Temple Sholom Podcast

Temple Sholom of Chicago
  • 5.0 (9)
  • JUDAISM
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Temple Sholom's podcast, where we strive to create a sacred community that truly embraces, inspires, and matters. Each episode features enlightening sermons from Shabbat and holiday services, engaging guest lectures, and thought-provoking conversations that reflect our commitment to fostering a meaningful and inclusive environment. Join us as we explore the depths of faith, spirituality, and community life. Whether you're here for inspiration or information, we're delighted to share this spiritual journey with you.

  1. 4D AGO

    Is Judaism an Insurance Policy? – Beyond the Bimah

    Grief can make us feel lost. Judaism cannot prevent heartbreak, but it may offer something else: a framework for surviving it. In this special Beyond the Bimah episode, Rabbi Conover, Cantor Ben-David, Rabbi Gellman, and Rabbi Antman reflect on grief, ritual, and the power of community following the recent loss of Cantor Ben David’s mother, Batya Ben-David z”l. Through stories both tender and unexpectedly funny, they explore whether Judaism functions as an “insurance policy”—not protecting us from pain, but preparing us for it. Together they examine why Jewish rituals endure: not because they remove grief, but because they help us carry it.

    27 min

  2. 6D AGO

    Who Gets to Count in Today’s World? – Rabbi Shoshanah Conover

    Recorded live on May 15, 2026. In this sermon, Rabbi Conover explores this week’s Torah portion, Bamidbar, through the lens of migration, community, and collective responsibility. Drawing connections between the Israelites’ carefully ordered journey through the wilderness and patterns found in nature—from sandhill cranes to wildebeest—she reflects on what it means to organize a society around shared values and mutual care. Rabbi Conover examines the Torah’s vision of a community built around access, responsibility, and participation, and connects those ideas to contemporary questions about democracy, voting rights, civic engagement, and the moral responsibility to protect systems that allow every person to count. As the Jewish people begin their journey through the wilderness in Bamidbar, this sermon asks a timely question: Who gets included in the formation of society—and what happens when access, participation, and representation begin to erode?

    17 min

  3. MAY 14

    The Art of Inventing Hope: Howard Reich, Elie Wiesel, and The Dialogue of Memories

    In this special episode, Rabbi Conover sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Howard Reich to discuss his extraordinary friendship and years-long collaboration with Holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate, and author Elie Wiesel. What began as a single interview assignment for the Chicago Tribune became four years of intimate conversations about trauma, memory, faith, survival, and the responsibility to bear witness. Reich reflects on how those conversations shaped his acclaimed book The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel—and how they ultimately inspired a brand-new opera premiering in Chicago this May. On MAY 23 at 7:30 PM and MAY 24 at 3:00 PM, Music of Remembrance presents the world premiere of The Dialogue of Memories at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago. Featuring music by acclaimed composer Tom Cipullo and a libretto by Howard Reich and Tom Cipullo, the opera explores the relationship between Reich, his Holocaust survivor mother, and Elie Wiesel in a moving meditation on grief, memory, hope, and intergenerational understanding. In this conversation, Reich shares deeply personal stories about uncovering his mother’s Holocaust trauma, the lessons Elie Wiesel taught him about hope and resistance, and why storytelling remains essential in moments of rising antisemitism and uncertainty. Tickets and information:Music of Remembrance – The Dialogue of Memories

    23 min

  4. MAY 13

    Senior Seminar Reflections: What Our Students Taught Us

    Recorded live on May 8, 2026. In this special Shabbat service, Temple Sholom honors the graduating seniors of Crown Family High School and participants in Senior Seminar—students who spent the year wrestling with life’s biggest questions through the lens of Jewish learning, community, and personal growth. Throughout the evening, these students step onto the bimah not just as learners, but as teachers. Through deeply personal reflections, they explore faith, identity, happiness, resilience, disagreement, belonging, and what it means to carry Jewish values into the next chapter of their lives. From conversations about the Talmud and Rabbi Hillel to stories about madrichim, Sunday school classrooms, summer camp, friendship, and finding confidence in uncertain moments, each speaker offers a unique window into what Jewish community has meant to them during some of the most formative years of their lives. This episode is both a celebration of graduating seniors and a reminder that some of the most meaningful Torah comes from listening to the next generation.

