Jewish Ideas to Change the World

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Chaim Seidler-FellerThe event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel About the Event: In this seminar, we will consider how we’ve arrived at this moment of an outpouring of anti-Jewish venom on campus and what can be done to reintroduce civility and mutual respect between the alienated and offended groups. What is the underlying cause of this explosion of hostility and what is the University’s responsibility to address the issue? A sober and nuanced assessment by a 50-year veteran of the campus wars.About the Speaker: Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller is a faculty member at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. He recently celebrated 40 years of working with students and faculty as the Executive Director of the Yitzhak Rabin Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA, where he is now Director Emeritus.Chaim was ordained at Yeshiva University where he completed a Masters in Rabbinic Literature. He has been a lecturer in the Departments of Sociology and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA and the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He is a faculty member of the Wexner Heritage Foundation. Chaim was the founding director of the Hartman Fellowship for Hillel Professionals and a founding member of Americans for Peace Now.Chaim was a rabbinic consultant to Barbra Streisand while making the film Yentl. He and his wife Dr. Doreen Seidler-Feller, a clinical psychologist, are the parents of two children. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Sharona HalickmanThe event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJAbout The Event: How were women the heroines of the Passover story and what rituals have we taken on to honor them? Do women traditionally recline at the Seder? What is a Miriam’s cup? Are women obliged to drink the four cups of wine?About the Speaker: Sharona holds a BA in Judaic Studies from Stern College and an MS in Jewish Education from Azrieli Graduate School, Yeshiva University. Sharona was the first Orthodox woman to serve as a member of the clergy as the first Congregational Intern and first Madricha Ruchanit at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, NY. After making aliya in 2004, Sharona founded Torat Reva Yerushalayim, a nonprofit organization based in Jerusalem that provides Torah study groups for students of all ages and backgrounds. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Boris DrazninThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or TzionAbout the Event: Dr. Draznin will discuss How History and Genetics Define Jewish Diversity and Identity, the book he published (Cambridge Scholar Publishing) in 2023. The book and his presentation will reveal current answers to old questions as to how Jewish people might be genetically related. Modern genetic research tackles ingrained convictions about ethnicity and religion, journeying through time and place – from the Twelve Tribes of Israel, through Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Greco-Roman empires to today’s Ashkenazim and Sephardim, and uncovers how the Jewish gene pool travels through history. With a unique blend of enthusiasm and experience, Dr. Draznin shares a fascinating perspective on the Jewish diaspora then and now.About The Speaker: Boris Draznin, MD, Ph.D. is the Celeste and Jack Grynberg Professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, former President of the Western Association of Physicians, and Chair of the Professional Section of the American Diabetes Association. He is a member of the American Association of Physicians and the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He authored or edited over 200 scientific articles, book chapters, and books. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Noam ZionAbout the Event: In this class, we will address the question: How will you celebrate your seder in a time in which so much is lo b’seder (not in order), in a time of war, collateral damage to civilians, endangered hostages, and various kinds of worldwide antisemitism? The problems will not be resolved by Seder night, but we must celebrate as Jews have celebrated Pesach in the worst of times. But we must also acknowledge the profound experiences of the last year and the new questions raised. Joy and yet remembrance are essential in this seder. To respond to that urgent existential need for Israeli Jews, Mishael, and Noam Zion have issued this new Haggadah. Come and hear how the authors have imagined Seder 2024 and learn about how their new Haggadah may be a valuable resource for your American Jewish seder. Note the new Hebrew Haggadah, published March 17, 2024, was produced to reflect updated issues of Israeli civil and military society with its struggle with the massacre, its ongoing unresolved trauma, and its deep struggle between despair and hope. An English Seder Supplement 2024 will be shared with all participants.*Source Guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DFKgOgTBfJbXE3dyaPQIgg_vJoIUR8Ge/view?usp=sharingAbout the Speaker: Noam is now emeritus at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem where since 1978 he has been a senior research fellow and educator. He earned a graduate degree in general philosophy at Columbia University and the Hebrew University while studying Bible and Rabbinics at JTSA and the Hartman Beit Midrash.His popular publications and worldwide lecturing have promoted Homemade Judaism – empowering families to create their own pluralistic Judaism during home holidays – Pesach, Hanukkah and Shabbat. His most popular publications include A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah; A Different Light: The Big Book of Hanukkah; A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home; The Israeli Haggadah: Halaila Hazeh; and A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices (published together with his son). But his most recent book written with his son came out on March 17, 2024, Haggadah Yisraelit to reflect on the latest events of October 7, 2023.His most recent academic research encompasses a trilogy on the intellectual history of philanthropy entitled Jewish Giving in Comparative Perspectives (2013) and a nine-part series on Talmudic Marital Dramas (2018). In 2021 Jewish Publication Society published Sanctified Sex: The 2000-Year Jewish Debate on Marital Intimacy. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Chancellor Shuly Rubin SchwartzThe event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel About The Event: American Jewish Women have made enormous strides over the past century, opening up new avenues for women to engage meaningfully with Judaism and Jewish life. In so doing, they have enriched not only their own lives but also American Jewry and the Jewish tradition as a whole. Together, we will explore this transformation and its impact on us all.About the Speaker: Shuly Rubin Schwartz, Irving Lehrman Research Professor of American Jewish History, a groundbreaking scholar of American Jewish history, and a visionary institutional leader, is the eighth chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary. She is the first woman to serve in this role in its 135-year history.Chancellor Schwartz is devoted to building on JTS’s unique strengths as a Jewish institution of higher learning that trains future leaders through deep study—with both head and heart—of Jewish texts, ideas, and history. In JTS’s thriving community, students develop the creative ability to imbue others with the intellectual, cultural, and religious sustenance that our tradition offers, and they enrich every community of which they are a part. Previously, Dr. Schwartz played a central role in shaping and strengthening JTS’s academic programs while teaching and mentoring countless students. From 1993 to 2018, she served as dean of the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies, JTS’s undergraduate dual-degree program with Columbia University and Barnard College. In 2010, she was also named dean of the Gershon Kekst Graduate School. In 2018, she assumed the provostship, while continuing as dean of the Kekst School. Chancellor Schwartz was one of the first women on the JTS faculty and played an instrumental role in introducing Jewish gender studies into the curriculum. As a scholar, she brings to light previously overlooked contributions of women to Jewish life and culture over the centuries and continually expands our understanding of American Judaism. Among her publications is the award-winning book, The Rabbi’s Wife, a penetrating examination of the role of rabbis’ wives in the development of American Jewish life. ★ Support this podcast ★

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz interviews Rabbi Yehuda Albin on the importance of Jewish learning. As the founder of The Ember Foundation and TORAHUB, Yehuda has “built” a synagogue and school without walls. Since moving to Chicago in 1994, he has personally touched hundreds of people with his engaging educational style. Raised in Scarsdale, NY, in a Reform home, and educated at Bowdoin College, he earned his rabbinic ordination during a decade of Torah study in Jerusalem. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Marc GitlerAbout the Event: From Jesus to Shabtai Zevi to the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, over the past 2000 years, numerous people, or at least their followers, have fashioned themselves the long sought-after Messiah.But how does one prove that he or she is the true Messiah? While the messianic figures of the past pointed to various events, wonders, and symbols to demonstrate their authenticity, there is one idea that every claimant shares: direct lineage from King David. But what is special about King David that Jewish tradition believes him to be the father of the Messiah?*Source Sheet: https://smallpdf.com/file#s=a2f5d65c-59c2-4f93-928c-3dc05ebb1981About the Speaker: Marc Gitler is the visiting Rabbi of Aish SanDiego. A recipient of the Wexner Fellowship, he was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. The founder of Fast for Feast, he lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Sarah and their four children.The event was presented in loving Memory of David SchwartzThis class is in memory of Rabbi Gitler’s nephew, David Schwartz, who was recently killed fighting in Gaza. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Nadav Shifman BermanAbout the Event: In this class, which would take place just before Purim 5784, we shall focus on one important term in the Scroll of Esther, namely “Dat“, and ask: Is Judaism a “Religion”? What are the main modern currents, mainly in Protestantism, which arguably pushed toward defining Judaism as a religion? And what exactly is at stake, for understanding Jewish theology, thought, and practice?About the Speaker: Dr. Nadav Shifman Berman is a research fellow at the Faculty of Law, University of Haifa. Nadav’s research explores Jewish Thought vis-a-vis Pragmatism on the one hand and vis-à-vis Agape on the other. More broadly, Nadav’s research investigates the dialectic between pragmatism(s) and fundamentalism(s). In collaboration with Prof. Tal Z. Zarsky of the University of Haifa, Nadav leads an ISF-funded project on intersections between Law, Technology, and Jewish Thought. Before his IDF service, Nadav studied at Yeshivat Ma’aleh Gilbo’a (shiluv 4). ★ Support this podcast ★

