Extended Kiddush

4 June 2026It’s no one’s fault we haven’t recorded in a few weeks…. actually, yes, it’s Talia’s, because she was away for a few days. But my oh my, we have a lot to talk about. Florida, Memorial Day, Jewish Heritage Night, the meteor, the return of the snapping turtle…and more. We’ve got Rachel Fish, the David Passer lecture, Talia’s greeting card collection, and somehow Marissa has not seen “The Prince of Egypt”?!?! We also talk about summer Jewish holidays, do a blind taste test/flavor identification of Polar seltzers, and look ahead to the Annual Meeting, the Golf Outing, pizza Friday, and much more. Also, an all-time bonus track, because of course it is.

7 May 2026This was a good one! We start off with Marissa recapping her trip to New Orleans, Talia not getting a second boat, and Dan reporting back from his road trip. We review a million TST events, including the solar panels ribbon-cutting, Parents For Peace, Pizza Friday, the Social Supper, the end of Hineni, pavilion prep, and THE SURVEY. We also discover a secret extra piece of the census in Bamidbar, get another great quote from Talia (“It hasn’t not happened yet”), and swerve into some reality TV talk. Plus: a new Dunkin in Wayland, John Legg prepares to go to his first B Mitzvah party and dreams of Oshkosh…and perhaps there should be two Mother’s Days? I think we agree. And, as usual, a bonus track.

23 December 2025This week, we finish up the year with a last-minute podcast before Marissa jets off to Florida. We review assorted holiday gift swaps, Marissa’s pilgrimage to Marblehead, and Dan’s proud Jewish moment at a Bruins game. We also review the Chanukah tarantella that was performed at services on Friday night, the hilarity of the staff Chanukah celebration, and admire the amazing photos from the Bring-Your-Own-Menorah situation. We finish up by taking a look back at some of our favorite moments from this year on the show, and have another moment when we lose our minds over… almonds. Enjoy the bonus track, and see you in 2026!

S1:E25- We Bought A Ladder5 December 2025We’ve got a full house today as Jenna and Renata join us for a just-before-Shabbat episode full of action. We recap Thanksgiving and review our musical highlights from the day, discover our cultural blindspots (i.e. who hasn’t seen Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, The Godfather, Toy Story, and The Sound of Music), and have polite disagreements about lip syncing. We also talk about TST’s recent purchases of a ladder (for The Lego Menorah) and a new office chair (for our newest employee), review this week’s events, and prepare to smash the indoor record for pizza on Consecration Shabbat. We also do some PG-13 learning about mandrakes, get ready for a bevy of Chanukah activities, and prepare for various other events… like the TST Blood Drive, the Reyim Dinner, and, of course, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And, as always, a bonus track to get you ready for the Festival of Lights.

S1:E2320 November 2025All Sliced UpLife comes at us fast- we blinked and 23 days went by without a podcast. We are back this week with a recap of a whole bunch of TST events, learn about Jacob and Esau, talk to John Legg about 3D printing, and go deep on Thanksgiving. Talia preps for Wicked For Good, Dan gets into some cranberry minutiae, and Marissa expands her footprint at home. We also celebrate the completion of the ELC outdoor classroom and community brick pathway, look at “Hineni” in the Jewish tradition, and break the indoor record for community pizza dinner attendance. Stick around for a Thanksgiving-fueled bonus track

15 October 2025As XK celebrates its 21st birthday (of sorts), we also celebrate the return of the live hostages, the end of the holidays of Tishrei here at TST, and, of course, the release of the new album from Taylor Swift. We actually crown a Yom Kippur champion (no spoilers here), review the excitement of October 5 with the food drive, Sukkah building and softball bbq, and get ready for even more events coming up. We also celebrate the 95th birthday of Marissa’s Nana, learn some new things from Bereshit, and get ready for Rabbi Lisa’s class and Mussar kicking off next week. Stick around for a recording of the choir singing “Pitchu Li” from Yom Kippur morning and a next-gen audio track using an advanced model about the return of the hostages.

S1:E19- Shofar, So Good9.9.25Some weeks we are too busy to podcast, and other weeks we are too busy to podcast but do it anyway- you can guess what kind of week this was! Today we welcome Marissa back to the pod and hear about her time away, and then launch into a review of a very busy week here at TST. The opening of the ELC, a pizza dinner for 200 people, Natick Days, the first Sunday of Hineni, and the Board Kallah all took place within just five days. We do some learning about the shofar, including the famous “interrupting shofar” from the Talmud, ask birthday girl Talia Hirsh four questions, and get jazzed for a fall full of programming here at the temple. Also, as usual, a bonus track about the shofar with a K-Pop vibe. See you next week for Episode 20!

5 August 2025: Everything Is ForwardWell- Logan’s back from the Mountain Time Zone, Marissa is Red Sox TikTok famous, Dan saw back-to-back wins at Fenway, Talia encountered sea snails, John Legg throws shade at… fish, and Jenna preps for Renata’s arrival next week. We talk about the end of ELC camp, TST’s PMC riders, and building improvements, review some ridiculous Talmudic arguments, check in on the community brick pathway, and get ready for a work-from-home week on Aug. 18. Later on, we’ve got some quality squirrel banter, not one, but two bonus post-outro audio tracks, and a potential road trip? You never know.