Shownotes
This week on Faithfully Explore!, we step inside a Jewish synagogue to ask a big question: What is a rabbi?
Kids will discover that a rabbi is a Jewish teacher, guide, interpreter, listener, and community helper. Rabbis study sacred Jewish texts such as the Torah and Talmud, help people understand Jewish teachings, lead and support community life, and walk with families through both joyful celebrations and difficult times.
In this episode, we explore how rabbis help people ask big questions, learn from ancient wisdom, and practice kindness in everyday life.
In This Episode
- Visit a Jewish synagogue and learn what happens there
- Discover what rabbis do in Jewish communities
- Learn kid-friendly meanings for Torah, Talmud, and mitzvot
- Play an interactive “Is it a Rabbi Job?” game
- Meet Ari, a child wondering about kindness, anger, and his dog Barnaby
- Move along with a fun Rabbi Book Workout
- Cross the Friendship Bridge to compare rabbis with other wise guides
- Hear a story about Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and a crying baby
- Pack the Belief Backpack with a reminder that wisdom is something we live, not just something we read about
Big Ideas for Kids
A rabbi helps people learn, ask questions, and live with kindness.
Sacred texts can guide people in everyday choices.
Different communities have different kinds of wise guides.
Asking big questions is part of learning.
Kindness matters most when we put it into action.
Weekly Challenge
Find a wise guide in your own life. It could be a teacher, grandparent, coach, neighbor, parent, or another trusted grown-up.
Ask them a big question, such as:
- What is the hardest thing you have ever learned?
- How do you stay calm when you feel mad?
- What is one lesson you hope kids remember?
- Who helped guide you when you were young?
For Parents and Educators
This episode is a gentle introduction to Jewish leadership and synagogue life. It can be used to support conversations about religion, community helpers, sacred texts, thoughtful questioning, and respect for different traditions.
After listening, invite kids to reflect on the wise guides in their own lives and the ways they can show kindness through action.
Listen and Explore More
Visit the Faithfully Explore! website for related printables, book lists, and family learning resources.
Transcripts
Hi, friends.
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:Welcome to Faithfully Explore, the
podcast where we pack our imaginary
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:suitcases, put on our curiosity
caps, and travel the world to learn
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:about the beautiful ways people live,
love, and celebrate their faith.
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:I'm Laura, and I'm so glad you
are exploring with me today.
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:Today, we are heading inside a
Jewish synagogue, a sacred house of
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:worship, to meet someone very special.
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:Faithfully Explore! Intro:
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:Faithfully Explore!
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:is the name.
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:Learning together is our aim.
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:Beliefs around the globe we'll track,
filling up our Belief Backpack.
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:Laura: Hear that?
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:That is the sound of a community coming
together, and right in the middle of it
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:all is a person who helps guide them.
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:In Judaism, this person is called a rabbi.
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:But what exactly is a rabbi?
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:A rabbi is kind of like a teacher,
a coach, a storyteller, and a
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:wise guide all wrapped into one.
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:To understand a rabbi, we first
have to understand what they teach.
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:Rabbis love to learn, and their very
favorite thing to do is study a beautiful
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:handwritten scroll called the Torah.
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:The Torah holds the most sacred
stories and rules for Jewish people.
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:It tells them about God, about
history, and gives them instructions
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:on how to live a good life.
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:Those instructions are called mitzvot.
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:They tell you to do good deeds like
helping a neighbor, honoring your
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:parents, or taking care of the Earth.
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:But here's the thing about the
Torah, it's thousands of years old.
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:So if you are a Jewish kid today, you
might wonder, "How do I follow a rule
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:from a long time ago in the modern world?"
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:That's where the rabbi steps in.
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:Rabbis go to a special school for many
years to learn how to read the Torah
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:and another massive set of books called
the Talmud, which is basically a giant
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:collection of notes and debates from
wise teachers throughout history.
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:A rabbi is an interpreter.
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:That's a big word that just
means they help explain what the
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:ancient words mean for us today.
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:And guess what?
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:Anyone can grow up to be a rabbi.
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:In many Jewish communities,
rabbis can be women or men.
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:No matter who they are, a
rabbi's main job is to love
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:learning and love helping people.
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:It's game time.
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:So what does a rabbi actually do all day?
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:Let's play a quick game
called Is It a Rabbi Job?
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:I'm going to name an activity.
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:If you think it's something a rabbi
does, give me a giant thumbs up.
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:If you think it's not, thumbs down.
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:Ready?
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:Number one, standing on a stage at a
beautiful wedding, holding up a canopy
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:and helping a couple say, "I do."
