In an age of polarization, outrage, and echo chambers, how do we disagree without tearing one another apart?

In this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel are joined by Daniel Taub—Israeli diplomat, international lawyer, mediator, and former Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom—to explore the lost art of constructive disagreement through a Jewish lens.

Drawing on Jewish texts, lived experience, and Taub’s work facilitating difficult conversations across deep ideological divides, the conversation examines what it means to argue with integrity, curiosity, and care—and why disagreement itself can be a sacred act. Central to the discussion is the Jewish tradition of machloket l’shem shamayim—argument for the sake of heaven—and how debate rooted in humility and shared values can deepen understanding rather than fracture community.

From Talmudic wisdom to contemporary civic and political life, this episode challenges listeners to rethink how they engage with those who see the world differently, offering a hopeful reminder that learning how to disagree well may be essential to repairing our relationships, our communities, and our shared civic life.

Daniel Taub:

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Dispute-Rediscovering-Constructive-Disagreement/dp/1399815067

https://rabbisacks.org/about-us/trustees/daniel-taub/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

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What’s the difference between a resolution and a wish—and why does it matter?

As the new year begins, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel explore what it really means to change. From New Year’s resolutions to Jewish ideas of teshuva—return, repair, and renewal—they ask whether transformation comes through bold declarations or small, faithful steps.

The conversation deepens with a powerful guest: Rabbi Mark Borowitz, spiritual leader, author, and longtime head of Beit T’Shuvah, a pioneering residential recovery center in Los Angeles. Drawing on his own journey from addiction and incarceration to spiritual leadership, Rabbi Borowitz reflects on personal responsibility, recovery, and the courage it takes to confront the truths—and lies—we tell ourselves.

Together, they reflect on the wisdom of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the idea of building a life as a work of art, and how everyday acts of kindness, discipline, and self-awareness can become brushstrokes on that canvas.

In a world that often feels stuck or divided, this episode is a reminder that renewal is possible—and that becoming a little better than we were yesterday may be holy work enough.

Rabbi Mark Borowitz:

https://www.rabbimark.com/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does Christmas mean beyond the lights, music, and traditions—and what can it teach us about faith, generosity, and shared humanity?

In this special holiday episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and journalist Jon Frankel are joined by His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan for a rich and deeply human conversation recorded during the Christmas season. Together, they explore the spiritual heart of Christmas, the experience of being a religious minority in a majority culture, and the surprising places where Jewish and Catholic traditions meet.

From reflections on joy, reconciliation, and generosity to deeply personal stories of vocation, pastoral care, and interfaith friendship, Cardinal Dolan offers a moving portrait of Christmas as a celebration of light in dark times—one that resonates far beyond any single tradition. Rabbi Cosgrove reflects on the “December dilemma,” while Jon Frankel shares moments of navigating faith, friendship, and belonging across religious lines.

Thoughtful, warm, and often humorous, this episode is a reminder that in a divided world, shared values—faith, compassion, forgiveness, and hope—still have the power to bring us together.

Timothy Cardinal Dolan:

https://archny.org/about/cardinal-dolan/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does the future of rabbinic leadership look like—and why does it matter for all of us?

In this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and journalist Jon Frankel take on a question hiding in plain sight: Are we cultivating enough rabbis to meet the spiritual, communal, and moral needs of the Jewish future? Joined by Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, Executive Director of Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation, the conversation moves from personal calling to systemic challenge.

Drawing on Atra’s landmark national study, Rabbi Epstein shares eye-opening data about the rabbinic pipeline—who is becoming a rabbi, who isn’t, and why. Together, they explore the realities of rabbinic life today: meaningful work, burnout, blurred boundaries, financial barriers, and the changing ways people seek connection, guidance, and faith.

Along the way, the episode weaves together humor, heart, and hard truths—asking what it means to serve, to lead, and to pass sacred tradition from one generation to the next in a rapidly changing world. In a time when so many are searching for meaning, this conversation reminds us why spiritual leadership still matters—and what it will take to sustain it.

Atra:
https://atrarabbis.org/

https://www.instagram.com/atrarabbis

https://www.facebook.com/atrarabbis/?_rdr

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel unwrap the deeper meaning of Hanukkah—beyond latkes, dreidels, and eight nights of gifts. Joining them is renowned writer and public intellectual Yossi Klein Halevi, whose personal journey from Brooklyn to Jerusalem illuminates the holiday’s layered history and its evolving place in Jewish identity.

