Identity/Crisis

What happens when one grapples with their Jewish identity? How does this impact their relationship with self, family, and community? Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by Naomi Seidman, professor, author, and Hartman Fellow to discuss Heretic in the House, a new limited podcast series from the Hartman Institute that explores various ways that those who have left Orthodox Jewish communities see themselves an...

How do you democratize the study of Torah? Lehrhaus, a Jewish tavern meets beit midrash in Boston is reimagining what Jewish learning could be. Co-founders Charlie Schwartz and Joshua Foer join Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss their hope to redefine public Jewish communal space, what a life of Torah could look like, and the significance of hevruta study in defining Jewish identity.

For many American Jews, Thanksgiving is another high holiday. We celebrate our obligations of citizenship and show appreciation for all that America has granted. Perhaps, in turn, our tradition may have lessons to teach America. Could the Jewish model of interpreting our stories for the present, and our conceptions of memory, gratitude, and redemption, heal our divided country? In this special epi...

The Jewish media landscape has evolved significantly over the last few years, and has in many ways become more fragmented. In this episode, Laura E. Adkins, (Opinion Editor of the Forward) and Ari Hoffman, (Assistant Editor of the New York Sun) join Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss what happens when the mission of a publication changes and how Jewish media can continue to serve as a public square for com...

Last week, Israel returned Netanyahu to power as part of a right wing coalition that will include Itamar Ben Gvir, a racist politician who was the subject of last week's episode. This week, Americans seem poised to return at least one chamber of Congress to the Republican party. In this episode, recorded on Election Day as Americans headed to the polls, Yehuda Kurtzer and Donniel Hartman discuss t...

Itamar Ben Gvir is the leader of an extreme right wing Israeli political party, who in the past has supported Israel settler violence against Palestinians and advocated for the forced expulsion of "disloyal" Arab citizens of Israel. In this week's election, Ben Gvir's party is projected to win the third largest bloc of seats, which would represent a major victory for his ideology and turn him into...

Why do Jews call one another (and themselves) "bad Jews?" What does it mean to be "not Jewish enough?" Emily Tamkin, US Senior Editor at the New Statesman and author of Bad Jews joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the problematic idea of a "good Jew," what it means to be Jewish amidst the current political and existential turmoil, Bernie Madoff and tropes about Jews and money, and being on the outside...

U. C. Berkeley Law School recently made headlines when several of its student groups pledged not to invite "speakers that have expressed and continue to hold views in support of Zionism, the Apartheid state of Israel on the occupation of Palestine." Ethan Katz, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at U.C. Berkeley, and Masua Sagiv, Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Isra...

How do the songs we sing as part of the High Holiday liturgy reflect the diversity of the Jewish people? Na'ama Applbaum, Jerusalem-based prayer leader and educator, and Marc Baker, President & CEO of Combined Jewish Philanthropies Boston, join Yehuda Kurtzer to reflect on the sanctity of communal singing and the meaning of being a prayer leader during the holidays.

What have the last few weeks been like for British Jews living through royal change and royal loss? The Jewish community of the United Kingdom pivoted with speed and sincerity in rewriting the prayer for the Queen quickly to celebrate and honor their new sovereign, King Charles III. Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi of the S&P Sephardi Community of the United Kingdom, President of The Council of Christia...

In this high holiday season of introspection, host Yehuda Kurtzer isjoined by Rabbi Josh Feigelson, President & CEO of the Institute forJewish Spirituality, and author of the new book "Eternal Questions," todiscuss how we find meaning and purpose in our lives, the language ofrepentance and atonement, and to break down what a Jewish mindfulnesspractice can really look like.

On Friday, SCOTUS issued an order by Justice Sonia Sotomayor that allows Yeshiva University in New York to refuse to recognize an LGBTQ club for students. In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Miryam Kabakov, Executive Director and Co-founder of Eshel, and award-winning writer and Rabbi, Steve Greenberg, discuss the case and the unfolding process through which conservative religious communities, suc...

