Orthodox Conundrum

In his classic work Kol Dodi Dofek, Rav Soloveitchik asserts that God's gift of the State of Israel demands a response. God wants a dialogue where we answer his generosity by using His gifts to make Him present in the world. The major challenge for Religious Zionism, then, is to decide, as best as we can, what that response should be. Does it mean settling every square kilometer of the Land? Does it mean creating a medinah l'mofet, an exemplary society in every way possible? Discovering what this challenge is - and then meeting it - is our responsibility today. That challenge, in fact, is what informs today's podcast with Yair Ettinger. Yair is a well-known Israeli journalist who has real expertise in the questions and issues surrounding the Religious Zionist world. Scott and Yair delved into the interesting dichotomy that much of the Religious Zionist community in Israel is largely becoming much more open and less reliant upon standard rabbinic authority in its religious practice, while simultaneously becoming more narrowly right wing politically. They also talked about the National Religious political parties today, and whether they authentically represent the bulk of the Religious Zionist population. They looked at the cracks that are appearing in some of the classic Religious Zionist institutions, and the apparent weakening of certain spiritual monopolies that exist. It was a very informative interview, and it offers some important insights into the future of Religious Zionism in the State of Israel. Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. To read Scott's reflections on his father's life, click here. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

It's the little things that hit hardest. The big moments when I expect to be emotional have generally felt unremarkable; I seem to have experienced them with relative ease. The surprises come when I'm taking a walk, talking about a silly childhood memory, or seeing an old friend. Above all, I've learned that my emotions are often hidden - from myself as well as from others - and then I think that I'm done having feelings. But I repeatedly learn that they lie barely below the surface, ready to emerge when I least expect them. This is not typical episode. Today I'm going to talk about my dad, and what life has been like since he died of pancreatic cancer three and a half weeks ago. I hope that it's meaningful for you, just as it was for me. Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. To read Scott's reflections on his father's life, click here. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

In episode 201, Rabbi Alex Israel, citing Rav Kook, asked whether nowadays we need to add a greater prophetic element to Judaism, alongside our continued commitment to halacha. Perhaps today we need a new infusion of prophecy - both in terms of its spiritual content, as well as through a renewed emphasis on Torah values that may sometimes be lost in standard halachic discourse. In that episode, Rabbi Israel and Scott talked about the sad reality that some people feel that halacha alone does not satisfy their spiritual thirst, and they discussed the issue of potentially losing the forest of Torah values for the trees of the myriad details of Jewish law. How, in other words, shall we combine the necessity of including a living prophetic agenda within our commitment to fulfilling the details of halachic practice? Rabbi Yosef Blau, the senior mashgiach ruchani at Yeshiva University, commented that while he greatly respected Rabbi Israel's approach, he felt that there are some important caveats that need to be added to the discussion. With that in mind, Scott invited him back to the podcast to voice his specific concerns. They spoke about potential problems in the search for spirituality, the dangers of treating rabbis like prophets, and the difficulty in emphasizing Torah values and the fear that they can replace Jewish law. They also spoke extensively about the State of Israel and its current war against Hamas, including whether Israel is living up to its own stated goals of being a medinah l'mofet - that is, the world's exemplary nation. Rabbi Blau mentioned a major flaw in secular Zionism, and asked whether Religious Zionism as a movement has at times deemphasized what it considers "Western" morality in the service of other Torah values that it holds in higher regard. It was an important conversation, and whether you agree or disagree with Rabbi Blau, you will undoubtedly find his ideas both engaging and important. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Did the Exodus from Egypt happen exactly as the Torah describes? How should we contend with archeological evidence that seems to indicate that certain aspects of the Torah's narrative don't make sense? And, for that matter, how can we contend with similar questions that surround other historical Biblical narratives? Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum, Dean of the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) and the Rabbi Sacks Chair of Modern Jewish Thought, addresses these and other pressing questions in this special pre-Pesach episode of the Orthodox Conundrum. Listen in so that you can renew your understanding of Yetziat Mitzrayim with greater depth and profundity. To order Rabbi Zarum's book, Questioning Belief: Torah and Tradition in an Age of Doubt, click here. Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. To read Scott's reflections on his father's life, click here. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

For over two millennia, the Jewish People has lived in a world largely defined by Jewish law, or halacha. While the Tanach is filled with what might be called prophetic Judaism - a Judaism, that is, which is dominated by those who spoke in the name of God - the Judaism that emerged during the era of the Second Temple and thereafter placed a greater emphasis on the minutiae of halachic practice and the intense study of Torah. This halachic Judaism has been a massive success, and has kept the Jewish people alive for the duration of our long exile. For that entire time, Jews have successfully come into contact with the presence of God through their observance of Jewish law. The question, though, is whether in 2024 we need to add more of the prophetic element alongside our continued commitment to halacha. Perhaps today we need a new infusion of prophecy - both in terms of its spiritual content, as well as through a renewed emphasis on Torah values that may sometimes be lost in standard halachic discourse. Rav Kook entertained this possibility a hundred years ago, and Rabbi Alex Israel presented the potential for a new prophetic Judaism in today's episode. Rabbi Israel and Scott talked about the sad reality that some people feel that halacha alone does not satisfy their spiritual thirst, and also discussed the problem of potentially losing the forest of Torah values for the trees of the myriad details of Jewish law. They acknowledged that there are some who are simply turned off by halacha's extreme attention to detail, as well as by the need to rely upon authority in order to fulfill it successfully. Ultimately, the puzzle is how Orthodox Jews can maintain and further halacha, while simultaneously enriching Judaism with greater spirituality and a heightened sense of morality, ethics, and kindness - all of which, ideally, should emerge from within Jewish law. How shall we combine the necessity of including a living prophetic agenda within our commitment to fulfilling the details of halachic practice? Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Jews control Hollywood - or so everyone seems to believe, for better and very often for worse. And it's true that there are many Jewish people who work in the entertainment industry. But this fact is quite distinct from the question of how Jews are typically portrayed in movies and TV shows - and in that realm, there are serious problems, both regarding the depiction of Jews in general, and the depiction of Orthodox Jews in particular. According to Allison Josephs, founder of Jew in the City, this is a serious problem with long-term consequences, and needs to be addressed. Allison has been at the forefront of trying to change things in Hollywood, and for that purpose founded the Jew in the City Hollywood Bureau. Scott spoke with her about the negative stereotypes of Jews and Orthodox Jews that are both parrotted and furthered by the entertainment industry; the reasons that Jews are often last in line when it comes to inclusion and sensitivity; what has changed since October 7th; whether Jewish people should fight for inclusion in the places where Diversity, Equity and Inclusion holds sway, or whether we're better off trying to undermine the entire structure; whether there is a problem with non-Jews portraying Jews on screen; examples of some shows where Jews are shown in a positive light, as well as some where they are seen with the typical negative tropes; which celebrities have been vocal in fighting on behalf of Jews and Israel; and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Last week's episode of the Orthodox Conundrum was supposed to be a wide-ranging conversation about the present and future of Religious Zionism, including a discussion of our relationship with the Palestinian population in Yehuda v'Shomron and Gaza. As it turns out, Scott and his guests, Daniel Goldman and Rabbi Elie Mischel, ended up spending the entire podcast speaking about that one issue, so they came back this week to discuss many of the topics that they had not yet addressed. That episode generated an unusual amount of feedback, both positive and negative. In particular, Rabbi Elie Mischel's ideas were the subject of numerous comments, both public and private. As a result of that feedback, Scott dedicated the first part of this episode to further clarifying Elie and Daniel's opinions about some of the hot-button topics they talked about last week regarding the Palestinians. The majority of the podcast then addressed other subjects that are directly relevant to Religious Zionists, including questions regarding the culture wars, how we as a community should relate to non-Orthodox Jews, our attitudes towards the many ultra-Orthodox people who refuse to serve in the IDF, whether political Religious Zionism is going in a positive direction, if there should be a separation of Torah and State, and more. (Please note that Rabbi Mischel is joining the podcast in a personal capacity, and his views do not necessarily reflect those of the Mizrachi organization.) Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

