For the Love of Judaism Rabbi Michael Pont

What happens when a working single mom from D.C. has the opportunity to live out her dream in the midst of a pandemic? She buys a farm in rural North Carolina!

That's the story of Wendy Rhein, owner of Chutzpah Hollow, a self-made homesteader who is part of a growing movement of Jewish farmers. This week Wendy took some time to chat with Rabbi Pont about how she came to move her family from the life they knew to the life she'd dreamed of in 2021, when the whole world was changing around her.

Don't miss this fascinating conversation.

On Yom Kippur 2023 Rabbi Pont delivered a sermon commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. In late September, it was widely viewed as one of the worst wars that Israel has had to fight in its 75 year history. We had no idea that the Jewish world was about to be changed forever.

This week you can listen to this same sermon, knowing now what would come to be just two weeks after Yom Kippur.

Ever wonder how the Conservative movement came to allow driving to Synagogue on Shabbat? Or whether it feels differently about driving electric cars on Shabbat? Or how it was decided that a livestreamed minyan was OK during the COVID-19 pandemic?

This week Rabbi Pont talks to Rabbi David Fine of Ridgewood, New Jersey who sits on the Halacha Committee for the Rabbinical Assembly and has been a part of many of the recent decisions that shape our movement. 

Don't miss this fascinating conversation about the intricate process for deciding was is and is not acceptable in the ever-changing world of Conservative Judaism.

In the early morning hours of October 7th, Hamas stormed Kibbutz Holit, a small kibbutz in southern Israel. As the terrorists went house to house, Adi Kaploun Vital hid with her two small children while her father hid two houses away. Adi’s actions on that fateful morning saved the lives of her father and her children, Sadly, Adi was murdered by Hamas in her shelter. In the aftermath, Adi's parents, Jacqui and Yaron Vital are on a mission to tell their daughter’s story and raise awareness to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

On February 25th, the Marlboro Jewish Center community had the opportunity to hear Adi's story. This episode is a replay of that heart wrenching yet inspiring event.

To contribute to the Adi Kaploun-Vital Memorial Fund visit: https://www.geerz.site/en/project/adi-kaploun-vital-memorial-fund/.

Part of becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah at Marlboro Jewish Center is doing an act of chesed, or kindness, for those less fortunate than you are. Every year, our 7th graders find new and exciting projects that are special to them and use those projects to give back to their community.  

This week Rabbi Pont gave our 7th graders the chance to tell you, the For the Love of Judaism audience, about their projects. 

What is the best way to leave a legacy?  Inspired by wanting to make sure that his daughter always knew the family from which she came, Jeff started writing down the memories of his childhood and the family myths that had been passed down through the generations. Those stories turned into a great new book, The Black Hole Pastrami and Other Short Stories, released last summer. 

This week, Jeff joins Rabbi Pont to talk about his stories and how he went from a career in finance and accounting to an award-winning author.