The Wildescast

Rabbi Mark Wildes is joined by Jacqueline Murekatete, founder of the Genocide Survivors Foundation. Jacqueline shares her harrowing story of how she survived the Rwandan Genocide, her thoughts on the current situation in Ukraine, and more.

Imam Abdullah Antepli, a scholar in cross-religious dialogue and associate professor at Duke University, shares his transformative journey from antisemitism to understanding through Islam. He highlights the shared heritage of Islam and Judaism, advocating for dialogue to bridge community divides in America. The conversation covers the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, emphasizing the importance of mutual respect and education in fostering peace. Antepli also discusses the positive impact of recent interfaith initiatives, showcasing real progress in community relations.

Raised in Brooklyn, Inna Vernikov is a small business owner and a practicing lawyer. Inna grew up as one of three children in a family of Ukrainian immigrants, being taught the value of integrity and hard work by her mother, a bookkeeper, and her father, a businessman. As a business owner and attorney, Inna has overcome adversity and has always been there for the people. Supporting local schools and education, Inna has volunteered her time participating in “Career Day” for public school students, advising and inspiring classes of middle schoolers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Inna volunteered her time at the local Masbia Soup Kitchen and donated meals to law enforcement officers at the New York City Police Department’s 61st precinct in Brooklyn, as well as essential workers at Staten Island University Hospital. Faced with the persistent failure of government on local issues and local communities, Inna began getting involved in politics and government. Inna joined the campaign of former Senator David Storobin, was Special Assistant to former Assemblyman Dov Hikind, and spent her time registering voters on the street with the United Jewish Voters Alliance, while simultaneously running her business. Inna currently helps mobilize assistance to those in need throughout the 48th City Council District, and has received recognition for the results of her work.

Sivan Rahav-Meir is a media personality and lecturer. Married to Yedidya, the mother of five. Lives in Jerusalem. Went on shlichut with her family 2019-2020, when she served as World Mizrachi's Shlicha to North America. She works for Israel TV news, writes a column for Yediot Aharonot newspaper, and hosts a weekly radio show on Galei Zahal (Army Radio). Her lectures on the weekly Torah portion are attended by hundreds and the live broadcast attracts thousands more listeners throughout the world. Sivan lectures in Israel and overseas about the media, Judaism, Zionism and new media. She was voted by Globes newspaper as most popular female media personality in Israel and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world.

In this episode Rabbi Wildes speaks with Naomi Nachman. As cooking has always been her passion, in 2004, Naomi started her own kosher personal chef business, The Aussie Gourmet, to pursue cater weekly and Shabbat/Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities and beyond — including Alaska and Israel. Naomi is often sought after to give cooking demonstrations and produce kosher Chopped competitions throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan as well as across the country, where she shares her immense enthusiasm for food. Naomi has her own cooking show on Kosher.com called Sunny Side Up. Naomi also hosts her own weekly show, “Table for Two with Naomi Nachman” on The Nachum Segal Network – which covers all food-related topics. In addition, Naomi writes a monthly column for the Mishpacha magazine covering food trends, and is also a contributing editor to The Jewish Home newspaper distributed in Long Island, Baltimore and California writing weekly articles and recipes. Naomi has also been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, a cooking CD and a variety of newspaper articles covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. In 2017 Naomi published her debut cook Perfect For Pesach with Artscroll. Naomi published her second cookbook Perfect Flavors in November, 2018 Artscroll.

Lori Palatnik is a writer and Jewish educator who has appeared on television and radio. She is the Founding Director of The Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, an international initiative that brings thousands of women to Israel each year from 18 different countries on highly subsidized programs to inspire them with the beauty and wisdom of their heritage (www.jwrp.org). She is a much sought-after international speaker, having lectured in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Central America, South America, South Africa and Israel, including featured talks at Yale, Brown and Penn. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik, and is the busy mother of five children, ages 25 to 15.

In this episode Rabbi Wildes continues his Science and Religion series. His guest is renowned scientist Rabbi Dr. Chaim Presby. They talk about evolution, Torah, human origins and a host of other issues.

Gerald Schroeder is a scientist with over thirty years of experience in research and teaching. He earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees all at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with his doctorate thesis being under the supervision of physics professor Robley D. Evans. This was followed by five years on the staff of the MIT physics department prior to moving to Israel, where he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science and then the Volcani Research Institute, while also having a laboratory at The Hebrew University. His Doctorate is in two fields: Earth sciences and physics. Schroeder’s formal theological training in biblical, talmudic and kabalistic interpretation includes fifteen years of study under the late Rabbi Herman Pollack, Rabbi Chaim Brovender and Rabbi Noah Weinberg, of blessed memory. The scientific career that Schroeder chose has given him varied and often unusual experiences. In his work with nuclear disarmament, he has been present at the detonation of a long series of nuclear weapons [atomic bombs]. Work in control of radioactivity has put him hundreds of meters below ground in U.S. and foreign uranium mines. Within this research, he invented and had patented the first real time monitor for airborne alpha beta gamma emitters. The government of the People’s Republic of China, during the decade before it established direct contacts with Israel, was willing to overlook his Jerusalem address and had him as a frequent advisor. He also has consulted for agencies of the governments of Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, USA. Invitations for him to lecture have come from around the world. He has over 60 publications in the world’s leading scientific journals on topics ranging from the radon atmosphere of the moon (in Science) to the metabolism of mother’s milk (in Nutrition Reports International). The results of Schroeder’s work have been reported in Time, Newsweek, Scientific American and in newspapers as far apart as Boston and Adelaide. His formal training in chemistry, physics and the Earth and planetary sciences provides the basis for the broad scientific perspective he brings to his books and lectures. For the past twenty-five years, Dr. Schroeder has also pursued a study of ancient biblical interpretation. An ability to handle the biblical material in the original languages allows him to tap the subtle depths contained in the original texts. These nuances are often missed when working with translations. The uniqueness and success of Schroeder’s approach integrating biblical and scientific knowledge is demonstrated by the success of his first book, Genesis and the Big Bang (published by Bantam Doubleday), and the wide acclaim for his second book The Science of God (published by The Free Press of Simon & Schuster and Broadway Books of Bantam Doubleday) which was on the Barnes & Noble list of non-fiction best sellers and was Amazon.com’s best selling book in the field of physics/cosmology for all of 1998. This was followed by The Hidden Face of God, discovering the unity that binds all existence (published by The Free Press of Simon & Schuster). His book, God According to God, A scientist proves we’ve been wrong about God all along, was published in May 2009 with HarperOne and has enthusiastic endorsements by leading theologians, both Jewish and Christian, and a Noble Laureate scientist. His books appear in 10 languages. Gerald Schroeder lives in Jerusalem with his wife (the author, Barbara Sofer). They’ve had five children with a changing number of grandchildren. He moved to Israel from the USA in 1971. In addition to his current work in radiation control, he teaches at Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies, writes and lectures on the extraordinary confluence of modern science and ancient biblical commentary.

On this episode of the WildesCast we begin a new three-part series on the relationship between religion and science. Our first guest in the series is Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin, otherwise known as “The Zoo Rabbi.” Can you believe in both Torah and Evolution? How can a study of the animal kingdom help us remain faithful to Judaism and still believe in science? Hear answers to these questions and more.

Rabbi David Aaron is a spiritual visionary and master educator who has invested over 3 decades delving into life’s BIGGEST question marks and sharing Torah’s transformational wisdom to adults and young adults. He has emerged as the ‘God expert’ simply because he has dared to ask and answer the most difficult questions that he/ALL people have and/or struggle with about God’s existence and their own.