Bästa Jewish Studies podcaster (2024)

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Katharine J. Dell, "The Lord by Wisdom Founded the Earth" (Baylor UP, 2023) 16:06

8h ago16:06

16:06

The foundation of the earth, its division from the heavens and the waters, God's provision of all of nature as well as human and animal life, God's relationship to the world, and the ethics and morality of our human response; these key themes, related to both creation and covenant, emerge from the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible. In her recen…

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Debora Kantor, "Examining Jewish Identity in Argentine Cinema: Nonfiction Films on Israel" 19:55

24h ago19:55

19:55

In this episode, Debora Kantor, a lecturer at the National University of San Martin, Buenos Aires, discusses her research on the representation of Jews and Jewishness in Argentine modern and contemporary cinema. She delves into her specific project on Argentine nonfiction films about Israel, examining how these films reflect both collective and per…

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What Makes Someone Jewish? 36:08

3d ago36:08

36:08

In this episode, host Avishay Artsy and guest scholars Noah Feldman, Susannah Heschel, and Shaul Magid consider what makes someone Jewish by asking three questions: What are the Jews exactly? What do Jews believe, and how central is religion to Jewish identity? Where does the Jewish state fit into Jewish identity?…

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Ki Teitzei 5784: Compassion and Limits 34:02

5d ago34:02

34:02

In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Michael Hattin explore the mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen (sending away the mother bird) in Parshat Ki Teitzei. They discuss how this seemingly small commandment reflects deeper values of compassion and limits on consumption. Through classical commentaries, they examine how this mitzvah helps cultivate sensitiv…

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Marilynne Robinson, "Reading Genesis" (FSG, 2024) 33:06

1d ago33:06

33:06

For generations, the book of Genesis has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherency, just as fu…

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, "Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought" (Jewish Publication Society, 2022) 38:02

2d ago38:02

38:02

Today I talked to Geoffrey D. Claussen about Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought (Jewish Publication Society, 2022). How do modern Jews understand virtues such as courage, humility, justice, solidarity, or love? In truth: they have fiercely debated how to interpret them. This groundbreaking anthology of musar (Jewish traditions regard…

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Yaacob Dweck, "Dissident Rabbi: The Life of Jacob Sasportas" (Princeton UP, 2019) 54:07

5d ago54:07

54:07

In 1665, Sabbetai Zevi, a self-proclaimed Messiah with a mass following throughout the Ottoman Empire and Europe, announced that the redemption of the world was at hand. As Jews everywhere rejected the traditional laws of Judaism in favor of new norms established by Sabbetai Zevi, and abandoned reason for the ecstasy of messianic enthusiasm, one ma…

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Oren Kroll-Zeldin, "Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine" (NYU Press, 2024) 1:07:05

7d ago1:07:05

1:07:05

Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine (NYU Press, 2024) digs into the experiences of young Jewish Americans who engage with the Palestine solidarity movement and challenge the staunch pro-Israel stance of mainstream Jewish American institutions. The book explores how these activists address Israeli government policies o…

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Jeremy Salamon, "Second Generation: 100 Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table" (Harvest Publications, 2024) 48:58

7d ago48:58

48:58

From Jeremy Salamon the chef and owner of Agi’s Counter in Brooklyn comes 100 classic Hungarian and Jewish recipes reinvented for a new generation – Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table (Harvest Publications, 2024). Salamon speaks to New Books Network, talking about the inspiration that came from growing …

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Naomi Leite, "Unorthodox Kin: Portuguese Marranos and the Global Search for Belonging" (U California Press, 2017) 1:31:07

7d ago1:31:07

1:31:07

Unorthodox Kin: Portuguese Marranos and the Global Search for Belonging (U California Press, 2017) is a lively, readable exploration of "chosen" identity, kin, and community in a global era. Anthropologist Naomi Leite examines the complexity of how we know ourselves -- who we "really" are -- and how we recognize others as strangers or kin through t…

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Dan Stone, "Fate Unknown: Tracing the Missing after World War II and the Holocaust" (Oxford UP, 2023) 1:09:27

