All Else is Commentary: A Podcast of Jewish Ideas

Shanah tovah! We really hope you had a meaningful Rosh Hashanah. This week we present the recording of a conversation Elliott had over the summer with Student Rabbi Mati Boulakia-Bortnick about another story from the Talmud about rabbinic hierarchy. Student Rabbi Mati adds in his reading of the Talmud through an autistic lens. You can follow the section of the Talmud they are studying here: https:...

We're back for series 2 and this week, Elliott is again joined by Student Rabbi Yael Tischler for a special Rosh Hashanah episode about the biblical character of Hagar. You can follow the texts they are reading here: https://www.alyth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Hagar-Source-Sheet_-All-Else-is-Commentary.pdf If you want to find out more about Leo Baeck College, and what it takes to study for...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Elliott is joined by Prof. Tony Kushner (Southampton University) to talk about his new book, The Jewish Pedlar , in which he tells the story of a triple murder. But it's not just about murder - they talk about a number of themes in Jewish history, and British Jewish identity over the last two hundred years. You can buy Tony's book here: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526178...

This week, Elliott is again joined by Student Rabbi Yael Tischler to discuss another woman of the Hebrew Bible of whom we may not have heard. This week, they discuss Queen Ataliah - the only woman to reign in Israel as sovereign. You can follow the texts they are reading here: https://www.alyth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Athaliah-Sources-All-Else-is-Commentary.pdf If you want to find out mo...

Student Rabbi Yael Tischler returns to discuss another woman of the Hebrew Bible of whom we may not have heard. This week, she and Elliott discuss the Ba'alat Ein Dor, the Witch of Ein Dor. You can follow the story they are reading here: https://www.alyth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Source-Sheet-All-Else-is-Commentary-Baalat-Ov.pdf If you want to find out more about Leo Baeck College, and wh...

Two special episodes this week, each featuring an incredible rabbi being ordained by the Leo Baeck College on Sunday 6 July. In this episode, Elliott speaks to Student Rabbi (Erev Rav) Dr Hannah Altorf about the Jewish idea of machloket (disagreement) - is it good thing? And what does it mean for our communities? If you want to find out more about Leo Baeck College, and what it takes to study for...

Two special episodes this week, each featuring an incredible rabbi being ordained by the Leo Baeck College on Sunday 6 July. In this episode, Elliott speaks to Student Rabbi (Erev Rav) Andrea Kulikovsky about the theology of the cloud - what does it mean to live our Jewish lives online? If you want to find out more about Leo Baeck College, and what it takes to study for the rabbinate, and how you...

In this episode, Elliott speaks to Rabbi Josh Levy about a sermon he gave about the judicial reforms in Israel on Kol Nidrei in 2023, just a few days before the 7 October attacks. Elliott asks him about the context of the sermon, how things have changed since then, and Rabbi Josh tells the subsequent story of the formation of the Movement for Progressive Judaism. To read the sermon along with us,...

This week, Elliott is joined by Prof. Gavin Schaffer (Manchester Metropolitan University) to talk about his new book, An Unorthodox History , in which he approaches the history of the Jewish community in the UK from the margins. You can buy Gavin's book here: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526165473/ If you have any comments or questions, or if there is a sermon that you remember that...

We're taking a couple of weeks' break, so this is just a short episode to let you know what is coming up. In particular, we are welcoming Rabbi Josh Levy and Rabbi Hannah Kingston to talk about two important sermons from the last 50 years. And we want to hear from you if there are sermons you heard or heard about, and would like us to discuss on the podcast. You can write to allelseis@alyth.org.uk...

In this episode, Elliott speaks to Rabbi Miriam Berger about a sermon she gave in 2017 about second-child infertility, and the power of ritual to help us nagivate those things in our lives over which we have no control. They speak about how rabbis are uniquely placed to accompany us through such moments, and to provide Jewish ways in which to frame life's journeys. If you want to read Rabbi Miriam...

A very different episode of the podcast, to mark Lag B'Omer. Elliott is joined by Abi, Izzie and Phoebe, educators in the Alyth Youth and Education Hub (YEH) as they study a story from the Babylonian Talmud. We eavesdrop on their learning, snacking, banter and scholarly insights into the story of Rabbi Akiva and his wife, Rachel. You can read along with us here: https://www.alyth.org.uk/wp-content...