In some recent episodes of this podcast, Scott and his guests have discussed numerous issues relevant to the Religious Zionist world, including some of the ways that Religious Zionism differs from Modern Orthodoxy. But Religious Zionism is not a monolith; there are many different paths within Religious Zionism, and the differences between these paths can sometimes be vast. For example, the Mafdal - that is, Mifleget Dati Leumi, the old Religious Zionist Party which dominated Religious Zionist politics for decades - was, during the Six Day War, perhaps the most dovish and anti-war of all the parties in the Labor-led government. Today, in contrast, the dominant ideology within Religious Zionism is associated with the philosophy of rabbis like Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook and others who founded the settlement movement. But even though modern political Religious Zionism is generally associated with the right or even the far right on the Israeli political spectrum, the other strains within Religious Zionism still exist, albeit less so in the political arena. In order to discuss the future of Religious Zionism, Scott invited Daniel Goldman and Rabbi Elie Mischel to discuss it on the Orthodox Conundrum. But the issue of settlements and the question of a Palestinian State took up so much time that they decided to make this episode Part One, and deal with other pressing issues in Part Two. So this episode largely deals with different attitudes towards the maintenance and expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the issue of whether to create a permanent civilian Jewish presence in Gaza, the future of the Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza and whether that future should include an independent Palestinian state, questions around the democratic character of Israel and whether Israel should be bound by international law, whether to relate to Tanach as history or as a practical guide, and much more. (Please note that Rabbi Mischel is joining the podcast in a personal capacity, and his views do not necessarily reflect those of the Mizrachi organization.) Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

After October 7th, Jews around the world have felt besieged by some erstwhile allies, as some have been silent in the face of rampant antisemitism, and others have openly supported Hamas and its genocidal goals. While there have been many who openly support Jews and Israel, the war in Gaza has also provided a moment of reckoning as we discovered some unhappy surprises about people we thought were our friends. A good example is the reaction to October 7th by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, or AASECT. As an organization dedicated to healthy sexuality, and one which has expressed opinions on hot button issues unrelated to its core mission, AASECT certainly should have issued a statement condemning the sexual violence against Israelis on October 7th. That, however, didn't happen for a long time - and even when it did, the statement felt like a giant hedge. As a result, Scott's Intimate Judaism co-host Talli Rosenbaum, along with some colleagues, resigned from AASECT. In this episode, Scott spoke with Talli, psychotherapist Dr. Shoshana Bulow, and sexual educator Dr. Logan Levkoff about some of the ways that the AASECT debacle is, unfortunately, representative of trends that are emerging in the United States. They also discussed the trauma of October 7th and the war both in and out of Israel, as well as the binary thinking that has led to the demonization of Jews, the prevalence of antisemitism, agendas that are embedded in the system to the Jewish people's detriment, the fight against anti-Israel activity across the diaspora, and more. To read the research article "War-Time Stress and Sexual Well-Being in Israel" by Talli Rosenbaum, Aryeh Lazar, and Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan, click here. To read Dr. Levkoff's "Open Letter to Sexuality Professionals and Organizations," click here. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

35 years ago, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was essentially unknown among the general public; today, it is spoken about all the time. We've learned that some behaviors that were once considered signs that a child didn't care about school or achievement, or simply lacked normal self control, are actually indicators of a difference in the way the mind works - and instead of criticizing the people whose minds work this way, we need to find ways to help them succeed. Indeed, when understood properly, ADHD can even be a superpower where some people think differently and more creatively than some others. Despite the advances in knowledge and societal understanding, there is still so much that people don't know - and so many ways that people who have ADHD can fall through the cracks. For Orthodox kids with ADHD, who are supposed to sit quietly in shul, concentrate on Torah learning, avoid leaving the Shabbos table, and more, our religious commitments can end up feeling like a kind of torture. To address the unique needs of Orthodox people who have ADHD, Dr. Simcha Chesner and Dr. Sara Markowitz wrote a new book entitled Kosher ADHD, and Scott spoke with them about the challenges people with ADHD face, and some of the methods that they recommend in order to help them overcome these challenges. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

What does Israel mean to you? For years, this was a theoretical question for many people who live in the diaspora. Given Israel's war against Hamas and its army of terror, however, the question has gained additional resonance and, in some ways, can no longer be put off; it demands an answer. With Israel under military attack, and the Jewish people experiencing verbal attacks unlike any seen since World War II, Jews outside of Israel have been forced to consider what kind of relationship they have and want to have with the Jewish state. Scott was honored to host Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, the cofounder and executive director of Nefesh B'Nefesh, in order to ask him some of these questions, and to learn about what has changed, and what hasn't - since October 7th. They talked about the reasons that a person should and should not make aliya, questions about the independent integrity of diaspora Jewry, the relationship that exists and should exist between Jews in and outside of Israel, if there has been greater interest in aliya over the past four months, and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

In Episode 184, Scott spoke with Michael Eisenberg and Rabbi Yehoshua Hershberg about their conviction that the time has come for the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel - often referred to as the Chareidim - to participate more fully in Israeli society, specifically by ending what has effectively become a blanket exemption from military service, and by their becoming integrated into Israel's economic life. What was lacking, however, was an explanation of the Chareidi point of view on these matters. So in the interest of expanding and deepening the conversation, Scott was honored to welcome Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz to articulate the arguments that are commonly used by those who identify as ultra-Orthodox. Rabbi Breitowitz is one of the Orthodox world's most brilliant scholars; in addition to being an outstanding talmid chacham, he also is a graduate of Harvard Law School and was an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Law before moving to Israel. Rabbi Breitowitz and Scott engaged in a fascinating conversation about Chareidi integration into the military, the economy, and more, and no topic was off limits. Rabbi Breitowitz was asked to explain the Chareidi position as best as he understands it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he identifies with every argument he presents. Nevertheless, there are few individuals who are able to explain Torah ideas and ideals, truly backed by real knowledge and scholarship, as well as Rabbi Breitowitz. His explanations of the thinking behind the policies of the ultra-Orthodox world need to be analyzed and taken seriously in order for Israeli society to progress in a manner that will be beneficial for all Jews - secular, national religious, and ultra-Orthodox alike. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

