Wilshire POV
Every week, our Wilshire Boulevard Temple clergy share their Shabbat message. In about five minutes or less, they offer personal perspectives on a topic of their choice, such as Jewish holidays, the weekly Torah portion, liturgy, customs and traditions, and sometimes current events through the lens of Jewish learning and understanding.
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Episodes
106 episodes
A Sacred Symbol - Rabbi Leah Fein - February 6, 2026
Imagine: You are an ancient Israelite, and all you have ever known - all your recent ancestors have ever known - is oppression. You witnessed the plagues and the sea splitting and you fled for your life into the wilderness. And now, three m...
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5:24
It's Over - Rabbi Leah Lewis - Parashat Beshalach - January 30, 2026
Ran Gvili’s funeral was a moment unique among all others, but the collective need to rise to the next chapter is a feeling familiar to the Jewish people. It is on full display in the Torah portion we read this week. At the core of Parashat ...
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4:29
We Are in the Thick of It - Cantor Lisa Peicott - Parshat Bo - January 23, 2026
Well folks, we are in the thick of it. In just the last few weeks, we have witnessed the abuse of unchecked power against a group of outsiders, the rising up of a people against a heartless dictator, the crumbling of an authoritarian regime, an...
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3:51
Parashat Vaeira - Rabbi Hannah Elkin - January 16, 2026
In our Torah portion this week, Parashat Vaeira, we see an important moment for Moses to speak the truth. God has told Moses that he will be the savior of the Jewish people, the prophet directly communicating God’s words to Pharaoh to let the I...
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2:48
Who Were Ephraim and Menasseh? - Rabbi Leah Fein - January 2, 2026
For thousands of years, Jewish parents and parental-figures have been saying this exact same blessing. So who were Ephraim and Menasseh, that the Torah warrants blessing our children in their names each Shabbat eve? We are living th...
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4:18
Parashat Vayishlach. December 5, 2025. 15 Kislev 5786. Rabbi Leah Lewis
Today is the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. On the fifteenth day of any month on the Hebrew calendar, there is a full moon in the sky. But when the full moon of Kislev arrives each year, it feels as if the light of the moon is wre...
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4:53
Collective Responsibility - Rabbi Leah Lewis - August 29, 2025
Taking responsibility to care for those who are vulnerable has always been core to Jewish tradition, but living this value has always been an imperfect endeavor. That is why this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, which begins with instruc...
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3:08
Have I Done Enough? - Cantor Lisa Peicott
At the conclusion of this Shabbat, the Jewish community will commemorate Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. It’s a day steeped in mourning and reflection. Traditionally, it commemorates the destruction of the...
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2:50
What We Do Matters - Rabbi Hannah Elkin - July 25, 2025
We come to the end of the book of Numbers this week with the double portion Matot-Massei. The Israelites wrap up a challenging chapter of wandering through the desert and they have started looking ahead to life in the Promised Land. The closing...
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2:24
Thoughtful Celebration - Rabbi Leah Lewis - July 4, 2025
By definition, ritual becomes habituated and in its familiarity lies much of its power. But when we never stop to consider why it is that we engage in the first place, the ritual loses its meaning and will eventually fade away.
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3:33
A Prayer for Shabbat - Cantor Lisa Peicott - June 27, 2025
Lucky for us, our tradition has a secret weapon to help us deal with the never-ending mishigas of our time, and no, it’s not a giant space laser
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3:15
Courage and Determination - Rabbi Hannah Elkin - June 20, 2025
This has been another difficult week. As we wait and watch and hold our breath over the news coming out of Israel, we feel tension, concern, and hope. The events unfolding in Israel and in our own backyard fill up our thoughts and trouble our s...
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3:17
Revelation Happens Every Day - Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro - May 30, 2025
As we approach the festival of Shavuot, most years (and this year included) we read from the torah portion Bamidbar - “in the wilderness”. For our ancestors, bamidbar meant leaving what they knew - slavery in Egypt. For us,
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3:27
Roadmap to Holiness - Cantor Lisa Peicott - May 9, 2025
For weeks we have been wading through the many ritual laws of the book of Leviticus, known in Hebrew as Vayikra. In short, Vayikra consists of rules about a specific holy place (Mishkan), with very specific kinds of sacr...
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3:36
On Creating a Holy Society - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
We are currently in the midst of the Book of Leviticus, a book dedicated to both the concept of purity and, more importantly, the values and actions a community must adhere to in order to create a holy society. We are a people who spend the maj...
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5:26
Spring Renewal and the Spirit of Passover - Rabbi Hannah Elkin
Spring has arrived in Southern California, signaling a time to embrace warmer weather and prepare for Passover. Rabbi Hannah Elkin expands beyond the story of the Exodus from Egypt and shares the other Jewish traditions, including the reading o...
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2:57
Bitterness and Sweetness: A Passover Reflection - Rabbi Leah Lewis
For this week's Shabbat Message, Rabbi Leah Lewis reflects on the emotional weight of Passover this year, marked by the ongoing captivity of 59 Israelis in Gaza. Yet, Passover also emphasizes the coexistence of bitterness and sweetness—represen...
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3:59
Personal Remarks at the Installation of Rabbi Joel Nickerson
Rabbi Joel Nickerson, on the occasion of his installation as the seventh Senior Rabbi in Wilshire Boulevard Temple's 163-year history, shares four pillars that will shape our future together: Hope, Vision, Community, and
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38:23
Choosing Hope Amidst Grief: A Mother's Promise - Cantor Lisa Peicott
This week’s Shabbat message comes from Cantor Lisa Peicott—not just as a clergy member, but as a mother. As we collectively mourn the devastating loss of Kfir and Ariel, the heartbreaking fate of the Bibas family, Cantor Peicott offers a promis...
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3:16
Origins of Valentine’s Day and of our Core Jewish Values - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
In this week's Shabbat message, Rabbi Nickerson shares the not-often-thought of origins of Valentine's Day and invites us to reflect on the origins of our core Jewish values from this week's Torah portion Parashat Yitro. These core principles s...
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6:30
Carrying the Burden Together - Rabbi Leah Lewis
This week's Shabbat Message reflects on the overwhelming challenges faced in the present moment, comparing current crises—such as ongoing fires, a fragile ceasefire in Israel, and political shifts—to past periods of struggle, particularly the a...
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3:49
"Hineini": Responding to Crisis with Presence and Action - Rabbi Leah Fein
Rabbi Leah Fein shares this week's parsha, Shemot, which includes the most famous story of fire in the entire Torah: the Burning Bush, where Moses answers God's call with "Hineini" ("Here I am"), signifying readiness to act in...
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4:29
The Essence of Joseph - Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro
This week we begin the Joseph saga in our Torah. Chanukah may seem like an unlikely time to think about forgiveness. The author, Stephen Mitchell, associates Joseph’s journey and character with the quality of forgiving in his retelling of the J...
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3:14
Healing Familial Brokenness - Rabbi Joel Nickerson
Many of us will have the blessing of sitting around a Thanksgiving table next week with members of our family with whom we share great joy and love. But others will be mourning the loss, and even death, of certain familial relationships. They w...
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5:25