Episodios

  • Parshat Beshalach: Faith Requires the First Step

    Parshat Beshalach: Faith Requires the First Step
    Jan 30 2026
    📖 Parshat Beshalach This Week: Trapped between the Egyptian army and the sea, the people pray desperately. God's response? 'Move forward.' But the sea doesn't split until Nachshon ben Aminadav steps in. Water to his ankles. His knees. His waist. His shoulders. Only when it reaches his nostrils does the sea miraculously part. This is Jewish faith, not blind belief, but active trust. God waits for us to take the first step, to show we're invested, that we care enough to act. Then He meets us there. It's a partnership: we do our utmost, step into the water even when we can't see the path, then hand over the reins and say, "God, You're in control." 'What sea are you standing before? Take the step. Shabbat Shalom. 🌊


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    1 m
  • Robin Chotin: Living Forever Through Legacy - A Lifetime of Jewish Giving

    Robin Chotin: Living Forever Through Legacy - A Lifetime of Jewish Giving
    Jan 30 2026
    🎧 Listen to this and other episodes at www.joidenver.com/podcasts.

    Welcome to Zero Percent, the podcast that explores the outsized impact of the Jewish people! 🌟

    Join us as Robin Chotin shares her deeply moving journey of Jewish philanthropy alongside her late husband, Stephen, of blessed memory, whose impact on Denver's Jewish community remains unparalleled. Discover how Robin's parents quietly instilled a sense of responsibility through their actions rather than words, teaching her that "if you are blessed in this world, if you have the capacity to be able to help other people, then it's what you have to do."

    Hear Robin's transformative story about her missions to Israel with Federation, where walking into apartment buildings riddled with bullet holes from Gaza brought the struggles of the Jewish people directly to the forefront of her eyes. Learn how seeing something firsthand—not just reading about it—changed everything about her commitment to giving.

    Robin opens up about the challenges of passing on philanthropic values to the next generation, revealing how her children initially resented her constant community involvement yet ultimately embraced the same values, now taking their own children to volunteer at assisted living facilities. From her grandchildren's service work in New York to her daughter Whitney's community involvement in Denver, Robin's greatest accomplishment isn't measured in dollars but in the saplings that grew from her family tree.

    Whether you're navigating difficult times reminiscent of World War II and the Depression or seeking to create lasting impact through Federation, JFS, National Jewish Hospital, or your local community, Robin's wisdom reminds us why firsthand experience and persistent commitment matter more than the size of any single gift. This episode challenges us to recognize that we live comfortably in Denver while others face unimaginable struggles and asks what we will do with that blessing. Discover why Robin wants to "live forever" to witness the potential still ahead and what it truly means to leave a legacy that transcends generations.

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    50 m
  • Why Does Hanukkah Change Dates Every Year? Jewish Calendar Explained

    Why Does Hanukkah Change Dates Every Year? Jewish Calendar Explained
    Jan 28 2026
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    In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I answer a question many people wonder about: What's up with the Jewish calendar? Why was Hanukkah on December 2nd one year, late December another year, and even overlapped with Thanksgiving a few years ago? Why does this calendar seem so different from the regular calendar we use?

    I explain that here in America and most of the Western world, we use the Gregorian calendar, which is purely solar at 365.2524 days. Other cultures use lunar calendars, like Islam, which track cycles of the moon. In lunar calendars, years are arbitrary, which is why Muslim holidays like Ramadan can fall in winter one year and summer another - the season doesn't matter. The Jewish calendar is unique because it's neither purely solar nor purely lunar - it's a luni-solar calendar. Unlike lunar calendars, our holidays must fall in specific seasons because they're intimately connected to the time of year.

    The Torah explicitly commands that Passover take place in springtime - a season of rejuvenation where everything comes to life and is reborn, mirroring how the Jewish people left Egypt and became a nation during the Exodus. To accomplish this seasonal alignment while following lunar months, we add an extra month of Adar seven times in every 19-year cycle. This means seven times every 19 years, we have 13 months instead of 12. If you're born in the month of Adar, you get to celebrate two birthdays during those leap years!

    This is why the Jewish calendar doesn't align with the English calendar exactly - it only does so every 19 years. Every 19 years, your English birthday and Hebrew birthday will fall on the same day.

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    Tune in to Dear Rabbi and uncover the wisdom behind Jewish customs and laws. 🎙️🌟
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    3 m
  • Parshat Bo: Breaking False Loyalties

    Parshat Bo: Breaking False Loyalties
    Jan 23 2026
    📖 Parshat Bo This Week: Before leaving Egypt, God commands the Israelites to take a lamb, Egypt's deity tie it to their bedposts, then slaughter it as the Korban Pesach. Why specifically a lamb? Because freedom requires letting go of competing allegiances. The Egyptians worshiped lambs. To become God's people, the Israelites had to publicly reject what Egypt held sacred, releasing the Egyptian mentality, culture, and false gods that once defined them. Only then could they embrace true freedom. We all carry 'lambs', old identities, toxic beliefs, relationships that no longer serve us. Real liberation isn't just escaping physical bondage; it's releasing the internal chains that keep us enslaved. What false gods are you still tied to? What do you need to let go of to be truly free? Shabbat Shalom. 🐑


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    1 m
  • Why Does the Jewish Day Start at Sundown? Biblical Wisdom Explained

    Why Does the Jewish Day Start at Sundown? Biblical Wisdom Explained
    Jan 21 2026
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    In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I answer a fascinating question: Why does the Jewish concept of a day start at sundown instead of midnight or sunrise like most modern calendars? As Jews, we do tend to do things differently, and this includes how we mark time - but there's profound wisdom behind it.

