Park Avenue Synagogue Podcast

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – The Pipeline Problem – March 19, 2022

The future of the Jewish community is threatened by a shortage of clergy, with not enough people choosing to become rabbis and too few rabbis choosing to serve congregations. We all have a role in addressing this pipeline problem.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – Heartbreaking, Inspiring, and Complicated – March 19, 2022

Rabbi Cosgrove describes the heartbreaking, inspiring, and complicated moments of his recent trip to the Poland-Ukraine border.  While acknowledging the complexity of the situation, he reminds us that we must also do whatever we can to provide relief.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – Our Esther Moment – March 5, 2022

The story of Esther hangs on the question of whether to reveal one’s identity in public no matter the consequences. In light of current events, Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to stand up for our values and to commemorate Purim with heroic generosity to aid the Jews, and all the people, of Ukraine.

Sermon – Rabbi Ethan Witkovsky – The Forests of Ukraine – February 26, 2022

The forests of Ukraine birthed one of the greatest spiritual revolutions in Jewish history. What can they teach us about ourselves and how we respond to this moment of crisis and others?

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – Amnesty, Israel, Apartheid – February 5, 2022

Rejecting the assertions of the recent Amnesty International report on Israel and Palestine, Rabbi Cosgrove envisions the kind of report that could bring the sides closer, not further apart.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – Teyku – January 22, 2022

The Talmud teaches that irreconcilable differences of opinion will be resolved when Elijah the Prophet arrives to announce the Messianic age. Noting the toxic divides of our age, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that we must learn to hear opinions that differ from our own.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – Stride Toward Freedom – January 15, 2022

When do we peak in our life work? Reflecting on the life of Martin Luther King, Rabbi Cosgrove suggests we are all ever at the shores of the sea taking a stride toward opening the next vital chapter of our lives.

Sermon – Rabbi Neil Zuckerman – God’s Pre-Game Speech to the Israelites – January 8, 2022

As the Israelites prepare for their journey into the wilderness, God’s first commandment to Moses and Aaron will both surprise and inspire you.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – Father and Son – December 6, 2021

Why didn’t Joseph write home to his father? Rabbi Cosgrove reviews the possible answers, suggesting that when we are open to hearing the perspectives of others, we can pass blessings from one generation to the next.

Sermon – Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove – Gender, Intermarriage, and Jewish Identity – November 20, 2021

Why are we more confident that a child born to an intermarried Jewish woman will identify Jewishly more readily than the child of an intermarried Jewish man? Drawing on the Biblical story of Dinah, Rabbi Cosgrove opens a conversation on the dynamics of gender, intermarriage, and Jewish identity.