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz has a conversation with Tara Strong. A renowned actress known for her talented voice work in animation & now for her powerful voice for justice for Israeli hostages.Tara Strong began her acting career at the age of 13 in Toronto, Canada. She landed several TV, film, and musical theater roles as well as, her first lead in an animated series as the title role of "Hello Kitty." After a short run at Toronto's Second City theater company, she moved to Los Angeles with an extensive resume that included her sit-com and well over 20 animated series. Upon arriving in Hollywood, she quickly made her mark in several TV and Film projects, such as "Party of Five," "National Lampoon's Senior Trip," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and more. She has an iconic voice-over career, including roles such as Bubbles in "The Powerpuff Girls," Timmy Turner in "The Fairly OddParents," Dil Pickles in "Rugrats," Raven in "Teen Titans," "Batgirl," "Family Guy," "Drawn Together," "Ben 10," Melody in "The Little Mermaid 2," "Spirited Away," etc. She is Miss Collins on Nickelodeon's "Big Time Rush" and the current voice of "Harley Quinn." She is Emmy nominated, a Shorty Award winner, Twilight Sparkle in "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and currently playing "Unikitty" in the new hit series. She appeared in the Hallmark Christmas movie, "A Very Merry Toy Store." She has 350,000 Twitter followers and has used her social media to raise several hundred thousand dollars for kids with cancer and animal rescue groups, as well as using her commanding voices for her anti-bullying platform. She lives in Los Angeles. From between 2000 and 2019, she was married to former actor and real estate agent Craig Strong. However, the couple went their separate ways in July 2019 and, eventually, they formally divorced in January 2022. They have two sons together.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Amazon Video X-Ray ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Jonathan Spira-SavettAbout the Event: The Talmud proposes that on Purim we enter a state of mind in which we no longer know the difference between the goodness of Mordechai and the evil of Haman. At a key moment in the Megillah, when the fate of the Jews seems to lie in the balance, Mordechai proclaims to Esther not-so-emphatically “Who knows? Perhaps it’s for a time like that that you have arrived at royal power.” What might the Purim story, its midrashim, and the practices of Purim teach us about moral certainty and uncertainty in a world with few moral anchors, where knowledge is unstable? Are moral certainties and moral clarity the same thing? What lessons can we draw for the world of 2024 and after October 7?*Source Sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/552507?lang=biAbout the Speaker: Jon Spira–Savett has served for nearly fifteen years as rabbi of Temple Beth Abraham in Nashua, New Hampshire, and is co-host of Tov! A Podcast About “The Good Place” and Jewish Ideas. Jon has taught social ethics, bioethics, and environmental ethics in Jewish day schools, supplementary programs, teen philanthropy projects, and wider community adult education projects and he serves on the ethics committee of Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua. Jon’s general writings and recordings about Torah and current events are on his blog at rabbijon.net. He is the immediate past president of the Nashua Area Interfaith Council, co-convener of the Greater Nashua Housing Justice Group, and co-founder of “How To Be President”, an initiative to transform how we learn about candidates by asking better questions. Jon was ordained and received his M.A. in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and is an active alum of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. He did his undergraduate studies at Harvard College. Jon grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a proud alum of the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, to which he owes his interest in ethical philosophy, text study, and Hebrew language. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Yehuda MirskyThe event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel About the Event: Liberalism is in crisis everywhere, and everywhere the crises bear similarities and real differences. We will look at what has been going on in Israel, to understand it on its terms, as a Jewish and Democratic state, and about liberalism’s vicissitudes around the world.About the Speaker: Yehudah Mirsky is a Professor of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University and is on the faculty of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. He was, in the Spring Semesters of 2022 and 2023, a Visiting Professor at Harvard University. A native New Yorker, he lives in Jerusalem with his family and is both an active scholar and committed activist.His scholarship and teaching focus on the intersections of politics and religion, the historical and theological underpinnings of liberalism and human rights, and, in recent years, on ecological ethics. He teaches courses in Jewish Thought (medieval and modern), history of Zionism and the State of Israel, and political and ethical thought. He served in the US State Department’s human rights bureau during the Clinton Administration as a Public Affairs Officer and Special Advisor and has written on religion, politics, and culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, New Republic, The Economist, Foreign Policy, New Lines and many other publications. He also was an aide to then-Senators Bob Kerrey and Al Gore and worked at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the ACLU, and other NGOs. An ordained rabbi, he was the chaplain with the Red Cross after 9-11. In Israel, he was in the early 2000s a Fellow at the Van Leer Institute and Jewish People Policy Institute and was among the founders of the grass-roots Yerushalmit Movement for a pluralist, livable Jerusalem. Currently, he is deeply involved in the protest movements against the current governing coalition's attempts to undo Israeli democracy, working with both the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv wings of the movement. He is also a longtime student of Arabic and Islam. His Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution (Yale, 2014) won the Jewish Book Council’s Choice Prize. It appeared in 2021 in a revised Hebrew edition as Rav Kook: Mabat Hadash (Kinneret) which was named by Ha-Aretz as one of the 50 best books of 2021. That year also saw the publication of his Towards the Mystical Experience of Modernity: The Making of Rav Kook, 1865-1904 (Academic Studies Press). B.A. Yeshiva College, J.D. Yale Law School, Ph.D. Harvard University ★ Support this podcast ★

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with Dara Horn to talk about the rising anti-semitism on American campuses.Dara Horn is the award-winning author of six books, including the novels In the Image (Norton 2002), The World to Come (Norton 2006), All Other Nights (Norton 2009), A Guide for the Perplexed (Norton 2013), and Eternal Life (Norton 2018), and the essay collection People Love Dead Jews (Norton 2021). One of Granta magazine’s Best Young American Novelists, she is the recipient of two National Jewish Book Awards, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, the Harold U. Ribalow Award, and the Reform Judaism Fiction Prize, and she was a finalist for the JW Wingate Prize, the Simpson Family Literary Prize, and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Her books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books, Booklist’s Best 25 Books of the Decade, and San Francisco Chronicle’s Best Books of the Year, and have been translated into eleven languages. Her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and The Jewish Review of Books, among many other publications, and she is a regular columnist for Tablet. Horn received her doctorate in Yiddish and Hebrew literature from Harvard University. She has taught courses in these subjects at Sarah Lawrence College and Yeshiva University and has held the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard. She has lectured for audiences in hundreds of venues throughout North America, Israel, and Australia. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children. ★ Support this podcast ★

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Dara HornThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or TzionAbout the Event: In her latest book, acclaimed author Dara Horn explores a pointed question: Why do far too many people seem to love dead Jews, but ignore the living ones? In 2022, the Holocaust continues to make headlines, fill our films and fiction, and generate extraordinary interest far beyond our community. Yet ignorance and indifference towards Jew hatred today seem to be higher than ever. What’s going on?About the Speaker: Dara Horn is the award-winning author of six books, including the novels In the Image (Norton 2002), The World to Come (Norton 2006), All Other Nights (Norton 2009), A Guide for the Perplexed (Norton 2013), and Eternal Life (Norton 2018), and the essay collection People Love Dead Jews (Norton 2021). One of Granta magazine’s Best Young American Novelists, she is the recipient of two National Jewish Book Awards, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, the Harold U. Ribalow Award, and the Reform Judaism Fiction Prize, and she was a finalist for the JW Wingate Prize, the Simpson Family Literary Prize, and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Her books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books, Booklist’s Best 25 Books of the Decade, and San Francisco Chronicle’s Best Books of the Year, and have been translated into eleven languages. Her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and The Jewish Review of Books, among many other publications, and she is a regular columnist for Tablet. Horn received her doctorate in Yiddish and Hebrew literature from Harvard University. She has taught courses in these subjects at Sarah Lawrence College and Yeshiva University and has held the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard. She has lectured for audiences in hundreds of venues throughout North America, Israel, and Australia. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children. ★ Support this podcast ★

