The Light Lab Podcast
We (Rabbi Josh Warshawsky, Cantor Ellen Dreskin, Eliana Light, and special guests) believe that there is so much insight to be found in Jewish sacred heritage by holding the gems of our liturgy to the light. We see the immense value of personal, heart-opening, empathy-expanding prayer practice. And we love to talk about both!
Episode 36: The Poetry of Prayer with Rabbi Reuven Kimelman
We are thrilled to bring you this interview with renowned liturgist Rabbi Reuven Kimelman. Rabbi Kimelman is an expert in the themes, structure, and poetics of the Jewish prayerbook, and shares enough wisdom to blow Eliana’s mind multiple times. Topics include t’fillah as an aural experience, the multi-mystical levels of Lecha Dodi, the power and point of the mourner’s kaddish, and so much more.
Announcing the Deep Dive: Shema! Join us for six gatherings over three weeks diving into the three units of this central piece of liturgy with our heads and our hearts. Taught by Rabbi Reuven Kimelman and Light Lab founder Eliana Light.
Episode 25: Tree Time (Amidah Middle Blessing 6) (with Hazzan Jessi Roemer)
It’s time to talk about time. And trees! We’re back in the flow of the weekday Amidah, exploring the sixth of the middle petitionary blessings. We get into the connection between time and land, being “farmer-adjacent,” giving the earth a voice, and the shmita year of land-rest. Plus, an interview with Hazzan Jessi Roemer about t’fillah, shmita, and her beautiful song “Seij Años.”
Episode 24: Chronic Congregation (with Rabbi Emily Aronson)
How can we make our spiritual communities accessible both spatially and theologically? This is the question that animates Rabbi Emily Aronson, founder of Chronic Congregation. In our interview, Rabbi Aronson gives us so much to think about, including: disability theology, the power of the prayer for healing, and building a better sanctuary. Plus, she shares an original prayer with us, one of many she has written for everyday moments of comfort, rage, and community.
How can we put the promise of collective care into practice?
Episode 23: An Exercise in Sensitization (Amidah- Middle Blessings 4&5)
This week, we’re back in the flow of the Amidah exploring the 4th and 5th middle weekday blessings. We talk timeless personal Passover stories, S&H green stamps, healing vs cure, and being in the body. There's also lots of inter-text, lots of liturgical variation, and lots of questions to be had.
Episode 8: We are/will be One (Shema and Aleinu)
In the shema, we say g?d is one. Yet in the aleinu, we say on that day, g?d will be one. Which is true? Hear some thoughts from Eliana, breathe along with a short practice, and stay until the end for a gorgeous shema from the magical, mindful musician Chava Mirel.