Radical Pragmatism: A Jewish Gift for America's 250th Birthday

Radical Pragmatism: A Jewish Gift for America's 250th Birthday

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Rabbi Patrick explores a different path through our nation's political and cultural divisions: Radical Pragmatism. Drawing on the wisdom of Yitro's advice to Moses, and the daughters of Zelophehad, this episode argues that Judaism offers a model for solving problems practical action rather than ideological certainty. What might happen if we focused less on winning arguments and more on discovering what actually works, for America, for Israel, for the Jewish community, and for one another? Let's find out. Happy 250th, America. UPCOMING SHABBAT: July 10th a TowneBank Community Kitchen inside Commonweath Autism. Free tickets if you need them. RSVP at KehillahRVA.org [https://KehillahRVA.org] Got questions? Send us a text and we'll read it on the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/support] 🕯️ Learn more about Kehillah: kehillahrva.org [https://kehillahrva.org] 💛 Support Kehillah: kehillahrva.org/donate [https://kehillahrva.org/donate] 📲 Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/kehillahrva [https://instagram.com/kehillahrva] 📘 Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/kehillahrva [https://facebook.com/kehillahrva] 🔁 Share this episode with a friend and help build something sacred together.

False Nostalgia — Why We Sometimes Want to Go Back

Why do people return to unhealthy relationships, destructive habits, or situations they worked so hard to escape? And why does Rabbi Patrick watch Halloween commercials from 1988? In this episode of the Kehillah Podcast, Rabbi Patrick explores the phenomenon of false nostalgia through the lens of the Torah's wilderness narratives. Topics include: *  Why the Israelites repeatedly wanted to return to Egypt  *  The difference between healthy remembrance and false nostalgia  *  How addiction, unhealthy relationships, and family systems can keep us stuck in resisting positive change, and wishing we could go back to unhealthy times in our life *  And what to do when we find ourselves daydreaming about the past, when we need to move into a brighter future. Also -- real transformation rarely happens alone. The path forward is often found not in returning to what was, but in finding people who can help us build what comes next. Kehillah is there for you, exactly for that. Learn more about Kehillah: https://kehillahrva.org [https://kehillahrva.org?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Support the podcast and our community: https://kehillahrva.org/donate [https://kehillahrva.org/donate?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Got questions? Send us a text and we'll read it on the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/support] 🕯️ Learn more about Kehillah: kehillahrva.org [https://kehillahrva.org] 💛 Support Kehillah: kehillahrva.org/donate [https://kehillahrva.org/donate] 📲 Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/kehillahrva [https://instagram.com/kehillahrva] 📘 Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/kehillahrva [https://facebook.com/kehillahrva] 🔁 Share this episode with a friend and help build something sacred together.

We've Got Some Announcements | Shabbat | Commonwealth Autism | High Holy Days

This is an announcement 📣  a lot of great opportunities to connect, to volunteer and to donate to your Jewish community. Details in the episode. Links below:  JCC Pride Shabbat Service with Kehillah, Or Atid & NextGen (Richmond) [https://www.tickettailor.com/events/kehillahrva/2221451]  Fri Jun 12, 2026 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM | Weinstein JCC, 23226 Shabbat Learning and Brunch at Second Arrow (Church Hill) [https://www.tickettailor.com/events/kehillahrva/2221467]  Sat Jun 13, 2026 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Second Arrow, 23223 Shabbat Dinner & Service at Commonwealth Autism (Bon Air/Richmond) [https://www.tickettailor.com/events/kehillahrva/2237668]  Fri Jul 10, 2026 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Commonwealth Autism, 2323 And yes, we know, too early. But still... SAVE THE DATES: High Holidays with Kehillah [https://www.tickettailor.com/events/kehillahrva/2248650]  Fri Sep 11, 2026 6:00 PM - Fri Sep 25, 2026 8:00 PM Got questions? Send us a text and we'll read it on the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/support] 🕯️ Learn more about Kehillah: kehillahrva.org [https://kehillahrva.org] 💛 Support Kehillah: kehillahrva.org/donate [https://kehillahrva.org/donate] 📲 Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/kehillahrva [https://instagram.com/kehillahrva] 📘 Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/kehillahrva [https://facebook.com/kehillahrva] 🔁 Share this episode with a friend and help build something sacred together.

Judaism, Depression, and Recovering Our Humanity

In this episode, Rabbi Patrick explores a provocative question: What do we owe ourselves? Drawing from the Book of Genesis and Johann Hari’s book Lost Connections, we explore whether many of our struggles stem from something deeper than stress or busyness—a loss of our humanity itself. This includes asking ourselves some deep questions like: * What does it mean to be created in the image of God? * How does meaning transform existence into holiness? * Why human beings are called to create, build, and contribute, have purpose, make family, friendship, and finding a tribe Meaning. Creativity. Community. Humanity. Got questions? Send us a text and we'll read it on the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/support] 🕯️ Learn more about Kehillah: kehillahrva.org [https://kehillahrva.org] 💛 Support Kehillah: kehillahrva.org/donate [https://kehillahrva.org/donate] 📲 Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/kehillahrva [https://instagram.com/kehillahrva] 📘 Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/kehillahrva [https://facebook.com/kehillahrva] 🔁 Share this episode with a friend and help build something sacred together.

Conversion To Judaism Part II: The Unspoken Stuff

Repeat after me: converting to Judaism is not joining a religion. (Or at least, it’s MORE than joining a religion.) Judaism is a peoplehood, and becoming Jewish is about being brought into that peoplehood. And the peoplehood, well, they certainly know how to people! LOL In this part II episode on converting to Judaism, Rabbi Patrick talks about all the things they DON’T talk to you about in your Judaism 101 class. Topics include: * What do born Jews think about conversion? You might be a little surprised! * What are some of the unspoken cultural norms of Jewish life outside halacha — because every group has a way of being that isn’t expressly taught * The Jewish Non-Profit World. What is a Federation, a JCC, Hillel, and all these Israel aligned organizations? And what does that mean for me as a Jew By Choice? * And also, let’s talk about an idea called Rent A Bubbe and why the Mandalorian in Star Wars is a warrior Jew (at least, according to Rebbetzin Stefanie) Want to become Jewish? In the last conversion episode, Rabbi Patrick explored the meaning of conversion in Kehillah and Progressive streams of Judaism—everything from Jewish identity, practice, bet din, mikvah, and ultimately belonging. Find that episode here:  SPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/episode/5M4sLgkRjuH1Cp6fKfFPtC [https://open.spotify.com/episode/5M4sLgkRjuH1Cp6fKfFPtC] APPLE https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/converting-to-judaism/id1814185248?i=1000712044611 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/converting-to-judaism/id1814185248?i=1000712044611] SECOND ARROW HAS ANOTHER INSTAGRAM Follow @SecondArrowYoga [https://www.instagram.com/secondarrowyoga/] for yoga (and coffee!) in Church Hill, Richmond, VA. Got questions? Send us a text and we'll read it on the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458253/support] 🕯️ Learn more about Kehillah: kehillahrva.org [https://kehillahrva.org] 💛 Support Kehillah: kehillahrva.org/donate [https://kehillahrva.org/donate] 📲 Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/kehillahrva [https://instagram.com/kehillahrva] 📘 Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/kehillahrva [https://facebook.com/kehillahrva] 🔁 Share this episode with a friend and help build something sacred together.