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:Thumbs up.
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:Yes, rabbis help people
celebrate weddings.
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:Two, sitting behind a curtain to
listen to you whisper your mistakes so
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:they can erase them and forgive you.
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:Thumbs down.
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:No, rabbis don't have special
powers to forgive your mistakes.
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:But a rabbi will absolutely sit with
you to talk about how to fix a mistake.
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:Number three, hold a tiny brand-new
baby and help their parents
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:give them their Jewish name.
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:Thumbs up.
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:Rabbis love welcoming new babies.
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:And number four, singing and praying
with people during a Friday night service
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:called Shabbat, and giving a speech called
a sermon to inspire everyone to be kind.
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:Big thumbs up.
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:You guys are good at this.
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:Rabbis are there for the happiest times,
like a bar or bat mitzvah, which is a
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:massive celebration when a kid turns
twelve or thirteen and becomes an
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:official Jewish adult in the community.
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:But rabbis are also there
for the tough stuff.
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:If someone is very sick or if a
family member dies, and people
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:are feeling sad and crying,
the rabbi comes to their house.
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:They can't fix the sadness, but
they bring a warm heart, comforting
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:words, and they sit with the
family so they don't feel alone.
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:They are professional helpers.
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:Let's drop into a synagogue right now and
listen to a story about a kid named Ari.
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:Ari is seven years old, and
he has a very big question.
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:Ari was sitting in his
synagogue's classroom, chewing
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:on the end of his pencil.
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:He was thinking about his dog, Barnaby.
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:Barnaby had accidentally chewed up Ari's
favorite superhero the night before.
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:Ari was angry, but now he felt
bad for yelling at Barnaby.
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:He walked down the hall to
the office of Rabbi Sarah.
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:Rabbi Sarah's office was filled to the
ceiling with heavy, beautiful books.
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:"Come on in, Ari," Rabbi
Sarah said, smiling warmly.
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:"What's on your mind?"
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:"Rabbi Sarah," Ari said, sitting down.
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:"The Torah says we are supposed to love
all creatures, but am I breaking mitzvah
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:if I'm really, really mad at my dog?"
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:Rabbi Sarah looked very thoughtful.
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:"Ari," she said, "That
is an excellent question.
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:You know what?
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:Even the wisest teachers from a
thousand years ago argued about anger.
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:Being mad is a normal human feeling.
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:The Torah doesn't say you can't feel mad.
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:It just teaches us how to react.
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:Did you hurt Barnaby?"
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:"No," Ari said.
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:"I just yelled and went to my room."
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:"Then you did great," Rabbi Sarah smiled.
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:"You gave yourself space.
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:The Talmud reminds us to practice
patience, especially with animals
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:who don't know any better.
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:Tomorrow is a new day to
show Barnaby kindness.
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:You're learning, Ari.
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:That's what life is all about."
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:Ari didn't feel perfectly happy,
but his heart felt a little lighter
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:because Rabbi Sarah listened to him.
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:Whew!
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:Thinking about big questions
makes me want to move.
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:It's time for a quick movement break.
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:Everybody stand up.
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:Rabbis read huge, heavy books
filled with centuries of wisdom.
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:Studying that much is basically a
workout for your brain and your muscles.
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:Let's do a rabbi book workout.
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:First, bend your knees and reach
all the way down to the floor.
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:We are going to lift a giant,
heavy book off the bottom shelf.
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:Ready?
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:Lift it up.
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:Oof!
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:Lift it all the way over your head.
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:Now lift it seven more times.
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:Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
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:Put it down.
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:Now we need to flip the pages.
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:Put your arms out wide
like a giant book opening.
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:Now snap your hands
together in front of you.
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:Clap!
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:That's one page.
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:Open wide again and clap.
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:That's page two.
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:Let's get to page five.
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:Open wide and clap.
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:Three.
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:Open wide and clap.
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:Four.
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:Open wide and clap.
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:That's five.
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:Now the rabbi has to think really
hard about what they just read.
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:Put your hands on your hips and
jog in place as fast as you can
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:to get the brain juice flowing.
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:Jog, jog, jog.
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:Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
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:Now stop.
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:Put one finger up.
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:Look up at the ceiling
and give me a loud, "Aha!
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:I got it!"
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:Brilliant.
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:Take a deep breath in and let it out.
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:You are officially warmed
up and ready for more.
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:Let's cross our friendship bridge.
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:This is the part of our show where we
look at how different people across
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:the world have similar roles, even if
their traditions look a bit different.
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:Every community needs wise guides.
