Judaism Unbound

Dan Libenson talks to Gil Kidron , of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions , about the podcast’s first season. They explore Gil’s ideas of who might have been responsible for writing some of Genesis's, most prominent stories -- and for putting the final edit together. In doing so, they ask what political and spiritual interests the book of Genesis might have served, before it was combined with the re...

Natan Margalit is the founder and president of an organization called Organic Torah. He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about his new book, entitled The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom, Ecological Thinking, and Healing in a Fragmented World . This conversation is the latest in a recurring Judaism Unbound series, where once a month we have been exploring Shmita (the year of r...

Dan and Lex have a PSA: Passover, in the bible, is two holidays! Not one. You've been conned! Or...ya know...Jewish history is interesting and one of the holidays in a sense "swallowed" the other over time. But also, maybe you've been CONNED. ( See this article, by Michael Satlow, for a more in-depth explanation ). In any event, Dan and Lex are curious what we might create, if we conceived of the...

Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg schmooze in the 6th episode in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the past, what Jewish food is today, what it could be in the future, and who decides. In this conversation, they hone in specifically on what the distinctions are between "Jewish Eating" and "Kosher Eating," and why those distinctions are important to consider. To access show...

Arthur Waskow , a visionary Jewish activist and teacher, joins Judaism Unbound for a special mid-week bonus episode. In it, Waskow reflects on two key pieces of his life's work: the creation of The Freedom Seder , over 50 years ago, and his founding of The Exodus Alliance this year.  The Exodus Alliance is a multifaith campaign to heal earth & humankind from carbon pharaohs and their climate plagu...

The Exodus Alliance is a group of multifaith organizations, faith leaders, and everyday people taking action for climate justice. On Passover, they plan to organize Passover street seders in front of Chase banks all across the country -- the world’s largest investor in fossil fuels -- to challenge the financial underpinnings of this "Carbon Pharaoh."  Nate DeGroot , national organizer for The Shal...

Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus , professor of religion at Wheaton College Massachusetts, is the author of Gastronomic Judaism as Culinary Midrash . He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about what that book's title argues. In other words, how is Jewish food, and how are Jewish eating practices, "midrash" -- forms of interpretation that play with, and expand, the bounds of Jewish tradi...

Rob Nipe and Nora Rubel , the team behind Grass Fed -- Rochester, New York's vegan and kosher butcher shop -- join Dan and Lex for a conversation about what makes something count as "really" meat, and how that relates to Jewish eating. This episode is the 4th in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the past, what Jewish food is today, what it could be in the future, and w...

Sara Eifler , Program Director for Jewish Veg , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the spiritual practice that is....eating! Together they look at some ancient Jewish texts, some contemporary Jewish rituals, and play around with some puns.  Jewish Veg is an organization that inspires and assists Jews to embrace plant-based diets, as an expression of Jewish values. This ep...

Nir Levy , Atlanta Field Manager for OneTable (an organization that empowers folks to find, share, and enjoy Shabbat dinners), and Annie Prusky , OneTable's Manager of Development and Research, join Dan and Lex for a conversation about one of the most beloved Jewish rituals: Shabbat dinner. You can learn more about OneTable, and sign up to either host or attend a Shabbat dinner near you, at OneTab...

Elaine Goodfriend , a lecturer at California State University, Northridge, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about one of her specialties -- food in the Hebrew Bible. This episode is the 1st in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the past, what Jewish food is today, what it could be in the future, and who decides. To access shownotes for this episode...

Harry Freedman , author of Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius , The Murderous History of Bible Translations , and a variety of other books with equally-sensational titles, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation that explores Leonard Cohen's contributions to Judaism -- and potentially to Judaisms of the future. They also connect Cohen's musical creations to other Jewish fig...

The UnYeshiva -- Judaism Unbound's digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- is launching its spring 2022 semester! In this episode, you get to sit in on the very first "Faculty Meeting" (we promise, it's not as boring as most meetings), and hear about the four courses that will be offered this semester. You can also hear about the grander vision of the UnYeshiva, from all four of its c...