A week or two ago, on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook, Scott posted a question about the propriety of Jews living outside of Israel going on fancy vacations while the Israeli population is experiencing a world where there are kidnapped Jews trapped in Gaza, where we continue to mourn the loss of 1200 victims of October 7th plus over 200 soldiers who have died in the aftermath, and when almost every family is directly experiencing the anxiety of having family currently fighting in the Israeli army. He suggested that maybe now is a time for Jews outside of Israel to express solidarity, in part, by avoiding so-called "fabulous vacations" - or at least having enough sensitivity not to post about them. In response to that post, Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman, who was on the Orthodox Conundrum after Pesach to talk about the relationship of diaspora Jews to Israel, recommended that we record an episode to give a voice to those Jews who live outside of Israel. As a result of her message, Scott convened a panel with her, Rabbi Pesach Sommer, and HaDassah Sabo Milner in order for them to express what it has been like to be a Jew living outside of Israel since the terrible attack on Simchat Torah. To say the obvious, the reflections that each panelist offered are, by definition, anecdotal and partial; they can't describe anyone's feelings but their own. Moreover, they bring only their own life experiences to the table, and for that reason, there are many perspectives which are unfortunately omitted, including those of people living in Jewish communities which are not represented here. Nevertheless, the goal is not to offer a definitive expression of diaspora Jewry regarding the situation in Israel, but to start a conversation between people living in Israel and outside of Israel, so that we can all be enriched by, and more understanding of, each other's perspectives. As Ruth pointed out in the podcast, we often end up talking past each other instead of to each other; let's hope that this can be a corrective to that, and the start of more productive communications between committed Jews, no matter where they live. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

In episode 190, Scott and Dr. Mijal Bitton talked about the idea of creating synagogues that follow Orthodox halacha while embracing an egalitarian aesthetic. One of the ideas that they discussed was the balance between using our Torah texts to determine normative Jewish law, versus what Rabbi Dr. Haym Soloveitchik famously described in his seminal essay "Rupture and Reconstruction" as the preeminence of the mimetic tradition - that is, a way of living that is less learned than it is imitated, observed, absorbed, and passed down to the next generation almost automatically. Rabbi Dr. Soloveitchik argued that today, the mimetic tradition is quickly giving way to a reliance upon written sources, even when those written sources directly contradict the common practice of generations. It's fascinating that while this new reliance upon text is usually associated with a move toward greater stringency, it also can be used to create leniencies that are technically permitted, but have never applied because of a tradition that taught otherwise. This all has a direct bearing on how Orthodox Jews relate to the halachic role of women in Orthodox society. There are numerous examples of areas where, in theory, halachic texts alone may permit greater women's participation than we normally allow, yet which we often shy away from because our traditions have dictated otherwise. When some attempt to increase women's halachic role in Orthodoxy, this tension comes to the fore and must be addressed. Finding halachic solutions that favor text over tradition for the sake of greater openness might sound like a natural solution - but consulting text alone has plenty of dangers associated with it, as well. To address this and other relevant issues, Scott hosted Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash, who just completed a forthcoming book that looks at Jewish texts relating to women, gender, and halacha. In this conversation they deal with some important issues regarding the roles that women should and should not play in Orthodox society. They talked about the introduction of women's voices into halachic discourse, as well as the fact that our classic texts generally do not offer women's perspectives on halacha; potential areas for greater women's participation; the question of women's halachic leadership, and the potential halachic problems with increasing their prominence there; and why it all matters. In addition, they spoke about some specific instances that people often ask about, including the meaning behind women's exemption from time-caused positive mitzvot, the Talmudic idea that a woman would almost always rather be married than single (tav l'meitav tan du), and the morning blessing, shelo asani isha - who did not make me a woman - and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

The war in Israel, which is now well over one hundred days old, has in some ways highlighted the commonalities between all Jews across the world, no matter where they live, and in other ways demonstrated the gaps that continue to exist between an Israeli public that is dealing with the reality of war on their doorsteps, and a non-Israel Jewish world which, despite its emotional investment in Israel, obviously is not experiencing war in the same way that Israelis do. The highlighting of these similarities and differences is at the forefront of the Jewish conversation today, so it seemed appropos to discuss one of the most important areas of both overlap and divergence: namely, the broadly defined Modern Orthodox world that exists outside of Israel, and the Dati Leumi world in Israel - that is, the community that defines itself as National Religious. Shayna Goldberg has been on the Orthodox Conundrum before, and her insights into tricky subjects like this are always nuanced and welcome. For that reason, Scott was honored to have her back on the podcast to talk about the definitions of the words Modern, Orthodox, Dati, and Leumi, and the various ways that these communities are similar and different. They also talked about differences in the way that kids are raised in Israel and outside of Israel, both at home and at school, and some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with each. The insights that Shayna brings to the table will hopefully spark important conversations about how best to raise our children - and how best to live our lives - by assimilating the best from each world into our lives, while avoiding some of the pitfalls that are part of them, as well. You can read two articles that Shayna wrote about raising Israeli kids here and here. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

This podcast is called "The Orthodox Conundrum" and many of us self-identify as Orthodox, pray in Orthodox synagogues, affiliate with Orthodox institutions, and consider ourselves part of the wider Orthodox world. But is that term "Orthodox" - and perhaps the concept of denominations in general - a help or a hindrance? Do denominations lead to the building of walls that separate us, and the creation of institutions that are cornered into an inability to change? And let's say that they do; is that a bad thing? Perhaps creating such boundaries is necessary, as without them Torah Judaism cannot effectively or functionally operate. These are important questions to consider, and given the radical realignment that may be possible in the wake of October 7th and its aftermath, we need to have these conversations now. For that reason, Scott was honored to speak with Dr. Mijal Bitton. This conversation with Mijal was precipitated not just by a desire to talk about the future of Orthodoxy, but even more by the need to highlight individuals who can help lead Torah Judaism into an as-yet unknown future. It seems that much, though of course not all, of our leadership has failed in this hour, and we must look in new directions in order to highlight new voices. Dr. Bitton is one of those newer voices, and her conversation with Scott covered many different topics, including the subtly changing attitudes of American Jews towards the events in Israel now that the war is 100 days old; the impact of anti-Israel activity on the psyche of the American Jewish community; her role as Rosh Kehilah at the Downtown Minyan in Manhattan and what that shul is doing to stay within the boundaries of Jewish law while trying to create a new model of openness - what she calls a Covenantal/Traditional Community that follows Orthodox Halacha along with inculcating an egalitarian aesthetic; the opportunities and limits of female participation in the synagogue; her work studying Sefaradic and Syrian Jewry: the problems with institutions; and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Dr. Erica Brown has been a guest on the Orthodox Conundrum twice in the past six months: once, in episode 170, about leadership, and again in episode 176 about the theology of Kohelet. It's unprecedented to have a guest back so frequently in a short time frame, but Erica's voice is one which needs to be heard by as many people as possible. Erica composed a type of memoir or spiritual diary in the two months between Simchat Torah and Chanukah, where she openly discussed her thoughts and feelings about the atrocities of October 7th, and the subsequent war against Hamas which, ever since it began, has been occupying our hearts and minds constantly. This extremely personal work is entitled Staying Human, and despite its characterization as a memoir, it effectively captures the emotions and spiritual insights of one individual in such a way that readers can relate to it as well. Perhaps more than anything else written since October 7th, Erica successfully puts much of what so many have been experiencing into words, and in so doing, has allowed us to confront these feelings in new and productive ways. In this conversation, she and Scott talked about why she wrote this book, its interesting structure, and how she would characterize it. They also talked about many of the issues that she raises, including the conflict between what Rav Kook calls the Song of the Nation and the Song of Humanity, the problem of theodicy in Jewish thought, handling the rage we may feel so that it does not become unhealthy, how to relate to the question of innocent Palestinian civilians, why it's important to identify and name evil, why people so often fall back into moral relativism, ways to rethink social justice given that so many Jewish advocates of social justice feel betrayed by their allies, issues with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the future of leadership when young people have been so much more impressive than our existing political and religious leadership, the dynamic between despair and gratitude, and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