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz has a conversation with former professional basketball player Dan Grunfeld about the book he published in 2022, By the Grace of the Game about his multi-generational family journey from Auschwitz to the NBA. Dan Grunfeld is a former professional basketball player, an accomplished writer, and a proud graduate of Stanford University. An Academic All-American and All-Conference basketball selection at Stanford, Dan played professionally for eight seasons in top leagues around the world, including in Germany, Spain, and Israel. Dan’s writing has been published more than 40 times in media outlets such as Sports Illustrated, The Jerusalem Post, and NBC News. Dan earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2017 and lives with his wife and son in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he works in venture capital. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Martin LockshinThe event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJAbout the Event: The Bible is full of commandments that say “do x” or “don’t do y,” almost always without specifying who is being addressed. When the Bible says not to mistreat widows and orphans, was it addressing judges? Or the wealthy? Or all of us?About the Speaker: Martin Lockshin is a University Professor Emeritus at York University and lives in Jerusalem. He received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and his rabbinic ordination in Israel while studying in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook. Among Lockshin’s publications is his four-volume translation and annotation of Rashbam’s commentary on the Torah. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Jeremiah UntermanAbout the Event: The polytheism of the ancient Near East conceived of the gods as natural beings who needed sacrifices and libations to physically sustain them. The ethical monotheism of the Torah created a revolution against paganism which would ultimately change forever the concept of religion. One of the key ways in which the Jewish prophets shaped this revolution was their unique understanding of the relationship between ethics and ritual.About the Speaker: Since 2013, Rabbi Dr. Jeremiah Unterman has been a Resident Scholar at the Herzl Institute and the Academic Editor of The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel (since 2017). From 2000-2006, he was the Director of the Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and Yeshiva High Schools, and Adjunct Professor of Bible at Yeshiva University. He also served as Executive Director of the Toronto Board of Jewish Education and Vice-President for Education of the UJA Federation of Toronto, as well as Director of Education of the Hillel Academy of Ottawa. From 1992-1997, he was Executive Director of the Commission on Jewish Education and Director of Boston’s Hebrew College Hartford Branch, Connecticut. He was the Director and Associate Professor of the Jewish Studies Program at Barry University (Miami, Florida) from 1983 to 1992. He received his B.A. in Hebraic Studies from Rutgers University, an M.A. in Bible from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Ph.D. in the Judaica Program of the Near Eastern Studies Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He received semicha through private studies in Israel. He has authored two books, Justice for All: How the Jewish Bible Revolutionized Ethics, and From Repentance to Redemption: Jeremiah’s Thought in Transition, and over 100 articles in scholarly publications in the U.S. and Israel. He has lectured frequently at scholarly conferences in the United States and Israel, such as the World Congress of Jewish Studies, the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, and the annual meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies, and at numerous universities in the U.S. and Israel. He is a citizen of both the United States and Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces. He lives in Jerusalem, Israel, with his wonderful wife, Judy. ★ Support this podcast ★

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yankolwiz interviews Rabbi Sharon Brous, founding and Senior Rabbi of IKAR Sharon Brous is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles. Built in 2004, IKAR has grown into a diverse, dynamic, multi-generational community, one of the fastest-growing and most influential in the country. Brous has been named #1 Most Influential Rabbi in the U.S. by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She blessed both President Obama and President Biden at their National Inaugural Prayer Services, and her TED Talk “Reclaiming Religion” has been viewed 1.5 million times. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. A New Yorker at heart, she’s grown deeply enamored of the sunshine and promise in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and children. ★ Support this podcast ★

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi Sharon BrousThe event was co-hosted by Temple SolelAbout the Event: The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World, makes the case that in an era of loneliness, social alienation, and ideological extremism, our deepest spiritual work is finding our way to one other—in celebration, sorrow, and solidarity. Relationships of care and curiosity, Brous argues, are essential to both personal healing and social change. This is how we reawaken our humanity.About the Speaker: Sharon Brous is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles. Built-in 2004, IKAR has grown into a diverse, dynamic, multi-generational community, one of the fastest-growing and most influential in the country. Brous has been named #1 Most Influential Rabbi in the U.S. by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She blessed both President Obama and President Biden at their National Inaugural Prayer Services, and her TED Talk “Reclaiming Religion” has been viewed 1.5 million times. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post. A New Yorker at heart, she’s grown deeply enamored of the sunshine and promise in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and children.The event was presented in loving memory of Dr. Sherman Minkoff ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Mark NanosThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion About the Event: Most interpretations of Paul understand the apostle to argue that Jews who did not share their faith in Jesus Christ had lost their original covenant standing. Yet, at the same time, they maintain that there will come a time when Jews will believe (based on the same terms as Gentile sinners), and then “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26). In this class we will trace some of the developments in Dr. Nanos’ lifetime journey, as a Jew, to read and then re-read the texts in Romans 11, wherein Paul sets out his view of his fellow Jews and discover alternatives for translating and interpreting these texts.About the Speaker: Mark D. Nanos is a widely known lecturer and author of many books and articles. He received his PhD from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and an Honorary PhD from the University of Lund, Sweden. His book, The Mystery of Romans, won The National Jewish Book Award in Jewish-Christian Relations in 1996 and he is a co-founder of the “Paul within Judaism” section at the Society for Biblical Literature. ★ Support this podcast ★

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz interviews Rabbi Daniel Askenazi, Chief Rabbi of Barcelona, Spain. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rav Sarah MulhernThe event was co-sponsored by Temple Chai & Temple Emanuel About the Event: Is there a value to being publicly identifiable as Jewish? Is there a value to looking more like our non-Jewish neighbors? In this session, we will explore how Jewish texts have engaged with these questions over time, and interrogate our instincts and experiences. We will focus on classical Jewish texts about distinctive Jewish dress to launch a broad conversation about the ethics of passing and outing oneself and when and how we wish to display our Jewishness or other identities to the broader world when we do not, and why.About the Speaker: Rav Sarah Mulhern is a Rabbi, educator, and community builder. She serves as the Rabbi of Silverstein Base Lincoln Park, opening her home and her heart to young adults in Chicago. She passionately believes that Torah matters and that Judaism can enrich human life and better society. Rav Sarah is also a nationally-regarded Torah educator, frequently teaching in a wide variety of Jewish adult education settings, particularly on topics of ethics, gender, and Jewish practice. As a rabbi, some of her areas of focus include grief support, feminist and queer niddah education, and crafting joyful halachic egalitarian life cycle rituals. She is deeply committed to inspiring traditional prayer and is a passionate shaliach tzibur. Rav Sarah was ordained by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, where she also earned a Master's in Jewish Education, and received private rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes. She is an alumna of Brandeis University, Yeshivat Hadar, Pardes Institute, Drisha Institute, Beit Midrash Har El, the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, and the David Hartman Center Fellowship. She can be reached at [email protected] or @Rav_Sarah.*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ROWtjcrXYoV_Gxzz-l184CLig_xVkAxv/view ★ Support this podcast ★

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi David KasherThe event was co-sponsored by Temple ChaiAbout the Event: We often divide the Torah into two categories: narrative and law. But the laws of the Torah themselves are often written in poetic language, inviting us to use the tools of literary criticism to analyze them. That poetic quality is prominently on display in one of the Torah’s most (in)famous legal formulations: An Eye for an Eye. A careful literary reading of this law in the Torah can reveal hidden layers of meaning.About the Speaker: Rabbi David Kasher serves as the Director of Hadar West Coast. He grew up bouncing back and forth between Berkeley and Brooklyn, hippies and Hassidim – and has been trying to synthesize these two worlds ever since. After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1998, he studied for several years in yeshivot in Israel before heading off to rabbinical school at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. He was ordained there in 2007 and returned to Northern California, where he became the Senior Jewish Educator at Berkeley Hillel. He was part of the founding team at Kevah, a nonprofit specializing in Adult Jewish Education, where he worked from 2012 to 2018 and developed the Kevah Teaching Fellowship. He has served on the faculty of Berkeley Law, the Wexner Heritage Program, Reboot, and the BINA Secular Yeshiva, and also taught courses at Pardes, SVARA, The Hartman Institute, AJR, and HUC. Rabbi Kasher is a teacher of nearly all forms of classical Jewish literature, but his greatest passion is Torah commentary, and he spent five years producing the weekly ParshaNut blog and podcast exploring the riches of the genre. In 2018, he began work as an Associate Rabbi at IKAR, a non-denominational spiritual community in Los Angeles, where he teaches a weekly parashah class and has a new parashah podcast called Best Book Ever. He published an essay, ‘Eating Our Way from Justice to Holiness,’ in Kashrut and Jewish Food Ethics (Academic Studies Press, 2019), completed a translation of Avot d’Rabbi Natan for Sefaria, and is the author of ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary.*Source Sheet: https://smallpdf.com/file#s=8b6eadb7-9fe7-4d78-9019-ce3b204d4c51 ★ Support this podcast ★

