Rabbi Yoshi sits down with Gary Grappo, former U.S. Ambassador to Oman, Chief of Staff of the Quartet, and foreign policy expert with more than four decades of experience in the Middle East. Ambassador Grappo helps us understand the situation in Syria, the rise of Hay's Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its leader, Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani.

Rabbi Josh Feigelson was appointed Executive Director of IJS in January 2020 and became President & CEO in April 2022. He received ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in 2005, and served for six years as the Hillel Rabbi at Northwestern University, where he also earned a PhD in Religious Studies. In 2011, Josh helped found and served as Executive Director of Ask Big Questions, an initiative of Hillel International, which won the inaugural Lippman-Kanfer Prize for Applied Jewish Wisdom. Josh has also been a consultant and Senior Fellow at The iCenter for Israel Education. Most recently he served as Dean of Students at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Josh is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and was the founding co-chair of the Wexner Fellowship Alumni Committee. He is the author of Eternal Questions: Reflections, Conversations, and Jewish Mindfulness Practices for the Weekly Torah Portion (Ben Yehuda Press, 2022). Josh lives with his wife Natalie and their three sons in Skokie, IL.

If you want to learn what it's like to be one of Los Angeles' most sought-after professional guitarists and a USC Professor all while staying true to your Jewish roots and love for Israel, you won't want to miss this latest episode!

Get ready for a soulful, inspiring conversation as Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback sits down with acclaimed guitarist and Professor of Studio Guitar for USC's Thornton School of Music, Molly Miller. Tune in as they discuss creative processes, how Molly's Jewish identity weaves into her music, the challenges she's faced since October 7, and what gives her life meaning—all followed by a Hatikvah rendition unlike any other!

You can learn more about Molly and her music here. 

Rabbi Yoshi shares his Yom Kippur Yizkor sermon which honors the memory of his mother, Hermene Davis Zweiback, who died 25 years ago. A few weeks before the Jewish New Year while cleaning up around the house, Rabbi Yoshi came across the gratitude journal his mom kept in the last month of her life. The sermon is a reflection on the lessons it contains. 

While it's a very personal remembrance, it's also universal -- it's about the people who are dear to each of us and the meaning their lives give to ours.

The outro music of this episode is a setting of the Sim Shalom prayer that Rabbi Yoshi composed in his mother's memory twenty-four years ago. You can listen to it wherever you stream your music.

https://youtu.be/YFa_wBxyKMw?si=ZDEsNhzCb-X5NA8_

Rabbi Yoshi sits down with Peter Himmelman, a Grammy and Emmy nominated singer-songwriter, visual artist, best-selling author, film composer, entrepreneur, and rock and roll performer with over 20 critically acclaimed recordings to his credit.

They talk about the creative process, songwriting, sacred memory, love, Israel, and Jewish identity. They also discuss Peter's new book, "Suspended By No String." 

Visit https://peterhimmelman.com/ to learn more about Peter's music and new book.

Rabbi Yoshi's Rosh Hashanah Sermon for 5785, delivered at Stephen Wise Temple on the evening of October 2, 2024. Learn about the life of Naftali Herz Imber, author of the poem "Tikvoseinu" that became "HaTikvah," the text of the anthem of the Zionist movement, the State of Israel, and the Jewish People. At the dawn of this New Year, we need hope perhaps more than ever.

You can watch the sermon at: https://youtu.be/GRA057vRJ48?si=G0Q1CChIoAvIpVbK

Rabbi Sharon Brous, Senior Rabbi of Ikar in Los Angeles, joins Rabbi Yoshi for a conversation focusing on her new book, "The Amen Effect." In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture and alienation, Rabbi Brous suggest ways that we can mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society.

Rabbi Brous also shares about the ways that she has tried to navigate these challenging months since October 7 all the while mourning her father who died a few weeks before Rosh Hashanah in 2023.

To learn more about "The Amen Effect," visit the link below: 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720048/the-amen-effect-by-sharon-brous/

Maor and Yossi Levy join Rabbi Yoshi to tell the story of the community of Kibbutz Eilon, just a few miles from the border with Lebanon. Their family, along with tens of thousands of other Israelis, has had to evacuate their home due to almost constant shelling from Hezbollah. Maor and Yossi share how the experience of the last many months has affected their family. Stay tuned and be inspired.

Join Rabbi Yoshi for a conversation with one of his childhood mentors and teachers, Rabbi Michael Zedek. Rabbi Zedek talks about his journey to the rabbinate and his new book, "Taking Miracles Seriously."

Learn more about Rabbi Zedek's teaching and work at: https://rabbimichaelzedek.com/

Arielle Yael Mokhtarzadeh is a first generation Iranian American Jewish leader and advocate. She serves as Co-President of 30 Years After, a nonpartisan nonprofit committed to ensuring the Iranian American Jewish future by cultivating identity, convening community, and catalyzing leadership. She also serves on the Board of the Magbit Foundation, a nonprofit that provides interest-free loans and scholarships to Israelis pursuing higher education. Arielle currently works in the Office of the COO at OpenAI and previously served as an Associate Director of Global Programming at the Milken Institute. She is a proud alumnus of UCLA, where she studied Communications, Public Affairs, and Israel Studies, and served as Undergraduate Student Body President.