"The IDF is the most moral army on earth." We hear this said, and we hope that it's true. But what does it mean? How is morality defined in wartime? Is the IDF Code of Ethics in line with Jewish teachings? Does the IDF in fact follow its own Code of Ethics? Alongside these general questions, are specific questions that relate to the Torah viewpoint regarding what an army is obligated to do ethically when it is at war. What does Judaism have to say about the ethics of war, and are these ethics essentially the same as those demanded by the Geneva Conventions? To what degree must civilian non-combatants be protected? When is an army spokesperson allowed to lie in order to deceive the enemy? To what degree must we put our own soldiers in danger in order to protect innocents on the other side? Are reprisals against innocent civilians in order to further war aims ever justified? There are also other questions that we cannot ignore, such as how a Torah-based ethic of war deals with difficult passages of the Bible, such as when the Torah obligates Israel to obliterate Amalek and the Seven Canaanite nations. The Torah also allows a king to wage a milchemet reshut, an optional war, for reasons that may not accord with the modern concept of a just war. How do we relate to these laws in establishing wartime ethics predicated upon the Torah? And of course, there are questions that relate directly to the current war that Israel is waging against Hamas. Has the IDF made ethical mistakes? Where has the IDF acted in an exceptional ethical manner? Is the current war considered a milchemet mitzvah, an obligatory war - and if so, is there justification for certain populations to avoid it for the sake of a higher religious goal? This brings us back to that opening statement, "The IDF is the most moral army on earth." Based on the answers to all of these questions, can we say that the Israeli army is, indeed, the most moral army on earth, or are there areas which need improvement in order for that statement to be considered accurate? To discuss all of these questions, Scott spoke with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody, whose new book, Ethics of our Fighters: A Jewish View on War and Morality was just published. There are few issues that are as timely as this, and their conversation addressed some of the most important issues facing Israel's army today. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

It has been tremendously disheartening to hear the reactions (or lack thereof) to Hamas's crimes of October 7th. One of the most obvious instances of this has been the silence of too many organizations dedicated to the protection of women, regarding the rape and mutilation of Israeli victims by Hamas terrorists as they rampaged through southern Israel. There is abundant evidence of gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas. However, many people who choose to support Hamas are engaged in gaslighting - that is, trying to convince us that people didn't see what they saw, and don't know what they know to be true. It can make people question their sanity, which is exactly what these Hamas supporters are trying to do. Some individuals are heroically fighting against this gaslighting, including Scott's guest, Rahel Bayar. She attended a session at the United Nations two weeks ago that was dedicated to presenting testimony about the sexual violence that unquestionably occurred. In this episode, Rahel frankly and graphically describes some of the sexual violence of October 7th, and also talks about what happened at the UN, why this session was important, some possible reasons that so many organizations have remained silent, the reason that we should not castigate these organizations when the issue statements months after the fact, and more. This episode includes graphic descriptions of sexual violence. Please consider whether you want to listen, as well as whether you want to listen while children are present. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com Follow @Orthodox Conundrum on Instagram and @JewishCoffeeH on X/Twitter.

So many people have noted that there are significant parallels between the Jewish world as it exists after the October 7th pogrom and the subsequent war with an enemy determined to wipe Jews and Judaism off the map, and the themes that we pay attention to on Chanukah. In order to discuss some of these ideas in greater depth, and consider the ways that we can uniquely relate to them in 2023, Scott was honored to invite three favorite podcast guests back to the Orthodox Conundrum: Rabbi Judah Mischel, Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, and Dr. Malka Simkovich. Each guest brought a unique perspective to the important ways to relate to Chanukah in today's environment - an environment that includes a war against an enemy that openly asserts its desire to destroy Jews and Judaism, the rediscovery of Jewish feeling among many, a frightening resurgence of antisemitism, and more. All three discussions were free flowing, and were, in many ways, more conversational than typical interviews. We hope that the ideas that were expressed will offer you some new ways of relating to Chanukah so that we can all discover additional layers of meaning in the service of providing chizuk, or encouragement, in these difficult times. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Since Israel's war against Hamas began following the horrific events of October 7th, one of the singular challenges Israel faces has been explaining its position to the world, or what's called in Hebrew, hasbara. It's never easy defending Israel in the media, never mind going on the offensive; with a natural skepticism of everything that Israel does, combined with some obvious latent antisemitism, many often portray Israel as seemingly having nefarious intentions, and regularly violating the rules of war. When that is combined with a common willingness to believe Hamas's narratives while Israel, as a Western democracy, inevitably checks its facts before reporting them - and accordingly often has to respond to an emerging narrative, rather than writing it in the first place - the challenges Israel faces become even greater. Fortunately, Israel has some individuals who are expert at telling its story and in playing the hasbara game - and Scott speaks to two of them in today's episode. Eylon Levy has emerged as Israel's most well-known and effective spokesperson over the past two months; his fame skyrocketed about a week and a half ago, when he responded expertly, and with astonishment, when a news presenter asked him whether the fact that three Palestinian prisoners were released for every Israeli hostage somehow indicated that Israel thinks that Israeli lives are more valuable than Palestinian lives. Rabbi Pesach Wolicki has become one of the leading advocates for Israel in the world of Christian media. His appearances have largely been on Christian networks like TBN and CBN, which are watched by millions of viewers. This podcast addresses some very important issues that commonly arise for those who defend Israel in the media. But the most important message applies to every listener: how you, when confronting those who castigate Israel, can become an effective spokesperson on behalf of the State of Israel. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Many believe that the events of October 7th and their aftermath will lead to a major realignment in many aspects of Israeli and Jewish life. One of the most acute and obvious is the issue of ultra-orthodox deferments from the Israeli military. These deferments are granted based on the assumption that the Torah study in yeshivot is a vital part of the war effort, and on a metaphysical level is a major reason (and perhaps the major reason) for the Israeli army's success. But is this based on an accurate reading of the sources? Can a modern state rely on metaphysical reasoning when making policy? And crucially, is it simply unfair for a large segment of the population to avoid putting lives at risk while other segments are on the front lines, fighting - and sometimes dying - for the sake of the people of Israel? Michael Eisenberg has argued that the long-term health of the State of Israel demands that the Chareidi population be integrated into economy in general, and into the military in particular. Rabbi Yehoshua Hershberg, in turn, asserts that the Chareidi reading of these Torah sources is, frankly, mistaken - and that a genuine respect for Torah and Torah scholars requires that we read them in a more sophisticated fashion. Listen in as Scott and Rabbi Hershberg discuss the Torah texts that are used to justify ultra-orthodox deferments, and as Scott and Michael talk about the economic and social impact of continuing as things are today. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