What counts as Jewish food? Does it count if a Jew makes it? Is kosher food Jewish Food? Shannon Sarna is the editor of the popular Jewish food website, The Nosher, and author of The Modern Jewish Baker and her new book Modern Jewish Comfort Food. She joins Yehuda Kurtzer for a conversation about the ways Jewish food connects us to those around us, to our personal pasts, to our heritage, and allow...

Yehuda Kurtzer and David Koffman (York University) chart out the unique questions that face Canadian Jews as citizens of a binational, bilingual, self-described settler state, and the way those questions inform their communal Zionism, continuity, and scholarship. This episode originally aired on June 14th, 2021.

Where does song end and prayer begin? Joey Weisenberg, founder and director of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute and author of The Torah of Music and Building Singing Communities joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the spiritual role of music in Jewish communal life, what creating has been like in a time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to share some music that will uplift and inspire you. Music included in...

Something to nosh on as we go inside the world of Jewish food influencers. Kosher food influencers can often create a platform where niche religious content has an appeal beyond its immediate circle. Has social media brought Jewish food to the mainstream? Shayna Weiss, Associate Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University returns to Identity/Crisis to explore the o...

Anti-Palestinian violence committed by disaffected young Israelis increased by 50% in 2021. Why do the IDF, the police, and society turn a blind eye towards these Jewish terrorists? Who is responsible for prosecuting their crimes? Haviv Rettig Gur, Senior Analyst for The Times of Israel, sat down with Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the violence perpetrated by the Hilltop Youth, the politics around hold...

Miriam Anzovin is a millennial TikToker who is transforming Talmud study for the social media age. Her “hot takes” on Daf Yomi, where a person learns one page of Talmud every day, have drawn viral attention from supporters and critics alike. She joins David Zvi Kalman, a Hartman Scholar in Residence and Director of New Media, and Yehuda Kurtzer, to discuss the future and accessibility of Torah stu...

Israel is experiencing a non-Orthodox religious renaissance that is redefining Judaism and secularism in Israel. Rabbi Noga Brenner Samia, Executive Director of Hillel Israel and alumna of Hartman's Beit Midrash for Israeli rabbis, speaks with Yehuda Kurtzer about what sparked this new brand of liberal Judaism, the role of religion in the public sphere in a diverse religious ecosystem, how to nego...

Thomas R. Nides, United States Ambassador to Israel, joins Yehuda Kurtzer for this special Identity/Crisis to discuss the hopes and expectations from the Biden administration's trip to Israel, how this administration views the deteriorated relationship between the US government and the Palestinian leadership, and what the long term plans are for the embassy's residence in Jerusalem.

In an environment in which simple narratives prevail, what does it mean to tell Israel’s subtle and complicated stories? Why are these kinds of stories in particular so powerful? Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Matti Friedman about his new book, Who By Fire, about Leonard Cohen’s little-known concert tour to the front lines of the Yom Kippur War, and how the stories we tell define our relationships wit...

What is Israel’s responsibility to other nations experiencing crisis or injustice? How does Israel balance its domestic and global agendas on the international stage? Dyonna Ginsburg, OLAM CEO joins Yehuda Kurtzer live from Jerusalem on this episode of Identity/Crisis.

Those who succeeded in shaping how we read our texts are among the most powerful Jews in our history. Max Strassfeld, author and assistant professor in Religious Studies and Classics at the University of Arizona, joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss their new book, which offers a way of rethinking human gender and sexuality in Jewish sources and pokes holes in trans-phobic interpretations. Trans Talmud...

Jews in America are deeply affected by gun violence, sometimes as direct and specific targets and sometimes as other Americans who find themselves victims in the wrong place at the wrong time. Author Jay Michaelson, a regular contributor to New York, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss, gun control, the Second Amendment and what it means for American Jews to participate...

The revelation at Sinai unites the two big stories of the Jewish people: becoming a people and becoming a people wedded to God. It also sets the stage for a conversation about the difference between revelation as a personal and as a communal experience and allows us to ask about the difference between revelation as a historical and theological event. Rabbi, poet, scholar, blogger, and podcaster Zo...