8d ago1:09:27

1:09:27

In Fate Unknown: Tracing the Missing after World War II and the Holocaust (Oxford University Press, 2023), Dan Stone tells the story of the last great unknown archive of Nazism, the International Tracing Service. Set up by the Allies at the end of World War II, the ITS has worked until today to find missing persons and to aid survivors with restitu…

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Cary Nelson, "Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles" (Academic Studies Press, 2024) 40:42

9d ago40:42

40:42

Completed shortly before Hamas carried out its barbaric October massacre, Cary Nelson's Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles (Academic Studies Press, 2024) takes up issues that have consequently gained new urgency in the academy worldwide. It is the first book to ask what impact antisemitism has had on the f…

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Shoftim 5784: Righteous Leadership 33:06

12d ago33:06

33:06

How does the Torah guide us in creating balanced and just leadership?In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Nechama Goldman Barash explore Parshat Shoftim, delving into the Torah's vision for leadership and governance. They discuss the various models of leadership presented in the parsha—from judges to kings—and how these roles are meant to balance p…

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Ronnie Grinberg, "Write like a Man: Jewish Masculinity and the New York Intellectuals" (Princeton UP, 2024) 56:06

14d ago56:06

56:06

In the years following World War II, the New York intellectuals became some of the most renowned critics and writers in the country. Although mostly male and Jewish, this prominent group also included women and non-Jews. Yet all of its members embraced a secular Jewish machismo that became a defining characteristic of the contemporary experience. W…

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Notes from the Field: A Personal View of the War on Gaza 44:43

16d ago44:43

44:43

We start this season of International Horizons with an interview with Dr. Eli Karetny, an American political scientist and administrative director of the Ralph Bunche Institute who spent the last academic year in Israel with his family. The plan was to do research on the Israeli Bedouin in the Negev desert – until the Hamas attacks of October 7 ups…

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Jay Garfinkel, "Kohelet's Cocktail: Beyond the Pursuit of Happiness" (Illuminated Press, 2024) 27:03

17d ago27:03

27:03

Dive into the timeless wisdom of Ecclesiastes in Jay Garfinkel's groundbreaking work, Kohelet's Cocktail: Beyond the Pursuit of Happiness (Illuminated Press, 2024) This exquisite "illuminated" digital masterpiece marries the ancient with the avant-garde, offering a fresh, poetic voice to the biblical text that has resonated with humanity for millen…

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Lori Gemeiner-Bihler, "Cities of Refuge: German Jews in London and New York, 1935-1945" (SUNY Press, 2019) 1:09:25

17d ago1:09:25

1:09:25

In the years following Hitler’s rise to power, German Jews faced increasingly restrictive antisemitic laws, and many responded by fleeing to more tolerant countries. Cities of Refuge: German Jews in London and New York, 1935-1945 (SUNY Press, 2019), compares the experiences of Jewish refugees who immigrated to London and New York City by analyzing …

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Re’eh 5784: Kashrut and Spiritual Clarity 34:59

19d ago34:59

34:59

How do our perceptions, whether clear or confused, impact our understanding of Torah and our relationships?In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek explore Parshat Re'eh, focusing on the intriguing and often perplexing laws of kashrut. They delve into the deeper meanings behind these dietary laws, particularly the curious diffe…

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Anders Persson, "EU Diplomacy and the Israeli-Arab Conflict, 1967-2019" (Edinburgh UP, 2020) 1:00:18

20d ago1:00:18

1:00:18

Nearly 50 years since the European Foreign Ministers issued their first declaration on the conflict between Israel and Palestine in 1971, the European Union continues to have close political and economic ties with the region. Based exclusively on primary sources, Anders Persson's EU Diplomacy and the Israeli-Arab Conflict, 1967-2019 (Edinburgh UP, …

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Laurien Vastenhout, "Between Community and Collaboration: 'Jewish Councils' in Western Europe under Nazi Occupation" (Cambridge UP, 2022) 1:28:15

21d ago1:28:15

1:28:15

The first comprehensive, comparative study of the 'Jewish Councils' in the Netherlands, Belgium and France during Nazi rule. In the postwar period, there was extensive focus on these organisations' controversial role as facilitators of the Holocaust. They were seen as instruments of Nazi oppression, aiding the process of isolating and deporting the…

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Jeffrey Abt, "The Jewish Museum: A Story of Art, Identity, and Controversy" 16:16