The events of the past six weeks - the massacre on October 7th, the kidnappings, the sudden sense of insecurity within Israel - alongside the almost immediate and massive increase in antisemitism around the world, and open calls for the end of the State of Israel in ways that we have never experienced before - have thrown many Jews for a tailspin. Many people have expressed a desire to increase their religious devotion, while others have questioned God and wondered how He could have let this happen. Asking these questions is not a religious problem, but a vital religious necessity. Our greatest exemplars in Tanach regularly asked these questions; there are whole books, like Iyov and Eicha, that are dedicated to what we would now consider philosophical questions. Pretending that these questions don't exist is often a sign of religious superficiality. On the other hand, asking questions is far from easy, because we may not like the answers that we find. People who choose faith and who are also troubled by the problem of evil in the world and God's apparently hidden presence, sometimes need chizuk - that is, encouragement and practical methods so that they can live with the unanswerable questions while moving forward in their commitment to God and Torah. In order to facilitate this important conversation, Scott was honored to host Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg and Rabbi Johnny Solomon. Over the course of their conversation, they talked about hester panim, or God's hiding His face, the meaning of the Talmudic dictum that everything God does is for the good, the proper type of introspection in the wake of tragedy, the meaning of bitachon or trust in God (and what it should not mean), practical methods to help people hold on to faith, and more. This is not a detached philosophical analysis of theodicy. Instead, it is a religious conversation designed to help people who are troubled by current events, but who plan to maintain their faith, find ways to move forward without sacrificing their intellectual honesty. (While Rabbi Solomon referenced Chapter 2 Halacha 4 of Rambam's Hilchot Ta'aniyot as speaking about war - in contrast to Chapter 1 which speaks about other troubles ('tzarot') - he wanted to add that this point is made even clearer in Chapter 2 Halacha 3.) Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Two months ago, on September 8th, Scott recorded an interview with Dr. Micah Goodman about Sefer Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. The interview was fascinating, both because of the theological insights that Micah provided, and also because of the way that he was able to relate Moshe's words to current events in the State of Israel. The terrible Hamas massacre of October 7th has changed everything - and Micah Goodman's insights in this interview are now more relevant than ever. He sees Moshe's words in Sefer Devarim as the primary guide for what Israel needs to do in order to stay in our land and create the kind of society that God wants us to create. As many of us, for the first time in decades, have come to the realization that our hold on the Land of Israel is not unconditional and not free, we also recognize that we need to think about the values that drive Israeli policy in order that Israel remain worthy of the sacrifices that so many have made on her behalf. With that in mind, please listen to this conversation and consider not only what we want Israel to be, but what Moshe Rabbeinu, our teacher Moses, said that Israel has to be. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Everyone who listens to this podcast has heard about the waves of antisemitism that have been engulfing the world ever since October 7th; I'm sure that many people who listen have also experienced some of that antisemitism first hand. There is something so fundamentally Orwellian when the reaction to the slaughter of 1400 innocent people and the kidnapping of about 250 hostages is to demonstrate against the victims of the massacre. And that was before Israel responded; now that Israel is defending itself against Hamas in Gaza, the canards about Israeli ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Palestinians have only become louder and more insistent. Until now, the words we say at the Pesach seder sometimes seemed like a remnant from the past. No longer. This promise is what stood by our ancestors and us. For not just one enemy alone rose against us to destroy us, but in every generations enemies rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, Blessed is He, saves us from their hand. These words sound not only like history, but also like prophecy. To discuss this rise in antisemitism, I was honored to speak with Avital Chizhik Goldschmidt. We talked about the reasons that the epicenter seems to be on elite college campuses, the ways that these antisemitic protests are different from others in recent years, some of the questions she has received as a rebbetzin, including whether a mother can buy a cross for her son to wear when he is with non-Jews, the conflation of antisemitism and Islamophobia, whether the new antisemitism represents a loud but fringe phenomenon or whether it's representative of a significant sector of the population, the problem of celebrities with massive influence being weighing in on matters about which they know less than they think, what Jewish people should do in response to antisemitism, and much more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

There are so many questions about where the State of Israel is heading after this war, and so many puzzles about how we ended up in such a precarious position in the first place. We are rightly proud of the sense of unity that we are currently experiencing; but we cannot let it blind us to the reality that things have to change in the future in order to make sure that Israel is not again lulled into a false sense of security. In this episode, Scott spoke with Yaakov Katz, senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and a former editor of the Jerusalem Post. Among the important topics that they addressed are what failures led to the massacre on October 7th, what was Hamas's expectation at the time, whether the protests around judicial reform contributed to the security failures, why it has taken so long for a ground invasion to begin, when to believe the government and when to wonder if they are intentionally trying to mislead Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, why so many in the government have been strangely quiet for the past three weeks, what the current crisis has in common with the tragedy in Meron two and a half years ago, what may happen with Israel's political system when the war is over, why this may present a unique opportunity for change, and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Israel's war against Hamas has brought the Jewish people together in ways many of us have never before experienced. It also has brought new halachic and hashkafic challenges to light that, as religious Jews, we are obligated to address. In this episode, Scott spoke to Rav Yoni Rosensweig about some of these challenges, including the right and wrong way to engage in self-reflection, what sorts of actions we can all be doing now in order to help the war effort and ourselves, the ways that we should face the fact that this seems like a time of hester panim, of G-d's hiding His face, and how we should face our fears in a healthy and Jewish way. Rav Yoni also discussed numerous halachic queries, including questions regarding using phones on Shabbat, the idea of a soldier writing a document to avoid his wife's (G-d forbid) becoming an aguna, the kashrut of food sent to the front from unknown sources, and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Click here to listen to Dr. Matthew Levitt's excellent podcast, Breaking Hezbollah's Golden Rule. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

After ten days of war in Israel, Scott talks about the Jewish People, the Divine Presence, people who are emulating the wicked son from the Pesach Seder, why Jews Who Matter need to read the Book of Esther, meaningful support from wonderful people who are not Jewish, and more. It might be disorganized, and it might seem random... but maybe that's the most honest kind of podcast after the events of the past week. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

There are so many questions, and people want to know what's actually happening. In this special rush-released episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, Scott speaks with Dr. Matthew Levitt about Israel's war against Hamas. Among the issues they discuss are why Hamas decided to commit these atrocities now, what Hamas expected to occur and what actually took place, whether Hamas anticipated Israel's full response, the possibility of a multi-front war, if Jews should be concerned about Khaled Mashal's call for Muslims to demonstrate across the world on October 13th, whether it's possible to fully eliminate Hamas, and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Read Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

