration. Here is coverage in St. Louis Jewish Light: Central Reform Congregation of St. Louis provides shelter during protests.

Rabbi Talve discusses her involvement in the movement to close the Medium Security Institution, commonly known in St. Louis as “The Workhouse” , a jail housed in a decaying building whose inmates are often held there because they cannot pay bail. The St. Louis Board of Alderman voted recently to close The Workhouse later this year.

As Rabbi Talve discusses, she and Central Reform Congregation commissioned an artist to create a mosaic floor inspired by mosaic floors found by archeologists in ancient synagogues in Israel. See the artwork here and read more about it here.

December 9, 2015, Rabbi Talve was a guest of President Obama at the White House Hanukkah Reception, along with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin. Click here to watch her remarks and blessings.
 

For questions and comments, email Rabbi Ed Bernstein at [email protected].

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