23d ago16:16

16:16

In this episode, we explore the fascinating history of the Jewish Museum in New York City. From its humble beginnings in 1904 as a small collection of ceremonial objects to its current status as a renowned institution grappling with questions of identity and purpose, the museum's story is one of constant evolution and debate.We discuss the museum's…

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Ekev 5784: The Light in Every Mitzvah 34:56

23d ago34:56

34:56

How can a single word in the Torah guide us toward deeper spiritual understanding?In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Yizcah Smith dive into Parshat Ekev, exploring the profound spiritual insights hidden within the word "Ekev." They discuss how the rabbis and sages have drawn out layers of meaning from this one word, uncovering its significance in…

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Steven J. Zipperstein, “Pogrom: Kishinev and the Tilt of History” (Liveright/Norton, 2018) 54:00

23d ago54:00

54:00

In what has become perhaps the most infamous example of modern anti-Jewish violence prior to the Holocaust, the Kishinev pogrom should have been a small story lost to us along with scores of other similar tragedies. Instead, Kishinev became an event of international intrigue, and lives on as the paradigmatic pogrom – a symbol of Jewish life in East…

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Diana V. Edelman and Philippe Guillaume, "The Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures in Five Minutes" (Equinox, 2024) 1:13:48

23d ago1:13:48

1:13:48

The Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures in 5 Minutes (Equinox Books, 2024), co-edited by Philippe Guillaume and Diana V. Edelman, is a digestible, concise, reader-friendly introduction to biblical scholarship for undergraduate students and lay readers alike. Written without technical language or jargon by diverse specialists in Hebrew Bible, its 83 cha…

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Laura S. Lieber, "Staging the Sacred: Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry" (Oxford UP, 2023) 1:04:36

25d ago1:04:36

1:04:36

Staging the Sacred: Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry (Oxford UP, 2023) examines the importance of Christian, Jewish, and Samaritan liturgical poetry from Late Antiquity through the lenses of performance, entertainment, and spectacle. Laura Lieber proposes an account of hymnody as a performative and theatrical genre, combining religious…

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Susanne Barth, "From Schmelt Camp to 'Little Auschwitz': Blechhammer’s Role in the Holocaust" (Purdue UP, 2024) 1:04:20

25d ago1:04:20

1:04:20

From Schmelt Camp to "Little Auschwitz" Blechhammer's Role in the Holocaust (Purdue UP, 2024) is the first in-depth study of the second largest Auschwitz subcamp, Blechhammer (Blachownia Śląska), and its lesser known yet significant prehistory as a so-called Schmelt camp, a forced labor camp for Jews operating outside the concentration camp system.…

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Shaul Magid, "Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical" (Princeton UP, 2021) 1:04:11

29d ago1:04:11

1:04:11

Rabbi Meir Kahane came of age amid the radical politics of the counterculture, becoming a militant voice of protest against Jewish liberalism. Kahane founded the Jewish Defense League in 1968, declaring that Jews must protect themselves by any means necessary. He immigrated to Israel in 1971, where he founded KACH, an ultranationalist and racist po…

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Nancy E. Berg and Naomi B. Sokoloff, "Since 1948: Israeli Literature in the Making" (SUNY Press, 2020) 1:10:56

1M ago1:10:56

1:10:56

Toward the end of the twentieth century, an unprecedented surge of writing altered the Israeli literary scene in profound ways. As fresh creative voices and multiple languages vied for recognition, diversity replaced consensus. Genres once accorded lower status—such as the graphic novel and science fiction—gained readership and positive critical no…

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V’etchanan 5784: A Legacy of Fire and Hope 27:50

1M ago27:50

27:50

Why does Moshe mix harsh rebuke with a profound sense of hope in his final speech?In this episode, Tzvi Hirschfield and Tovah Leah Nachmani delve into Parashat Va'etchanan and into the complex layers of Moshe’s final message, where deep love for the people intertwines with stern rebukes. They explore how Moshe uses the powerful imagery of fire at M…

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Kirsten Fermaglich, "A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America" (NYU Press, 2018) 1:01:40