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz engages in an enlightening conversation with Rabbi David Kasher, exploring the divinity of the Torah.Rabbi David Kasher serves as the Director of Hadar West Coast. He grew up bouncing back and forth between Berkeley and Brooklyn, hippies and Hassidim – and has been trying to synthesize these two worlds ever since. After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1998, he studied for several years in yeshivot in Israel before heading to rabbinical school at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. He was ordained there in 2007 and returned to Northern California, where he became the Senior Jewish Educator at Berkeley Hillel. He was part of the founding team at Kevah, a nonprofit specializing in Adult Jewish Education, where he worked from 2012 to 2018 and developed the Kevah Teaching Fellowship. He has served on the faculty of Berkeley Law, the Wexner Heritage Program, Reboot, and the BINA Secular Yeshiva and taught courses at Pardes, SVARA, The Hartman Institute, AJR, and HUC. Rabbi Kasher is a teacher of nearly all forms of classical Jewish literature, but his greatest passion is Torah commentary, and he spent five years producing the weekly ParshaNut blog and podcast exploring the riches of the genre. In 2018, he began work as an Associate Rabbi at IKAR, a non-denominational spiritual community in Los Angeles, where he teaches a weekly parashah class and has a new parashah podcast called Best Book Ever. He published an essay, ‘Eating Our Way from Justice to Holiness,’ in Kashrut and Jewish Food Ethics (Academic Studies Press, 2019), completed a translation of Avot d’Rabbi Natan for Sefaria, and is the author of ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Adele ReinhartzThe event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJAbout the Event: This talk will explore some of the issues about the portrayal of Jews and Judaism in the Fourth Gospel. In analyzing this very important topic, it is always necessary to have a dual focus, with one eye on what the Gospel itself says, and the other on what scholars have said. This talk will have three main parts: 1. Jesus as a Jew in the Gospel of John 2. Jesus and the “Jews” in the Gospel of John 3. Is John Jewish, Anti-Jewish, or both?About the Speaker: Adele Reinhartz is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Ottawa, where she is also a Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies. Her main research contributions have been in the study of ancient Judaism and Christianity, and the Bible in/and Film. Adele served as the General Editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature for 7 years (2012-2019) and as the President of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2020. Adele was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada in 2005, and into the American Academy for Jewish Research in 2014. Her most recent books are Cast Out of the Covenant: Jews and Anti-Judaism in the Gospel of John (2018) and The Bible and Cinema: An Introduction (2nd edition, 2022). She is currently working on a project on the so-called “parting of the ways” and the origins of Christianity. ★ Support this podcast ★

