Kolot: Voices from The Ark Synagogue

Tadir v’she-eino Tadir Kodem

In this talk the speaker unpacks the halachic rule “Tadir v’she’Eino Tadir, Tadir Kodem” – the idea that regular practices take precedence over occasional ones. By tracing the rule through Shabbat blessings, Torah‑reading order, and even ancient Temple sacrifices, they show how it points to a deeper ethic: make the ordinary sacred. Listeners will leave with a concrete way to shape personal and communal Jewish life around steady, meaningful rhythms rather than waiting for rare, spectacular moments. ★ Support this podcast ★

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The Elephant in the Sukkah

What does a Talmudic debate about using an elephant as a sukkah wall have to do with grief? In this Erev Sukkot sermon, Rabbi Lea Mühlstein reads the rabbis' discussion in Sukkah 23a alongside Sherri Mandel's children's book The Elephant in the Sukkah, where a boy makes room for a singing elephant by letting it become one of the walls. Drawing on Mandel's work with bereaved children, she suggests that loss at first feels too big to contain, and that with others' support we can build a new vessel large enough to hold it. After the Days of Awe, Sukkot becomes a season of post-traumatic growth: a joy that doesn't ignore reality, but lets the elephants in. ★ Support this podcast ★

Being Human in the World of AI

In this morning sermon Rabbi Lea Mühlstein asks how we define humanity amid the rise of artificial intelligence, contrasting machine efficiency with Jewish ideas of wisdom, responsibility, and repentance. She weaves together a poem about AI‑generated meal plans, Pope Leo XIV’s take on the Tower of Babel, and the Talmudic debate between Hillel and Shammai to argue that a "heart of many rooms"—welcoming diverse voices and our own failures—is the true measure of a good life. Listeners will leave with concrete ways to let Yom Kippur’s call for teshuvah shape their relationship to technology and community. ★ Support this podcast ★

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The Gates We Lock, and the Gates That Open

In this powerful Yom Kippur sermon Rabbi Andrea Kulikovsky explores how the security doors that protect us can also become inner barriers that shape our lives. She distinguishes between pachad (raw fear) and yirah (a reverent awe) and asks listeners to consider what fear is asking us to protect or surrender. Drawing on the trauma of the Manchester attack and the story of Isaac, she challenges us to move from victimhood to active moral agency and to imagine the kind of Judaism we want to build beyond the gates that keep us safe. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Binding of Yitzchak

In this sermon, Student Rabbi Dani Zekhry examines the binding of Isaac (the Akedah) to show how true faith must never suspend ethics. Drawing on the Talmudic midrash, Kierkegaard, and Levinas, they argue that seeing the "face of the other" replaces blind obedience with moral responsibility. Listeners will leave with a concrete way to apply this ethic to contemporary conflicts, from football hooliganism to the Israeli‑Palestinian situation, especially during the reflective Shabbat Shuvah. ★ Support this podcast ★

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The Knife in Our Hearts

In this sermon Rabbi Andrea Kulikovsky explores how the wound of Isaac’s near‑sacrifice lives on as intergenerational trauma, and how the Hebrew verb nasa (“to lift, bear, carry”) offers a way to bear that legacy differently. Listeners will hear a vivid reading of the binding of Isaac, reflections on the silence of Sarah, and a call to remember without letting memory become a prison, weaving together grief, forgiveness, and the hopeful lift of each new year. ★ Support this podcast ★

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The Eclipse of God

In this moving sermon Rabbi Lea Mühlstein reflects on the lingering question ‘where is God?’ raised by 9/11 and other tragedies, exploring the concept of hester panim – the hidden face of God. She draws on Martin Buber’s eclipse metaphor and a Hasidic tale to argue that our task is not to explain suffering but to keep seeking the divine in acts of compassion, justice, and human connection. Listeners will leave with a concrete invitation to look for God’s presence even when the world feels eclipsed, especially during the High Holy Days season. ★ Support this podcast ★

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A Time for Turning

In this sermon Rabbi Lea Mühlstein explores t’shuvah as a turning‑to‑God and a return to our truest selves, arguing that repentance is less a reset button and more a spiral that moves us forward. She weaves biblical language, poetry, and personal teaching to show how radical honesty and choosing a new direction can reshape our lives even when the past cannot be undone. Listeners will come away with a concrete image of t’shuvah as a purposeful shift rather than a simple circle, and a sense of agency for the coming Aseret Y’mei Teshuvah. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Standing Here, All of Us

In this sermon Rabbi Andrea Kulikovsky shows how Parashat Nitzavim embodies the heart of Progressive Judaism: everyone stands in the covenant, Torah belongs to all, and we are called to choose life. She weaves the declaration "Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem" with the principle "Lo bashamayim hi" and the call "Uvacharta bachayim" to argue that each of us must claim the Torah, add our voice, and shape our own future, inspired by feminist trailblazers like Gloria Steinem and Judith Plaskow. ★ Support this podcast ★

