Episodes

Mark is delighted to welcome his friend, Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, to the podcast today. Rabbi Steinmetz has been a congregational Rabbi for nearly 30 years and has previously served pulpits in Montreal, Quebec, and Mount Vernon, New York. Currently, he is the Senior Rabbi at KJ, the legendary Modern Orthodox Synagogue on New York’s Upper East Side, and he also has a blog which Mark strongly recommends, where he explains complex Jewish concepts and their very practical significance in videos and es...

Tevi Troy, the best-selling presidential historian and former White House aide, joins Mark for today’s episode. As Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Tevi was the chief operating officer of the largest civilian department in the federal government, and as a Domestic Policy Advisor, his portfolio included relations with the Jewish community. He is the author of Fight House: Rivalries in the White House, from Truman to Trump, as well as What Jefferson Read, Ike W...

Leading political scientist and distinguished Jewish communal leader, Dr. Andrew Rehfeld, joins Mark on the podcast today. Andrew’s illustrious career has bridged both the academic and professional worlds as Associate Professor of Political Science at Washington University, and as President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. He is currently the President of Hebrew Union College, which has ordained most of the Reform Rabbis in the world, including Mark’s wife. The passage he has chose...

Mark is delighted that the man he believes is ‘the world’s most foremost humanitarian’ is his guest on the podcast today. Ken Isaacs has worked with Samaritan’s Purse, has more than 30 years of experience working in the relief and development communities, and this work has taken him to 150 countries in response to global emergencies resulting from wars, complex crises, famines and natural disasters. Among his many other achievements, he has worked in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, coordinated ...

Mark is absolutely delighted to welcome Super Bowl-winning tight end, Benjamin Watson, to the podcast today. In addition to his great success with four different NFL teams, Benjamin is the proud father of seven whose family is deeply devoted to their Christian faith. He has been a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award on multiple occasions, is an author of two books, and leads a charitable initiative entitled Freedom Friday. The passage he has chosen to discuss is Jeremiah 9:22-23...

One of America’s leading public intellectuals, John Podhoretz, joins Mark on today’s podcast. In addition to contributing to various publications from the Wall Street Journal to the Weekly Standard, serving as speechwriter for two American Presidents, and appearing as a political commentator on CNN and Fox News, John has, for the past 11 years, been the editor for Commentary magazine, one of the most important sources of ideas in the digital world. He is also a Rabbi’s son-in-law, and his friend...

Dr. Mort Fridman, Past President of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), joins Mark on the podcast today. Mort has been a doctor and psychoanalyst for several decades so he brings a unique perspective to the passage he has chosen to discuss with Mark which is Micah 6:8. Mort begins by summarizing the passage, its meaning for him, and by sharing a quick summary of Jewish history in order to put the passage into its historical context. He and Mark then discuss the true role of a ...

In today’s episode, Mark is delighted to welcome Jake Cohen, chef, food writer, and culinary influencer, who has also held the position of Food Editor of TastingTable.com as well as Food Critic for Time Out New York. Jake is currently the Editorial and Test Kitchen Director at The Feedfeed, the largest food driven social media publication, and is working on his first cookbook, JEW-ISH. The passage he has chosen to discuss with Mark is Exodus 16:5. Jake starts off by explaining why this passage ...

Mark is delighted to be joined by his friend, Bill Simon, for today’s episode. Bill has had a remarkable career in law, business, philanthropy, and authorship, and, for Mark, he is the epitome of what it means to be a thoughtful businessperson living the examined life in the marketplace. He has been an Assistant United States Attorney, a merchant banker, a gubernatorial candidate in California and is the leader of the most important prize in philanthropy. Bill has discovered a theme within the c...

On today’s episode, Mark is joined by legendary Wall Street trader, Peter Borish. In addition to his success in business, Peter is also a founding member of the Robin Hood Foundation, an organization which funds New York City educational projects for disadvantaged children, and a founding board member of Math for America, a non-profit whose goal is to improve mathematical education in U.S. public schools. The passage he has chosen to discuss with Mark is Leviticus 25:35-38. Peter begins by expl...

Mark’s guest on the podcast today is author, poet, and lecturer, Erika Dreifus. Erika has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University, taught history, literature, and writing there for several years, is a fellow in the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute, and is also an adjunct assistant professor at Baruch College of The City University of New York. The passage she has chosen to discuss with Mark is Proverbs 31:10-31. Erika begins by introducing this Eshet Hayil passage, ...

Mark is delighted to welcome his great friend, Cantor Howard Stahl, to the podcast today. Howard was called to Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, New Jersey, in July of 1999, having previously served Temple Israel (Lawrence, New York) and Congregation Beth Emeth (Albany). In addition to being hailed as one of America’s outstanding cantors, Howard’s accomplishments include having been the President of the American Conference of Cantors, having served on the Board of Trustees and the Exec...

