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 40: Co-Shepherding (live at Temple Isaiah Lexington with Cantor Lisa Doob and Rabbi Darryl Crystal)
It’s our first in person live episode! Join us at Temple Isaiah in Lexington MA as Eliana interviews Cantor Lisa Doob and Rabbi Daryl Crystal. We explore their respective spiritual journeys, what prayer means to them now, and their unique roles; Cantor Doob has been at Temple Isaiah many years, while Rabbi Crystal has served 17 congregations in 19 years as an interim Rabbi.
When we lead t’fillah, who do we become?
Episode 39: Pleas and Please (Amidah middle blessing 13 & R’tzei)
This week, Eliana, Ellen, and Josh explore the last of the petitionary prayers of the Amidah and the transitional section, “r’tzei.” Topics include our favorite sounds, g?d (not) as vending machine, sacrifice and service, and the present (and presence) of present tense. Plus we share some favorite melodies!
What does it mean to hear our prayers?
Episode 38: Words from my Heart (with Evelyn Goldfinger)
We’re so honored this week to be joined by educator extraordinaire Evelyn Goldfinger! Evelyn is a spiritual leader, performer, storyteller, and author, most recently of “Words from my Heart,” a hands-on prayer book for kids. In addition to sharing insights into her incredible new book, Ms. Eve also delivers her t’fillah journey in four acts, explores how prayer and theater are connected, and sings a sweet prayer song for healing in Hebrew, English, and Spanish. She also spontaneously prays for the internet to come back in the most beautiful way!
How might you share the words from your heart?
![Episode 37: [Re]Build (Amidah Middle Blessings 11&12)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639c9068aa5c38597c3625ad/1673549355707-5ZZK8RPS53TOZRGB80MJ/1.png)
Episode 37: [Re]Build (Amidah Middle Blessings 11&12)
Our Amidah journey continues! This week Ellen, Eliana, and Josh explore and wrestle with blessings on rebuilding Jerusalem and salvation through messiah. There is so much variation amongst prayer books on these two! Topics covered include infrastructure bills, snowy white donkeys, Karens, horns, and classic Jewish jokes.
How can we help a better world blossom into being?
Episode 36: The Poetry of Prayer with Rabbi Reuven Kimelman
We are thrilled to bring you this interview with renowned liturgist Rabbi Reuven Kimelman. Rabbi Kimelman is an expert in the themes, structure, and poetics of the Jewish prayerbook, and shares enough wisdom to blow Eliana’s mind multiple times. Topics include t’fillah as an aural experience, the multi-mystical levels of Lecha Dodi, the power and point of the mourner’s kaddish, and so much more.
Announcing the Deep Dive: Shema! Join us for six gatherings over three weeks diving into the three units of this central piece of liturgy with our heads and our hearts. Taught by Rabbi Reuven Kimelman and Light Lab founder Eliana Light.
Episode 32: Sharing Jewish Joy with Tony J. Westbrook, Jr.
Today we’re excited to share our interview with Jewish educator and social media influencer extraordinaire, Tony J. Westbrook, Jr. You might know him better as @frumjewishblackboy if you’re one of his 39k+ followers on TikTok or Instagram (and if you aren’t yet, we highly recommend it!) Tony talks about the questions that led him on his Jewish journey, blessings as intentions, wisdom as liturgy, combating social media junk with Jewish joy, and more. So take a listen- it’s only 49 TikToks long!
Episode 31: Achat Sha’alti (with Chava Mirel)
From the start of the month of Elul through the fall holidays, it is customary to say Psalm 27. This “psalm for the days of awe” is full of evocative imagery, poetry, and a seemingly unshakable protagonist. But in this week’s episode, we are diving deep into just one line- verse 4, also known as “Achat Sha’alti.” What is this “one thing I ask?” Why is this line so popular, and how do different melodies shape our understanding? And speaking of song, we are blessed to be joined by musician and mindfulness teacher Chava Mirel, who shares her insights and takes us behind the music. Listen to her melody (and many more) on this week’s praylist!
Episode 30: Not a “T’fillah Person” (with Maharat Rori Picker Neiss and Rabbi Shai Held-live at Ramah Darom)
This week we’re excited to share a double-interview recorded live at the Ramah Darom Pesach retreat this past spring. Maharat Rori Picker Neiss is the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis and an inspiring activist and advocate. Rabbi Shai Held is president and dean of the Hadar Institute and a foremost theologian, scholar, and teacher. Neither of thought they had much to say about liturgy or prayer. I would disagree! Our guests explore prayerfulness, history, Jewish parenting, t’fillah education, synagogues, the post/mid-covid world, and more. It’s a reminder that not all people feel the most “prayerful” in prayer, and that Jewish life contains multitudes. So take a listen, even if you don’t think of yourself as a “t’fillah person” either :)
Episode 29: The Torah is Your Business (Live at NewCAJE)
This week, Eliana and Ellen are live from the NewCAJE Jewish education conference! Together we dive deep into, appropriately, the blessing for studying Torah. Whether it’s the Torah of the James Webb Space Telescope or the Torah of grammar nerdery, small-t torah or big-T Torah, a knot in a string of pearls or a sparkly letter “aleph,” it is sweet and it is your business.
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!