In this episode, Rabbi Jess explores and delves into the topic of divorce with Rabbi Ezra Weinberg, examining 'why does divorce make some poeple so uncomfortable?'

• divorce touches on the idea that there is nothing more painful than dashed hopes
• people think of divorce as a synonym for 'a failed marriage'
• Reb Ezra shares reframing divorce as 'marriage coming to completion'
• is there a lack of communal support in our commmunity for divorce?
• why is divorce sometimes so awkward to talk about?
• what are some appropriate responses to divorce when people are experiencing it?
• why are we afraid to address divorce when people are going through it?
• Exploring the marriage contract (i.e., Ketubah) as both a marriage document and a divorce document
• The importance of a Get

Aspects of Rabbi Ezra Weinberg's work with divorce:

• Jews Getting Divorced
• Divorce First Responders

Also explored in this conversation: 'Does the Jewish community sometimes isolate people going through divorce?'

Discussed is the consideration of divorce as a sacred moment in one's life.

What are the rituals in divorce to help with closure?

Reb Ezra shares the core message of his work: 'the central spiritual gesture of divorce is 'release.''

Biography

Reb Ezra Weinberg is a Philadelphia-based rabbi and a practitioner of conflict transformation. He is the founder of Jews Get Divroced. Among his various projects, he officiates weddings and b’nai mitzvah; teaches courses on connecting to Jewish prayer; and helps communities get unstuck around the topic of 'Israel.' He is an adjunct faculty member at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he teaches the class, 'One G-d, Three Paths,' alongside a priest and an imam. Whether he is working as a shaliakh tzibbur, a Jewish educator, a song leader or a Jewish camp professional, his role in the Jewish community and beyond always comes back to his ability to lift spirits, create community and plant seeds of transformation.

Rabbi Jess and Reverend Amanda Barker discuss the relationship of Redemption in Judaism and Christianity.

• What is Redemption?
• What is Redemption in Christianity?
• In Judaism?
• How do they overlap?
• How do they differ?
• Is redemption an active process?
• What does re​demption call us to?
• What actions?
• What obligations?
• How does one become redeemed?
• How is redemption a transformation?
• What does red​emption feel like​?
• ​Why at times do we not feel ​like redemption​ is real (in the face of the world's suffer​ing)?
• ​Is redemption figur​ative or literal​?
• What is the relationship of Jesus to redemption for christianity?
• What is the Eucharist?

Our work is not within the walls of a church or temple, but being in this broken world, because the world has not yet been transformed or redeemed, we become the actors to reset our intention and act on behalf of God to tend to the marginalized and those suffering.

​Redemption does not erase pain or death​.

Jesus' ministry was the primary healing to the marginalized, the example set that we become actors in redemption, our world becomes God work to redeem the world.

The world is upside down, our work becomes to right the inversion of the world through love and care.

Biography

Reverend Amanda Barker is the Curate at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in Boulder.

A Curate is a fancy term used in The Episcopal Church, meaning she's an assistant priest and in her first call and congregation.

She grew up in the church and became a priest in 2024 after receiving her Master of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Amanda’s background is in the nonprofit sector, where she worked for two decades with various groups on land conservation and historic preservation action in Colorado.

At the start of her career, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar.

She now lives in Boulder with her husband and two stepchildren.

When she’s not at church, she's cooking, reading, and traveling to new places and to her favorite people, and she has become an avid backyard birdwatcher.

In this initial conversation of Rabbi Jessica hosting, Rabbi Jess and Rabbi Elihu Moshe Gevirtz explore the mystical and practical reasons, and implications of circumcision from his book 'Sacred Insignia' and the seven years of research that went into the writing, research, thought, and reflection of the book.

Aspects of the discussions include:

• why circumcision?
• addressing argument against circumcision
• the practical implications and the spiritual implication of circumcision
• circumcision as a tribal marker of Israel and Jewish community
• how to create a sacred environment for a Brit and why it is important

From a narrative about the book:

• 'What is the spiritual reason that we perform a bris / brit milah? Why do we circumcise our sons? Why on the eighth day? Isn’t this boy perfect the way he is? What do the babies want? How can we make the ceremony beautiful and sacred? How do I initiate my son into a life of the sacred?'
• 'Brit Milah (or “bris”) leads to a life of generosity and kindness to others. It is an experience of unity of one’s soul with one’s body. It is an expression of oneness with God and an open heart.'
• 'It is a counterbalance to arrogance and an embodiment of humility. In the words of the Zohar, Brit Milah is a “sacred insignia,” an embodiment of a life-long commitment to a life of holiness. It is an embodiment of spirituality within sacred sexuality shared by husband and wife.'

Biography:

Rabbi Elihu Moshe Gevirtz was ordained by a Beit Din (Rabbinic Court) consisting of his teachers Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Rabbi Stan Levy, Rabbi Mordecai Finley, and Rabbi Stephen Robbins at the Academy for Jewish Religion – California in 2012.

His teachers include Rabbi Ronnie Serr, Rabbi Haim Ovadia, Rabbi Elijah Shochet, Reb Mimi Feigelson, Rav Dror Cassouto, Rabbi Eliyahu Weisman, Rabbi Motti Wilhelm, Dr. Joel Gereboff, Rabbi Daniel Bouskila, Rabbi J.B. Sacks, Rabbi Miriam Glazer, Rabbi Toba August, and others.

He is a botanist and wildlife biologist who studies native plants, animals, and ecosystems and works on habitat restoration and conservation in southern California. His major published scientific works include botanical and wildlife studies of several ecological reserves, state parks, and other natural areas, and several habitat restoration plans. Over the years, he has worked to establish several nature preserves in Santa Barbara County, California. He is currently studying the songs of western meadowlarks. Finally, he has recently published a collection of playful short stories for children titled “Superfluous the Dragon and Other Tall Tales.”

He lives with his family in the United States.