Regeneration
Welcome to Regeneration, a podcast about reimagining Jewish practice in a modern world. Hosts Debra Weinberg and Eileen Levinson help friends, families, and chosen families revive customs with authenticity, creativity, and joy. Each episode explores how real Jewish families keep traditions alive in their own way—and how you can, too.
In partnership with Recustom
Episode 1
Our Rituals and Us
with Debra Weinberg & Eileen Levinson
In the past five years, we’ve lived through a global pandemic, October 7 and its subsequent shockwaves, and a changing political and technological landscape. We’ve also gone through personal changes — starting families, making big moves, and thinking about our place in that rapidly changing world.
Rituals ground us, connect us, and challenge us to engage with both the world and our tradition. From Shabbat candles to everyday blessings, discover how to weave old and new practices together across generations to bring the people you love closer.
Episode 2
Making Ritual Yours
with Rabbi Vanessa Ochs, Ph.D.
In this episode, hear a conversation with Rabbi Vanessa Ochs, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at UVA, and author of Inventing Jewish Ritual, Sarah Laughed, and The Passover Haggadah: A Biography.
Through her work and in this interview, Vanessa describes the parallels between rituals and choreographed performance — and how both elevate experiences, mark time, and help us understand who we are as people.
Episode 3
Striving For Light
with Rabbi Adam Greenwald
Rabbi Adam Greenwald, spiritual leader of Congregation B’nai Israel in Orange County, California, joins us for a conversation about intentionality in ritual and the journey of discovering his own. Adam is the author of On One Foot, considered foundational coursework for Intro to Judaism curricula. He previously served as Vice President for Jewish Engagement at American Jewish University (AJU), founded the Maas Center for Jewish Journeys, and lectures at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, where he is facilitating a course on the art of teaching sacred text.
Episode 4
True Stories
with Professor Marshall Duke
We all have family stories. All are true, and some actually happened. From Shabbat candles to everyday blessings, discover how family stories can weave old and new practices together across generations and bring the people you love closer.
In this episode of Regeneration, psychologist Marshall Duke shares research showing that children who know the stories of where they come from tend to be more resilient. He explores how the stories families tell can build connection, identity, and strength across generations.
Episode 5
“It’s All Judaism”
with Rabbi Lisa Rubin
Rabbi Lisa Rubin, Director of the Center for Exploring Judaism at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, has helped Jews and non-Jews engage with ritual, text, and tradition since 2010. In this conversation, Rabbi Rubin explores how we learn and embrace rituals and how many of us may already be practicing rituals without even realizing it.
Episode 6
Ritual of Gratitude
with Rabbi Dana Saroken
Recustom wants to help you make ritual your own, so you can welcome whatever life brings. In this episode, we explore how ritual can help us prepare for life’s unpredictability, usher in gratitude, and cultivate appreciation for what we have.
Our guest is Rabbi Dana Saroken of Beth El Congregation in Baltimore. She became the congregation’s first female rabbi in 2007. She founded the Soul Center in 2016, which she describes as a “place where you can exhale. A place that nourishes and inspires you. A place where you feel supported, cared for and at peace. A place where you can learn and grow and just ‘be’ without judgment.”
Episode 7
The Flexibility of Ritual
with Rabbi Shira Stutman
In this episode, we speak with Rabbi Shira Stutman, senior rabbi at the Aspen Jewish Congregation, author of The Jewish Way to a Good Life, and host of the beloved PRX podcast Chutzpod.
We talk about how we use touch and affection in our rituals. We also explore how rituals can evolve alongside our children and grandchildren, while remaining a grounding connection to tradition.
Episode 8
Mindfulness in Judaism
with Rabbi Josh Feigelson, Ph.D.
In this episode, we welcome Rabbi Josh Feigelson, Ph.D., President & CEO at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS). IJS is a leading center for teaching traditional and contemporary Jewish spiritual practices that cultivate mindfulness.
Rabbi Feigelson explores what it means to live intentionally through values-based practice — whether through meditation, movement, or other forms of mindful awareness. He also reflects on how the IJS has evolved and remained resilient through periods of profound global change.
Episode 9
Making Ritual Lemonade
with Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin’s work explores life’s cycles through two powerful lenses: environmental stewardship and infertility. We discuss the responsibilities individuals and communities have to one another, the elasticity of ritual, and how Jewish practice can help us turn lemons into lemonade.
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin is an author, activist, was formerly Director of Jewish Life at the JCC in Baltimore, and is a founder of the Jewish Women’s Resource Center. She was also among the first women ordained as Conservative rabbis.
Episode 10
Being Fully Present
with Lee Meyerhoff Hendler
On today’s episode, we speak with Lee M. Hendler, founder and president of the Jewish Grandparents Network. She is also the founder of Freedom’s Feast, an initiative that explores American holidays as opportunities to connect with our values, history, and traditions, and the author of The Year Mom Got Religion: One Woman’s Midlife Journey into Judaism.
Lee reflects on the interconnected nature of religion, family, and community, and shares how she lives her values through her role as a grandparent deeply invested in strengthening family connections across generations.
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