🎙️ Episode Summary

Anthony (a Catholic deacon-in-training) and Rabbi Chaim dive into the theme of atonement—how Catholics and Jews approach repentance, forgiveness, and coming back into right relationship with God and community. They swap stories, compare practices like confession and Yom Kippur, and laugh about the quirks of tradition, while also reflecting deeply on what real change looks like. This episode explores:

• How Catholics lean on confession, while Judaism emphasizes Teshuvah (repentance/return), especially around Yom Kippur.
• How the destruction of the Temple shifted Jewish atonement from sacrifices to prayer, charity, and repentance.
• Catholicism and Judaism both stress that atonement isn’t a “once and done” event—it requires reflection, action, and often reconciling with others.
• Daily reflection, the sacrament of confession, and acts of charity are ways to live repentance consistently, not just on holy days.
• Atonement is more than words—it’s action-based, meant to restore relationships with God and people.

🔦 Key Quotes:

• Rabbi Chaim: “If there’s strife between you and other people, you need to go and take care of that with them. Yom Kippur won’t fix it until you do.”
• Anthony: “Confession isn’t about punishment—it’s the avenue to get back into the good graces with God and the community.”

📚 Mentioned in This Episode:

• Leviticus 23 – Yom Kippur as a “day of atonements.”
• Mishnah Yoma 8:9 – Repentance between people requires reconciliation, not just prayer.
• Maimonides, Mishneh Torah (Book of Repentance) – Teshuvah as the path to atonement in the absence of the Temple.
• Psalms & Leviticus 5 – Early roots of confession in Scripture.
• John 20:22–23 & James 5:16 – New Testament foundations for the sacrament of confession.
• Rabbeinu Yonah, Gates of Repentance – Practical principles and barriers to repentance.
• Catholic traditions – The Examination of Conscience (Ignatian practice), the Precepts of the Church, and the Lenten pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

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📧 Email us: faithfulfriendscast@gmail.com

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🎙️ Recorded live at Temple Beth Ahm, Aberdeen, NJ

📌 Episode Summary:

In this episode, Rabbi Edelstein and Anthony dive deep into the delicate—and sometimes uncomfortable—topic of correcting others within the framework of Jewish and Catholic moral teaching.

Is it ever our place to call someone out? When do religious traditions encourage us to step in, and when are we called to step back? Drawing from Scripture, Rabbinic wisdom, and Church teaching, this episode explores:

• The Jewish concept of tochacha (rebuke with love)
• The Catholic practice of fraternal correction
• Boundaries between law, judgment, and mercy
• What the Catechism and Talmud really say about calling someone to account
• Practical tips for how (and when) to lovingly correct others in today’s world
• Why silence can sometimes be more harmful than confrontation

🔦 Key Quotes:

🕍 “Correction without compassion becomes criticism. But when it's done in love, it becomes an invitation to grow.” – Rabbi Chaim – Rabbi

⛪ “Fraternal correction isn’t about shaming—it’s about restoring the truth in love.” – Anthony

✨ Takeaway Challenge:

This week, think about one moment where correction might actually be an act of mercy. Can you approach it with humility, prayer, and courage?

📚 Mentioned in This Episode:

• Leviticus 19:17 – “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor...”
• Matthew 18:15–17 – Jesus’ steps for correction within the Church
• Catechism of the Catholic Church §1829, §1435, §1868
• Talmud, Tractate Bava Metzia 31a – Ethical rebuke and responsibility
• Teachings of Pope Benedict XVI and Maimonides (Rambam) on moral guidance

🙌 Stay Connected:

📧 Email us: faithfulfriendscast@gmail.com

📲 Follow us on Instagram: @faithfulfriends_podcast

🎙️ Recorded live at Temple Beth Ahm, Aberdeen, NJ

In this episode, Anthony Cullen and Rabbi Edelstein discuss the practice of fasting in each of their traditions, inspired by texts from the Bible, the Rule of St. Benedict, and Tanya Iggeret haTeshuva (The Tanya Letter on Repentance).

Fasting, it turns out, can be about a lot more than just not eating for a while...

Texts quoted in this episode:

Matthew 6:16-18:

• When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you. Treasure in Heaven.

The Rule of St. Benedict:

• Chapter 39 – “The proper amount of food for each day” sets norms for monastic fasting.
• Chapter 40 – Regulates wine (indicates moderation/abstinence).
• Chapter 41 – Discusses mealtimes during Lent and other fasting periods.
• Chapter 49 – “The Observance of Lent”: “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent…Let each one deny himself some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting.”

Tanya Iggeret haTeshuva, from chapter 2 (translated by R' Adin Steinsaltz):

• In general, the mystery of fasting is a wondrous remedy to manifest G-d’s supernal favor, similar to an offering, about which the Torah states, ‘A pleasing aroma to the LORD,’ and as it is written in Isaiah, ‘is this what you call a fast and a day of favor to the LORD?’” This teaches that the fast that is desired by G-d is a “day of favor".