Together, they explore the many versions of the Hanukkah story: the miracle of the oil, the military victory of the Maccabees, the struggle against assimilation, and the celebration of reclaimed Jewish sovereignty. Yossi reflects on growing up as the son of Holocaust survivors, his early attraction to Jewish extremism, and the decades-long transformation that led him toward a more expansive, nuanced understanding of Judaism, Israel, and power.

From public menorahs in Israeli town squares to quiet candle-lighting in American homes, the conversation traces how Hanukkah is celebrated across cultures—and how October 7th has reshaped Jewish vulnerability, resilience, and collective memory worldwide. With candor, humor, and heart, Elliot, Jon, and Yossi hold space for the tensions, debates, and hopes pulsing through Jewish life today.

A moving and timely episode that reminds us: Hanukkah isn’t just a holiday—it’s a lens on identity, history, and the stories we choose to pass on.

Yossi Klein Halevi
https://www.yossikleinhalevi.com/

https://www.facebook.com/YossiKleinHalevi/

https://x.com/YKleinHalevi

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this deeply human and unexpectedly joyful episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and journalist Jon Frankel sit down with celebrated artist Joel Mesler, whose vibrant, pop-infused works have become synonymous with healing, humor, and Jewish identity. Through Mesler’s remarkable life story — from a turbulent childhood in Beverly Hills to an intense yeshiva experience, to addiction, recovery, and artistic rebirth — the trio explores what it means to wrestle with your past while still choosing light.

Mesler speaks candidly about nine years of sobriety, the lies we tell ourselves in our own voice, and the moment he realized he needed help. He shares how art became both expression and salvation, and how Judaism organically re-entered his life through painting anonymous old “rabbi portraits” that no one wanted — until he transformed them into sought-after pieces of contemporary Judaica.

An inspiring conversation about creativity, faith, identity, recovery, and choosing light in a world that doesn’t always make it easy.

Joel Mesler
https://www.joelmesler.com

https://www.instagram.com/joelmesler/?hl=en

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s the season of gratitude — and good food. Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel welcome legendary creator and host Phil Rosenthal (Everybody Loves Raymond, Somebody Feed Phil) for a conversation that blends faith, food, and funny family traditions.

Rosenthal shares how his Jewish upbringing shaped his love of storytelling, how he reinvented himself from sitcom writer to world-traveling food host, and why laughter — like a good meal — brings people together. From goose instead of turkey to matzo-ball soup and carrot kugel, this episode celebrates how recipes carry identity and connection across generations.

Together, Elliot, Jon, and Phil explore what Thanksgiving teaches us about gratitude, reinvention, and finding humor — even when the turkey’s dry.

Phil Rosenthal
https://philrosenthalworld.com/

Everybody Loves Raymond
https://www.cbs.com/shows/everybody-loves-raymond/

Somebody Feed Phil
https://www.netflix.com/title/80151255

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this powerful episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jon Frankel welcome Rabbi Michael Siegel of Anshe Emet Synagogue and Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Church and St. James Ministries in Chicago — two spiritual leaders who turned an unlikely friendship into a national model for faith-based partnership and healing.

Together, they trace the story of how a single lunch meeting 14 years ago blossomed into a thriving alliance between the Black and Jewish communities — one that has built playgrounds, inspired hundreds of interfaith exchanges, and even created a trauma counseling program modeled after Israel’s NATAL center.

The conversation ranges from mentorship and faith to violence, healing, and the sacred responsibility of leadership. Pastor Harris shares how visiting Israel reshaped his ministry on Chicago’s South Side, while Rabbi Siegel reflects on the power of humility, courage, and the simple idea that 'before you can help someone else’s trauma, you must face your own.'

It’s a moving portrait of faith in action — proof that when spiritual leaders listen, learn, and labor together, real change follows.

Pastor Chris Harris

https://www.instagram.com/pastorharris/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/Pastor.Chris.Harris.Sr/
https://www.brightstarchurchchicago.com/

https://www.stjamesministrieschicago.com/pastorchrisharris

Rabbi Michael Siegel
https://www.ansheemet.org/welcome/clergy/rabbi-michael-siegel/

American Friends of Natal
https://www.afnatal.org/

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:

https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove

https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove

Park Avenue Synagogue
https://www.pasyn.org

https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.