Rabbi Artson offers an Opening Address for the new spring semester, enlisting the Ziegler students to resist the false bifurcation of Judaism — either social justice or spiritual depth — and instead to integrate the two into a way of life that is resilient, splendid, and transformative!

Listen in as Rabbi Artson and the students of the Ziegler School explore: what would you wish you could change in the Torah? Gun control? Donations from a bad person? Is Los Angeles the Diaspora? Is Tel Aviv? What’s new in Jewish Philosophy? Rabbis working outside of congregations? Must converts believe in God? Connecting the work of social justice and personal growth?

Rabbi Artson answers Ziegler students’ burning questions about sexual harassment and abuse, how the Internet has hurt and helped, seeking a solution to move us forward, what advice Senator Graham’s rabbi ought to offer, what advise Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s rabbi might suggest. Oh, and a question about Sukkot rituals that seem pagan (and why they’re so much fun!)