Park Avenue Synagogue Podcast

Dialogue - Jennifer Stern Granowitz and Erin Beser: How We Talk About Art- March 10, 2021

In this episode, Jennifer Stern Granowitz and Erin Beser speak to Jewish educator and artist Sarah Damelin about the importance of integrating art in Jewish education to teach valuable critical thinking skills of exploration, interpretation, and decision making. Listen to Damelin’s advice on how to engage different types of learners when making art and how to talk to them about their work.

Discussion and Reflection Questions

1. How can you incorporate art in a new way during an upcoming lesson?

2. Next time you see a student’s work, what is a new way you could respond?

3. A question from Sarah Damelin: How can you use art experiences in your classroom to push kids to develop their sense of confidence and self-worth in other things that they do?

 

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org. 

Sermon - Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: Don't Make Me Choose - March 6, 2021

Rabbi Cosgrove reflects on the vituperative reaction of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox to last week’s Supreme Court decision regarding conversion and the uncomfortable choice faced by diaspora Jewry.

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: From Within or Without? Leadership Lessons from Esther – February 27, 2021

Is it better to make change from the inside or outside? On our annual UJA Shabbat, Rabbi Cosgrove looks to the Megillah for two models of leadership that can guide our choices today.

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org.

Sermon – Rabbi Ethan Witkovsky: Laws, Lincoln, and Lessons Learned – February13, 2021

“Laws are the love language of the Torah.” Rabbi Witkovsky explores Parashat Mishpatim and an 1838 speech given by Abraham Lincoln. He shows the importance of laws in Jewish and American tradition and of ensuring that our laws reflect our values and are followed. No one is above the law, but the law must also be molded for equity and justice.

For more information available at www.pasyn.org or follow us @parkavesyn or https://www.facebook.com/parkavenuesyn.

Dialogue – Jennifer Stern Granowitz and Erin Beser: How We Talk About Purim – February 17, 2021

In this episode of How We Talk About, Jen Stern Granowitz and Erin Beser speak with Purim Spiel Director Cantor Rachel Brook about the adult themes of the Book of Esther, a biblical text that involves forced sex, substance abuse, genocide, and mass murder. And yet, year after year, we turn this story into endearing entertainment for all ages. Listen to Cantor Brook share her advice on how to talk about Purim and discuss the importance of the merriment and laughter of this holiday!

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: We're No Angels – In Memory of Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, z"l – February 6, 2021

In the face of sin and addictive behavior, how can Torah guide us to realize our best selves? The legacy of Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, z”l, inspires us to take personal agency over our lives.

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org.

Dialogue – Jennifer Stern Granowitz and Erin Beser: How We Talk About Prayer – January 27, 2021

In this episode of How We Talk About, Jen Stern Granowitz and Erin Beser speak with Josh Rosenberg, Cantorial Fellow at Park Avenue Synagogue, about the challenges of praying and learning how to pray. Josh’s background as a classroom music teacher influences his perspective on how to effectively lead and teach a challenging topic. Listen for tips to create a prayer flow, manage transitions, and quiet a room full of rowdy fifth graders like a boss.

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: Exodus in America –January 23, 2021

What lessons does the Exodus offer to our country and to us? Rabbi Cosgrove proposes five principles that can guide us as we seek to emerge from today’s narrow places.

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: No Surprise–January 9, 2021

Calling the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol no surprise, Rabbi Cosgrove argues that as with Pharaoh's Egypt, the degradation of our society occurs incrementally and with the complicity of many. Reversing it will require that we take a stand to denounce hatred and injustice.

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org.

Dialogue - Jennifer Stern Granowitz and Erin Beser: How We Talk About Children - January 6, 2020

In this episode, Jennifer and Erin speak to Pamela Schwartz, Penn Family Early Childhood Center Director, about using respectful language and empowering children to take leadership and responsibility in the classroom and at home. We asked Pamela why kids call out, opt out, or act out in school (particularly Hebrew school). If you're a parent or a teacher, tune in for specific language to help you stay mindful when kids are . . . well . . . being kids. 

For more information about services and programs at Park Avenue Synagogue, visit our website at https://pasyn.org.