Jewish Heroism Project

The focus of our story has returned to the land of Israel, where it is once again a time of controversy. Despite the population growth, the economic hardships and the security challenges, the most divisive political issue of the early 1950's was whether to accept reparations from the reborn German state. Here is an exploration of whether pragmatic survival or idealism should be the guiding lights...

Some timely questions for a difficult day. How do we reach redemption if we don't know what it looks like? How do we transform suffering into a source of positive identity? And what does it look like to turn our mourning into joy?

Taking a break from the flow of history to think about a pressing current issue. Where does the breakdown of classic understandings of identity and authority associated with the postmodern age leave Am Yisrael? If you want to watch the second half of the webinar on this topic and hear about the blessings of postmodernism, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer graphic attributio...

We spoke about the suburbs and the shadows, now it is time to talk about Zionism. The 'Golden decade' was a time of reorganization in general, and particularly in relation to the newborn State of Israel. Here is an episode whose characters will seem strikingly familiar today - non-Zionists, Zionists and anti-Zionists.

The decade after World War Two was a Jewish decade for America. Not only did the Jews achieve the suburban dream, but their culture stepped right into the middle of the American mainstream. Nonetheless, there were two things which dimmed this Golden Decade - the Red Scare and the shadow of the Shoah.

1945 to 1955 is known as the 'Golden Decade' of American Jewry. Here is the first of three episodes which aims to fill in the Jewish Story on the western side of the Atlantic. The question for today is - did the move to suburbia make the Jews white?

In part two of this exploration of Israel's seventy year constitutional crisis we take a look at the revolution of 1992 and how it contributed to today's battles. As a special bonus I included a little bird walk along the lines of the Torah's commandment for a king.

If I asked you whether Israel has a constitution are you sure that you would know the answer? This episode is the first half of answering the question by delving into the history of Israel's 1949 Constituent Assembly. Picture by Hugo Mendelson - This is available from National Photo Collection of Israel, Photography dept. Government Press Office (link), under the digital ID D715-035.

Every once in a while you have to get out of the house, and even out of the box. Where better to do that than Jerusalem, and who is a better partner than Yehudah Hakohen. Here is a free-flowing conversation on Jerusalem, redemption and the process in which we find ourselves day. In honor of the reuniting of the eternal city! photo credit: Aharon Tzukerman 09/06/67 National Photo Collection of Isra...

Every value has a boundary and every state a border, which means that often we have to fight to maintain them. Here is the story of Israel's struggle against infiltration in the 1950's and the moral complexity of retaliatory raids. Not an episode for the faint of heart.

In 1949 Israel was in the dangerous position of winning the battle and losing the war. Though ceasefire agreements were in place, peace remained elusive. This episode opens an examination of the questions of international legitimacy, national cohesion and border conflicts which characterize the state even today.

There is no word for independence in Biblical Hebrew, and the roots of the modern word can teach us much. This might right be called the day when we celebrate 'self-actualization,' but that leaves poses the question - how do we actually become a great nation in our land?

The commandment around which seder night revolves is the telling of the story of the Exodus. Many people today struggle with questions of historicity, meaning - did this really happen? Here is an episode on why the real questions of the Exodus lie in the future and not the past, along with some insights on how to tell a story which goes beyond belief.

There are times in the history of peoples and nations when the decisions made shape the future. The three years after Israel's foundation saw its population double through immigration, the way in which the immigrants were received set the mode for many years to come.

In the first two years after Israel's independence the Jewish population doubled. Such massive immigration put an almost fatal stress on the resources and social fabric of the young state. Before we can discuss the practical implications we need to consider the meaning of kibutz galuyot - the ingathering of the exiles. Help me make history by becoming a patron at https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer ill...

Hatred of the Jews is the oldest and most pervasive form of prejudice which humanity knows. In this episode Rav Mike uses the comments of Haman to ask not only why we are hated, but also what we can do about it. Help me make history by becoming a supporter at https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer Illustration attribution https://www.maxpixel.net/Aggression-Violent-Hatred-Meanness-Attack-656795

It is time to move away from the divisive question of who is a Jew to ask something more essential - what is a Jew? The first half of this episode offers Rav Mike's thoughts on the subject. The second half is a conversation on the same with R' Aaron Leibowitz, social activist and head of the Chuppot initiative offering marriage to Israelis outside of the aegis of the state rabbinate. Help me make...

Part I presented America as an environment of formation for American Zionism, part two adds the other element of evolution - competition. The struggles between American Zionists and first the European Zionist leadership and then the heads of the new State of Israel still define our political landscape today. Help me make history by supporting the Jewish Story at https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer

Season 3 opens with a long awaited introduction to the American chapter of the Jewish Story. This first segment traces the back story of the three waves of Jewish immigration to American and explores the tension between assimilation and ethnic solidarity. Help me make history by becoming a patron at https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer

It is time to get a new season started. This prologue introduces the idea that every story has a topography on which it unfolds. In particular, it is a framing of the season ahead through questions in three dimensions - a people in its land, Diaspora Jewry and Israel among the nations. Next stop - 1967!

Everybody is talking about the relationship between American and Israeli Jewry - is the romance over? are we headed for a breakup? This relationship will be central to the Jewish Story in season three, so here is an exploration of where their narratives separate in two parts - Rav Mike's thoughts and an interview with David Abitbol, creator of the Jewlicious blog. Help me make history by supportin...

What better way to wrap up season two than to talk about the messiah? Here is an exploration of the power of the messianic idea and its centrality to Jewish thought. It also includes the introduction of political theology to our discussion, in light of the birth of the State of Israel. Help me make history by supporting the Jewish Story here - https://www.patreon.com/mfeuer

Every story has a teller, and a good listener knows that you can't really separate the two. In this podcast, Rav Mike sits down with his old friend and founder of Aleph Male, Eitan Ben Avraham, and answers Eitan's curious questions about Mike's childhood, formative years, how Mike ended up living in Israel becoming a rabbi and why he is on a mission to tell the Jewish Story. Support the Jewish Sto...

Declaring a state is a matter of moments, but birthing it can be a much more prolonged process. The last episode in season two is a look at a series of decisions taken by Ben Gurion in the months following independence and how they still shape the State of Israel today. The story of the borders, the Arab refugees and the Altalena raise more questions than they answer, but that is just an invitatio...

Before a person or a people can enjoy true freedom, first they must break t heir chains. This is the story of how the underground war finally broke the back of the British occupation and how the United Nations stepped in to pick up the pieces.