For the Love of Judaism – Details, episodes & analysis

A few months ago Marlboro Jewish Center added to its team of fearless Jewish leaders with the hiring of its Director of Congregational Learning, Leo Fuhrman. Leo comes to MJC with a variety of educational, leadership and life experiences all of which he is ready to use to help our youth find their Jewish identities and be proud. How is he going to do that? By helping our community make Jewish memories one experience at a time. Don't miss this fascinating conversation between Rabbi Pont and Leo to learn more about how Leo is going to transform education in our community.

This week Rabbi Pont is joined by Sara Polon (a.k.a. Soupergirl) and Marilyn Polon (a.k.a. Soupermom), the mother/daughter team behind the delicious, kosher, vegan, and responsibly sourced soup brand, Soupergirl. Listen in to hear how a budding stand-up comedian turned her passion for fixing our broken food system into a soup company with the help of her worried Jewish mother. The story is fanscinating and the soup is delicious. Find out where you can get a bowl at https://www.thesoupergirl.com. 

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.

In the Conservative Jewish world, few Rabbis have their fingers on pulse like Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal. Rabbi Blumenthal serves concurrently as the CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly through a strategic alignment between the two organizations. 

This week, Rabbis Pont and Blumenthal have a wide ranging organization on everything from the laws that govern conservative Judaism, interfaith marriage, the war in Israel and much more. Most importantly, they share their vision for the bright future of the movement that both of them have helped lead in their communities.

For more than three months, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has been engaged in a war with Hamas that feels like a defining moment for the present and future of the state of Israel. Few can offer the perspective of today's guest Aaron Cooper, an American who made moved to Israel after high school, joined the IDF, was in the West Bank on October 7th and has been fighting with his fellow soldiers in Gaza since.

Aaron and Rabbi Pont touch on all things related to the war and the IDF including Aaron's perspective on what might come on the day after. This is an episode not to be missed.

By day, Sam Levine is a music teacher at Lloyd Road School in Matawan, New Jersey. At Marlboro Jewish Center, Sam Levine is a talented musician who leads Tot Shabbat and plays in the Shabbat Unplugged Band. On October 2023 he added another title to his name, Wheel of Fortune contestant.  

On this episode Rabbi Pont explores what led Sam to the Wheel of Fortune stage and what it was like to walk away the big winner! They discuss how years of watching gameshows with family and doing word puzzles with friends turned into an appearance on the 41st season of Wheel of Fortune and a dream come true for this talented musician and puzzle master!