In this special Passover episode of Essential Questions, Rabbi Dan Levin speaks with Rabbi Debra Robbins, author of New Each Day, which we are using for our Omer practice this year. They discuss ways to incorporate a daily prayer practice into your life, select poems Rabbi Debra Robbins wrote in response to the psalms in New Each Day, and her experience in writing the book.

In this episode of Essential Questions, Rabbi Dan Levin speaks with Rabbi Dalia Marx about how to sanctify time. They talk about rituals and their role in enriching spiritual encounters, how to remove barriers to spirituality, what Shabbat and other holy days look like during a time of war in Israel, and more.

Read Rabbi Dalia Marx's book: From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar - https://www.ccarpress.org/shopping_product_detail.asp?pid=50602

In today’s episode, Rabbi Dan Levin speaks with Dr. Andrea Corn and Randy Nathan about youth sports. They discuss the different physical, social, and leadership benefits they see for children involved in youth sports, how to handle winning and losing, the balance between youth sports and other obligations, and more.

In this episode of Essential Questions, Cantorial Soloist Michelle Auslander Cohen interviews four current members of the IDF Reserves. Join us as we bear witness to the experiences of the brave Israeli soldiers currently stationed in the North. Hear their incredible stories and find out what we can do to support them.

Our guests include:

• Major Noam Goldberg, Company Commander, Headquarters and Service company. Noam is the commander of the HQ company and is in charge of the the battalion staff officers and their respective platoons.
• Major Ori Sobovitz, Education and Resilience Officer. Ori heads the educational program in the battalion and has taken charge of coordinating the battalion's soldiers' welfare since the beginning of the war.
• Lieutenant Lia Behiri, Command Center (war room) Officer. Lia runs the battalion's war room and coordinates all ongoing activity in the battalion.
• Captain Eitan Brown, Battalion Operations Officer. Eitan is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of the battalion's military operations.

Learn more: https://www.jgive.com/new/en/usd

Donate: https://www.jgive.com/new/en/usd/donation-targets/115033

In this episode of Essential Questions, Rabbi Dan Levin speaks with Rabbi Elana Rabishaw about their recent trips to Israel amid the ongoing war with Hamas, as well as their past experiences with Israel that are meaningful to them.

In this episode of Essential Questions, Rabbi Dan Levin speaks with Rabbi Richard Address, the founder and director of JewishSacredAging.com. They define the concept of Sacred Aging and discuss what makes something sacred, how you can live life so it has meaning, and the importance of a legacy.

In this episode of Essential Questions, Rabbi Dan Levin talks about the experience and importance of telling stories with some of the creative team behind Israeli podcast Rays of Light: Dana Dvorin, Liat Fishman Lenny and Ira Fuchs. Their podcast captures the stories of women who survived the attacks of October 7, and shares them through the voices of Israeli actors and through the magnificent sand art of Ilana Yahav. They discuss the inspiration behind this project, and why their work is so important.

Watch some videos from the Rays of Light series here:

• Atar Maor’s story (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/J4e7WJ3tKbTePx3M/?mibextid=WiMSqg
• Carmel Efron’s story (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ioNy5JQ9cwRZ86VR/?mibextid=WiMSqg
• Miri Gad Messika’s story (Vimeo): https://vimeo.com/881590746/feedd545ad

On Thursday, December 7, the Jewish world lost one of the great leaders and scholars of our generation, Rabbi Dr. David Ellenson, past president and chancellor of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion; and teacher, rabbi, mentor, and role model of Rabbi Dan Levin.

Today, in his memory, we are re-releasing an episode of Essential Questions, where Rabbi Dan Levin and Rabbi Dr. David Ellenson spoke about different ways to think about God within Judaism, and if a belief in God is necessary.