For Beth El Congregation, synagogue life extends beyond the confines of the physical shul itself. But that doesn’t just mean events, holiday celebrations and service days that take place elsewhere. The synagogue’s presence extends into the computer screens and headphones of members everywhere with Beth El’s podcast network.
Beth El Executive Director Ben Wachstein said that when the synagogue launched the network a few years ago, its success was by no means certain.
“We didn’t know if people would listen. So it was possible that we would do a few podcasts and then decide it wasn’t worth it, but [Director of Communications and Marketing] Jeremy [Silbert] really put in a lot of time and effort with a number of other people on our staff and just made it work. It’s an impressive amount of work that we have done to get this to work, and it’s really been the entirety of our team making it happen,” Wachstein said.
What started as one podcast every couple of weeks has expanded into four shows, some of which have new episodes weekly. The podcast network as a whole garnered 10,000 downloads in 2025, with listeners in Israel, Canada, Europe and elsewhere.
“We were doing some real marketing with this. We wanted our congregants to know. We wanted people in the community to know. And so, we immediately started to see really good feedback, specifically from our membership, who were enjoying the personalities that they were seeing and hearing from,” Wachstein said.
The community outside of the membership rolls at Beth El also received the podcasts warmly and let the shul know.
“It was almost immediate that we started getting emails and phone calls and messages on our social media that people were really in tune to what we were doing,” Wachstein said. “It was gratifying.”
The podcasts broach a variety of topics. There is one that consists of four moms discussing parenting and more called “Kvetch and Co.” There is a more Judaism-focused podcast called “Havdalah Happy Hour” that aims to help folks wind down after Shabbat with deeper conversation and reflection.
“It’s recorded on Thursdays and posted on Saturday evening after Shabbat. It allows for our membership to hear what’s happening this coming week. It’s hosted by Ben Kreshtool, our ritual director, and Jill Suffel, who is our membership and programming director, along with our religious school director, Cantor Emily Ellentuck,” Wachstein said. “That has just become comfort food for our members. They love seeing the three of them on the screen; they love hearing their voices. They really enjoy hearing what’s happening in the coming weeks. And for our team, it allows for them to be creative and to do something that is out of the ordinary in synagogue life, and that has been a huge benefit.”
At a time when anti-Zionism and antisemitism are rampant, though, perhaps the most topical podcast is “The Israel Connection,” hosted by Esti Zenati.
“She is our creative content manager, and has had on a range of guests from Israel and the United States who have really provided incredible insight into what’s happening in Israel, but also how we in the United States are dealing with what’s happening in Israel. The ability to do that kind of work is incredible. The content allows for our community to stay connected, but also to be enriched,” Wachstein said.
Beth El has also seen success with publishing its weekly sermons and parsha discussions as part of the podcast network, as well as some audio and video related to special events.
Wachstein said that he isn’t sure where the Beth El podcast network will go from here, but it’s not out of the question that the synagogue hires a dedicated employee who works on the podcasts full-time. For now, all of the editing and posting is done by Silbert and Marketing Associate Samantha Halle. Hopefully, Wachstein said, Beth El can reach a point where members can use the podcast studio and equipment to create shows of their own, too.
“The sky’s really the limit. It’s a lot of fun, and people are enjoying it,” he said.
