This is a Q and A format podcast by Rabbi Artson. He offers discussion on topics such as justification for War in Jewish tradition, Anti-semitism in the modern world, Anti-semitism & anti-zionism,Teshuvah in light of civil law, Holocaust education, Leadership training, parents responsibility to adult children and more.
Rabbi Artson fields questions from the public: What sermon would you have given after Boston and Texas? Reactions to the prominent rabbi who created a fake online persona? How can we show empathy for people with different stories? When does holy space become idolatry? What should the Israel/Diaspora relationship look like?
Rabbi Artson explores the mitzvot (sacred obligations) in light of modernity and Jewish tradition.
In a society that values the rugged individual, the go-it-alone type, above all else, it is often hard to fathom the biblical-rabbinic commitment to the community and to the people as a whole. We moderns are so used to elevating our own concerns above that over the society, to pursuing our private happiness, even when at the expense of others and of our planet, that we look with horror on any assertions of the priority of the communal and the shared.
I love LA after it rains. The water dries, and for at least a brief time, the showers clear the air and wipes away the smog that sits heavily around the city. In those moments, from atop the hills of Bel Air where American Jewish University is located, you can see clearly for miles - actually witnessing the beauty of the mountains, the valley, the clouds, and from one spot close to campus, even a sliver of the ocean shore.
Rabbi Artson preaches on God moments in this week's podcast.
By Western standards, Sukkot has to be the least spiritual festival. Rather than training ourselves to ignore the outside world, to see ourselves as merely passing through, Jews respond to the ancient story of liberation and wandering under God's protective care by accentuating the physical: we build booths made of plants, we wave palm fronts and carry large citrons, we feast together, we live in the outdoors. We celebrate and rejoice in our bodies and in this world.
This is a Q and A style format with Rabbi Artson. In this podcast, the Rabbi talks about his views on topics such as Why do so many Jews do Yom Kippur but not Sukkot? What is our role in elections? Mood Altering Simchat Torah? What would you add to a rabbinical school curriculum (if you could)?
Rabbi Artson talks about the Torah in this Rosh Hashanah podcast. He discusses rejoicing as your own strength.
Almost every Jew is familiar with the most terrifying moment in all of Jewish ritual practice. We prepare for it, knowing that it’s inevitable. We study, chant, pray, sing. As the dreaded moment approaches, we break into a sweat, smile bravely, as our heartbeat approaches Jane Fonda speed. Finally, the gabbai calls us up for an aliyah, one of the seven so honored by reciting the blessings before and after the reading of the Torah on Shabbat morning.