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:If you visit a Buddhist temple,
you might meet a monk or a nun
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:who teaches you mindfulness.
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:If you visit a Muslim mosque,
you might meet an imam who
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:leads the community in prayer.
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:If you visit a Christian church, you might
meet a pastor, a minister, or a priest.
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:And even outside of religion, you
have people like school principals,
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:neighborhood coaches, or Indigenous elders
who hold the wisdom of their ancestors.
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:Every group has someone whose job
it is to remember the old stories,
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:protect the rules, and give big warm
hugs when the community needs them.
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:Rabbis are the Jewish community's
version of that guide.
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:Now it's time for my
favorite part of the podcast.
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:It's story time.
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:I wonder what story
we're gonna hear today.
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:Before we pack up our bags, I want
to tell you a famous true story
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:about Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, who
lived about two hundred years ago.
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:It was the night of Yom Kippur, which
is the holiest, most important holiday
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:of the whole year for Jewish people.
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:The synagogue was packed.
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:It was dark outside, the candles
were lit, and everyone was
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:wearing their best clothes.
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:They were all waiting to start the
special opening prayer called Kol Nidre.
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:But there was a big problem.
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:The rabbi was missing!
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:The community leaders
looked at their watches.
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:Ten minutes late.
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:Twenty minutes late.
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:This was unheard of.
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:Finally, the head of the
synagogue waved his hands.
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:"We need a search party," he called out.
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:"Grab your lanterns.
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:Search the town."
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:A group of neighbors hurried out
into the dark cobblestone streets.
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:They checked the rabbi's house.
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:Empty.
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:They checked the market.
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:No rabbi.
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:They were getting really worried
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:Suddenly, one of the searchers
passed a tiny, quiet little house
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:in the poorest part of town.
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:He peeked through the window into
a dark room, and his jaw dropped.
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:"Psst!
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:Over here," the searcher
whispered to the others.
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:"Look."
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:They crept inside the house, ready
to rescue the rabbi from danger.
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:But instead, they saw the great, famous
Rabbi Salanter sitting on a tiny stool in
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:the dark, gently rocking a baby's cradle.
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:As the search party bustled into
the room, Rabbi Salanter quickly
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:put his fingers to his lips.
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:"Shh, shh, quiet everyone,"
the rabbi whispered fiercely.
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:"Tiptoe.
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:You will wake this poor child.
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:It took me almost an hour
to get him to sleep."
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:The searchers stood
there, totally confused.
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:"But Rabbi," one of them whispered back,
"the whole town is waiting for you.
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:It's Yom Kippur.
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:Why are you babysitting?"
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:Rabbi Salanter looked up from the
cradle, his eyes warm and serious.
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:"On my way to the synagogue, I walked
past this window and heard this sweet
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:baby crying," the rabbi explained.
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:"His parents had already
left for the service, and he
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:woke up terrified and alone.
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:Tell me, how could I stand in a beautiful
building and sing prayers to God knowing
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:that a tiny baby was right here crying in
the dark with no one to hold his hand?"
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:The searchers didn't know what to say.
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:They realized that the rabbi was
teaching them the most important lesson
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:of all without even opening a book.
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:That is what a true rabbi does.
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:They don't just teach
the words in the Torah.
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:They live them out by showing
love and kindness to the
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:world, one tiny baby at a time.
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:What's inside our belief
backpack this week?
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:Inside our backpack
today, we have a reminder.
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:A rabbi is a teacher of
love, learning, and life.
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:They remind us that it's okay to have big
questions and that looking for answers
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:is one of the best things we can do.
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:So here is your weekly challenge.
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:Find a wise guide in
your own life this week.
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:It could be a teacher, a grandparent,
a coach, or a grownup you love.
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:Ask them a big question.
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:You could ask, "What is the
hardest thing you ever learned?"
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:Or, "How do you stay
calm when you feel mad?"
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:See what wisdom they share with you.
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:Thank you so much for packing your
curiosity and exploring the world
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:with me today on Faithfully Explore!
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:Remember, whether someone wears a rabbi's
prayer shawl, a teacher's lanyard, or
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:a coach's whistle, the world is full
of wonderful helpers who are ready
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:to listen to your biggest questions.
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:And who knows?
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:Maybe one day someone will come to you
with a big question, and you'll get to
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:be the wise guide who shares a little
bit of love and wisdom with them.
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:Until next time, stay curious, stay
kind, and keep faithfully exploring
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:that big, wonderful world around you.
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:Faithfully Explore! Outro:
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:Faithfully Explore!
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:is about you.
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:Let's grow kinder together it's true!