Former United States Ambassador to Costa Rica, Fitz Haney, joins Mark on today’s episode. His is a distinguished career as an international businessman at Procter and Gamble, PepsiCo Restaurants International, and Citibank and in the investment management business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Ambassador Haney is the sole political appointee made by Barack Obama who was maintained by Donald Trump, and he and Mark are kindred spirits in the fact that they are both husbands of Rabbis. Th...

Mark’s friend, Erick Stakelbeck, Director of Christians United for Israel’s CUFI Watchman Project and host of the very popular “The Watchman” program on TBN, joins him for today’s episode. Among his many accomplishments, Erick is the author of several books on counter-terrorism, his articles have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and the Jerusalem Post, and he has spoken at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention (NRB), the American-Israel Public Aff...

Mark’s good friend, Senator Bill Cassidy - one of the most bipartisan members of the Senate - joins him on the podcast today. In addition to being the Senator for Louisiana, Bill’s vast number of other achievements include co-founding the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic, a clinic providing free dental and health care to the working uninsured, creating a private-public partnership to vaccinate 36,000 greater Baton Rouge area children against Hepatitis B at no cost to the schools or parents, ...

Senator Cory Booker, Mark’s great friend of almost 25 years, joins him on the podcast today. Cory’s many accomplishments include being a Stanford All-American tight end, Rhodes Scholar, Yale Law School graduate, and two term mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is now serving in his second term in the United States Senate. Cory is also a Christian who has spent his adult lifetime studying and drawing inspiration from Jewish texts as Mark has witnessed during their long friendship. The passage he has ...

Mark’s great friend, and the Rabbi who officiated at his wedding, Rabbi Matthew Reimer, joins him on the podcast this week. A native of West Orange, NJ, Rabbi Reimer was ordained in 2007 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and has served as Senior Rabbi of Temple Sinai in New Orleans, the Rabbi for The Shul of New York, the Interim Rabbi for Port Jewish Center in Port Washington, LI, and Assistant and then Associate Rabbi at Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, New Jersey. He ...

The incredibly accomplished Dr. Marty Makary is Mark’s very special guest on the podcast today. Among his many, many roles and achievements, Dr. Makary is a surgical oncologist and chief of the Johns Hopkins Islet Transplant Center, a clinical lead for the Johns Hopkins Sibley Innovation Hub, and the Executive Director of Improving Wisely, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation project to lower health care costs in the U.S. He is a best-selling author, a frequent medical commentator on NBC and FOX New...

Mark is delighted to welcome his very good friend, Gordon Robertson, President and CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), to the podcast today. In addition to his CEO role, Gordon is also a co-host of CBN’s original flagship program, The 700 Club; the President of Operation Blessing, CBN’s humanitarian organization; the Executive Producer of CBN Films; and the Executive Producer of Superbook whose mission is to bring the stories of the Bible to the children of the world in their own la...

Mark’s great friend, Democrat Congressman Max Rose, joins him on the podcast today. Max is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the London School of Economics, who has served as an active duty officer in Afghanistan from 2012-2013 and earned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Infantry Badge. Max is Ranger-qualified, continues to serve in the National Guard, and is the first post-9/11 combat veteran to represent New York City. The passage he has chosen to discuss with Mark is Exodus 32:4, t...

Mark is so delighted to welcome his friend, Representative Mike Gallagher, to the podcast today. Born and raised in Green Bay, Mike is a Princeton graduate who joined the United States Marine Corps the day he graduated. Among his many achievements in this career, he has deployed twice to Iraq as a commander of intelligence teams, served on General Petraeus’ Central Command Assessment Team in the Middle East, and worked for three years in the intelligence community, including tours at the Nationa...

Mark’s guest today is his great friend and NFL legend, TIki Barber. During his career with the New York Giants, Tiki’s many accomplishments included being a 3-time All Pro, leading the league twice in yards from scrimmage, and setting dozens of Giants franchise records. Since retiring from football, Tiki has moved into broadcasting with NBC, BBC, and now CBS, and has become a great entrepreneur with several businesses and non-profit ventures to his credit. The passage he has chosen today is Deut...

Today, Mark is delighted to welcome Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle, Kelvin Beachum, to the podcast. In addition to his highly successful football career, Kelvin has worked with a number of charities including Bread for the World, Feeding America, and World Vision, and has been nominated for the NFL’s Walter Payton Award as a result. Kelvin has chosen Daniel 6:5-10 to discuss with Mark. In their discussion, Kelvin talks about his annual fast and his reasons for engaging in it, and he also sh...

Mark is delighted to be joined today by his good friend, Senator Tom Cotton, to discuss his passage of choice: Isaiah 6:8. Tom grew up on his family’s cattle farm in Arkansas, graduated from both Harvard and Harvard Law School, and eventually joined the Army where he served in Iraq and Afghanistan. His military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Ranger Tab, and he has served with The Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. In addition to the Senatorial work h...