Shofar, So Good! – Details, episodes & analysis

I’m Jewish, but was never raised with the religion.

Even so, I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to reclaim the traditions and values that feel both intrinsic and foreign to me.​

I can imagine I’m not alone.

Enter "Shofar, So Good!", an audio documentary series about my search for Jewish answers.

Growing up, many of my friends’ families had Shabbat dinners. It wasn’t a tradition in my house, but I’ve always liked the idea of slowing down and sharing a communal meal after a long week. But I’ve also found it incredibly daunting.

In this pilot episode, I call on two rabbis — one who considers Shabbat a slowing of time, and one who sees it an opening of space. Both explain their reasons for Shabbat, and help me understand mine.

Learn more about Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman and Rabbi Marc Margolius.

Producer: Kate Mishkin

Editor: Lacy Roberts

Sound design/mixing: Zachary Goldberg

Music: Nan Schwartz

Show Art: Laura Mishkin

Production Assistant: Jack McDonald

Made with support from the Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab and the Maimonides Fund.

Additional thanks to Robert Mishkin, Natalie Mishkin, Andrew Mishkin, Conrad Pope, Barbara Mutnik, Matt McKinney, Rekha Murthy, Ian Coss, Janine Okmin, Sarah Lefton, Rebecca Friedman, and the Digital Storytellers Lab cohort.

Please support this podcast! Tell a friend, rate/review the show, and visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support to make a financial contribution to the production of Season 2.

Coming January 22: A series about a search for lost identity and what it means to be human. From how we apologize, to how we think about a higher power, host Kate Mishkin interviews rabbis and children about what we believe and why. 

This is "Shofar, So Good!" 

For more on the podcast, including how to support the show, visit https://www.shofarsogoodpodcast.com/ 

If and when we pray, who are we praying to? Is anyone listening?

In this episode, I talk to rabbis who help me understand different types of prayers, and how to find -- and keep -- the faith.

Learn more about Rabbi Morris Panitz and Rabbi Josh Rose.

Please support this podcast! Tell a friend, rate/review the show, and visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support to make a financial contribution to the production of Season 2.

Producer: Kate Mishkin

Editor: Lacy Roberts

Sound design/mixing: Jack McDonald

Music: Nan Schwartz

Show Art: Laura Mishkin

Made with support from the Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab and the Maimonides Fund.

In this episode, I learn about how we mourn, and how we remember the dead.

But even more importantly, I learn about how Jews’ relationship with death informs the way we live our lives today.

I’ll call two rabbis whose work requires them to look death head-on.

Learn more about Eitan Levine, Rabbi Lynn Liberman and Rabbi Morris Panitz.

Please support this podcast! Tell a friend, rate/review the show, and visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support to make a financial contribution to the production of Season 2.

Producer: Kate Mishkin

Editor: Lacy Roberts

Music: Nan Schwartz

Show Art: Laura Mishkin

Sound design/mixing: Jesse Perlstein

Production Assistant: Jack McDonald

Made with support from the Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab and the Maimonides Fund.

One of the traditions that’s most drawn me to Judaism is the annual tradition of reflection and atonement.

Turns out, that's kind of daunting. But it might make us better people in the end. 

In this episode, I talk to three rabbis about what it means to atone. Then, I talk to my younger sister about how her life experiences made her incredibly comfortable saying sorry.

Learn more about Rabbi Joshua Aaronson, Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback, and Rabbi Susan Goldberg.

Please support this podcast! Tell a friend, rate/review the show, and visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support to make a financial contribution to the production of Season 2.

Producer: Kate Mishkin

Editor: Lacy Roberts

Music: Nan Schwartz

Sound design/mixing: Jesse Perlstein

Show Art: Laura Mishkin

Production Assistant: Jack McDonald

Made with support from the Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab and the Maimonides Fund.

The forces that’ve kept me from Judaism, including interfaith marriage and anti-semitism, are not unique to my family. But they have uniquely kept me from being Jewish.

In this episode, I try to learn where Judaism was lost in my family, and why it might be more difficult than expected to reclaim my heritage.

This episode is about what it means to be lost and found, and who’s considered Jewish by law.

Learn more about Rabbi Lisa Rubin, Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch, and Rabbi Mark Washofsky.

Please support this podcast! Tell a friend, rate/review the show, and visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support to make a financial contribution to the production of Season 2.

Producer: Kate Mishkin

Editor: Lacy Roberts

Music: Nan Schwartz

Sound design/mixing: Jesse Perlstein

Show Art: Laura Mishkin

Production Assistant: Jack McDonald

Made with support from the Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab and the Maimonides Fund.

Early on in my career, I packed my bags and moved to West Virginia to work as a journalist. That’s where I first met Rabbi Victor Urecki, rabbi at B’nai Jacob Synagogue.

I immediately appreciated who he was within the walls of the synagogue, but outside — Rabbi Urecki engaged with the community, often in interfaith conversations, consistently as a positive presence for West Virginians.

In this episode, we talk about belonging, religion as a tool to bring people together, and how Rabbi Urecki’s meeting the moment with new traditions.

Please support this podcast! Tell a friend, rate/review the show, and visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support to make a financial contribution to the production of Season 2.

Producer: Kate Mishkin

Production Assistant: Jack McDonald

Music: Nan Schwartz

Show Art: Laura Mishkin

Made with support from the Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab and the Maimonides Fund.

Jonah Platt is a multi-talented activist and performer whose work's taken him from Broadway ("Wicked"), to Hollywood ("Being the Ricardos") to -- most recently -- the world of podcasting.

Jonah's the host of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, a podcast that highlights the range of Jewish identity and voices. 

This is one of Shofar, So Good's bonus episodes while we're in between seasons. If you'd like to support the production of Season 2, please visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support, or simply spread the word about this show. 

Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein was the perfect person to talk to as I was grappling with what it meant to be Jewish.

He's a rabbi, educator, meditation teacher, MC/poet and director of Applied Jewish Spirituality, an online portal that  brings the tradition's spiritual wisdom to life. Among his other accomplishments: He's a cofounder of Lines of Faith, a Muslim-Jewish hip hop and poetry collective.

Please support this podcast! Tell a friend, rate/review the show, and visit shofarsogoodpodcast.com/support to support our Season 2 efforts. 

Producer: Kate Mishkin

Music: Nan Schwartz

Show Art: Laura Mishkin

Made with support from the Jewish Writers' Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab and the Maimonides Fund.