Author Archives: setapartradio

Wishing everyone a sweet new year!

There’s no way around it: fasting is difficult. This week on the show we’ll talk about ways to make the upcoming Yom Kippur fast more bearable and, thus, more successful. If you try any of the methods we discuss this year, please comment and let everyone know how it went!

This week on the show we discuss the life and work of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, whom we lost earlier this month. Rabbi Steinsaltz was best known for his exhaustive work on the Talmud, bringing forth a new translation and commentary that sought to make the study of this essential Jewish text open to everyone. HeContinue reading “In Memoriam: Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (1937-2020)”

For the next two weeks we will be covering the identity and motivation of the serpent who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Almost everyone has heard the story, but you may not have heard the whole story. Tune in to KEOS 89.1 FM or keos.org Thursday at 4:30 p.m. (CST) to hear it.Continue reading “The Serpent in the Garden”

This week on the show we speak briefly about what some Jewish groups, such as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and IsraAID, are doing for refugees in light of the global pandemic. If you are interested in helping out, have a look at their websites for ways to get involved, or check out these otherContinue reading “Jewish Refugee Aid Groups and COVID-19”

This week on the show we’re discussing Esau, including the time when he traded his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. The Talmud tells us that Jacob had prepared the stew for his father, Isaac, because his father, Abraham, had just died that day, and it was customary to serve lentils toContinue reading “Birthright Stew”

The following is a meditative exercise designed to enhance one’s sense of purity. It can also be used to better relate to those around us, and to understand our interconnectedness as children of Hashem. Sit with your eyes closed, imagining that you have X-ray vision and can see inside yourself as if you were composed ofContinue reading “Tehora He: An Exercise in Purity”

There has been much talk lately about how the current pandemic is going to affect the Jewish denominational system in both the U.S. and abroad. Most of us have been unable to visit with our communities for months, unions have had to lay off workers, and synagogues have had to make concessions on longstanding issuesContinue reading “To Merge or Not to Merge?”

It’s going to be a different Passover for all of us this year… truly unique, and with Hashem’s providence, under circumstances that do not return any time soon. Hopefully everyone will find some way to connect with others during this season, even if it is only virtually. However, if you are not able to connectContinue reading “Chag Pesach Sameach”

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many of us throughout the world are under quarantine or self-imposed isolation. Most shuls have been closed, and even private minyans have become inadvisable. Needless to say, we’re all going to be spending a lot more time alone. This can be a difficult thing for those who thriveContinue reading “Staying Busy in a Time of Isolation”