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Dr. Bernice LernerAbout the Event: In mid-April 1945, a small group of liberators entered Bergen-Belsen, where they found tens of thousands of unburied dead and 60,000 “displaced persons,” of whom 25,000 were in dire need of medical attention. What principles guided their leaders’ excruciating choices? What ethical questions consumed the men as they endeavored to feed the starved, control the spread of disease, and equip the largest hospital in Europe? Dr. Lerner will share astonishing stories about the unprecedented liberation–from the perspectives of both liberators and survivors, including 15-year-old Rachel Genuth, her mother.About the Speaker: Bernice Lerner, Ed.D., is the author of All the Horrors of War: A Jewish Girl, a British Doctor, and the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen, and other writings on the Holocaust and virtue ethics. She is the former dean of adult learning at Hebrew College and a lecturer on the Holocaust and character education.*Zvi Asaria-Hermann Helfgott- Helping Survivors in Bergen-Belsen Video: https://youtu.be/cmxz6S0sobE?si=evvCmJylZESgysoH ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Aubrey GlazerAbout the Event: Merest Breath is a provocative and contemporary translation with two new commentaries on Qohelet (Ecclesiastes). These eclectic commentaries on one of the strangest books of the Hebrew Bible open up an ancient wisdom text that dares to address theological skepticism of the present. Understanding Qohelet as resisting biblical theological platitudes about sin, prayer, and forgiveness, these commentaries are a magisterial conversation between thinkers ancient and modern – from Heraclitus to Leonard Cohen – that dares to think differently. Martin Cohen’s new translation and introductory commentary (Kol ha-Tor) is in conversation with Aubrey Glazer’s philosophical interpretations (Ruah ha-Orev) – ranging from Hebraic stoicism and skepticism to an exploration of the diverse interpretations in philosophical (Samuel Ben Judah Ibn Tibbon, Gersonides, David Hume, Theodor W. Adorno, Emmanuel Lévinas) kabbalistic (Zohar, Bahir) and Hasidic (Ba’al Shem Tov, R. Nachman of Bratzlav, R. Meshulem Faish ben Mordekhai Levi, R. Aharon Yosef Luria) commentaries – that enable Qohelet to re-emerge anew as a theological empiricist. Rediscover Qohelet as the remarkable Hebrew ironist who points seekers of truth to life’s dialectical dance between melancholia and joy.About the Speaker: Rav Aubrey L. Glazer, Ph.D. (University of Toronto, 2005), rabbinic ordination (JTSA, 2000) is honored to serve as Department Chair of Jewish Thought and Philosophy for the Aleph Ordination Program. Aubrey is the founding director and editor-in-chief of Panui: a think tank devoted to researching, reflecting, and teaching modern and contemporary Jewish mysticism dynamically and authentically to build a conscious, compassionate community. Aubrey is currently honored to serve as Senior Rabbi of Beth Abraham Synagogue (Dayton, Ohio), and has served as Senior Rabbi in the following communities: Congregation Shaare Zion, Montreal (2018-2021), Congregation Beth Sholom, San Francisco (2014-2018), as well as Jewish Community Center of Harrison, New York (2005-2014). Aubrey has served as a mentor for rabbinic students from diverse seminaries. As a graduate of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Aubrey co-led Jewish meditation retreats at Makor Or with Zoketsu Norman Fischer as well as teaching Zohar in the Philosophy Circle of Lehrhaus under the direction of Daniel C. Matt. Aubrey has also completed certification of Kashrut: Rav HaMachshir (JTSA) and Jewish Business leadership (Kellogg School of Business). Aubrey’s recent publications on contemporary philosophy and theology include: Mystical Vertigo (2013); Tangle of Matter & Ghost: Leonard Cohen’s Post-Secular Songbook of Mysticism(s) Jewish & Beyond (2017) and God Knows Everything is Broken: Bob Dylan’s Gnostic Mystical Songbook (2019). Aubrey is co-editor and translator of a multi-volume series on Tiberian Hasidism called From Tiberias With Love. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Shlomo LevinThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or TzionAbout the event: Numerous times the Torah commands us to help those in need. Is this also a statement of human rights? In this session we’ll ask whether giving tzedakah is a fulfillment of human rights values, or whether human rights are limited to abstract freedoms and charity is something we give out of kindness alone.About the Speaker: Shlomo Levin received ordination from Yeshivat Hamivtar in Israel and the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. For 15 years he served as a Rabbi at various pulpits in the United States. In 2022 he received a master’s degree in International Law and Human Rights. Now he works for a non-profit organization he started called the Human Rights Haggadah, which aims to become a central hub for education and respectful discussion of human rights issues as they pertain in particular to Israel and the Jewish community. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Maggid Jim BruléThe event was co-sponsored by Temple EmanualAbout the Event: Stories have the power to entertain, inform, enlighten, and motivate. They also have the power to heal. Maggid Brulé will weave together traditional Jewish stories from a variety of cultures, interspersed with reflections on the reasons that stories affect us so deeply and opportunities for discussion and dialogue.About the Speaker: Jim Brulé is a maggid – a transformational storyteller, teacher, and mentor with a very diverse background: he has advanced degrees in clinical psychology and artificial intelligence. His online school – Transformational Storytelling – trains spiritual storytellers from multiple traditions to tell stories that inspire healing and spiritual growth.As a death doula, he works with families, individuals, and caregivers. He is a member of NEDA – the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance – where he has achieved the EOL Doula Proficiency badge and has a subsequent certification as a death doula from The Dying Year. Finally, he is also an interfaith chaplain in hospital, prison, and jail settings, and a storytelling healer at an “Omega Home” – a last home for the dying. Jim also works with organizations and communities to promote dialogue across learned boundaries of faith, ethnicity, privilege, and class using stories. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Dr. David SandersThe event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJAbout the Event: “A dream not interpreted is like a letter not read.” This quote is not from Freud or Jung but from the Zohar, the classic medieval Kabbalah text connecting dreams and our spiritual growth. We spend an average of 9 years dreaming. What do our dreams reflect to us of our experience? How are dreams guides for our emotional and spiritual development? Come and see the significance of dreams. Journaling and sharing your dreams helps you apply the Kabbalah dream framework.About the Speaker: Dr. David Sanders, Founder and Spiritual Director of Kabbalah Experience, combines over thirty years of experience as both a psychologist and Kabbalist helping guide people to deeper awareness and fulfillment in their lives. His transformation from religious studies to mysticism intrigued him to broaden the study of Kabbalah to practical spiritual growth. Transformative Kabbalah combines traditional mysticism, contemporary psychology, and quantum physics.It is David’s joy to help others challenge their views of themselves and the world. Through study and practice, students regularly change their perceptions and choose to alter or modify their behavior – which in turn brings positive change to their relationships and community and find greater and more fulfilling expression of their life purpose. He is the author of 2 books on mysticism and language and is currently writing a book on MASKS, the subject of one of KE’s most popular courses.David maintains an active therapy practice, specializing in working with couples and families. He sees psychological and spiritual growth as a continuum of learning and becoming more aware of the self and others. His creation of the Kabbalah Experience is a way to enter into people’s lives from a different premise – spiritual learning and guidance that does not have a starting point of “my problem.” Based on the methodology of study at KE on adult-centered learning, everyone is linked in the awareness to work together as the teacher becomes the student and the student becomes the teacher.David considers it his fortune to live with and learn from his wife Rita every day. With two sets of twins and an eldest son, life is rich for the whole family. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Avidan FreedmanThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or TzionAbout the Event: Trends in Israeli society today highlight the crucial choice that the Jewish state is faced with as the Jewish people face the moral challenge of power. More and more, “Jewish Power” (now also the name of a political party in Israel) reflects an approach to this challenge that is opposed to the approach espoused by the Torah. Rabbi Avidan Freedman, an Israeli educator, and activist against Israeli arms sales to dictatorships, will explore these approaches, from their sources in the Torah, and up until their expression in the modern-day Israeli political questions.About the Speaker: Rabbi Avidan Freedman completed a Master's Degree in Jewish Education at the Azrieli Graduate School and received rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and the Israeli Rabbinate. He is an educator at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s high school and post-high school program and an activist who founded Yanshoof, an organization dedicated to establishing moral limits for Israeli weapons exports. Learn more at www.yanshoof.org ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Micah StreifferThe event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel About the Event: Think your beliefs about God are “out there?“ Think again! In this session, we will delve into the unexpected views of two of Judaism’s greatest thinkers – Maimonides and Spinoza. Both rebel against the “traditional” notion of God found in the prayerbook, but in very different ways. We’ll explore what each of them has to say about what God is (and what God isn’t), and we’ll explore our theology along the way.About the Speaker: Micah Streiffer is a rabbi, teacher, writer, and lifelong student who is known for his engaging style in the classroom and his ability to make Jewish texts and ideas come to life. Micah founded LAASOK, a virtual Beit Midrash (“House of Study”) that empowers liberal Jewish learners to deepen their connection with Judaism through study. He also serves Kol Ami, a Reform congregation in the Toronto area, and hosts the popular Seven Minute Torah podcast. Ordained a rabbi at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Cincinnati 2007), Micah has served as a congregational rabbi for 16 years. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Jewish thought at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Leah Sarna*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A4EbgCH5S44QjGS2p0OD_UzefcieYvHZ/viewThe event was co-sponsred by BMH-BJAbout the Event: On Hannukah, we light candles and commemorate a time “when the evil Greek kingdom rose against Your people Israel.” Those who love studying Greek philosophy and literature must ask ourselves some big questions on this holiday. Fortunately, the Jewish tradition has much to offer us as we try to make sense of it.About the Speaker: Rabbanit Leah Sarna is Faculty and Director of Teen Programs at Drisha. She previously served as Director of Religious Engagement at Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, a leading urban Orthodox congregation. She was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in 2018, holds a BA from Yale University in Philosophy & Psychology, and trained at the SKA Beit Midrash for Women at Migdal Oz, Drisha, and the Center for Modern Torah Leadership. She was a Wexner Graduate Fellow and a winner of the Covenant Foundation’s Pomegranate Prize. Rabbanit Sarna’s published works have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Lehrhaus, and The Jewish Review of Books. She has lectured in Orthodox synagogues and Jewish communal settings worldwide and loves spreading her warm, energetic love for Torah and Mitzvot with Jews in all stages of life. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Melanie GruenwaldThe event was co-hosted by Beth El Phoenix About the Event: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” ~ Leonard Cohen Please join us for this workshop on Kabbalistic and contemporary sources and conversations about light, darkness, hope, grief, and resilience.About the Speaker: Executive Director of Kabbalah Experience Melanie Gruenwald brings over 25 years of non-profit leadership and community organizing to her position. Engaged with senior citizens, families, college students, and teens, Melanie has extensive professional experience with communal leadership and informal Jewish education.Melanie is energized by building relationships, understanding people’s needs, and finding ways to connect them. She loves the balance of organizational leadership and teaching, which she engages in daily at Kabbalah Experience.She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Binghamton University (S.U.N.Y) and her Masters in Social Work and Certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. Melanie has pursued additional Judaic and spiritual studies at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, the Conservative Yeshiva, and most recently, the Kabbalah Experience.Melanie is married to Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald, Associate Rabbi at the Hebrew Educational Alliance, and is a mom to three children Koby (z”l), Hannah, and Micah. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual, five-part series presented by Professor Eitan P. Fishbane*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14JGleBQE8nwYtoRTtm2v36G8I4wckb_Y/viewAbout the event: In what would become the legendary kabbalistic hilltop town of Tzfat in the 1500s—the birthplace of such timeless texts as Lekha Dodi and Yedid Nefesh; a location whose larger-than-life figures included such luminaries as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the ARI), and many others— there unfolded one of the most remarkable chapters in the entire history of Judaism, and Jewish mysticism in particular. Through various concerns, ideas, and writing genres, the mystics of this time and place focused on the nature of the human self and spiritual psychology: its essence and character, its fundamental state of relationship to Divinity. In the sessions of this course, we will explore a range of these issues and modes of creativity as they appeared in sixteenth-century Tzfat. We will explore such major topics as Soul, Body, and Reincarnation (Gilgul); The Ethics and Piety of Self-Transformation (Kabbalistic Musar); Mystical Autobiography; Emotion, Feeling, and Mind. Please join us as we dive deeply into this fascinating and inspiring landscape of ideas, feelings, and spirituality!About the Speaker: Dr. Eitan Fishbane is a Professor of Jewish Thought at The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), where he has taught for 17 years. A 2015-2016 JTS Chancellor’s Fellow, Fishbane has served on the JTS Faculty Executive Committee; as a B.A. and M.A. Advisor in Jewish Thought; and on The Rabbinical School Council. He is a former Division Chair for Jewish Mysticism at the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS); current Chair of the Oxford Interfaith Forum on Mysticism; and Book Review Editor for Jewish Mysticism at The Marginalia Review of Books. He is the recipient of grants from The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as the Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Among Professor Fishbane’s published books are: The Art of Mystical Narrative: A Poetics of the Zohar (Oxford University Press, 2018); As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist (Stanford University Press, 2009); and, most recently, Embers of Pilgrimage (Panui Poetry Series, 2021). He works on several book projects, including Shabbat in Ḥasidic Thought: Sacred Time and Mystical Consciousness; Self & Identity in Sixteenth-Century Kabbalah; and The Zohar as Mystical Poetry. In addition to these academic projects, Fishbane is working on a spiritual-theological commentary on the Torah cycle and the Jewish holidays, tentatively entitled, Written on the Heart: Meditations & Readings; and he is completing his second volume of original poetry, entitled, Soul Fragments. Fishbane received his Ph.D. and B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University. Visit him at www.eitanfishbane.com. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Zachary TruboffThe event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About the Event: One of the ongoing debates of modern Jewish life is the extent to which human beings or God should be given the final say on religious questions of ultimate importance. For many, this dilemma is seen as an either/or, and one must choose a side, but a look at two of orthodoxy’s most influential thinkers can shed light on how the question is far more complicated than most realize.About the Speaker: Rabbi Zachary Truboff is the Director of Rabbinic Education for the International Beit Din, and his work focuses on educating rabbis about halakhic solutions to the agunah problem. He is the author of Torah Goes Forth From Zion: Essays on the Thought of Rav Kook and Rav Shagar, and his writings on contemporary Jewish thought and Zionism have appeared in the Lehrhaus, Arutz Sheva, and Akdamot. Before making aliyah, he served as the rabbi of Cedar Sinai Synagogue in Cleveland, Ohio. He has taught in a variety of adult education settings, such as the Wexner Heritage Program and the Hartman Institute. He received semikha from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual, five-part series presented by Professor Eitan P. Fishbane*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qzW3jl5I1ZWug2YIpQ_JAcouT1g51LRe/viewAbout the event: In what would become the legendary kabbalistic hilltop town of Tzfat in the 1500s—the birthplace of such timeless texts as Lekha Dodi and Yedid Nefesh; a location whose larger-than-life figures included such luminaries as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the ARI), and many others— there unfolded one of the most remarkable chapters in the entire history of Judaism, and Jewish mysticism in particular. Through various concerns, ideas, and writing genres, the mystics of this time and place focused on the nature of the human self and spiritual psychology: its essence and character, its fundamental state of relationship to Divinity. In the sessions of this course, we will explore a range of these issues and modes of creativity as they appeared in sixteenth-century Tzfat. We will explore such major topics as Soul, Body, and Reincarnation (Gilgul); The Ethics and Piety of Self-Transformation (Kabbalistic Musar); Mystical Autobiography; Emotion, Feeling, and Mind. Please join us as we dive deeply into this fascinating and inspiring landscape of ideas, feelings, and spirituality!About the Speaker: Dr. Eitan Fishbane is a Professor of Jewish Thought at The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), where he has taught for 17 years. A 2015-2016 JTS Chancellor’s Fellow, Fishbane has served on the JTS Faculty Executive Committee; as a B.A. and M.A. Advisor in Jewish Thought; and on The Rabbinical School Council. He is a former Division Chair for Jewish Mysticism at the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS); current Chair of the Oxford Interfaith Forum on Mysticism; and Book Review Editor for Jewish Mysticism at The Marginalia Review of Books. He is the recipient of grants from The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as the Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Among Professor Fishbane’s published books are: The Art of Mystical Narrative: A Poetics of the Zohar (Oxford University Press, 2018); As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist (Stanford University Press, 2009); and, most recently, Embers of Pilgrimage (Panui Poetry Series, 2021). He works on several book projects, including Shabbat in Ḥasidic Thought: Sacred Time and Mystical Consciousness; Self & Identity in Sixteenth-Century Kabbalah; and The Zohar as Mystical Poetry. In addition to these academic projects, Fishbane is working on a spiritual-theological commentary on the Torah cycle and the Jewish holidays, tentatively entitled, Written on the Heart: Meditations & Readings; and he is completing his second volume of original poetry, entitled, Soul Fragments. Fishbane received his Ph.D. and B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University. Visit him at www.eitanfishbane.com. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Ian PearAbout the Event: In a continuation of Rabbi Pear’s first class, we will discuss Rav Goren’s attempts to create a military ethic in the entire Israeli army.About the Speaker: Rabbi Chaim (Ian) Pear, a Rabbi, lawyer, and social activist living in Jerusalem, is the founder of Shir Hadash, a popular Jerusalem Synagogue, Educational Institute, and Community Center, as well as an expert in Israeli and Jewish environmental law – he worked at Israel’s premier environmental law firm, Laster and Goldman – and a leader in the Spiritual Diplomacy efforts made on behalf of Israel. A one-time aspiring standup comedian, Rabbi Pear received his ordination from Yeshiva University and holds law degrees from Hebrew University (LLM, with a focus on Mishpat Ivri) and NYU School of Law (JD, with a concentration in international law), and a degree in International Law, Politics and Security from Georgetown University’s School for Foreign Service. The author of three books, he is married to Dr. Rachel Pear and is the father of five children. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual, five-part series presented by Professor Eitan P. FishbaneAbout the event: In what would become the legendary kabbalistic hilltop town of Tzfat in the 1500s—the birthplace of such timeless texts as Lekha Dodi and Yedid Nefesh; a location whose larger-than-life figures included such luminaries as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the ARI), and many others— there unfolded one of the most remarkable chapters in the entire history of Judaism, and Jewish mysticism in particular. Through a variety of concerns, ideas, and genres of writing, the mystics of this time and place expressed a pronounced focus on the nature of the human self and spiritual psychology: its essence and character, its fundamental state of relationship to Divinity. In the sessions of this course, we will explore a range of these issues and modes of creativity as they appeared in sixteenth-century Tzfat. We will explore such major topics as Soul, Body, and Reincarnation (Gilgul); The Ethics and Piety of Self-Transformation (Kabbalistic Musar); Mystical Autobiography; Emotion, Feeling, and Mind. Please join us as we dive deeply into this fascinating and inspiring landscape of ideas, feelings, and spirituality!About the Speaker: Dr. Eitan Fishbane is a Professor of Jewish Thought at The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), where he has taught for 17 years. A 2015-2016 JTS Chancellor’s Fellow, Fishbane has served on the JTS Faculty Executive Committee; as a B.A. and M.A. Advisor in Jewish Thought; and on The Rabbinical School Council. He is a former Division Chair for Jewish Mysticism at the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS); current Chair of the Oxford Interfaith Forum on Mysticism; and Book Review Editor for Jewish Mysticism at The Marginalia Review of Books. He is the recipient of grants from The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as the Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Among Professor Fishbane’s published books are: The Art of Mystical Narrative: A Poetics of the Zohar (Oxford University Press, 2018); As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist (Stanford University Press, 2009); and, most recently, Embers of Pilgrimage (Panui Poetry Series, 2021). He is currently at work on several book projects, among them Shabbat in Ḥasidic Thought: Sacred Time and Mystical Consciousness; Self & Identity in Sixteenth-Century Kabbalah; and The Zohar as Mystical Poetry. In addition to these academic projects, Fishbane is working on a spiritual-theological commentary on the Torah cycle and the Jewish holidays, tentatively entitled, Written on the Heart: Meditations & Readings; and he is completing his second volume of original poetry, entitled, Soul Fragments. Fishbane received his Ph.D. and B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University. Visit him at www.eitanfishbane.com.*Source Sheets: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GpesiI8tF9_PYCTkyiR-o2SPsxC4HD17/view- https://drive.google.com/file/d/15TMnZbQhgdSLWFV63YpsELYByIoDxjeE/view- https://drive.google.com/file/d/14iNuRnPDYXnFoyd1lZbaMamCEcL2-6-m/view ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Ian PearAbout the Event:This text-based class will focus on the nature of Israel’s army. It will look at the halachot of being a soldier in a Diaspora army, based on the Chafetz Chaim’s Machane Yisrael, and compare that to being an individual soldier in the Israeli army today.About the Speaker:Rabbi Chaim (Ian) Pear, a Rabbi, lawyer and social activist living in Jerusalem, is the founder of Shir Hadash, a popular Jerusalem based Synagogue, Educational Institute and Community Center, as well as an expert in Israeli and Jewish environmental law – he worked at Israel’s premier environmental law firm, Laster and Goldman – and a leader in the Spiritual Diplomacy efforts made on behalf of Israel. A one-time aspiring standup comedian, Rabbi Pear received his ordination from Yeshiva University, and holds law degrees from Hebrew University (LLM, with a focus on Mishpat Ivri) and NYU School of Law (JD, with a concentration in international law), and a degree in International Law, Politics and Security from Georgetown University’s School for Foreign Service. The author of three books, he is married to Dr. Rachel Pear and is the father of five children. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Avi PosenThe event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel and Temple IsraelAbout the Event: Why is it that even post-Holocaust, Jews experience a large percentage of the world’s hate crimes, despite being less than 0.2% of the world’s population? That’s because the Holocaust wasn’t an antisemitic exception — it was the culmination of years of religious, scientific, cultural, and political anti-Jewish sentiment. This foundation still exists today. Many still subscribe to anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, resulting in disproportionately high statistics of anti-Jewish sentiment and large numbers of hate crimes. Take a deep dive into antisemitism today and how we can respond accordingly.About The Speaker: Avi Posen is the Senior Director of Israel Education – EMEA at Unpacked for Educators, a division of OpenDor Media. His focus is on content creation and training Jewish educators around the world on how to use Unpacked for Educators materials. Avi has worked as a Judaic Studies teacher, Hillel Director, and Jewish camp director. He holds a Master's in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University in New York and lives with his family in Haifa, Israel.Video Links: https://youtu.be/c3dKIDtAYXk?si=ExCVRQFHHSi5pIDT and https://youtu.be/FAJfddwKraQ?si=MpaenKVOX8WQXw35Unpacked YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UNPACKED/featured ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Andy KahnAbout the Event:As world temperatures continue to rise, and weather patterns, ocean levels, and wildfires continue to shift, change, and intensify, it is easy to feel unmoored and disconnected. The Sacred Earth: Jewish Perspectives on our Planet, seeks to provide new ways to approach each other and the earth around us to keep us engaged, connected, and hopeful. This session will review some of the ways the book addresses these issues and will offer tangible Jewish modes of maintaining our equilibrium and earth-consciousness.About the Speaker:Rabbi Andrue (Andy) Kahn (he/they) grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and has lived in New York since 2009. Before starting rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, he received a BA from Kenyon College in Ohio, an MA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and an MA from the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan. He served as associate rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York from 2018 to 2023, where he has invigorated community members in their 20s and 30s, organized interfaith programming, and led people of all ages in deep Jewish learning geared towards spiritual development. He recently joined the team at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, New York as the associate director of Yachad and adult education at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, New York. His edited volume The Sacred Earth: Jewish Perspectives on our Planet, was published in June 2023 by CCAR Press. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual, five-part series presented by Professor Eitan P. FishbaneAbout the event: In what would become the legendary kabbalistic hilltop town of Tzfat in the 1500s—the birthplace of such timeless texts as Lekha Dodi and Yedid Nefesh; a location whose larger-than-life figures included such luminaries as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the ARI), and many others— there unfolded one of the most remarkable chapters in the entire history of Judaism, and Jewish mysticism in particular. Through a variety of concerns, ideas, and genres of writing, the mystics of this time and place expressed a pronounced focus on the nature of the human self and spiritual psychology: its essence and character, its fundamental state of relationship to Divinity. In the sessions of this course, we will explore a range of these issues and modes of creativity as they appeared in sixteenth-century Tzfat. We will explore such major topics as Soul, Body, and Reincarnation (Gilgul); The Ethics and Piety of Self-Transformation (Kabbalistic Musar); Mystical Autobiography; Emotion, Feeling, and Mind. Please join us as we dive deeply into this fascinating and inspiring landscape of ideas, feelings, and spirituality!About the Speaker: Dr. Eitan Fishbane is a Professor of Jewish Thought at The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), where he has taught for 17 years. A 2015-2016 JTS Chancellor’s Fellow, Fishbane has served on the JTS Faculty Executive Committee; as a B.A. and M.A. Advisor in Jewish Thought; and on The Rabbinical School Council. He is a former Division Chair for Jewish Mysticism at the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS); current Chair of the Oxford Interfaith Forum on Mysticism; and Book Review Editor for Jewish Mysticism at The Marginalia Review of Books. He is the recipient of grants from The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as the Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Among Professor Fishbane’s published books are: The Art of Mystical Narrative: A Poetics of the Zohar (Oxford University Press, 2018); As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist (Stanford University Press, 2009); and, most recently, Embers of Pilgrimage (Panui Poetry Series, 2021). He is currently at work on several book projects, among them Shabbat in Ḥasidic Thought: Sacred Time and Mystical Consciousness; Self & Identity in Sixteenth-Century Kabbalah; and The Zohar as Mystical Poetry. In addition to these academic projects, Fishbane is working on a spiritual-theological commentary on the Torah cycle and the Jewish holidays, tentatively entitled, Written on the Heart: Meditations & Readings; and he is completing his second volume of original poetry, entitled, Soul Fragments. Fishbane received his Ph.D. and B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University. Visit him at www.eitanfishbane.com. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Michael WeilThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion About the event: Throughout history, Jews have been a people on the move, from the nomadic Abraham and Sarah to Moses wandering in the desert, to the massive relocations of the modern era often spurred by antisemitic violence and poverty. As roughly 90% of all Jews now reside in either Israel or North America, it can be argued that in the 21st century, the Jewish people at last achieved a level of demographic stability. Yet, a closer look at the demographic trends in one of these centers, the U.S., reveals that within this population concentration, Jewish inter-regional migration rates are on the increase. About the speaker: Michael Weil, an economist by training, born and educated in Great Britain, has spent most of his career working in strategic change, organizational development, and economic, social, and urban planning. Weil has a B.Sc. in Economics with Technology from City University, London, and an MA in Development Economics from Sussex University. In 2008 Weil was voted one of the 50 most influential Jews in America by the Forward newspaper. Today, he serves as a member of the International Advisory Board of Limmud, the Board of Limmud North America, and the Management Board of the Israel Movement for Urbanism. From 2013-2016, he served on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency as the sole representative of 54 Intermediate Federations. Currently, Michael Weil lives in Jerusalem, Israel, and Scottsdale, Arizona while traveling frequently in between, and works on a select number of strategic assignments. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual, five-part series presented by Professor Eitan P. FishbaneAbout the event: In what would become the legendary kabbalistic hilltop town of Tzfat in the 1500s—the birthplace of such timeless texts as Lekha Dodi and Yedid Nefesh; a location whose larger-than-life figures included such luminaries as Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the ARI), and many others— there unfolded one of the most remarkable chapters in the entire history of Judaism, and Jewish mysticism in particular. Through a variety of concerns, ideas, and genres of writing, the mystics of this time and place expressed a pronounced focus on the nature of the human self and spiritual psychology: its essence and character, its fundamental state of relationship to Divinity. In the sessions of this course, we will explore a range of these issues and modes of creativity as they appeared in sixteenth-century Tzfat. We will explore such major topics as Soul, Body, and Reincarnation (Gilgul); The Ethics and Piety of Self-Transformation (Kabbalistic Musar); Mystical Autobiography; Emotion, Feeling, and Mind. Please join us as we dive deeply into this fascinating and inspiring landscape of ideas, feelings, and spirituality!About the Speaker: Dr. Eitan Fishbane is a Professor of Jewish Thought at The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), where he has taught for 17 years. A 2015-2016 JTS Chancellor’s Fellow, Fishbane has served on the JTS Faculty Executive Committee; as a B.A. and M.A. Advisor in Jewish Thought; and on The Rabbinical School Council. He is a former Division Chair for Jewish Mysticism at the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS); current Chair of the Oxford Interfaith Forum on Mysticism; and Book Review Editor for Jewish Mysticism at The Marginalia Review of Books. He is the recipient of grants from The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as the Charles A. Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Among Professor Fishbane’s published books are: The Art of Mystical Narrative: A Poetics of the Zohar (Oxford University Press, 2018); As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist (Stanford University Press, 2009); and, most recently, Embers of Pilgrimage (Panui Poetry Series, 2021). He is currently at work on several book projects, among them Shabbat in Ḥasidic Thought: Sacred Time and Mystical Consciousness; Self & Identity in Sixteenth-Century Kabbalah; and The Zohar as Mystical Poetry. In addition to these academic projects, Fishbane is working on a spiritual-theological commentary on the Torah cycle and the Jewish holidays, tentatively entitled, Written on the Heart: Meditations & Readings; and he is completing his second volume of original poetry, entitled, Soul Fragments. Fishbane received his Ph.D. and B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University. Visit him at www.eitanfishbane.com. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Sarit HorwitzThe event was co-sponsored by Temple EmanuelAbout the event: How did the rabbis view women as sexual beings? How does it reflect on their own masculinity? Join us to study a few different Talmudic passages, and explore what it has to say about the rabbis who wrote these stories.About the Speaker: Rabbi Sarit Horwitz is the rabbi of Beth Sholom Synagogue in Memphis, TN. She was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, was a Marshall T Meyer Rabbinic Fellow at B’nai Jeshurun in NYC, and a Wexner Graduate Fellow. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Anthony RussellAbout the Event:In the 20th century, Yiddish art song acted as a kind of performative repository of Ashkenazi Jewish music-making of all kinds, containing elements of khazones and liturgical music, Eastern European folk song, Yiddish theatre music, and Chassidic music, as well as popular and art music of the time. In this session, we’ll take a brief survey of the genre and explore the meaning it had to its performers and its audiences.About the Speaker: Anthony Russell is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in Yiddish culture. Anthony’s work with Klezmer trio Veretski Pass resulted in Convergence, an exploration of a century of African-American and Ashkenazi Jewish music. His recent release on the Borscht Beat label with accordionist and keyboardist Dmitri Gaskin, Kosmopolitn, features their original settings of Yiddish modernist poetry for voice and string ensemble. Anthony has also been an essayist in several publications, including The Forward, Tablet Magazine, JTA, PROTOCOLS, Full Stop Magazine, Ayin Press, and Jewish Currents. He lives in Atlanta with his husband of eight years, Rabbi Michael Rothbaum.All of the music is played from: https://rsa.fau.edu/judaic ★ Support this podcast ★

