Wilshire POV
Every week, our Wilshire Boulevard Temple clergy share their Shabbat message. In about five minutes or less, they offer personal perspectives on a topic of their choice, such as Jewish holidays, the weekly Torah portion, liturgy, customs and traditions, and sometimes current events through the lens of Jewish learning and understanding.
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Episodes
89 episodes
Personal Remarks at the Installation of Rabbi Joel Nickerson
Rabbi Joel Nickerson, on the occasion of his installation as the seventh Senior Rabbi in Wilshire Boulevard Temple's 163-year history, shares four pillars that will shape our future together: Hope, Vision, Community, and
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38:23
Choosing Hope Amidst Grief: A Mother's Promise - Cantor Lisa Peicott
This week’s Shabbat message comes from Cantor Lisa Peicott—not just as a clergy member, but as a mother. As we collectively mourn the devastating loss of Kfir and Ariel, the heartbreaking fate of the Bibas family, Cantor Peicott offers a promis...
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3:16
Origins of Valentine’s Day and of our Core Jewish Values - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
In this week's Shabbat message, Rabbi Nickerson shares the not-often-thought of origins of Valentine's Day and invites us to reflect on the origins of our core Jewish values from this week's Torah portion Parashat Yitro. These core principles s...
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6:30
Carrying the Burden Together - Rabbi Leah Lewis
This week's Shabbat Message reflects on the overwhelming challenges faced in the present moment, comparing current crises—such as ongoing fires, a fragile ceasefire in Israel, and political shifts—to past periods of struggle, particularly the a...
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3:49
"Hineini": Responding to Crisis with Presence and Action - Rabbi Leah Fein
Rabbi Leah Fein shares this week's parsha, Shemot, which includes the most famous story of fire in the entire Torah: the Burning Bush, where Moses answers God's call with "Hineini" ("Here I am"), signifying readiness to act in...
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4:29
The Essence of Joseph - Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro
This week we begin the Joseph saga in our Torah. Chanukah may seem like an unlikely time to think about forgiveness. The author, Stephen Mitchell, associates Joseph’s journey and character with the quality of forgiving in his retelling of the J...
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3:14
Healing Familial Brokenness - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
Many of us will have the blessing of sitting around a Thanksgiving table next week with members of our family with whom we share great joy and love. But others will be mourning the loss, and even death, of certain familial relationships. They w...
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5:25
Inertia - Lech Lacha - Rabbi Leah Lewis
“An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”-Sir Isaac NewtonBaked into the basic laws of physics, there is a fun...
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3:27
The Significance of Making - Rabbi Leah Fein
This week, we read of someone who exhibits a strong sense of agency over his own future in the face of forces beyond what he can control. Not long after God has created the world, corruption and lawlessness filled the earth. So God decides to s...
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3:01
When Do You Stop Saying Shanah Tovah - Rabbi Hannah Elkin - October 25, 2024
When do you stop saying, “Shanah Tovah”? This is a question that clergy are commonly asked around this time of the Jewish year. Rabbi Hannah Elkin answers the question and offers an inspiring interpretation.
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2:56
It Wasn't Supposed to End this Way - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
It wasn’t supposed to end this way. He was supposed to come home.We saw her on TV, listened to her on podcasts, watched her and her husband, Jon, give speeches, and I even met with her this summer with a small group of us rabbis in...
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5:33
A Blessing, a Privilege, and a Sacred Responsibility - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
Right now, we are in the final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, as Moses prepares the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. He outlines the values, priorities, and pitfalls they will face as they settle in this new land. This week’s...
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4:16
Nachamu - Shabbat of Comfort - Cantor Lisa Peicott
Nachamu, Nachamu ami, yomar eloheichemComfort, Comfort my people, says God…Tonight begins Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort, named after the first few words of the Haftarah portion this week:...
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2:25
Choices - Rabbi Hannah Elkin
In this week's Shabbat message Rabbi Hannah Elkin comments on the theme of Teshuvah in this week's portion Devarim, in the world today, and in our personal lives. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing...
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3:37
The Link Between Generations - Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro
Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro contemplates the links between generations in this week's Shabbat message. The Chatam Sofer taught, “There is always a difference between the older and younger generations…In the past, when the chain o...
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3:08
The Mezuzah - Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro
I’ve been counting doorways this week. Yesterday I walked through over 50 thresholds. As I invited our meditation class to take a moment and think back through the day, envisioning all of the doorways we passed through, I took on the practice o...
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3:20
Fight or Flight - Rabbi Leah Lewis
It was when my daughter, now thirteen, was part of the infant and toddler program in her Early Childhood Center that I gained a new appreciation for the ‘fight or flight’ response of human behavior. It is a term that I had always heard but neve...
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3:47
Korach and Chaos - Rabbi Hannah Elkin
At a certain point, freedom without structure turns to chaos, and Moses has been tasked to turn this rag-tag bunch into a people, into a collective, into a community. But the journey from independence to a stable collective is hard. Rab...
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2:39
Cockeyed Optimist - Cantor Lisa Peicott
One of the first pieces of music I ever learned was from the musical “South Pacific.” For those of you who may not be so up to date on your American musical knowledge, I will summarize. The plot centers on an American nurse, Nellie Forbush, sta...
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3:51
Silently Offering Blessing - Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro
I just returned from a week-long silent Jewish mindfulness meditation retreat. Yes, you read that correctly - Jewish and silent. So, what do 50-some Jews ranging in age from their early 20’s through their 70s do when we come together in silence...
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3:57
Taking a Breath - Rabbi Hannah Elkin
Despite the continued presence of “May Gray” in the mornings, summer is undeniably on its way. And as the weather warms, I’ve been reminded of a game that my cousins and I used to play in the summers growing up. Swimming in the pool, we woul...
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3:39
Finding Strength and Purpose in the Wilderness - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
This year, as we make our way through Passover, it feels as though we are in our own wilderness. We may feel secluded, without a real sense of direction, almost shell-shocked, as we view images and videos of these terrible campus protests, comp...
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6:06