1M ago1:01:40

1:01:40

Throughout the 20th century, especially during and immediately after WWII, New York Jews changed their names at rates considerably higher than any other ethnic group. Representative of the insidious nature of American anti-Semitism, recognizably Jewish names were often barriers for entry into college, employment, and professional advancement. Colle…

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Cordelia Heß, "The Medieval Archive of Antisemitism in Nineteenth-Century Sweden" (de Gruyter, 2021) 1:24:17

1M ago1:24:17

1:24:17

The significance of religion for the development of modern racist antisemitism is a much debated topic in the study of Jewish-Christian relations. Cordelia Heß's The Medieval Archive of Antisemitism in Nineteenth-Century Sweden (de Gruyter, 2021), the first study on antisemitism in nineteenth-century Sweden, provides new insights into the debate fr…

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Samuel C. Heilman and Mucahit Bilici, "Following Similar Paths: What American Jews and Muslims Can Learn from One Another" (U California Press, 2024) 35:04

1M ago35:04

35:04

Two academics, one Jewish and one Muslim, come together to show how much their faiths have in common—particularly in America. This book provides a braided portrait of two American groups whose strong religious attachments and powerful commitments to ritual observance are not always easy to adapt to American culture. Orthodox Jews and observant Musl…

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Eyal Regev, "The Temple in Early Christianity: Experiencing the Sacred" (Yale UP, 2019) 36:58

1M ago36:58

36:58

Eyal Regev's The Temple in Early Christianity: Experiencing the Sacred (Yale UP, 2019) is he first scholarly work to trace the Temple throughout the entire New Testament, this study examines Jewish and Christian attitudes toward the Temple in the first century and provides both Jews and Christians with a better understanding of their respective fai…

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Kenneth Atkinson, "A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond" (T&T Clark, 2019) 1:16:41

1M ago1:16:41

1:16:41

In A History of the Hasmonean State: Josephus and Beyond (T&T Clark, 2019), Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Josephus in order to bring together new evidence to reconstruct how the Hasmonean family transformed their kingdom i…

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Jessica Roda, "For Women and Girls Only: Reshaping Jewish Orthodoxy Through the Arts in the Digital Age" (NYU Press, 2024) 1:07:43

1M ago1:07:43

1:07:43

Mainstream portrayals of ultra-Orthodox religious women often frame their faith as oppressive: they are empowered only when they leave their community. For Women and Girls Only: Reshaping Jewish Orthodoxy Through the Arts in the Digital Age (NYU Press, 2024), by Jessica Roda, flips this notion on its head. Drawing on six years of fieldwork between …

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Alexandra Popoff, "Ayn Rand: Writing a Gospel of Success" (Yale UP, 2024) 1:00:03

1M ago1:00:03

1:00:03

Ayn Rand is a provocative and polarizing figure. Strongly pro-capitalist and anti-communist, Rand was a dogmatic preacher of her moral philosophy. Based on what she called "rational self-interest", Rand believed in prosperity-seeking individualism above all. Alexandra Popoff's deeply researched biography traces Rand's journey from her early life as…

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Shai Held, "Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life" (FSG, 2024) 56:46

1M ago56:46

56:46

A common misconception has shaped the history of the West: Christianity is seen as the religion of love, and Judaism as the religion of law. Addressing this misinterpretation, Rabbi Shai Held argues that love is as integral to Judaism as it is to Christianity. In Judaism Is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life (FSG, 2024), Rabbi Held com…

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Devarim 5784: Facing Giants 33:24

1M ago33:24

33:24

What can a giant teach us about overcoming obstacles and building a better society?In this episode, Tzvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Haim Shalom delve into the Parsha of Devarim, highlighting the significance of Moshe's speeches as the Jewish people stand on the brink of entering the land of Canaan. They discuss the fascinating detail of Og, the giant ki…

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Yoram Meital, "Sacred Places Tell Tales: Jewish Life and Heritage in Modern Cairo" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) 1:03:50

1M ago1:03:50

1:03:50

Cairo's synagogues shed new light on the transformation Egyptian society and its Jewish community underwent from 1875 to the present. Sacred Places Tell Tales: Jewish Life and Heritage in Modern Cairo (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) is the previously untold history of Egyptian Jewry and the ways in which Cairo's synagogues historically functioned as a…