Elliott is joined by his teacher Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal of Leo Baeck College) for a series delving into the Book of Ruth (the book that Jews traditionally read at Shavuot). Having read through the whole of the Book of Ruth, Elliott and Deborah take time to look at the artwork of the book - and welcome special guest Tilla Crowne, who provided the artwork for the cover of Deborah's boo...

Elliott is joined by his teacher Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal of Leo Baeck College) for a series delving into the Book of Ruth (the book that Jews traditionally read at Shavuot). This episode is on chapter 4, the final chapter. You can read along with them in any bible, or you can use Sefaria: https://www.sefaria.org/Ruth.4?lang=bi You can find out more about Rabbi Deborah's book here: htt...

Elliott is joined by his teacher Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal of Leo Baeck College) for a series delving into the Book of Ruth (the book that Jews traditionally read at Shavuot). This episode is on chapter 3. You can read along with them in any bible, or you can use Sefaria: https://www.sefaria.org/Ruth.3?lang=bi You can find out more about Rabbi Deborah's book here: https://rowman.com/ISB...

Elliott is joined by his teacher Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal of Leo Baeck College) for a series delving into the Book of Ruth (the book that Jews traditionally read at Shavuot). This episode is on chapter 2. You can read along with them in any bible, or you can use Sefaria: https://www.sefaria.org/Ruth.2?lang=bi You can find out more about Rabbi Deborah's book here: https://rowman.com/ISB...

Elliott is joined by his teacher Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal of Leo Baeck College) for the second in a series delving into the Book of Ruth (the book that Jews traditionally read at Shavuot). This episode is the second installment of their discussion of chapter 1. You can read along with them in any bible, or you can use Sefaria: https://www.sefaria.org/Ruth.1?lang=bi You can find out mor...

This is the first of a series in which Elliott is joined by his teacher Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris (Principal of Leo Baeck College) to take a deep-dive into the Book of Ruth (the book that Jews traditionally read at Shavuot). They thought they could get through the whole of chapter 1 in just one episode, but it is so rich that they will actually need two. The second installment will be out on Thurs...

We're here on a Thursday for a special Pesach episode of All Else is Commentary. This week, Elliott is joined by another of his former teachers from Leo Baeck College, Rabbi Professor Jonathan Magonet, to discuss the question of when Moses knew he was a Hebrew. You can buy Rabbi Jonathan's book here . If you have any comments or questions, or if there are any particular topics you would like us to...

This week, Elliott is joined by the author Toby Lloyd, to talk about one of Philip Roth's most Jewish novels: The Ghost Writer (1979). There will be spoilers, so if you want to buy and read the book first, you can do so here . You can find out more about Toby's own book, Fervour here . If you're interested in reading Roth's article from 1963 on writing about Jews, you can do so here: https://www.c...

This episode is a continuation of Elliott's lecture on Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck, including some of the things he wasn't able to get to in the original talk. To read the sermon Elliott is referring to that he gave about Progressive Judaism, click here . If you have any comments or questions, or if there are any particular topics you would like us to about, please be in touch with us at allelseis@alyth.or...

Back in February, Elliott gave a lecture to the Progressive Judaism Education Hub about Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck. This is a recording of the first part of that lecture, giving an account of Baeck's life and times. Next week will be an additional lecture that dives into Baeck's writings, specifically his most famous work, The Essence of Judaism (originally published 1905, then re-published in expanded fo...

This week, Elliott is joined by Anthony Julius, the author of a new book on the biblical figure of Abraham. It's not just a biography though - the conversation gets to the heart of what it means to be a Jew. You can buy Anthony's new book here: https://yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300266801/abraham/ If you have any comments or questions, or if there are any particular topicx you would like us to about...

We are here on a Thursday to bring you a special Purim episode! Elliott is joined by Dr Sherry Ashworth, who has recently finished her PhD in the study of the story of Esther and how the characters from Purim seem to pop up all over the place in Victorian novels. If you have any comments or questions, or if there are any biblical stories you would like us to about, please be in touch with us at al...