Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation Podcasts

Is Israel a democracy, a Jewish state or a nation that includes the West Bank. Find out why it can't be all three.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Humanistic Judaism is founded on self improvement. We can use personal honesty to improve our lives and our relationships with others. Rabbi Chalom explains how.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

The story of Ruth wasn't even real. Yet the story of Ruth is about being yourself (a Moabite) and being part of a community (Hebrew). Explore what we as Humanistic Jews can learn from this tale.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Finding truth in the Hebrew bible can often be difficult. Rabbi Chalom explores the validity of the historical text and how it impacts Humanistic Jews and progenitors such as Baruch Spinoza.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Finding truth in the Hebrew bible can often be difficult. Rabbi Chalom reconciles the value of a fabricated story about being true to oneself.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Some see the publication of The Good Book: A Secular Bible by English philosopher A.C. Grayling as an attempt to displace, destroy or otherwise attack “The Bible” that they revere. The truth is that both religious bibles and this new “secular Bible” come from the same source—human experience. What wisdom does Grayling offer, and is it time for a secular sequel to the “Book of Books”?[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Without American support, the modern State of Israel would not have begun. Today, however, the relationship is much more complicated. Differences over the Palestinians, Iran and other regional challenges have strained relations as much as at any point in the last sixty years. The American Jewish community has been divided by the tension: some appalled, some angry, some indifferent. What does the future hold for this “strategic partnership”?[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Israel is simultaneously one of the most inspirational and challenging elements of our curriculum. We are inspired by the achievements of secular Jews: a Jewish state, a revived secular Hebrew language and culture, a new ethos of self-confident Judaism. But the challenges of war and peace, religion and government remain. This topic is taught in 7th/8th grade.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Shabbat Sermon: Many animals besides humans demonstrate generosity for the good of the colony or the herd. But human generosity can help individuals and communities that have little survival value for ourselves. From where does this impulse spring, and how can it be taken too far? What is the right balance of giving to others and strengthening ourselves?[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

In 2004, Kol Hadash hired Rabbi Adam Chalom as our full-time cultural and philosophic guide. Rabbi Chalom immediately used his energy, talents and good humor to move our congregation forward into our second stage. In this retrospective, Rabbi Chalom's inaugural address to the congregation is featured.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

The history of American Jews is changing. The immigrant experience is fading, and new challenges and dynamics are more intriguing. How have we negotiated multiple identities? What have been our successes and failures? An important part of knowing who we are is discovering how we came to be.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

In December of 1910, the first ethnic (secular) Jewish school opened in New York City. One hundred years later, we are the heirs not only to traditional Jewish culture, but also specifically the secular and sometimes radical innovations of our precursors in cultural Judaism. What can we glean from this legacy? [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Education has always been central to Judaism. Explore how teachers are part of that core and how a good teacher is defined.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Aaron Elster is a child survivor of the Holocaust. He was born in 1933 in the small northeastern village of Sokolow, Podlaski in Poland. Aaron lived in the Sokolow Ghetto with his two sisters, mother and father until the liquidation of the ghetto in September, 1942. He escaped the liquidation and hid in the surrounding forests and farms. Eventually, Aaron found refuge in the attic of a Polish family, where he hid for two years until the war's end.More information, including how to obtain a copy of his book can be found at http://www.aaronelster.com[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Rabbi Chalom explores in further detail the institution of the synagogue by looking towards the future and theorizing the role it will play in modern Jewish life.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

On March 31, 2011, Rabbi Chalom visited Georgetown University and answered the question of "What is Secular Humanistic Judaism?". We hope you enjoy this bonus edition of the Kol Hadash podcast.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)

Sunday School Guest Speaker Marguerite tells her story to the 7th/8th grade class of growing up in Nazi occupied Belgium. During WWII, Mishkin and her sister Annette were placed under the care of a Belgian Catholic family in 1943 following the death of her father in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942. Her mother was able to bring the two girls to safety through the help of the Belgian Resistance. They remained under the Belgian family’s care until 1946, during which time Mishkin’s mother was brought to Auschwitz, where she also perished.At the end of WWII, Mishkin and her sister moved to a Jewish orphanage in Brussels, Belgium. Then, in 1950, a Chicago rabbi and his wife adopted the girls and raised them in Chicago, where Mishkin was able to graduate from Roosevelt University and later become a teacher. She retired from teaching and now speaks about the Holocaust and her experiences to schools, colleges and community groups.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadas

The central Jewish institution for the past 2000 years has not been a house of God; it has been a house of meeting (beit knesset, or “synagogue”). The synagogue has enabled a dispersed nation to survive, and even to thrive, in very diverse circumstances and surroundings. Discover what the origins of the synagogue can teach us about its current challenges and its future.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Sunday School for Adults. When we only have our students for a few hours a week, why do we spend their precious time learning about other religious beliefs and traditions? Because the more we know about other visions of reality and the good life, the stronger our choices will become. The secret of a Humanistic Jewish education is, that in the end, your life and your beliefs are your own.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)

Rabbi Chalom reviews Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. This book is a fascinating view of Israeli society and culture and what made it one of the world’s leaders in high-tech industry and creativity.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes.[RSS MP3] Add the Kol Hadash Podcast feed (in MP3 format)Download the podcastListen (MP3)Listen (AAC)