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 35: Holy Glue (Amidah Middle Blessings 9&10)
Your three regular podcast hosts are back as we continue our deep dive into the Amidah with a blessing that is more like a malediction than a benediction, “against enemies,” and its flipside, “for the righteous.” We do some ancestor empathy work and wrestle with language. Other topics include: theological coattail riding, the Talmudic power couple Bruriah and Rabbi Meir, and of course, holy glue.
Who are you dedicating your learning to today?
Episode 28: Excavating the Secrets (with Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz)
We are thrilled to be joined this week by Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz, Director of Music and T’fillah at the Hadar Institute. Deborah is an acclaimed teacher, leader, and composer of prayer, and has collaborated on over two dozen albums of original Jewish music. Her beautiful debut album “The Narrow and the Expanse” was released in 2020. In our interview, Deborah reflects on her t’fillah journey (including her years studying ethnomusicology), the prayer leader's toolbox, and her work guiding communities. There are so many gems to excavate!
Episode 27: Finding Our Way Home (Amidah Middle Blessings 7&8)
This week continues our journey through the weekday Amidah with the middle blessings on “in-gathering” and “justice.” It’s a full bingo board- multiple translations, scrambling to find intertext, mentions of Shai Held and musical theater, and of course, exploring what these blessings might mean for each of us.
What is home to you?
Episode 26: Diary of the Jewish People (with Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD)
We are so honored to share this conversation between Eliana, Ellen, and Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD. Rabbi Hoffman, (or “Larry” as good friends like Ellen call him) is one of the foremost liturgists and t’fillah teachers of our day. He has written and edited dozens of books on the subject, including the series “My People’s Prayerbook” which we reference for this podcast constantly! Rabbi Hoffman regales us with tales of his childhood, how camp transformed him and the Jewish world, siddur as identity-marker, and what he sees for the future. Plus before the interview, Eliana shares some thoughts on t’fillah in dark times.
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 22: Freeze-Dried Experience (with Rabbi Sid Schwarz)
Rabbi Sid Schwarz has started impactful organizations, written insightful books, and led many groups of Jews to greater meaning and personal engagement with Judaism. We are so grateful to share this interview full of gems, from Rabbi Sid’s social justice work, to his “davenning out of the box” experience, to what he sees for the Jewish future, all connected to t’fillah.
How can you internalize your prayer and hold it out to the world?
Episode 21: Return (Amidah- Middle Blessings 2+3)
We return to our Amidah series for what seems like a mini High Holidays: talk (or not) of g?d as father and king, longing for return, repentance, and forgiveness. Ellen, Eliana, and Josh dive deep into the text and talk g?d names, meditation, rowboats, and more. Plus a prayer-song exploder for Eliana’s song “Lead Me Back.”
What are you returning to?
Episode 20: Permission to Befriend the Text (with Daphna Rosenberg)
This week, we are grateful to share this conversation with Daphna Rosenberg, one of the founders, composers, and leaders of the Nava Tehila prayer community in Jerusalem. Daphna’s journey takes us around the world and home again, with so much wisdom along the way, including a master class in creating and holding safe space for vulnerability through prayer. Daphna and Nava Tehila have transformed how liberal Jewish communities pray over the past 17 years; think of this like behind-the-music, but for t’fillah!
Episode 19: Asking for Help (Amidah-Middle Blessings 1)
This week we’re live from Songleader Boot Camp! It was such a treat to interact with folks and feel the energy in the (zoom) room. We’re back in our Amidah series, exploring the challenges and opportunities of petitionary prayer as a whole before jumping into the first of the 13 middle Amidah blessings, on knowledge/understanding/discernment/wisdom. What’s the difference between all these things? Let’s discuss!
Episode 18: Siddur as Work of Art (with Rabbi Elie Kaunfer)
It's an honor to share our interview with Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, president and CEO of the Hadar Institute. Rabbi Kaunfer is an incredible teacher, author, and liturgist. In fact, we’ve quoted him on the podcast many times- if you’ve ever heard us say “intertext,” we learned that from him! Rabbi Kaunfer shows us how so much of the siddur is made up of quotes from our sacred texts. Looking at those lines in their original context can deepen our understanding of the liturgy itself. He’s currently working on a book applying the intertext model to the whole Amidah, and shares some of those gems in this episode. We hope this “news you can use” sparks new meaning for your t’fillah!
