Judaism Unbound

Dan and Lex are joined by Wendie Lash, to announce an exciting project of envisioning, and re-visioning, how the observance of Elul -- the month directly preceding Rosh Hashanah -- could evolve and deepen. Sign up for Judaism Unbound's Elul emails by clicking here !

Dan and Lex are joined by Brant Rosen , founding rabbi of Tzedek Chicago , an intentional congregational community based on core values of justice, equality, and solidarity. In their conversation, they look at the central role that nationalism, and Zionism in particular, has come to play in many Jewish communities, and explore strategies for institutional change within American-Jewish life. If you...

Dan and Lex are joined by Rachel Sandalow-Ash and Eva Ackerman , two organizers with Open Hillel , an organization that works for pluralism and open discourse around Israel-Palestine in Jewish spaces on college campuses. 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...

In our ongoing exploration of the relationship of American Jews and Israel, Dan and Lex are joined by educator and activist Zach Schaffer, whose work focuses on helping Jewish federations and similar organizations talk across ideological, generational, and religious divides. Schaffer describes his approach to Israel education, engagement, and advocacy, encourages dialogue across ideological differ...

Dan and Lex visit #TrendingJewish , another Jewish podcast, and they shape-shift from their usual role of co-hosts into that of featured guests. In a conversation with host Bryan Schwartzman, they discuss Judaism Unbound's work, along with the landscape of digital Judaism more broadly. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible d...

Dan and Lex are joined by Ilana Levinson and Jill Raney , two members of IfNotNow , a national campaign led by young Jews, working to end American-Jewish support for the occupation and promote freedom and dignity for all Palestinians and Israelis. Their conversation looks at a wide variety of issues, ranging from fear and trauma in American-Jewish life, to the idea that no Jew should be deemed &qu...

Stosh Cotler , CEO of Bend the Arc Jewish Action , joins Dan and Lex for an urgent conversation on the family separation crisis at the US borders. Cotler calls on American Jews to speak out against those who would callously separate children from their families, and she connects these recent events to the broader context of Donald Trump's administration and to Jewish values and historical experien...

Looking back at the first part of our series on American Jews and Israel, Dan and Lex discuss various topics, including the past, present, and potential meanings of Zionism and the "red lines" that some Jewish institutions have established, which put certain ideas (such as advocacy for boycotts of Israel) and people outside of their "big tents." Dan and Lex explore whether many...

To get a sense of the Israel conversation from the point of view of a congregational rabbi, Dan and Lex are joined by Sharon Kleinbaum , Spiritual Leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) , in New York City. In their conversation, they discuss topics including the varied and evolving perspectives on Israel in Jewish-and-LGBTQ spaces, the consequences of institutional red-lines around Israe...

Dan and Lex are joined by Yehuda Kurtzer , president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America , for the 5th episode in Judaism Unbound's series on the relationship of American Jews and Israel. In their conversation, Kurtzer questions ideas of Judaism as a "family," puts forth a case for why American Jews should care about Israel in the first place, and provides ideas for new fram...

Dan and Lex are joined by Melissa Weintraub , Founder and Co-Executive Director of Resetting the Table . 1 In their conversation they examine ways in which conversations about Israel in Jewish communal life can often become toxic, along with ideas for how to do better. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support J...

To help us better understand and think about the role that Israel might play in the future of American Jews, Dan and Lex are joined by Professor Noam Pianko of the University of Washington, author of the books Zionism and the Roads Not Taken and Jewish Peoplehood: An American Innovation . The conversation explores the origins and evolution of Zionism, its many early variations, the changing nature...

Dan and Lex are joined by Dov Waxman , Professor of Political Science, International Affairs, and Israel Studies at Northeastern Universityand author of the book Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel . The conversation explores the debates, tensions, and divides over Israel and Palestine within the American Jewish community, and we discuss why a topic that once unified Ame...

As we launch a new series considering the role that Israel might or might not play in the future of American Judaism, Dan and Lex are joined by writer and commentator Peter Beinart , Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York.  1 Beinart is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and a senior columnist for The Forward. His 2010 article in The New York Revi...

Dan and Lex look back at their recent episodes, featuring guests that are part of Clal's Glean Incubator for spiritual innovators. They reflect on the ways in which fundamentalist practitioners of religion (Judaism and Christianity most prominently) have channeled their zeal and passion into the work they do with great success, and they focus on passion as the potential key to analogous successes...

Dan and Lex are joined by Sara and Isaac Luria , founders of Beloved , a home-based spiritual community in Brooklyn. Their conversation covers a wide variety of topics, all revolving around their work to infuse the world with deeper forms of community, love, and justice. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Suppor...

Dan and Lex are joined by Geoffrey Mitelman , the Founding Director of Sinai & Synapses . Together they discuss the realms of science & religion, perceived by many as entirely separate, and the ways in which Mitelman blends them together every day of his professional life. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donati...

Dan and Lex are joined by Miriam Terlinchamp , the spiritual leader of Temple Sholom in Cincinnati. In their conversation, they explore the radical re-visioning process of her congregation, which included selling their building, using the proceeds to experiment with new ways of "doing synagogue," embracing social justice as a core Jewish commitment, and investing 10% of their budget in c...

As we continue to dig into various approaches to "spiritual innovation," Dan and Lex are joined by Aaron Bisno and Harlan Stone, rabbi and president, respectively, of Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a synagogue that is over 150 years old and doing very well by conventional synagogue measures, which is nevertheless intensely interested in innovation and experimentat...

Dan and Lex are joined by Debbie Bravo , spiritual leader of Makom NY: A New Kind of Jewish Community , located in Nassau County, Long Island.  1  They discuss how and why Makom NY's outside-the-box model has succeeded in engaging many of Long Island's Jews who have not otherwise connected to institutional Jewish life in the area. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things goi...

Dan and Lex are joined by Elan Babchuck , Director of Innovation at Clal and founder of the Glean Incubator, a program that combines coaching and a course in entrepreneurship aimed at helping new spiritual initiatives develop compelling strategies for launch and sustainability. In their conversation, they compare and contrast the challenges of Jewish legacy institutions with those of Jewish start-...

Dan returns to History in the Bible , hosted by Garry Stephens. This time they discuss best-selling Israeli author Yochi Brandes' novel “The Orchard” . Dan translated the book into English. The novel centres on Rabbi Akiva, the man who forged rabbinic Judaism after the fall of the Temple. Along the way they encounter a host of other rabbis and Paul of Tarsus. They also ponder the difficulties of t...

Dan and Lex reflect on their conversations with members of The Open Dor Project's first cohort. They reconsider how Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs relates to the challenges of. contemporary Judaism, explore how issues of social justice could take on a more central place in Jewish institutional life, and interrogate the conceptions of "community" and "variety." If you're enjoying J...

Dan and Lex are joined by Adina Allen and Jeff Kasowitz, founders of the Jewish Studio Project , which bills itself as "part urban art studio, part house of Jewish learning, part spiritual community," as part of our series exploring new experiments in spirituality and community building. Our conversation looks at how creative expression and Judaism can overlap in powerful ways and how th...

Dan and Lex are joined by Dan Ain, Founder and Spiritual Leader of Because Jewish . In their conversation, they discuss the ways in which music can engage people spiritually, the tension between "inspiration" and "institution," how the Grateful Dead are relevant to Judaism and how rabbis have it harder than Bruce Springsteen, as well as a wide variety of other important topics...