What happens when faith and Friday night lights collide?

In this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel explore what it means to live proudly Jewish lives at the highest levels of college athletics.

In the first segment, they speak with Zevi Eckhaus, Division I quarterback and NFL hopeful, who shares what it’s like to navigate locker rooms where he may be the only observant Jew — and how he honored Yom Kippur while preparing for a college football game. From wearing both Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam tefillin to training for his pro day, Zevi reflects on loyalty, identity, and what it means to be an ambassador for Judaism in a sport that rarely sees Jewish representation.

In the second segment, they’re joined by Elie Kligman, widely believed to be the first Orthodox Jewish player in Division I baseball. Ellie discusses navigating recruiting conversations about Shabbat observance, missing games for Jewish holidays, and explaining mezuzahs and kashrut to curious teammates. He reflects on what it means to represent not just himself, but the broader Jewish community — and why faith doesn’t have to be sacrificed for excellence.

Together, these conversations raise larger questions:
Can commitment to Jewish tradition coexist with elite athletic ambition? What does it mean to be visibly Jewish in spaces where few have encountered Judaism firsthand? And how do young leaders balance personal conviction with team culture?

In a world that often pressures people to choose between identity and success, Zevi and Elie offer a different model — one of integration, pride, and quiet courage.

Zevi Eckhaus:
https://wsucougars.com/sports/football/roster/zevi-eckhaus/14230

https://x.com/zevi_eckhaus?lang=en

Elie Kligman:

https://mgoblue.com/sports/baseball/roster/elie-kligman/27514

https://www.instagram.com/eklig.6/?hl=en

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

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What does it mean to belong—especially when you’ve spent much of your life feeling like an outsider?

This week on Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and journalist Jon Frankel welcome one of the most influential Jewish leaders in America, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue and author of the bestselling memoir Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging.

Born in Korea, raised in the United States, and long made to feel like an “unlikely” Jew, Rabbi Buchdahl reflects on a lifetime of navigating identity, faith, and difference—both inside and outside the Jewish community. In a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation, she shares how feeling like a stranger ultimately shaped her theology, her leadership, and her understanding of what Jewish tradition demands of us today.

Together, the hosts explore the Jewish imperative to care for the outsider, the tension between belonging and exclusion, and how American Jews are once again grappling with feeling “othered” in spaces that once felt like home. The conversation also examines pluralism, political division within Jewish life, and the responsibility of religious leaders to hold diverse—and often conflicting—communities together with humility and moral clarity.

At a moment when so many people feel unmoored, Rabbi Buchdahl offers a powerful reframing: that knowing the heart of the stranger is not a weakness, but a core Jewish strength—and a blueprint for empathy, resilience, and shared humanity.

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl:

https://centralsynagogue.org/

https://www.instagram.com/rabbibuchdahl/?hl=en

Her Book:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697350/heart-of-a-stranger-by-angela-buchdahl/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

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In this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel sit down with Jonah Platt—actor, musician, producer, Jewish advocate, and host of the hit podcast Being Jewish—for an honest conversation about Jewish identity, pride, and public life in a post–October 7 world.

Jonah reflects on his journey from stage and screen to becoming one of the most visible Jewish voices online, explaining how advocacy became not just a choice, but a calling. He shares why he launched Being Jewish, the importance of normalizing Jewish conversations in public spaces, and what it means to create a welcoming, inclusive platform for Jews across the spectrum—as well as for non-Jewish allies.

The conversation explores the state of Jewish representation in Hollywood, the challenges and opportunities facing Jewish storytellers today, and the personal cost—or lack thereof—of speaking out unapologetically as a Jew. Jonah also addresses difficult questions about antisemitism, anti-Zionism, propaganda, and why so many Jews feel unprepared to defend their identity in today’s media landscape.

Jonah offers a compelling vision for the Jewish future, emphasizing Jewish education, intentional Jewish living, and the importance of modeling Jewish values at home. He also shares the weekly rituals that anchor his own Jewish life.

Then, with the Super Bowl approaching, the episode closes with a light, fun football segment featuring Adam Kupfer—Rabbi Cosgrove’s nephew—full of sports talk, Super Bowl predictions, and a playful head-to-head game.

Jonah Platt’s Podcast:

https://beingjewishpodcast.com

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

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In a moment when Jewish identity, democracy, and political loyalty feel increasingly put at odds, Common Faith asks a necessary and urgent question: Can Jewish safety and universal democratic values truly coexist?

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel are joined by Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, for a wide-ranging conversation on antisemitism, democracy, Israel, and the false choices facing American Jews today. Drawing on history, personal experience, and the realities of post–October 7 politics, Spitalnick explains why antisemitism is not only a threat to Jews but a warning sign for democracy itself.

From coalition-building and campus culture to local elections and national politics, this episode challenges listeners to reject zero-sum thinking and embrace the complexity required to protect both Jewish safety and democratic values in a polarized age.

Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA):

https://jewishpublicaffairs.org

Amy Spitalnick – CEO, JCPA:

https://jewishpublicaffairs.org/our-team/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

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As the generation of Holocaust survivors dwindles and antisemitism resurges across the globe, the work of remembrance has never been more urgent—or more complex. On this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and journalist Jon Frankel are joined by Kathrin Meyer, current Board Member for The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights (TOLI), former Secretary General of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and recipient of the 2025 Anne Frank Special Recognition Award. They share in a timely and essential conversation about Holocaust memory and moral responsibility today.

Meyer reflects on what Holocaust remembrance means in a rapidly changing world—one marked by historical distortion, political polarization, and the erosion of shared truth. She discusses the challenges of preserving accurate Holocaust education across borders, combating denial and trivialization, and helping younger generations understand why this history still matters.

The conversation moves beyond memory as commemoration alone, asking what remembrance demands of us now. How should the lessons of the Holocaust inform civic life, human rights, and the fight against antisemitism in the present? And how can remembrance remain meaningful when history feels increasingly contested?

This episode is a sober, thoughtful exploration of memory not as the past—but as a living moral obligation.

Dr. Kathrin Meyer:

https://www.toli.us/about/who-we-are/board-of-directors/

The Anne Frank Award:

https://holocaustremembrance.com/news/kathrin-meyer-2025-anne-frank-award

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Since October 7, the meanings of Jewish identity, solidarity, and the future of Israel have been in flux. On this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and journalist Jon Frankel sit down with Dr. Einat Wilf — former member of the Israeli Knesset, author, educator, and founder of the Oz Party — for a deep, provocative conversation about the state of Zionism, Israel’s existential challenges, and the ideas shaping Jewish life in Israel and the diaspora.

Wilf brings a unique lens shaped by history, policy, and political engagement. Together, they explore how Israel’s leaders and citizens are grappling with security, ideology, and identity after October 7. The discussion moves from diaspora solidarity and the moral complexities of presence and power to Wilf’s own political project: a vision that seeks to redefine peace as rooted in Arab and Palestinian embrace of Zionism, equal civic responsibility, and a transition from an “exile mindset” to sovereign conduct.

Wilf shares how her experiences in Israeli politics, academia, and strategic advisory roles inform her belief that Israel’s next chapter demands courage, clarity, and a reexamination of long-held assumptions about peace, power, and national purpose. This episode doesn’t offer easy answers — but it does offer essential, thoughtful engagement with some of the toughest questions facing Jews and Israel today.

Dr. Einat Wilf:

https://www.wilf.org/en/home-en/

https://www.instagram.com/einatwilf/

Oz Party:

https://ozparty.co.il/en/home/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In an age of polarization, outrage, and echo chambers, how do we disagree without tearing one another apart?

In this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel are joined by Daniel Taub—Israeli diplomat, international lawyer, mediator, and former Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom—to explore the lost art of constructive disagreement through a Jewish lens.

Drawing on Jewish texts, lived experience, and Taub’s work facilitating difficult conversations across deep ideological divides, the conversation examines what it means to argue with integrity, curiosity, and care—and why disagreement itself can be a sacred act. Central to the discussion is the Jewish tradition of machloket l’shem shamayim—argument for the sake of heaven—and how debate rooted in humility and shared values can deepen understanding rather than fracture community.

From Talmudic wisdom to contemporary civic and political life, this episode challenges listeners to rethink how they engage with those who see the world differently, offering a hopeful reminder that learning how to disagree well may be essential to repairing our relationships, our communities, and our shared civic life.

Daniel Taub:

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Dispute-Rediscovering-Constructive-Disagreement/dp/1399815067

https://rabbisacks.org/about-us/trustees/daniel-taub/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What’s the difference between a resolution and a wish—and why does it matter?

As the new year begins, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel explore what it really means to change. From New Year’s resolutions to Jewish ideas of teshuva—return, repair, and renewal—they ask whether transformation comes through bold declarations or small, faithful steps.

The conversation deepens with a powerful guest: Rabbi Mark Borowitz, spiritual leader, author, and longtime head of Beit T’Shuvah, a pioneering residential recovery center in Los Angeles. Drawing on his own journey from addiction and incarceration to spiritual leadership, Rabbi Borowitz reflects on personal responsibility, recovery, and the courage it takes to confront the truths—and lies—we tell ourselves.

Together, they reflect on the wisdom of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the idea of building a life as a work of art, and how everyday acts of kindness, discipline, and self-awareness can become brushstrokes on that canvas.

In a world that often feels stuck or divided, this episode is a reminder that renewal is possible—and that becoming a little better than we were yesterday may be holy work enough.

Rabbi Mark Borowitz:

https://www.rabbimark.com/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.