Episode 17: Everyday Holiness (Amidah-Kedushah)
How to define the Hebrew word Kedushah? Holiness, distinct, set apart and yet connected, the opposite of sand… Ellen, Eliana, and Josh don’t have all the answers, but they do raise many great questions. In this week's episode we’re on to the third blessing in the amidah, the kedushah-ifying of g?d’s name. There’s numerology, there’s Torah, there’s angels, there’s wheels within wheels, there’s holy choreography- so much to explore on this very deep dive. Listen to the end for a mindful musical moment from Ellen.
How can we bring holiness into our every-day?
Episode 16: Activating Shechina (with Rishe Groner)
What a joy to interview (spi)ritualist, writer, educator, and friend Rishe Groner of the Gene-Sis. A channel of ecstatic & embodied Jewish practice, Rishe lives and breathes prayer- so much so that she has an incredible prayer podcast of her own, Just Pray. We talk about this new project, plus her childhood in a Chabad family in Melbourne Australia, walking in prayer, the keva-kavanah (fixed liturgy-intention) tension, and exploring t’fillah with kids. Plus even more beautiful bits of wisdom. May this blessed back-and-forth activate Divine presence in your day!
Episode 15: Acknowledging What Is (G’vurot)
It’s the second blessing of the Amidah, the fourth installment of our Amidah series, and an all-around enlivening episode! By diving deep into G’vurot, Josh, Ellen, and Eliana explore many questions including: What does it mean to be brought back to life? How is g?d the “owner of the powers,” and can they be rented? And how many movie and musical theater references can we make in an hour without really trying? Plus, listen to the end to hear a song of Eliana’s all about gratitude.
What is YOUR superpower?
Episode 14: Listen to the Siddur (with Rabbi Steve Sager)
Grateful to share another meaningful conversation with Rabbi Steve Sager. If you haven’t gotten a chance, listen back to episode 12 for our first interview. In this continuation, Rabbi Sager reflects on t’fillah through his own life, including his upbringing, his encounter with Mordecai Kaplan, and his path to Rabbinical school. Plus we continue to explore blessings, play and imagination, praying in English, and what it means to listen to the siddur.
What are the moments that make your breath catch in your throat? Where is your wonder?
Episode 13: Who is Present? (Avot V'Imahot)
Now that we’ve taken three steps back and three steps forward, and delved into the first three words of each bracha, it’s time to explore the first blessing of the Amidah- Avot V’Imahot, patriarchs, and as we discuss, also matriarchs. There is so much to uncover in just this one paragraph, including: Our feelings about adding to prayer, Poetic language that goes up to the heavens and back down to earth, inter-text galore, many musical modes, and Jedi ghosts. Really.
Episode 12: Prayer is not so Linear (with Rabbi Steve Sager)
This week’s episode was a difficult one to title- throughout my interview with the wise and compassionate Rabbi Steve Sager, he brought to light so many beautiful facets of t’fillah: what t’fillah means, is, and can be; what it takes to lead t’fillah; the “joyful reunion” of prayer and liturgy; what ritual requires; and g?d as the impulse to live. Rabbi Sager is a scholar of prayer, poetry, Rabbinic literature, and the art of conversation, and this is our first of many. Take a breath, listen in, and see where it takes you.
Episode 11: Pool of Blessings (baruch atah yud-hey-vav-hey)
When we said we were going to dig deep into the Amidah, we meant it! In this week’s episode, Josh, Ellen, and Eliana explore/geek out over just three words- Baruch, Atah, and a four-letter name we can’t even pronounce. These three words begin the Amidah, appear at the end of every section of the Amidah, and begin every traditional blessing, and there is so much to explore, including (but not limited to): knees, curtain calls, praying to a “You,” Jewish numerology, and diving into the pool of blessing.
Episode 10: Why Worship? (with Cantor Rosalie Will)
We’re so blessed to welcome the amazing Cantor Rosalie Will to the Light Lab! In this episode, Eliana and Rosalie explore what worship is, why it matters, and how better questions can elevate prayer communities. Plus we sing the praises of the songleading and music conference Hava Nashira, and Rosalie introduces her brand new nonprofit Sing Unto God.