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Janine P. Holc, "The Weavers of Trautenau: Jewish Female Forced Labor in the Holocaust" (Brandeis UP, 2023) 55:47

1M ago55:47

55:47

Beginning in late 1940, over three thousand Jewish girls and young women were forced from their family homes in Sosnowiec, Poland, and its surrounding towns to worksites in Germany. Believing that they were helping their families to survive, these young people were thrust into a world where they labored at textile work for twelve hours a day, lived…

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David M. K. Sheinin and David S. Koffman, "Promised Lands North and South: Jewish Canada and Jewish Argentina in Conversation" (Brill, 2024) 1:05:45

1M ago1:05:45

1:05:45

This book puts two of the most significant Jewish Diaspora communities outside of the U.S. into conversation with one another. At times contributor-pairs directly compare unique aspects of two Jewish histories, politics, or cultures. At other times, they juxtapose. Some chapters focus on literature, poetry, theatre, or sport; others on immigration,…

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A. J. Berkovitz, "A Life of Psalms in Jewish Late Antiquity" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2023) 53:15

1M ago53:15

53:15

The Bible shaped nearly every aspect of Jewish life in the ancient world, from activities as obvious as attending synagogue to those which have lost their scriptural resonance in modernity, such as drinking water and uttering one's last words. And within a scriptural universe, no work exerted more force than the Psalter, the most cherished text amo…

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Shaul Magid on the Jewish Radicalism of Meir Kahane (JP, Eugene Sheppard) 55:10

1M ago55:10

55:10

For Kahane, the greatest enemy of the Jews was not the black nationalist, the greatest enemy of the Jews was not the Arabs. The greatest enemy of the Jews was liberalism. Shaul Magid, Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College and Rabbi of the Fire Island Synagogue, is a celebrated and brilliant scholar of radical and dissident Jud…

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Adara Goldberg, "Holocaust Survivors in Canada: Exclusion, Inclusion, Transformation, 1947-1955" (U Manitoba Press, 2015) 1:23:47

1M ago1:23:47

1:23:47

In the decade after the Second World War, 35,000 Jewish survivors of Nazi persecution and their dependants arrived in Canada. This was a watershed moment in Canadian Jewish history. The unprecedented scale of the relief effort required for the survivors, compounded by their unique social, psychological, and emotional needs challenged both the estab…

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Ewa K. Bacon, "Saving Lives in Auschwitz: The Prisoners’ Hospital in Buna-Monowitz" (Purdue UP, 2017) 1:24:04

2M ago1:24:04

1:24:04

Today I talked to Ewa Bacon about her book Saving Lives in Auschwitz: The Prisoners’ Hospital in Buna-Monowitz (Purdue UP, 2017). In a 1941 Nazi roundup of educated Poles, Stefan Budziaszek--newly graduated from medical school in Krakow--was incarcerated in the Krakow Montelupich Prison and transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Februar…

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Matot Masei 5784: Choosing the East 37:18

2M ago37:18

37:18

What happens when a collective seeks fulfillment outside the promised land?In this episode, Rabbi Tzvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Leon Morris delve into the intriguing narrative of the two and a half tribes—Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe—who choose to settle outside the land of Canaan after the Israelite conquests. They discuss the implications of the…

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Laura Yares, "Jewish Sunday Schools: Teaching Religion in Nineteenth-Century America" (NYU Press, 2023) 1:10:48

2M ago1:10:48

1:10:48

The earliest Jewish Sunday schools were female-led, growing from one school in Philadelphia established by Rebecca Gratz in 1838 to an entire system that educated vast numbers of Jewish youth across the country. These schools were modeled on Christian approaches to religious education and aimed to protect Jewish children from Protestant missionarie…

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Gilad Sharvit, "Dynamic Repetition: History and Messianism in Modern Jewish Thought" (Brandeis UP, 2022) 1:03:03

2M ago1:03:03

1:03:03

Dynamic Repetition: History and Messianism in Modern Jewish Thought (Brandeis UP, 2022) proposes a new understanding of modern Jewish theories of messianism across the disciplines of history, theology, and philosophy. The book explores how ideals of repetition, return, and the cyclical occasioned a new messianic impulse across an important swath of…

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