What’s the difference between a resolution and a wish—and why does it matter?

As the new year begins, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel explore what it really means to change. From New Year’s resolutions to Jewish ideas of teshuva—return, repair, and renewal—they ask whether transformation comes through bold declarations or small, faithful steps.

The conversation deepens with a powerful guest: Rabbi Mark Borowitz, spiritual leader, author, and longtime head of Beit T’Shuvah, a pioneering residential recovery center in Los Angeles. Drawing on his own journey from addiction and incarceration to spiritual leadership, Rabbi Borowitz reflects on personal responsibility, recovery, and the courage it takes to confront the truths—and lies—we tell ourselves.

Together, they reflect on the wisdom of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the idea of building a life as a work of art, and how everyday acts of kindness, discipline, and self-awareness can become brushstrokes on that canvas.

In a world that often feels stuck or divided, this episode is a reminder that renewal is possible—and that becoming a little better than we were yesterday may be holy work enough.

 

Rabbi Mark Borowitz:

https://www.rabbimark.com/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

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