Judaism Unbound

Sara Levy Linden and Shira Rutman , two members of San Francisco’s Urban Kibbutz, join Dan and Lex for a conversation about what constitutes an intentional community. 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 clicking here! To access full shownotes for this episode, click here .

Tal Frieden and August Kahn , two leaders of Judaism On Our Own Terms (a new national network of student-led Jewish communities) join Dan and Lex for a conversation about how Jewish campus life today can help us build the Judaisms of tomorrow. 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 clickin...

Joseph Berman, founding rabbi of The New Synagogue Project (NSP), and Lauren Spokane, NSP’s “lead instigator,” join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about how their intentional community is looking to help build a better, more just world. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound...

Margaret Hagan and Kursat Ozenc , co-creators of the Ritual Design Lab, based at Stanford University’s Institute of Design (the “d.school”), and co-authors of the book Rituals for Work, join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to investigate what rituals are, why they matter, and how they work. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductibl...

David Zvi Kalman founded and owns Print-O-Craft (an independent publisher of Jewish books), co-founded Jewish Public Media (a podcasting platform), and recently completed his PhD — in Jewish technology and Islamic jurisprudence — at the University of Pennsylvania. He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about what it’s like to wear many Jewish hats, all at once. If you're enjoyin...

Shira Stutman , who serves as Senior Rabbi at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington D.C, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the second half of a 2-part conversation. [1] Together they ask some big questions about the ecosystem of 21st century Judaism, working to combat a disease (not physical!) they term “Wish-I-Had-This-Itis” in the process. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , plea...

Shira Stutman , who serves as Senior Rabbi at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington D.C, thinks that Judaism has a ton to offer the world. In the first half of a 2-part conversation with Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg, she has the chutzpah to argue that active Jewish outreach, and even forms of Jewish “evangelizing,” might be a pretty worthwhile idea! If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , p...

Zelig Golden , the Founding Director of Wilderness Torah , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about nature, roots, education, and the Jewish future. 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 clicking here! To access full shownotes for this episode, click here .

Sandy Zisser and Patrick Beaulier , of the Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary , join Dan and Lex for a conversation about digital rabbinic ordination. 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 clicking here! To access full shownotes for this episode, click here .

Marie Kondo isn’t Jewish. But Dan and Lex think her ideas are relevant to the Jewish future. In this conversation, they tell you why! 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 clicking here! To access full shownotes for this episode, click here .

Dan Libenson joins the Society for Humanistic Judaism at its movement-wide celebration and summit, to mark 50 years since its founding in 1969. He moderates a panel featuring five humanistic Jewish leaders ( Adam Chalom , Jeffrey Falick , Denise Handlarski , Jeremy Kridel , and Tzemah Yoreh ), who together explore the past, present, and future of humanistic Judaism. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbo...

Andrew Ramer , an ordained Maggid (storyteller) and author of Fragments of the Brooklyn Talmud , among other works, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about ecological crisis, the blurry line between future and past, and Judaism in the 22nd and 23rd century. So nothing major, really. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible d...

Lex enters into conversation with David Fainsilber and Jessica Kate Meyer , in a podcast recorded live at Hebrew College , in Newton, Massachusetts. This panel was part of a Hebrew College conference entitled “The Past and Future of Synagogues.” David Fainsilber serves as rabbi of The Jewish Community of Greater Stowe , in Vermont, and Jessica Kate Meyer serves as rabbi and chazan of The Kitchen ,...

Ayalon Eliach , Director of Learning and Strategic Communications at the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation that re-imagines forms of halachah (traditionally defined as “Jewish law”) that could look different than many might expect, and imbue lives with a deep sense of purpose and meaning. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep thing...

Rachel Gross , the John & Marcia Goldman Professor of American Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University, thinks that food is “the world’s most important subject.” She joins Dan and Lex to tell them (and you!) why that is, and why that fact matters when we seek to understand the Jewish past, present, and future. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with...

Noam Sienna , author of the book A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts from the First Century to 1969 , joins Lex and Dan for a conversation about expanding our understanding of the Jewish past. 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 clicking here! To access full shownotes f...

Sarah Bunin Benor , Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion , and author of the award winning book Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language of Orthodox Judaism , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Jewish languages, and the deeper discourses revealed through dialect. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things...

Greg Marcus , founder of American Mussar and author of The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions: Finding Balance through the Soul Traits of Mussar , joins Dan and Lex to look at what Mussar is, and how people can practice it effectively in an American context.

David Jaffe , author of the National Jewish Book Award-winning book Changing the World from the Inside Out , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Mussar -- both what it is, and the transformative potential that it possesses for individuals and the world. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism U...

Arthur Waskow , noted activist, author, and rabbi, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about 1969’s Freedom Seder . They look at the process that led to Waskow’s invention of that Passover observance, and the impact it has had on both Judaism and the world over the 50 years since its creation. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-ded...

Denise Handlarski , rabbi and founder of SecularSynagogue.com , joins Dan and Lex for a wide-ranging conversation, looking at digital Judaism, interfaith relationships, colonialism, among other topics. 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 clicking here! To access full shownotes for this...

Leon Wiener Dow of the Shalom Hartman Institute and BINA Secular Yeshiva joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg in conversation about his new book, The Going . They discuss Jewish law — a system which both bounds and binds — probing the tensions between individual Jewish practice and an ongoing communal endeavor. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or...

Lizzi Heydemann , the rabbi and founder of Mishkan Chicago , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg in conversation about creating a 21st Century Jewish spiritual community. In their discussion, she calls for embodied experiences of Judaism that are “primal,” “spiritual,” “bold,” “visceral,” and “powerful.” If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or month...

MaNishtana joins Lex Rofeberg and Dan Libenson for a conversation about race and intersectionality in contemporary Jewish life. As a jumping off point, they discuss these issues through the lens of the protagonist in MaNishtana’s new novel, Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi , a Black Orthodox rabbi. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-de...

Daniel Matt is a scholar of Kabbalah who translated and annotated the Zohar — a central text of Jewish mysticism — into English. He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the Zohar’s origins, his work that yielded The Zohar: Pritzker Edition (his landmark translation), and questions that the text opens up about the duality of old and new. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound ,...