For the Love of Judaism

The mental health crisis feels like it is all around us. From anxious teens with social media to all-time highs in adult lonliness, this is a topic hits all of us in different ways. This week Rabbi Pont talks to Dr. Dara Gasior to discuss the challenges and opportunities in both getting and giving help, along with the many ways that mental health treatment crosses over with our biblical texts. Don't miss a special bonus segment with Colts Neck High School junior Charlotte Zlotnik, a boa...

When a person is near the end of their life loved ones are often faced with some of the most difficult issues they will ever face as a family. No matter what the circumstance, all of us want those we care about to live, and to die, on their terms. Making that happen often the responsibility of people like Dr. Howard Stein, Medical Director of Bioethics at Centrastate Hospital in Freehold, who joined Rabbi Pont this week for a wide reaching conversation about bioethics, New Jersey's Medical Ai...

By now all of us have heard about the brazen act of antisemitism that befell Congregation Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi. On Saturday, January 10th, an arsonist set this 166 year old Synagogue ablaze in an irrily similar attack to the one that this same Congregation experienced in 1967 from the Ku Klux Klan. As we celebrate the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King this week, Rabbi Pont sat down with Robyn Ringel Pollack, a former Board Member at Congregation Beth Israel whose fami...

Issues surrounding interfaith marriage and the roles clergy can or can’t play in these ceremonies have long been taboo within conservative Judaism. But in today's world, where nearly 75% of non-Orthodox married Jews are married to someone of a different faith, the status quo is no longer sustainable for the Conservative Movement. On this episode, Rabbi Pont is joined by the perfect guest to explore these issues—his friend and colleague, Rabbi Aaron Brusso. Rabbi Brusso is the Senior Rabbi at ...

Louis Brandeis was among the most prominent figures of his time. He was also the first Jewish person ever appointed to the Supreme Court. His life, his values and his Judaism offer important lessons which are detailed in a brand me childrens' book, What Louis Brandeis Knows by author Richard Michelson. Richard is a return guest to the podcast, having previously been interviewed about his book Next Year at the White House. This conversation offers a look at a unique figure in American Jewish h...

Judaism can be expressed in many different ways. For someone with a creative soul, art can become a way to make the intangible—faith, history, ethics, resilience—visible. It reflects the Jewish impulse to question, to interpret, and then re-interpret, much like Torah study itself. Enter Adar Darnov, a graphic artist who uses his art as a means to expressing the Jewish identity he has developed through a life long love of his faith. This week, he caught up with Rabbi Pont to chat about t...

More than 80 years since the end of World War II, we will soon reach a point when there are no more living Holocaust survivors. As we experience a surge in antisemitism in the United States and around the world, finding ways to keep their stories of perserverance and survival alive is more important now than ever before. Enter Wendy Tepper, the Outreach Coordinator for 3GNJ, an organization that trains the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors to tell their grandparents stories. Wendy's ...

Being a teenager has always been hard, but now it is harder than ever before. From the impact of COVID to social media and cell phone usage, teenagers are struggling to find their place in the world and grow the confidence they need to succeed. Enter Melissa Gohar, an educator and health care professional who has designed a workbook designed to help teenagers quiet their inner-critic, bounce back from failure, set boundaries, and embrace who they really are. This week Rabbi Pont speaks ...

Growing up as the Cantor's daughter is not easy. It is even harder when our father dies when you are very young, leaving an even larger shadow for a growing child. This week, Rabbi Pont speaks with author Diana Harmon Asher about her new book, Trouble Finds Evie Lefkowitz, in which the title character lives in the shadow that Diana grew up with. A wonderful book about resilience, childhoom, community and friendship, you will certainly understand why PJ Library chose this book for publication ...

The October 7th massacres and the subsequent war have claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 civilians and soldiers. It has become a tradition in Israel, during this war, for families and friends to create a memorial sticker for their loved ones. Many of these include a personal motto or phrase that held special significance to the individual. The Stickers of Meaning project was created to collect and present these stickers to the public in a central repository, making them and the powerful messag...

As we continue to get ready for the High Holidays we revisit Rabbi Pont's two Yom Kippur sermons from last year. The first is an interesting look at the role our smartphones play in the lives of teens today. The second is a deeper exploration of antisemitism and the best ways to overcome its rise. Enjoy!

For the Love of Judaism is here for its 5th season and just in time for the High Holidays! On this first episode of the new season, we look back to last Rosh Hashana and the two polar opposite sermons that Rabbi Pont gave. A year later, both resonate in different ways.

In what will likely be our season finale, Rabbi Pont offers teachings that he spoke about to the congregation at Marlboro Jewish Center on recent Shabbat mornings. Three short sermons about food from a Shiva house, Mother's Day and the recent horrifying murders of two Israeli embassy workers.

When we teach our children about the Holocaust, it is largely from the perspective of those who survived. But what about the million or more Jews who lived in communities that were completely destroyed. Thus began the quest of this week's guest, Julie Brill, whose family was from Belgrade, Serbia one of those places whose entire Jewish community was destroyed in the early days of the War. Julie details her family's history, and her journey to memorialize all those who died in Belgrade, ...

As we get ready for Passover, here are a couple of teachings that Rabbi Pont recently offered to his congregation at Marlboro Jewish Center!

We all know that what it means to be a Jew has changed since October 7th, 2023. From the most observant to the least, Jewish life is different than it was before. In his new book, For Such a Time as This, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue offers a poignant explanation of what it means to be Jewish today. This week, Rabbi Cosgrove joins his friend of thirty years, Rabbi Pont, for a meaningful conversation about this, about searching for our Esther moment in modern times, and...

In was April, 2008. A small group of tired, homesick campaign staffers are quickly trying to put together a small Passover Seder. And who walks in...then-Senator Barack Obama. And thus began a meaningful journey to the first Seder ever held in the White House, by the first African American President of the United States, organized by one of those original campaign staffers, Eric Lesser. This remarkable story is re-told in the just released children's book, Next Year in the White House by Rich...

By all accounts, Dr. Alex Kor’s life has been a miracle. The son of two Holocaust survivors who narrowly escaped death, Alex has traveled from Terre Haute, Indiana, to Auschwitz and many places in between on his journey to share the story of his parents, Eva Moses Kor and Mickey Kor, with anyone and everyone who will listen. After a recent trip to lecture at Marlboro Jewish Center, Rabbi Pont caught up with Alex to learn more about his life, the survival stories that both of his parents endur...

It's Valentine's Day and even though it is not a Jewish holiday, love is most definitely in the air! This week, Rabbi Pont talks to Alla Fine, President & CEO of Alla Fine Coaching and developer of the brand new dating app, AppatMe which matches AI and psychology to the love finding process. If you are looking for love or just want to hear about how to keep your love story going, don't miss this week's episode just in time for Valentine's Day. When you download and activate the app at www...

There are few Holocaust survivor stories like that of the family of Dan Grunfeld, who joins Rabbi Pont this week. The son of Olympic gold medalist, NBA veteran and 30-year NBA executive Ernie Grunfeld, Dan is the author of By the Grace of the Game, the remarkable story of his family's perserverance and strength interwoven with the discovery of a game that unknowingly held the power to heal wounds, build bridges, and tie together a fractured Jewish family. As we approach International Ho...