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This Day

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein reflects on the phrase “this day” in Deuteronomy 26:16, showing how each daily ritual can be a fresh encounter with the Divine. Drawing on Lea Goldberg’s secular poetry, the Compelling Commitments of Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah, and the mysticism of the Gerer Rebbe, he argues that ordinary practice and special moments are united by a responsibility to seek meaning. Listeners will leave with a concrete way to view everyday mitzvot as opportunities for renewal and a deeper sense of purpose. ★ Support this podcast ★

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I Live in Me and in You

In this talk Rabbi Aaron Goldstein explores Abraham Joshua Heschel’s poem that blurs the line between self, other, and the divine, arguing that every human being carries a spark of holiness. He connects that vision to the power of prayer, the moral weight of everyday mitzvot, and the restorative rhythm of Shabbat, while also reflecting on the recent loss of a veteran member of the Ark community. Listeners will come away with a deeper sense of how sacredness can be found in both contemplation and concrete action. ★ Support this podcast ★

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One Year...

Rabbi Andrea Kulikovsky looks back on her first year at The Ark, using the parashah Ki Tetze to explore the weight of vows and the call to never remain indifferent. She shares how Elul’s season of review and the upcoming Kol Nidrei invite both personal accountability and the possibility of release, and she renews her promise to the congregation with a heartfelt "Lo tuchal lehit'alem." Listeners will leave with a concrete sense of how Jewish teachings on nedarim can shape everyday commitment and forgiveness. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Wise and Simple Things

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein explores the Torah command not to cut down fruit-bearing trees during war, linking it to the broader principle of bal tashchit and contemporary issues of settler violence in the West Bank. He shows how caring for trees becomes a moral lens for evaluating destruction, terrorism, and the ethics of war, and invites listeners to consider how Jewish law can inform ecological and social justice today. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Clues

In this talk Rabbi Andrea Kulikovsky likens the laws of Parashat Re’eh to clues in a mystery game, showing how each commandment points to active choice, responsibility, and compassion. She argues that progressive Judaism interprets Torah through justice, human dignity, and the covenant of chosenness, urging listeners to open their hands to the needy and continually work toward tikkun olam. You’ll leave with a concrete framework for turning the Torah’s “blessing or curse” invitation into everyday ethical action. ★ Support this podcast ★

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When Law Meets Life

In this talk Rabbi Lea Mühlstein explores how the Torah’s warning of blessing and curse in Re'eh can inform our response to the new Equality and Human Rights Commission Code on single‑sex services. She outlines three halachic approaches—le‑chatchilah vs. b’diavad, sha’at ha‑dechak ke‑di’avad dami, and puk chazi mai amma devar—and shows how they help balance legal obligations with lived compassion for trans community members. Listeners will leave with concrete ways to apply Jewish law thoughtfully in contemporary gender‑related challenges. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Learning to Love

In this episode the speaker explores how love in Judaism is a commanded act of noticing and protecting the other, using a chance encounter with Layla on the Tube to illustrate the Torah’s call to love the stranger. Listeners will hear connections between the Tu b’Av festival, the biblical injunction to love the ger, and the Talmudic story of love emerging after mourning, and will be invited to consider how compassion can replace indifference in everyday life. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Finding Comfort in the In-Between

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein guides listeners through the in‑between days of Av, exploring how Tisha B'Av’s mourning can open space for memory, prayer, and the hope of Shabbat Nachamu. He draws on biblical verses, historic prayers, and the Adrabah prayer to show how seeing the good in others and listening to the Divine’s voice can transform grief into comfort. The sermon invites you to pause, reflect, and practice honest, kind communication as a path toward personal and communal repair. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Do Not Add — Except That We Always Have

In this talk the speaker explores Deuteronomy 4:2’s warning against adding or subtracting from the commandments, arguing that the real demand is humility and honesty about our interpretive work. Drawing on Rashi, Maimonides, and the Talmudic image of Torah as a living plant, the sermon shows how progressive Judaism can expand the tradition while staying rooted in its core. Listeners will leave with a clearer sense of how new rituals and inclusive voices can be faithful acts of interpretation rather than betrayals. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Moments in the Wilderness

In this heartfelt sermon, the speaker draws on Moses' final moments in the desert to show how remembering our story can quiet fear when we stand on the brink of a new beginning. Listeners will learn to use the wilderness—both literal and metaphorical—as a place for pause, reflection, and hearing God’s voice, and to carry the Torah, memory, and community forward for themselves and the next generation. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Does Her Word Count?

Rabbi Lea Mühlstein explores a contemporary midrash by Rivka Lubitch that asks whether a woman's word is worth less than a man's, unpacking the biblical law that lets fathers or husbands annul a woman's vow. She contrasts this legal history with a mystical reading that sees the vow as the soul's promise, urging listeners to examine both societal structures and inner fears that silence commitments. The sermon challenges us to envision a world where every vow—whether spoken by a woman or felt in the neshamah—carries equal weight and consequence. ★ Support this podcast ★

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