Episodes

Deuteronomy 34:1-4

Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, Jewish chaplain at Yale University, joins Mark for a very special episode this week. Jason’s uniquely well-rounded education includes attending reformed Temple Micah in Washington DC as a child, spending his formative years studying at orthodox Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa in northern Israel, and receiving his rabbinic ordination from the conservative Jewish Theological Seminary. He has taught on the faculty of the Hadar Institute for a decade, and is the recipient of numerous ...

Mark is delighted to welcome Russ Roberts, possibly America’s premier popular economist, to the podcast today. A host of his own remarkably successful podcast, ‘EconTalk’, Russ is also a prolific writer in many forms, including rap, on a variety of topics such as economics and liberty. A three-time ‘Teacher of the Year’ at George Mason University, Russ currently teaches at Stanford. The passage he has chosen to discuss with Mark today is Genesis 44. Russ begins by sharing his summary of this pas...

Mark is delighted to welcome Pastor Will Ford to the podcast today. Currently the Director of the Marketplace Leadership Major at Christ For The Nations Institute, in Dallas, Texas, Pastor Ford is also the founder of Hilkiah Ministries. He has been interviewed by CBS, featured on The 700 Club and also in Charisma and many other media outlets, and is known internationally for his family heirloom which he brings with him to the interview today to show and discuss with Mark, pictures of which you c...

Newly elected Congressman, Ritchie Torres, is Mark’s very special guest this week. A product of public housing, public schools, and public hospitals in the Bronx, Ritchie went on to become the youngest elected official in New York City in 2013, and he now serves as the Congressman for New York's 15th Congressional District. The passage he has chosen to discuss with Mark today is Proverbs 18:24. Their conversation begins with Ritchie reciting the selected passage and exploring the need for, and n...

Yael Eckstein is Mark’s very special guest on the podcast today. As President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), Yael heads the leading non-profit that is building bridges between Christians and Jews, and blessing Israel and the Jewish people around the world with humanitarian care and life-saving aid. A prolific author as well, Yael has been named one of "The World's 50 Most Influential Jews" by The Jerusalem Post in 2020. The passage she has chosen to discus...

Daron K. Roberts, the founding director of the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation (CSLi) at the University of Texas, is Mark’s very special guest on the podcast today. A former NFL and college coach, Daron created CSLi in the fall of 2014 as the first university-based institute dedicated to developing leadership and character curricula for high school, collegiate, and professional athletes. He teaches his ‘A Gameplan for Winning at Life’ through the Centre, and he has also launched the ...

Mark is delighted to welcome Rebecca Soffer, Cofounder/CEO of Modern Loss, to the podcast this week. In addition to her work leading the Modern Loss community, Rebecca is also a co-author of Modern Loss: Candid Conversation About Grief. Beginners Welcome, and has another book coming out soon. She is a former producer for the Peabody Award–winning Colbert Report, a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumna, and has spoken nationally on the themes of loss and resilience. The passage...

Mark’s guest this week is the award-winning author and writer, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. Danya is the author of numerous books, including Surprised By God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion , and has written for The New York Times , The Atlantic , Salon, Time , and Newsweek , among many other publications. She currently serves as Scholar in Residence at the National Council of Jewish Women, and the passage she has chosen to discuss today is Exodus 32, the story of the golden calf. D...

Mark is delighted to welcome Dr. Elana Stein Hain to the podcast today. In addition to her role as the Director of Faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, Elana also co-leads the Created Equal research team, and is a widely well-regarded teacher and scholar. She has served for eight years as a clergy member on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at both Lincoln Square Synagogue and the Jewish Center, and has taught at the Wagner School at NYU. The passage she has chosen to discus...

Mark welcomes two special guests from BBYO, one of the Jewish community’s premier platforms for reaching and inspiring Jewish teens, to the podcast today. Kelly Fagel is a 17-year-old High School Senior who serves as the 32nd International Sh'licha, Vice President of Jewish Enrichment and Community Service, with BBYO, and she is also the youngest guest to ever appear on the podcast. With her is BBYO's Chief Executive Officer since 2004, Matt Grossman, who is currently responsible for working wit...

Boyd Matheson, opinion editor at the Deseret News, is Mark’s very special guest on today’s episode. For over 25 years, Boyd has worked as a consultant, executive strategist and performance coach with global companies, and he has also served as Chief of Staff for US Senator Mike Lee, and is the former President of the Sutherland Institute. The passage Boyd has chosen to discuss with Mark today is 1 Samuel 17:48. Boyd begins their conversation by summarizing the passage, and sharing its significan...