In this special episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, Scott spoke with Talli Rosenbaum to discuss ways to deal with the very real trauma and emotional distress that the war in Israel has caused, whether or not we live in Israel. He also talked with David Lange of Israellycool.com to get a brief overview of the way that this conflict has been portrayed in the media and over social media - both the good and the distressing. Scott also offers his own reflections on what the war means, and how people who love Israel can help her at this crucial time. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Megilat Kohelet is one of the most difficult books in Tanach: it jumps back and forth between conflicting assumptions, it lacks any obvious narrative or thematic structure, and its statements sometimes seem at odds with what most people would consider standard Rabbinic theology. People didn't discover these problems today, of course; the Mishnah in Masechet Yadayim questions whether Kohelet was canonized as part of the Bible or not. Moreover, Masechet Shabbat 30b reports in the name of Rav that the Sages wanted to hide Kohelet because of its contradictions; they decided against it because its beginning and end are words of Torah - and as Rashi explains, that means that surely there must be other words of Torah in the middle. Still, the fact that they even considered this tells us that Kohelet was as mysterious to them as it is to us. We read Kohelet on Shabbat chol hamoed of Sukkot - or, in a year like this where there is no Shabbat during chol hamoed, on the first day of Sukkot in Israel, or on Shmini Atzeret outside of Israel. But going through all twelve chapters quickly in shul is not the best way to internalize the many messages of this intriguing book. For that reason, Scott was extremely gratified to welcome Dr. Erica Brown back to the podcast. Erica is the author of Kohelet and the Search for Meaning, and they discussed some of the many questions that are raised by Kohelet. It's a wide ranging and fascinating conversation that invokes Shlomo HaMelech, the Byrds, C.S. Lewis, William Blake, George Carlin, Sesame Street, and more. It will give you a new appreciation for Kohelet not only as a sacred text, but as a book that speaks directly to the deepest concerns of human beings living in the 21st century. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are dedicated to teshuva, commonly translated as "repentance" or "return." According to the Rambam's classic formulation, repentance consists of three elements: regret, determination not to repeat the sin in the future, and confession. In many ways it sounds relatively simple… though in practice, it's often much more difficult. Moreover, from a psychological perspective, the processes of repenting, apologizing, and forgiving are very complex. What does it mean to experience shame, and how is the regret required by Jewish law different from the paralyzing shame that psychologists discourage? Can someone truly experience shame when that person still reaps the benefits of his wrongdoing? Is apologizing to someone different from asking for forgiveness - and what, exactly, is forgiveness, anyway? Are there techniques that can make it easier for us to forgive those who have hurt us? Is it ever wrong to apologize? And what if someone is convinced that he or she is simply unredeemable? In order to discuss these issues from both religious and psychological perspectives, Scott spoke with marriage and family therapist Elisheva Liss on the podcast. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment, but it also represents renewal, hope, confidence, and optimism as we look toward the future. This is expressed in many ways, but perhaps most obviously in the Torah reading of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, where we read that Sarah, after a lifetime of being unable to have children, gave birth to Yitzchak at the age of ninety. In the haftarah of that same day, we read the similar story of Chanah, who was barren until G-d accepted her prayer; she gave birth to Shmuel HaNavi soon thereafter. But these stories of hope, alongside other themes of Rosh Hashanah, may have the opposite effect for people who suffer from infertility. Seeing families in the synagogue, sitting around a yom tov table alongside couples who have children, and even hearing that G-d answered Sarah yet wondering, "Why hasn't He said yes to me, too?" - may be exceedingly painful. To discuss some of the issues of infertility, including how we all can develop the proper sensitivity to those who suffer from infertility, Scott was honored to speak with Dr. Aimee Baron, the founder and executive director of I Was Supposed to Have a Baby. Read "59 Things to Talk About Other Than Babies and Kids" here. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. If you subscribe by Thursday, September 14, you will receive a free PDF of The Laws of Tekiat Shofar. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

The tefilot of the Yamim Nora'im - starting from Selichot and continuing through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - are deep and meaningful, but also long and often quite hard to understand. But that difficulty is minor compared with the theological problem of how to relate to God when our prayers go unanswered... when He seems to have abandoned us... when rather than a divine nod of approval, we feel like we are getting God's cold shoulder. This is a topic which Scott discussed over the past two weeks in his Substack, Orthodox Conundrum Commentary; it's also an issue that everyone must confront at one point or another. To that end, Scott spoke with Rebecca Sarchi, a high school principal living in Johannesburg. Right before Tisha B'Av, her son Chaim tragically passed away; despite their intense tefilot and mitzvah observance, God still said no. Rebecca decided that she wants to address what happened, and describe the ways that a person can maintain faith in the face of unthinkable tragedy. She does not provide answers; instead, she simply talks about her and her family's experience. She mentions the importance of prayer despite the possibility of God's saying no. She describes the need to cherish every moment, and to live fully in every second. She advocates going outside of yourself, and reaching out to someone else. No, none of these are answers; instead, they are lessons that can hopefully help us gain proper perspective as we enter the end of Elul, and begin the countdown to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

What may a teacher or kiruv professional do in order to make people frum? Do the ends of bringing people closer to Torah justify the means of manipulating them emotionally? And even if the methodology is valid in some way, does it even work? According to Scott, playing mind games in the service of religion is not just wrong, but literally abusive. It potentially causes trauma, and further cements, in both the teacher and the students, the damaging idea that the teacher has special access to spiritual truth that is denied to the student. While someone who has studied Torah hopefully has a greater knowledge of Jewish law, and while he or she may potentially possess insights into spirituality, that does not translate into genuine knowledge of the mind of G-d; in reality, those who abuse often seem to profess shallow inanities that desecrate G-d's name. Yet some abusive rabbis have become famous and popular not despite their hurtful words, but because of them. And there are others - less famous, to be sure - who may be teaching in the schools attended by our children. To learn more about this troubling phenomenon, Scott spoke with Rabbi Mark Dratch and Mrs. Rachel Dratch. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

A podcast hosted by an Orthodox comedian recently featured a controversial interview with a child sex offender. In response, Rabbi Scott Kahn and Talli Rosenbaum created a panel to discuss whether there are potential benefits to learning more about people who struggle with attraction to minors and do not offend, as well as those who do. (This episode contains explicit material regarding sexual abuse that some readers may find disturbing.) Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Is the biggest danger to Torah coming from Israel's own rabbinic establishment? Over the past thirty-plus weeks in Israel, there has been lots of talk about the pros and cons of judicial reform, and about the ways that it should and should not be done. While that issue has taken center stage, other important legislation has also been proposed or passed which has been largely ignored... yet many of these changes will have far-reaching - and potentially detrimental - effects on the nature of religion in Israel. Some of the most recent proposed legislation further empowers the government-sponsored Rabbinate, both at the national and local levels, even as it centralizes rabbinic power more than ever before. And that's only a piece of a much bigger puzzle. Rachel Stomel of the Center for Women's Justice has wide-ranging knowledge of the Rabbinate and the consequences of state-sponsored rabbinic power, and provided needed insight into the history of the Chief Rabbinate, the reasons that the Knesset is trying to increase the Rabbinate's power, who is resisting this legislation, and the reasons that religion married to state power is dangerous to Torah Judaism. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