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi Mary ZamoreThe event was co-sponsored by Temple ChaiAbout the Event:Explore the history of women in the Rabbinate from 1938 to 2023 and learn how this history has impacted Judaism as the face of Jewish leadership continues to change. Much has been accomplished, but there are still many challenges to full equity for women in the rabbinate.About the Speaker: Rabbi Mary L. Zamore is the Executive Director of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, a partner organization of the Reform Movement. For over 40 years, WRN has worked to narrow the wage gap, create safer, respectful Jewish communities, and promote equity, while also supporting and advocating for WRN rabbis. Rabbi Zamore co-leads the Reform Pay Equity Initiative and founded WRN’s Clergy: Safe Employees and Employers program, seeding respectful and harassment-free Jewish communities for all. Rabbi Zamore has been named a T’ruah-The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Rabbinic Human Rights Hero, 2022. She is in the 2022-23 cohort of JWI’s Jewish Communal Women’s Leadership Project (JCWLP), as well as a fellow with the Association for Public Religion and Intellectual Life at Auburn Seminary, NYC, in the Oppressions and Repair Colloquium. She is the editor of The Sacred Exchange: Creating a Jewish Money Ethic (CCAR Press, 2019) and The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic (CCAR Press, 2011), designated a finalist by the National Jewish Book Awards. Ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1997, Rabbi Zamore graduated from Columbia College. She proudly served congregations in Central New Jersey for 18 years before joining WRN. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Dr. David SandersThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or TzionAbout the Event: The early Kabbalah focused on the Hebrew letters and language and how this code underlies creation. The beauty of the letters is expressed through their meaning, shape, name, and numerical value. The Hebrew letters are containers for the energies of time, including the months of the year and the 12 Spiritual Senses of Soul explained in Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Formation).About the Speaker: Dr. David Sanders, Founder and Spiritual Director of Kabbalah Experience, combines over thirty years of experience as both a psychologist and Kabbalist helping guide people to deeper awareness and fulfillment in their lives. His transformation from religious studies to mysticism intrigued him to broaden the study of Kabbalah to practical spiritual growth. Transformative Kabbalah combines traditional mysticism, contemporary psychology, and quantum physics.It is David’s joy to help others challenge their views of themselves and the world. Through study and practice, students regularly change their perceptions and choose to alter or modify their behavior – which in turn brings positive change to their relationships and community, and finds greater and more fulfilling expression of their life purpose. He is the author of 2 books on mysticism and language and is currently writing a book on MASKS, the subject of one of KE’s most popular courses.David maintains an active therapy practice, specializing in working with couples and families. He sees psychological and spiritual growth as a continuum of learning and becoming more aware of the self and others. His creation of the Kabbalah Experience is a way to enter into people’s lives from a different premise – spiritual learning and guidance that does not have a starting point of “my problem.” Based on the methodology of study at KE on adult-centered learning, everyone is linked in the awareness work together, the teacher becomes the student and the student becomes the teacher.David considers it his fortune to live with and learn from his wife Rita every day. With two sets of twins and the eldest son, life is rich for the whole family. ★ Support this podcast ★

