Elliot Cosgrove, FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS: On Being Jewish Today

Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby Owens

Connection, Inspiration, Moms, Entertainment, Arts, Reading, Books, Parenting, Literary

4.4 • 602 Ratings

🗓️ 21 June 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Zibby is joined by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, a leading voice in modern Judaism, to discuss FOR A TIME SUCH AS THIS, a poignant exploration of what it means to be Jewish today. Rabbi Cosgrove shares the urgent circumstances under which the book was written following the October 7th attacks in Israel, and how it explores the complex dynamics of Jewish identity, antisemitism, and solidarity in a time of crisis. The conversation also touches on the renewed sense of communal belonging among Jews worldwide, the moral clarity and challenges that emerged after the attacks, the many faces of antisemitism (overt violence vs. more subtle exclusionary forms), and the rising tensions both outside and within the Jewish community. When asked if he feels hopeful, Rabbi Cosgrove admits it’s difficult in the short and medium terms, but affirms that to be Jewish is to hold on to hope.

Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/4jUMslu

Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, this is Zibi Owens, and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest, best-selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators, whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive
0:24.0	look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't
0:29.3	have to.
0:30.3	Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day.
0:36.2	For more information, go to zibbimedia.com and follow me on Instagram at Zibby Owens.
0:44.7	Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove is the author of For Such a Time as This on Being Jewish Today.
0:50.6	Elliot J. Cosgrove is a leading voice of American Jewry.
0:53.9	He is senior rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City.
0:57.4	Ordained in 1999 at the Jewish Theological Seminary, he earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago Divinity School and is a senior Hartman-Rubinic Fellow.
1:07.0	Rabbi Cosgrove sits on the Chancellor's Cabinet of the Jewish Theological Seminary and on the editorial committee of Messorty, the new journal of conservative Judaism.
1:16.0	An officer of the New York Board of Rabbis, he serves on the boards of UJA Federation of New York, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and Hillel at the University of Michigan.
1:26.0	He is a member of the Council on Foreign
1:27.9	Relations. Rabbi Cosgrove represented the Jewish community at the National September 11th Memorial
1:33.9	and Museum during the visit of Pope Francis to New York in 2015. Rabbi Cosgrove was honored to represent
1:40.2	American Jewry at the 2024 White House Hanukkah Party. A frequent contributor to Jewish journals and periodicals, he is the author of 16 volumes
1:48.9	of sermons, the editor of Jewish theology in our time, and the author of For Such a Time
1:54.4	as This on Being Jewish Today.
1:56.0	He is the host of Conversations with Cosgrove, a series on the Park Avenue Synagogue podcast, which features
2:02.0	conversations with thought leaders in the Jewish world and beyond. Welcome, Rabbi. Thank you so
2:06.6	much for coming on totally booked with Zibby to talk about for such a time as this on being
2:11.4	Jewish today. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Of course. It's a delight.
2:17.6	Okay. You were writing this book. Tell us the timeline of when you started writing this book, the events of October 7th, and everything that's sort of been happening in the world as the book has entered into the bookstores and all that.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Zibby Owens, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Zibby Owens and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.