In Episode 99, entitled "The Orthodox Community's Obsession with Materialism," Scott spoke with Rabbi Jeremy Wieder about lavish weddings, luxurious vacations, over-the-top camp programs, and more. But unfortunately, the topic wasn't exhausted; the problem is still here, and there are many other issues that need to be addressed. Among these are whether materialism per se is a violation of Torah, or only if that consumption is conspicuous; in what ways hedonism is inimical to spiritual growth and Torah values; if the problem is the amount we spend, or a general emphasis on lifestyle and possessions; how the high price of yeshiva tuition contributes to the problem; the issue of unethical and illegal business schemes infiltrating many Orthodox communities (and perhaps being ignored); the lessons we failed to learn from Covid; why speaking about materialism matters even if it doesn't seem that anything is changing; and much more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Many people are troubled by what appears to be a dearth of moral leadership in the Jewish world in general, and in the Orthodox world in particular. Of course, no one is asserting that there are no admirable leaders; rather, in addtion to these good leaders, there are too many leaders who are incompetent, cowardly, selfish, or immoral. For that reason, Scott was honored to talk with Dr. Erica Brown about whether this common impression is right, what constitutes good leadership according to Jewish sources, and how such leaders are cultivated. They discussed why there are different models of leadership in Jewish texts; some examples of leaders in Tanach including Yosef, Moshe, Rut, Esther, and Kohelet; what's often called imposter syndrome; the importance of identifying talent and whether this involves favoritism; introverted versus extroverted leadership; the problem when institutional leadership protects itself rather than the people it ostensibly represents; rabbinic scandals and those who enable bad behavior; "protexia" and nepotism; the dangers of charismatic leadership; and much more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

"What does Eichah have in common with climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers, Holocaust deniers and those that claim that the 2020 presidential elections were stolen?" Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman sent this to Scott, who was intrigued and immediately invited him back onto this podcast to discuss what he meant. More than anything else, we need a way to relate to Megillat Eicha in a world which seems so distant from that described in the book. And even the world described in Eicha is complicated; it's often hard to make sense of exactly what is being said. There are different voices represented, and they often contradict each other, and themselves. The book seems to go back and forth between blaming the community for its own destruction, and saying that G-d went too far - and sometimes neither, just lamenting how terrible everything is. Maybe the real question is whether there is a theology of Eicha at all, or if it's a book with multiple theologies - some of which border on the heretical. Rabbi Berman developed a novel approach to Eicha, and his reading infuses it with new life. Rabbi Berman believes that Eicha was written to be performed like a play, as a dialogue between the prophet Yirmiyahu and Bat Tzion - a composite character who represents the different voices that were being expressed by the grief-stricken people after the Destruction. Rabbi Berman also sees Eicha as representing a type of therapy session between the author and the people, who need to face realities that they're refusing to acknowledge even when those realities seem blindingly obvious. And crucially, Rabbi Berman sees Eicha as a corrective to common but shallow theology - a theology that, he believes, remains something that we believe until today. Ultimately, any deep understanding of Judaism and acknowledgement of G-d's love for Israel isn't complete without the splash of cold water that Eicha provides. It would be nice to advocate a Jewish theology that ignores the difficult parts of our relationship with Hashem; but it wouldn't be honest or true. This conversation with Rabbi Berman will not only make Tisha B'Av more meaningful, but will also provide serious food for thought that we can take with us long after Tisha B'Av is over. To order Rabbi Berman's new book on Eicha, go to https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/book-of-lamentations/5CE9A9C4A6B9159F1CACAE7055C35768?fbclid=IwAR0fU0sjtMUwmMT2o6kGQBche6DL4POuNi29jYYJVfwhDLNtT1mXqy5jw6g. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. There's so much that we can accomplish together through this podcast! We invite you to support the Orthodox Conundrum through our Patreon site. Go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse and help us to create a positive, G-d-centered, halachic, intellectually honest, self-aware, accountable and welcoming Orthodox Judaism. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

The high cost of living an Orthodox life is a big problem. In the United States, for example, the high cost of day school or yeshiva tuition, combined with everything from the need to purchase kosher food to buying a lulav and etrog for Sukkot, adds to a family's annual bills significantly. When we factor in the reality that standards are getting higher - semachot, for example, are very expensive, while overnight camps often have increasingly elaborate programs that in turn make the price go up - the problem is exacerbated. And then there's the issue of social or peer pressure, intentional or otherwise. More people go away for Pesach, and programs compete to offer the most luxurious amenities and best entertainment possible. Conspicuous consumption, it seems, has become - among some Orthodox Jews - not a problem that we need to address, but a desired feature that we aspire to emulate. And whether we're conscious of that fact or not, it affects everyone by raising standards and expectations. Those people who aren't able to afford the same things as others are often either left feeling "less than," or - even worse - end up spending more than they are able, and find themselves in real financial trouble. While the problems in every locale are somewhat different, this is an issue that affects many Orthodox communities, including some of those in Israel. There are many consequences of these financial, social, and psychological realities. One of them is the possibility of people falling for ponzi schemes and other get-rich-quick scams, including those that are broadly legal but still unethical; another is the need for chesed and tzedakah organizations to find new and more effective ways to help people who, in the drive to keep up and live an Orthodox life, have fallen into a deep financial hole. Two people who have a broad knowledge of these problems, and who deal with them daily, are Rachel Krich, the Executive Director of Project Ezrah, and Rabbi Avrohom Leventhal, the Executive Director of Lema'an Achai. They and Scott had a frank conversation about all of these topics and more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. To donate to Lema'an Achai, go to https://www.lemaanachai.org/en/donation.php. To donate to Project Ezrah, go to https://www.ezrah.org/donate/. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

It's sometimes challenging to feel the aveilut, the mourning of the destruction, when the Jewish people live in a time of unparalleled prosperity, when we can visit and live in a thriving State of Israel, and when we see a beautiful city of Jerusalem filled with Jewish people from around the world. Am Yisrael still absorbs terrible blows; terrorism, the deaths of young soldiers, antisemitism and more continue to plague us. For many people, however, our day-to-day lives are comfortable enough that the destruction of a now-rebuilt city 2000 years ago feels distant from our everyday concerns. One of the ways that some people experience the lack of a Beit HaMikdash is to ascend the Temple Mount. Admittedly, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has prohibited Jews from doing this, and the majority of great halachic authorities also say that it is not allowed. Rabbi Danny Myers, however, has a very different approach, and suggests that praying on the Temple Mount is not only allowed, but may even be an obligation. Scott discussed this contentious issue with Rabbi Myers, alongside the question of how people can find spiritual meaning during the Three Weeks when we are directed to mourn the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