Celebrated author and educator, Michal Lemberger, joins Mark for today’s podcast. Michal’s debut collection, After Abel and Other Stories, has garnered numerous awards, and her nonfiction and journalism have appeared in many publications, including Real Simple, Slate, Salon, and Tablet. She has taught the Hebrew Bible as Literature at UCLA and the American Jewish University, a course that Mark would dearly love to take. The passage Michal has chosen to discuss is one that no guest has previously...

One of America’s most prominent thinkers and leaders, Abigail Pogrebin, joins Mark on the podcast today. Abigail has served as President of Central Synagogue, and her book, My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays; One Wondering Jew, was a finalist for the 2018 National Jewish Book Award. She is currently the host of the ‘Parsha in Progress’ podcast, one of Mark’s favorites, which features a regular Torah discussion between herself and Rabbi Dov Linzer , President of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. The passage she ...

Mark is delighted to welcome Dr. Michael Helfand to the podcast today. Michael is the Vice Dean for Faculty and Research at the Caruso School of Law, Pepperdine University, and an expert on religious law and religious liberty with a particular emphasis on clashes between religion and commerce. He is a frequent author and lecturer, focusing on how U.S. law treats religious law, custom and practice, and he also serves as both an arbitrator and consultant for the Beth Din of America. The passage he...

Rabbi Marc Schneier, Founder of The Hampton Synagogue, one of the most dynamic synagogues in the United States, is Mark’s very special guest this week. Rabbi Schneier is also the founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, whose mission began as rebuilding the historic Black-Jewish alliance in the United States, and, for nearly the past 15 years, has grown to also build Muslim-Jewish relations globally. The passage he has chosen to discuss today is Genesis 21:9-20. Rabbi Schneier begins ...

Mark is absolutely delighted to welcome Rabbi Sergio Bergman to the podcast today. Currently the President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, Rabbi Bergman oversees 1,275 synagogues with 1.8 million members in more than 50 countries. He is an Argentinian-born pharmacist, politician, social activist, and community leader who is well known for many accomplishments, including his innovative and inspirational socio-educational and religious projects. The passage he has chosen to discuss tod...

Mark’s delight is palpable as he welcomes Rabbi Rick Jacobs to the podcast today. As President of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Jacobs currently leads the largest and most diverse Jewish movement in North America. He is a longtime and devoted creative change agent who has served as Rabbi of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, where he created the first homeless shelter in a New York City synagogue, before spending 20 years as a visionary spiritual leader at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsda...

Mark is delighted to welcome his good friend and fellow cigar aficionado, Rabbi Steven Weil, to the podcast this week. Currently the National Director and CEO of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), Rabbi Weil previously held the position of Senior Managing Director of the Orthodox Union (OU) for 11 years, and his Torah commentary - some of the most incisive Mark has heard – can still be found on some of their fairly obscure websites. The passage he has chosen to discuss with Mark is Gen...

Jon Steinberg, one of Mark’s favorite cigar smoking companions, is the very special guest on this week’s episode. Currently the president of Altice News and Advertising, Jon is also the founder of Cheddar, the leading Post Cable Networks company. Previously, he had been the Chief Executive Officer of DailyMail.com North America, and the President and Chief Operating Officer at BuzzFeed, and is widely considered one of the world’s great media entrepreneurs. Jon has chosen a rabbinical commentary ...

Mark is delighted to welcome Rabbi Susan Silverman to the podcast today. Rabbi Silverman is the founder of KAMOCHA: A Jewish Response to Refugees, is on the Board of Directors of Women of the Wall, and the International Council of The New Israel Fund. She is also the Founding Director of Second Nurture: Every Child Deserves a Family – And a Community, an organization dedicated to providing a path to adoption for “waiting” children by bringing together multiple adults from within the same communi...

Mark is delighted to welcome Jonathan Goldstein to today’s episode. Jonathan is the Chief Executive and Founder of the private investment firm, ]( http://www.cainint.com/ )[Cain International, the Chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council, the umbrella body of British Jewry’s central organizations and charities, as well as the Chair of the Chief Rabbinate Trust. He has also served as Vice Chair of Jewish Care and Chair of Governors of Kerem School in Hampstead Garden Suburb, as Chair of Partners...

Mark is delighted to welcome Apostle Dwayne Hardin to the podcast this week. Apostle Hardin is the founder and lead pastor of The Embassy Church and The Millennium Masters Inc, a global organization designed to effectively co-join the workings of the secular and sacred. He is also a public speaker, author, and musician, as well as a recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to him by President Barack Obama. The passages he has chosen to discuss today are Psalms 11...

Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, is Mark’s very special guest on the podcast this week. Yehuda is a leading thinker and author on the meaning of Israel to American Jews, on Jewish history and Jewish memory, and on questions of leadership and change in American Jewish life. He has also served as faculty member at Brandeis University, where he held the inaugural Chair in Jewish Communal Innovation. The chapter he has chosen to discuss with Mark is Jon...