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi David Saperstein & Dr. Tevi TroyThe event was co-hosted by Temple ChaiAbout the Event: As the 2024 elections loom, America and the Jewish community have rarely felt as divided over politics and policies as it does today. Are Jewish interests better served by conservative or liberal approaches to America’s domestic and global challenges? Are the values and lessons of Jewish tradition and history more resonant with the approach of conservatives or liberals to today’s issues? Are the interests of Jews in the U.S., Israel, and the world better served by the Republican Party or the Democratic Party?On issues like abortion, church-state relations, civil rights claims v. religious freedom claims, climate change, economic justice v. economic freedom, autocratic countries that support Israel, immigration, and religious freedom — what are the merits of their respective views? Are bipartisan/cross-ideological comity, compromise, and common ground possible?Dr. Tevi Troy (best-selling presidential historian, former senior Bush White House aide, Deputy Secretary of HHS, and former White House Liaison to the Jewish Community) and Rabbi David Saperstein (former Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom in the Obama Administration) will debate these issues and model how even political protagonists with differing political, religious, and ideological views can debate respectfully and constructively.About the Speakers: Rabbi David SapersteinFor 40 years, Rabbi Saperstein directed the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, representing the Reform Jewish Movement, the largest segment of American Jewry, to the U.S. Congress and Administration. Designated by Newsweek Magazine as the most influential rabbi in America and by the Washington Post as the “quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill,” during the second term of the Obama administration, Rabbi Saperstein served as the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, carrying out his responsibilities as the country’s chief diplomat on religious freedom issues. Since leaving government, he has served as the Senior Advisor on Policy and Strategy to the Union for Reform Judaism. Also an attorney, he taught seminars on Church–State law and on Jewish Law for 35 years at Georgetown University Law Center and later at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Center for Jewish Civilization. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations he also serves as a “Distinguished Fellow” at the PM Glynn Center at the Australian Catholic University. Rabbi Saperstein served in 2019-20 as the President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, the international arm of the Reform Jewish Movement. Dr. Tevi TroyTevi Troy is a best-selling presidential historian and a former senior government official. His latest book is Fight House: Rivalries in the White House, from Truman to Trump.On August 3, 2007, Dr. Troy was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As Deputy Secretary, Dr. Troy was the chief operating officer of the largest civilian department in the federal government, with a budget of $716 billion and over 67,000 employees.Dr. Troy has extensive White House experience, having served in several high-level positions over five years, culminating in his service as Deputy Assistant and then Acting Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. Dr. Troy has held high-level positions on Capitol Hill as well. From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Troy served as the Policy Director for Senator John Ashcroft. From 1996 to 1998, Troy was Senior Domestic Policy Adviser and later Domestic Policy Director for the House Policy Committee, chaired by Christopher Cox.In addition to his senior-level government work and healthcare expertise, Dr. Troy is also a presidential historian, making him one of only a handful of historians who has both studied the White House as a historian and worked there at the highest levels. He is the author of the best-selling book, What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House, as well as Intellectuals and the American Presidency: Philosophers, Jesters, or Technicians?, and Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management in the Oval Office. He has written over 250 published articles, for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Commentary, National Review, Washingtonian, The Weekly Standard, and other publications. He is a frequent television and radio analyst and has appeared on CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, Fox Business, and The NewsHour, among other outlets. Dr. Troy’s many other affiliations include adjunct fellow at Hudson Institute; contributing editor for Washingtonian magazine; memb

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz interviews Rabbi David Saperstein. Rabbi David Saperstein (former Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom in the Obama Administration) will debate these issues and model how even political protagonists with differing political, religious, and ideological views can debate respectfully and constructively. ★ Support this podcast ★