    I explain that in the biblical narrative of creation, throughout every day of creation, the Torah states: "And it was evening, and it was morning - day one..,. and it was evening, and it was morning - a second day, a third day," etc. By consistently placing evening before morning, the Torah teaches us that the Jewish concept of time begins with night. This is why all Jewish holidays begin the evening before, and every Jewish day actually begins at sundown.

    But there's a deeper meaning here. Perhaps Jewish wisdom is teaching us that "all is good in the end, and if it's not good, it's not the end." Night symbolizes difficulty, darkness, and challenge - things we all face in life. Daytime represents clarity, when things are going well and proceeding the way we want them to. We praise God openly in the day when His presence is clear, while at night we trust and have faith even when we don't see His presence.

    By beginning our day at night, before the morning comes, Judaism teaches us that there is always light ahead, always a positive following the darkness. The day always comes after the night, reminding us that challenges are temporary and goodness prevails in the end.

    Keep the questions coming! If you have a burning question about Judaism,
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    Tune in to Dear Rabbi and uncover the wisdom behind Jewish customs and laws. 🎙️🌟
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    2 m
  • Parshat Vaeira: When Ignoring Evil Becomes Evil

    Parshat Vaeira: When Ignoring Evil Becomes Evil
    Jan 16 2026
    📖 Parshat Vaeira This Week: The plague of frogs was relentless, croaking everywhere, no escape from the noise. Why? Midah k'neged midah, measure for measure. For 210 years of slavery, Egyptians chose silence. They knew what was happening but kept their heads down, saying, 'not my problem.' So God sent a plague they couldn't ignore, constant, inescapable noise. We've seen this pattern repeat: Holocaust neighbors who 'didn't know' what was happening miles away. Today, people are ignoring oppression worldwide, Iranian protesters risking everything for freedom, while others stay silent. The Torah's message is clear: silence in the face of injustice isn't neutrality, it's complicity. When you witness oppression and say nothing, you become part of the problem. Speak up. Stand up. Silence is violence. Shabbat Shalom. 🐸

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    2 m
  • Parshat Vayigash: The Ultimate Act of Forgiveness

    Parshat Vayigash: The Ultimate Act of Forgiveness
    Dec 26 2025
    📖 Parshat Vayigash This Week: 'I am Yosef, your brother.' Imagine the shock. The brothers stand before Egypt's viceroy, and suddenly realize it's the brother they sold into slavery years ago, assumed dead. This is Yosef's moment to unleash years of justified anger, to make them grovel, to remind them of their betrayal. But he doesn't. Instead, he says: 'Don't feel bad. This was all part of God's plan.' The self-restraint. The perspective. The spiritual maturity to see divine orchestration in his deepest trauma. Yosef teaches us: we can't always control what happens to us, but we can always control our response. Sometimes the greatest power isn't revenge, it's reframing your pain as part of a bigger story. What would change if you saw purpose in your struggles? Shabbat Shalom. 🙏


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    1 m
  • What's the Point of Prayer If God Already Knows What I Need?

    What's the Point of Prayer If God Already Knows What I Need?
    Dec 24 2025
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    In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I tackle a fundamental question about prayer: What's the point if God already knows what I need? Are we trying to change God's mind? The answer reveals that worship is far more sophisticated than simply presenting God with an Amazon wish list.

    I explain that God already knows what we need, and if He's determined something isn't good for us, no amount of asking will change that - just like a parent won't give a three-year-old a knife no matter how much they beg, because it's dangerous. However, with a ten-year-old asking for a knife, the answer becomes "it depends" based on their intention and maturity.

    Through a humorous example about asking for a Lamborghini "to help old ladies," I demonstrate how prayer forces us to clarify what we truly want and why we want it. When we justify our requests, we often realize our real motivations - ego, status, selfish desires - versus genuine needs. This self-examination is one of prayer's primary purposes.

    Additionally, prayer reminds us that God is the only one who can truly provide what we need. Using a rabbi joke about asking for a burger at a library, I illustrate that asking someone for something implies believing they can give it to you. Prayer accomplishes two crucial things: clarifying what we want and why, and reminding ourselves that God is the ultimate source of everything we need.

    Keep the questions coming! If you have a burning question about Judaism,
    Please email us at Dearrabbi@Joidenver.com📧

    Tune in to Dear Rabbi and uncover the wisdom behind Jewish customs and laws. 🎙️🌟
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    Subscribe to "JOI to the World" to access all our podcasts, including Yada Yada Yiddish, Kids Say the Deepest Things, Reconnect, and Dear Rabbi.

    Join us as we uncover the treasures in our backyard and explore what makes the Jewish people extraordinary! 🕎📚🎙️
    Más Menos
    4 m