One of the most important conflicts that many Orthodox Jews face in the 21st century is the clash between authority and autonomy. Orthodox society is largely based upon following the tradition that has been handed down to us, and that tradition is often seen to be largely in the possession of great scholars. Accordingly, it seems like a violation of Torah principles to ignore the directives of gedolei Torah and to do what we want instead. On the other hand, autonomy - the ability and right and even obligation to make our own decisions - is one of the most cherished values of Western society. But autonomy is not just a modern value that is necessarily in conflict with Torah thinking; in fact, autonomy is also an important Jewish value, as well. That makes the question of the clash between autonomy and authority something that we likely deal with almost every day. As Orthodox Jews, we dare not ignore the tradition and do whatever we want without regard for what anyone else says... yet many of us are loathe to sacrifice the right to think independently. This raises many questions: what is the definition of rabbinic authority? How autonomous can and should each of us be? Do I have the right to make halachic decisions on my own? What about in areas of hashkafa, or public policy? Can the gedolim insist that I act a certain way - and do I have the right to defy them? Scott asked these and many other questions to Rav Chaim Ozer Chait, and he offered some fascinating insights, as well as stories from his time studying under Rav Moshe Feinstein and others. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Many people give little thought to the issue of conversion, and the challenges that people who convert face. In contrast, Rabbi Chuck Davidson, a leader in establishing non-coercive Orthodox alternatives to Israel's' Chief Rabbinate for over a decade and the av beit din of an independent conversion court, has spent years researching the halachic background of conversion. In this episode, Scott and Rabbi Davidson address the debate over the halachic requirements for conversion, what is being done in the Israeli Chief Rabbinate about the 500,000 people in Israel who are sociologically Jewish but not halachically Jewish, the argument between Rav Ovadia Yosef and Rav Elyashiv about whether people whose Jewish lineage is unclear should be assumed to be Jewish or not, the social problems that many converts face, the question of which beit din - if any - provides conversions that are universally accepted, retroactive invalidation of conversion, whether a rabbinic court should be welcoming or discouraging to potential converts, and much more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Several well-publicized events in the Orthodox world over the past year have brought the issue of the separation of church and state into sharp relief. These include Yeshiva University's refusal to recognize the YU Pride Alliance - a refusal which, one year ago, Judge Lynn Kotler of the New York County Supreme Court said was a violation of the New York City Human Rights Law; the case is currently under appeal. Another important situation is the recent uproar over the apparent refusal of numerous Chassidic schools in New York to follow curricular guidelines established by state authorities. And of course, the question of judicial reform in Israel inevitably touches on questions of how much the Israeli government can impose religious law, or provide legal exceptions to religious individuals and groups. In order to better understand some of the biggest questions surrounding church and state, Scott spoke with Professor Michael Avi Helfand. They discussed several specific situations, including the YU Pride Alliance and the chassidic school issue, to get past the often-incorrect public perception, and outline the actual legal issues in each case. They addressed whether private schools should be eligible for public funding, if this might lead to government authorities dictating educational requirements that Orthodox schools won't be able to accept, and whether the government's mandating aspects of the curriculum is necessarily tied to funding in the first place. They also touched on the philosophy behind the separation of church and state, how much of it is rooted in the Constitution and how much is based on broad interpretation, the definition of "core beliefs" and even the word "religion," and much more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

When Rivka Herzfeld was younger, she had a feeling that her muscles were not working the way that they should. During her year in Israel after high school, things got serious enough that her research intensified - and she soon discovered that she has an extremely rare degenerative condition that has seriously impacted her ability to use her muscles effectively. Doctors don't know what to call it, so they use the inexact term "childhood-onset ALS" - and this condition has affected her life in many ways, from needing a motorized scooter in place of walking, to challenges in dating, to her inability to be hired as a teacher - a job for which she is eminently qualified. Yet Rivka maintains her self-confidence, poise, humor, and faith in G-d; she refuses to let her disability define her, even though it sometimes seems that others want to do exactly that. In this conversation, Rivka relates her personal story, and articulates some of the challenges that she faces. She and Scott talk about the ways in which the Orthodox world can develop greater sensitivity and provide increased accessibility, as well as some of the positive and negative experiences that she has had in synagogues, schools, and other institutions. And crucially, they discuss practical steps that we can take to ensure that we treat individuals with the respect they deserve, and find ways to bring all people into our communities rather than perhaps unintentionally walling them off outside. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary newsletter and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

It is forbidden to listen to the voice of a woman singing if she is not his wife. (Aruch HaShulchan 21:3) One of the issues that bothers many poeple in the Orthodox world is the halachic concept of kol isha - that is, broadly defined, the prohibition for men to listen to a woman when she is singing. The exact parameters of this halacha are debated, such as whether this includes recordings, if it applies to a woman singing by herself or to a choir as well, and much more. There are, frankly, a wide range of opinions about many issues surrounding kol isha. But we need to acknowledge, even if it goes against our sense of fairness, that the vast majority of poskim understand kol isha as a prohibition that is fully applicable today. For women who sing professionally, the halachot surrounding kol isha are unquestionably challenging, and today Scott asks three Orthodox female performers how kol isha has affected them, how they navigate the challenges it presents, whether they feel cheated because they cannot perform in mixed-gender venues, if they follow this stricture as it's traditionally understood, what kind of pushback they've received, and more - as well as other aspects of their experience as Orthodox women who sing. Join Scott and Franciska Kosman, Chanale Fellig-Harrel, and Dr. Kerry Bar-Cohn as they address this important topic. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary newsletter and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

In our last episode, Scott spoke with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody about bringing greater awareness to issues associated with end-of-life and organ donation. This opened up an important conversation - but there's much more to say, particularly as it relates to clinical insights from people who actively work with dying patients and their families. To that end, Scott spoke with Dr. Blima Marcus, who was a guest in episode 81 of this podcast. Blimi spoke about the very serious questions regarding how Orthodox providers help frum Jews die, and the clinical, emotional, and psychological issues that are involved. It nicely complements the episode with Rabbi Brody, and also highlights a serious area of disagreement. This was a very important conversation. As difficult and perhaps unpleasant as it is to talk about end-of-life, it's crucial that we confront it honestly and forthrightly so that, when the time comes for our loved ones, we'll be informed about the issues, and prepared to implement the patient's wishes. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary newsletter and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

The 49th chapter of Bereshit describes the vivid scene of Yaakov Avinu offering his final words and testament as his children, the progenitors of the twelve tribes, stand around his bed. In many ways, this represents an ideal death: confronting it with time to prepare, with nothing left unsaid, with a faithful family surrounding the person whose life is ending. Of course, very often it doesn't work that way. Frequently, there are difficult decisions that the patient, or the patient's family, needs to make. These include questions about when and in what circumstances to keep the patient alive, and when to allow death to occur. They also involve issues regarding hospice care, organ donation, do not resuscitate orders, and more. Understandably, many people are reluctant to discuss these issues before they're relevant; but waiting until they are relevant often means having no idea what to do when it's time to make these very serious decisions. Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody, the executive director of Ematai, is encouraging people to have these difficult conversations earlier rather than later, and to better understand the various issues at play - whether halachic, ethical, or medical. Scott was pleased to speak with him about a number of the most important and pressing end-of-life issues. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary newsletter and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Tzniut is triggering. That became clear when the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast released episode 145 entitled, "The Challenges of Teaching Tzniut & the Challenges of Being Tzanua, with Shayna Goldberg." That episode, in which Scott asked Shayna to focus on issues related to tzniut (modesty) and clothing, addressed some of the most pressing concerns, and the conversation generated quite a bit of discussion. Today's conversation is again about tzniut, this time about tzniut as a whole, and from the perspectives of Bracha Poliakoff and Rabbi Anthony Manning, the authors of a very well-received new book entitled, Reclaiming Dignity: A Guide to Tzniut for Men and Women. In this wide-ranging discussion, Scott spoke with his guests about some of the same issues discussed in the earlier podcast as well as some that are quite different. Among the topics are how to define tzniut, what has gone wrong in education for tzniut that so many people are turned off by the very word and the trauma some experience when it comes to tzniut, how to legitimize different approaches, the problem of weaponizing modesty in order to delegitimize others, how much of tzniut is subjective, the confusing of the terms tzniut and erva and the consequent problems, whether obsessing about modesty leads to oversexualization of women, the judgmentalism that seems to be part and parcel of typical thinking about tzniut, and much more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com