About this episode
How does prayer connect us to one another when we’re divided by belief, distance, or time? In this final episode of Thoughts & Prayers , host Jessica Fisher explores how Jewish prayer can both strengthen and strain our sense of peoplehood. From the universal call of the shofar to the discomfort of praying beside those we disagree with, this episode asks what it means to belong to a people who do not always see or believe the same way. Alongside Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield, Yehuda Kurtzer, Yael Splansky, and Akiva Mattenson, we trace how the sounds, words, and silences of prayer continue to bind Jews across time, space, and difference. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Learn more about Deborah's forthcoming album, Songs from the Beit Midrash , coming February 2026.