This bonus episode of Judaism Unbound is presented in partnership with Theatre Dybbuk . Once a month, their podcast -- called The Dybbukast -- releases a new episode, and we are proud to feature their second season's fourth episode as a bonus episode here on Judaism Unbound's channel. In each episode, they bring poems, plays, and other creative texts from throughout history to life, all while reve...

Lisa Grafstein , creator of the Shmita Debt Release Campaign -- through the organization RIP Medical Debt -- joins Dan and Lex to talk about debt relief, its centrality to the Biblical Shmita year (year of release), disability justice, and how all of those topics tie to her campaign for public office in North Carolina. The Shmita Debt Release Campaign has already raised over 5,300 dollars this yea...

Asher Edes and Alexander Grace Vickery , co-founders of Shmita Hives , join Dan and Lex for a conversation about their initiative to bring groups of people (hives) together, to build their collective relationship to Shmita -- the year of release. Shmita is a year-long observance, marked every seven years and initially derived from the Torah, during which land is given the chance to rest, and debts...

Dan and Lex have spoken lately, on Judaism Unbound, with the hosts of a bunch of other podcasts -- podcasts that are not Judaism Unbound. They've asked about the structure of those podcasts, the vision behind them, and the goals they seek to achieve. But what haven't they done? Actually said how they, themselves, would answer those questions for Judaism Unbound. Today, they do just that, and offer...

Leon Wiener Dow is the host of Pod Drash , a Jewish podcast that talks about podcasts. In this episode of Judaism Unbound, he, Dan, and Lex, talk about Pod Drash. Ergo, this is a podcast talking about a podcast that talks about podcasts. If you like podcasts, therefore, you will like this episode -- three times over! Learn more about Pod Drash by heading to PodDrash.org , and subscribe to PodDrash...

Joshua Malina (yes, THAT Joshua Malina) and Shira Stutman (yes, THAT Shira Stutman) join Dan and Lex for a conversation about their (Joshua and Shira's) entry into the Jewish podcast ecosystem, through their brand new podcast, called Chutzpod! Learn more about Chutzpod! by heading to Chutzpod.com , and subscribe to Chutzpod in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Podcast & Radio Addict , or wherever else yo...

Shani Mink and SJ Seldin are the co-founders of Jewish Farmer Network -- a grassroots organization of over 2000 farmers, which mobilizes Jewish agricultural wisdom to build a more just and regenerative food system for all. They join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the Shmita year (year of release), and about how Jews today can combat the pervasive, incorrect idea of "Isn't J...

Dan and Lex close out Judaism Unbound's 4-episode mini-series on Jewish circumcision. They explore, in particular, the treatment by Jewish institutions of families, who have opted not to circumcise their children, and of those children themselves. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by cli...

Shaye Cohen , the Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, joins Dan and Lex for the 3rd conversation in a unit of episodes exploring Jewish circumcision. This discussion, on the history of Jewish circumcision, from the Hebrew Bible till today, builds on "A Canonical History of Jewish Circumcision," a chapter in Cohen's 2005 book Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumc...

Max Buckler , Director of Strategic Initiatives for Bruchim , and Charlene Thrope , a member of its extended team, join Dan and Lex for a conversation that explores alternatives to circumcision as the primary way to welcome amab (assigned-male-at-birth) babies into the Jewish community. This episode is the second of two episodes featuring guests from Bruchim , a recently-launched organization that...

Lisa Braver Moss , Rebecca Wald , and Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon are the founding members of B'ruchim's executive board. So what's B'ruchim? It's a recently-launched organization that seeks to foster welcoming spaces for Jewish families who have opted out of the ritual of circumcision.  In this episode, the three co-founders join Dan and Lex for a conversation about why their organization exists, how op...

Zack Bodner , CEO of The Oshman Family JCC and author of Why Do Jewish? A Manifesto for 21st Century Jewish Peoplehood , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about his book. They also explore together what makes West-Coast Judaism distinctive, along with whether the digital world is itself a new kind of geographic "coast." If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with...