Our guest this week is Rabbi Ranon Teller of the Brith Shalom congregation in Bellaire, Texas. Rabbi Teller initially pursued scriptwriting as a career. He graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in television writing. His writing career began in Chicago, led him to Los Angeles, and then continued in Jerusalem. As he continued to write, Rabbi Teller enrolled part-time at Machon Shechter, the Conservative rabbinical school in Israel. Finally, he embraced his calling and enrolled in a joint rabbinic and education program at the Zeigler School of rabbinic studies. Rabbi Teller began his career in the pulpit as an Assistant Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Amoona in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2004, he was promoted to Associate Rabbi, and in 2005 he became the leader of the Brith Shalom community.
This week's Torah portion – Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18) – features the death of Sarah, Isaac's marriage to Rivka, and the death and burial of Abraham. Our discussion focuses on Eliezer’s prayer, which helps Isaac find a wife, and on what it could tell us about the role of prayer in our lives.
If you would like to learn some more about Chayei Sarah, check out our discussion with Rabbi James Gibson.
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