Join Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback as he talks with an eclectic variety of thinkers, artists, and change-makers about their experiences (Jewish or otherwise) and their own search for meaning and purpose in their lives.
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Episodes
Search for Meaning with Betsy Borns and Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
In the latest edition of Search for Meaning, Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback hosts comedy writer Betsy Borns, best known for her work on hit television shows "Rosanne" and "Friends." Author of "Comic Lives: Inside the World of Stand-Up Comedy," Borns is also the creator of the sitcom "All of Us," produced by Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, which ran for four seasons. From getting kicked out of Hebrew school for telling a dirty joke during as an 8-year-old in Indianapolis, to her rise as a writer and producer in Hollywood, Borns takes Rabbi Yoshi on a ride through the mind of a comedian. One keen insight: The comic sensibility is a defense mechanism, but it's also an impulse to protect other people, finding the funny side of life to prevent people from feeling sad. "If most people look at life in [...]
Search for Meaning with Ken Lindner and Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
In the latest edition of Search for Meaning, Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback hosts Ken Lindner, a super-agent, author, and founder of Positive Life Choice Psychology. In this wide-ranging discussion, Lindner—author of the recently-released bestselling book "Aspire Higher"—delves into his childhood struggle with weight and self-esteem. He and Rabbi Yoshi examine how that struggle shaped not only Lindner's amateur athletic career, but his ascendance as an agent to some of the top news personalities in the United States. Lindner details how his father's long work weeks led him to develop feelings of insecurity and un-love-ability, which in turn led to toxic emotions, binge eating, and bad decisions. At the age of 4, Lindner was so frustrated with his father for his perceived lack of attention and approval that he hurled a brick in his father's direction. "My aim was as bad as my [...]
Search for Meaning with Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh and Rabbi Yoshi
In celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback welcomes the first female native Farsi speaker to become a rabbi, Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh. A leader, a brilliant educator, and a trailblazer as a Persian female rabbi, Rabbi Rabizadeh began both her educational and professional journey at Wise. The daughter of Iranian immigrants, she grew up at what was then Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School. When she matriculated across the freeway to Milken Community High School, she was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. She was good at art, but didn't want to be an artist. Her parents wanted her to go to law school, but she didn't want to be a lawyer. At the age of 15, though, she took a class with Rabbi Sharon Brous. Inspired by Rabbi Brous's patient, thoughtful approach to Jewish studies and Jewish education, she decided then [...]
Search for Meaning with musician Elana Arian, Senior Cantor Emma Lutz, and Rabbi Yoshi
After her soulful performance during Stephen Wise Temple's Friday-night Shabbat services, singer, songwriter, and composer Elana Arian joins Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Senior Cantor Emma Lutz for this edition of "Search for Meaning" to discuss her musical journey. From cassette recordings of four-part harmonies with her musical family during her days as a "faculty brat" at the URJ Kutz Camp, Elana has morphed from a classical musician to a secular folk singer to now one of the preeminent voices in modern Jewish music. As she sits down and riffs with Emma, the two buzz with energy when talking about harmonizing and improvisation, the influence of Debbie Friedman, the excitement and beauty of the High Holy Days, and Divine inspiration.