This week on Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award-winning journalist Jon Frankel welcome Naomi Firestone-Teeter, CEO of the Jewish Book Council, to reflect on the power of Jewish literature and the work of nurturing Jewish voices in an ever-changing world.

Naomi brings a deep commitment to Jewish storytelling. Since joining the Jewish Book Council in 2006 — eventually becoming its executive director and now CEO — she has helped build out the organization’s digital presence, launched national initiatives like Unpacking the Book: Jewish Writers in Conversation and the Visiting Scribe series, and nurtured a network connecting authors to Jewish organizations across North America.

In this episode, the conversation moves between practical and philosophical: Why does Jewish culture place such importance on books? How can literature open doors into Jewish identity for readers of every background? What are the opportunities and challenges of sustaining Jewish storytelling in the 21st century? And what does it mean to read Jewishly — both within and beyond traditional religious frameworks?

Along the way, we explore how the Jewish Book Council supports authors, festivals, book clubs, and readers; how literary culture builds bridges across Jewish communities; and why the act of reading together remains one of the most fundamental ways Jews connect to our past and imagine our future.

Naomi Firestone-Teeter:

https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/naomi-firestone-teeter

Jewish Book Council:
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/

https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/75th-national-jewish-book-award-winners

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/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

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

What does it mean to give—and why does Jewish tradition place such deep emphasis on tzedakah?

In this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy-Award-winning journalist Jon Frankel explore the Jewish ethics of giving and the real-world challenges of philanthropy today. From childhood memories of the classic blue-and-white tzedakah box to questions about how we teach generosity to the next generation, the conversation examines how giving shapes both personal character and communal responsibility.

They’re joined by Andres Spokoiny, President and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network, who works with philanthropists around the world to expand and strengthen Jewish giving. Spokoiny shares insights from his global perspective on philanthropy—from the importance of strategic giving and collaboration to the challenges of fighting antisemitism, supporting Jewish education, and preparing the next generation of Jewish leaders.

Along the way, the conversation tackles big questions:
How should philanthropists decide where to give?
What makes charitable giving truly effective?
And in an age of crisis and rapid change, how can philanthropy help build a stronger future for Jewish life?

From ancient teachings to modern strategy, this episode explores how tzedakah isn’t just about charity—it’s about responsibility, leadership, and shaping the world we want to live in.

Jewish Funders Network
https://www.jfunders.org/

Andres Spokoiny:
https://www.andres-spokoiny.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/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

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

What does it mean to choose an identity — especially when that identity places you in danger?

This week on Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Emmy Award-winning journalist Jon Frankel sit down with sociologist, author, and humanitarian leader Dr. Georgette Bennett to discuss her moving new book, Half-Jew–Full Life: The Unlikely Journey of a Voluntary Jew from Nazi Persecution to the American Dream.

The book traces the life of Gary “Pips” Phillips — born to a Jewish father and Aryan mother in Berlin — who could have avoided deportation under Nazi racial laws. Instead, he insisted on embracing a Jewish identity. “Hitler made me a Jew,” he would later say. Pips went underground in Berlin, was arrested four times, escaped three times, and survived through a combination of ingenuity, unlikely mercy, and relentless will to live.

But this conversation goes deeper than biography.

Georgette Bennett shares her personal connection to Pips — who became a surrogate father to her after her own family escaped postwar Hungary — and reflects on the moral ambiguities she faced in telling his story. The episode explores survivor consciousness without romanticizing survival, the difference between survivor’s guilt and survival as resistance, and how trauma echoes across generations.

Rabbi Cosgrove and Jon Frankel also examine how Jewish identity today must be rooted in more than Holocaust memory — in dignity, responsibility, and the biblical commandment to care for the stranger. In a time of renewed antisemitism and polarized politics, Bennett argues that Jews are not defined only by victimhood, but by civilizational contributions and moral imagination.

A story of darkness, resilience, and full-hearted living.

Dr. Georgette Bennett:

https://bennettny.com/

Half-Jew – Full Life:
https://www.amazon.com/Half-Jew-Full-Life-Unlikely-Voluntary-Persecution-ebook/dp/B0FCG82D4Z

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/#

Jon Frankel:

https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel

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