    24 min

  5. MAY 4

    The Priests and the Politics of Perfection - Rabbi Scott Gellman

    Rabbi Gellman just returned from the One America Movement’s interfaith summit in Chicago — three days at a table with pastors, imams, and Hindu leaders all working to fight toxic polarization through faith. He came home with more questions than answers, four new coffee dates, and one surprising realization: his Muslim and Christian neighbors might be more comfortable with prayer than many Jews are. Drawing on Parashat Emor and the neuroscience of belonging, this sermon explores the gap between because Judaism says and because my faith tells me to — and the courage it takes to show up as your full Jewish self before you can ask anyone else to meet you there.

    18 min

  6. APR 30

    What If the In-Between Is the Whole Point? – Beyond the Bimah: Counting the Omer

    What happens in the space between freedom and purpose? In this special Beyond the Bimah episode, Rabbi Shoshanah Conover, Rabbi Max Antman, Cantor Sheera Ben-David, and Rabbi Scott Gellman explore the meaning behind one of Judaism’s most overlooked—and most powerful—rituals: Counting the Omer. Spanning the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot, the Omer is more than just a countdown. It’s a spiritual practice rooted in growth, reflection, and transformation—an invitation to slow down in a world that constantly urges us to rush ahead. Together, the clergy unpack the history, mysticism, and modern relevance of this tradition, asking: What does it mean to live in the in-between? How do we prepare ourselves—not just for revelation, but for responsibility? From ancient agricultural offerings to deeply personal moments of endurance, balance, and hope, this conversation weaves humor, wisdom, and vulnerability into a powerful reminder: we are not meant to skip ahead—we are meant to become, one day at a time. The episode concludes with a haunting and beautiful musical rendering of the Omer liturgy, inviting you not just to listen—but to begin counting.

    18 min

  7. APR 27

    18 Years of Leadership and What We’ve Built Together – Rabbi Dr. Lawrence Hoffman, Rabbi Shoshanah Conover, and Elana Arian

    Recorded live on Apr. 24, 2026 In this special Shabbat, Temple Sholom celebrates Rabbi Shoshanah Conover’s 18th anniversary with the congregation. Featuring a moving tribute from her mentor, Rabbi Dr. Lawrence Hoffman, and a deeply personal reflection from Rabbi Conover herself, this service becomes a meditation on leadership, gratitude, and the enduring strength of Jewish community. Drawing on story, memory, and Torah, Rabbi Conover reflects on the past 18 years—moments of joy and grief, growth and connection—and the sacred responsibility of tending the flame of community across generations. She explores how Jewish life is sustained not only through rituals and places, but through the stories we continue to tell and carry forward. The episode concludes with musical guest Elana Arian, whose song T’fillat Haderech offers a musical blessing for the journey ahead. This anniversary Shabbat is both a moment of reflection and a call toward the future—honoring what has been built while recommitting to the work of creating a community rooted in love, purpose, and shared story.

    32 min

  8. APR 21

    Careful the Things You Say – Rabbi Shoshanah Conover, Sermon anthem - Cantor Ben-David

    Recorded live on Friday, Apr. 17, 2026. In this sermon, Rabbi Conover reflects on the power and responsibility of language—how words can harm, heal, isolate, and ultimately bring us back into relationship. Drawing on a children’s story, the teachings of Toni Morrison, and Torah texts from Leviticus, Rabbi Conover explores what happens when language is misused to dehumanize and divide—and what it takes to repair that damage. Through the concept of stepping outside the camp and returning, she offers a framework for accountability, reflection, and reintegration rooted in Jewish tradition. At a time when public discourse feels increasingly fractured, this sermon asks us to consider what we are holding in our own hands—and how we might choose words that build dignity, connection, and life.

    21 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Welcome to Temple Sholom's podcast, where we strive to create a sacred community that truly embraces, inspires, and matters. Each episode features enlightening sermons from Shabbat and holiday services, engaging guest lectures, and thought-provoking conversations that reflect our commitment to fostering a meaningful and inclusive environment. Join us as we explore the depths of faith, spirituality, and community life. Whether you're here for inspiration or information, we're delighted to share this spiritual journey with you.

Information

  • Creator
    Temple Sholom of Chicago
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    125
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Temple Sholom of Chicago
  • Show Website
    Temple Sholom Podcast

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