The Chochmat Nashim Podcast: Women Talk Judaism

You know already that hyper-tzniut gets Chochmat Nashim riled up - it's literally the incarnation of the slide to extremism that harms Judaism for everyone. This time it's a cross-body bag, giving Shoshanna and Anne reason to remind everyone that this very Jewish value can be taken too far. Music: "Misery" By The Whips

In our annual Seat at the Seder Table episode, Anne and Shoshanna are pleased to partake of Rachel's powerful insights that help bring the Haggadah's driest parts to life, from the blurring of time to putting ourselves into the story. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Would more women in Israel's coalition change its policies? Who knows, but they'd make a more representative government. Shoshanna and Anne discuss the reversals to women's rights that we'd never have thought would be in danger, in the wake of International Women's Day, no less. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

The Israeli public is deeply divided over legislation aimed at dramatically changing the judicial system in Israel, specifically the relationship between the government and the Supreme Court. Israelis don't agree (of course) on how best to protect the country. Anne and Shoshanna make sense of the political temperature in Israel. Our annual fundraiser. Check out the video based on the testimony of...

It was a brand new Chochmat Nashim project when Shoshanna and Anne first told you about it back in August, and now that it's well underway, it's ripe for an update. How many courts are reviewed on the site? Why did one dayan complain about his rating? How is it helping people who think they might want a divorce? And what about that new training program to help the judges get the perfect 5-star rev...

SPECIAL EPISODE: Chochmat Nashim crossover with Orthodox Conundrum. Join Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll and Rabbi Scott Kahn in a powerful conversation about how disappointment in rabbinic figures lead her to be the person she is today.

When there's so much going on that each story demands our attention, in brief, Anne and Shoshanna bring you 5 "shorts": To die an agunah; Rabbi Moshe Kahn z"l; Erased women fail to inspire; Can a witness invalidate herself?; and Israel's newly certified learned women. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

What are we to do when those who hold positions of responsibility don't rise to the occasion of their office? Worse, what do we do when they criticize local efforts for tackling the very thing they should have addressed, but didn't? Shoshanna and Anne wrestle with the need for righteous moral leaders and the terrible absence of enough such people.   Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Ben Shapiro's recent article posed a challenge for Anne, Shoshanna, and their guest, Dr. Yardaena Osband: Where can Modern Orthodoxy improve? Together, they raise concerns about what the community faces and the need for leadership and personal conviction going forward. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Israel's presumptive new government may legalize sex segregation where Israeli law had prohibited it. Shoshanna and Anne tackle just how problematic this change would be, and why willing discrimination (in the Haredi world) is a slippery slope of harm. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Shoshanna and Anne host guest Elisheva Rishon, a Black Jewish woman, who weighs in on the most recent spike in antisemitism, the knee-jerk reactions to it, what it means to be caught in the middle of both the Black and Jewish communities, and what we all can do about it. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Yes, it's another Israeli election. This time, political extremism is in the running. Anne and Shoshanna try to understand the popularity of Israel's far-right parties, and explain why Chochmat Nashim shuns extremism of all kinds. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Shoshanna and Anne answer YOUR questions: How we keep going in the face of opposition, whether any change is really happening, a primer on pre- and post-nups, and how is it OK to take a captive wife in war?? Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Protests, prenups, and, still, so many women are chained in marriage. Now, a new Chochmat Nashim project encourages transparency and best practices in the religious courts. Shoshanna and Anne explain the project and why it is both innovative and a safeguard for the Jewish community. Our next step to end get-abuse! Visit Rate My Beit Din at https://www.ratemybeitdin.com/. Music: "Misery" by The Whi...

Anne and Shoshanna are guests on Rabbi Scott Kahn's Orthodox Conundrum podcast to talk about men's and women's spaces in Orthodoxy. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

For nearly a decade (!), Chochmat Nashim has been exposing and explaining the damage caused by erasing women - that goes so far beyond an interest in seeing women's faces. Anne and Shoshanna revisit the topic with the insights borne of conversations with too many naysayers. It's time to end the erasure of women - and just chill! Music: "Misery" by Bensound.com

The ultra-Orthodox world is banning the internet for women, cutting them off from their livelihoods, their social networks, and their access to information. We obviously find this appalling and infantilizing, but do the women of that world agree? Shoshanna and Anne speak with an insider who tells all. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Anne and Shoshanna take the pulse of how Israel's complex (and teetering) coalition government has improved some of the systems in Israeli society that we care about (with a special mention for Chochmat Nashim's deputy director). We also review how Matan Kahana, the complicated figure who heads the state's religious services (now as deputy minister) has made a real push for women's equal standing...

Abortion. Everyone has an opinion, including those who will never face it. Shoshanna and Anne discuss why, as Orthodox Jews, we should care about American abortion policy - specifically, the potential banning and criminalization of abortion. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Pesach prep can take your time, energy, and attention away from the spiritual aspects of seder. Anne and Shoshanna went looking for "women's Torah" to enrich our seder experiences, and enlist Rabbanit Sara Wolkenfeld for her insights, experience, and many tips to help our seders be all they can be - without adding much prep time. https://www.sefaria.org/collections/pictures-tell-the-passover-hagga...

When the news is filled with war and terror, it's hard to focus on the lasting issues, but that's exactly what Shoshanna and Anne try to do in this episode. Specifically, who is a Jew? Israel's Law of Return and Jewish law do not agree. Where does that leave the people who are caught in the gap between them, and how does that relate to the war in Ukraine? Music: "Misery" by the Whips

Shoshanna went to England, but not to see the queen. Rather, she brought Chochmat Nashim tools to a new locale, and regales Anne with the tales of what went on, from the poignant to the oh so very British. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

Y'all had a lot to say about our last podcast! We've collected some of your responses as well as the wider response to Miriam Anzovin's videos. Join Shoshanna and Anne as we break down how to disagree even when we're passionate. Music: "Misery" by The Whips

From the controversy of her colorful videos to why she's learning Talmud every day, to her connection to Judaism - despite self-proclaimed atheism, to her dramatic eye makeup, Miriam Anzovin brings her authentic self to the table. Shoshanna and Anne speak with her about sudden fame, why she isn't chucking profanity any time soon, and how TikTok is the least of our worries. Music: "Misery" by The W...

Art Spiegelman's "Maus" is a profound treatment of both the Holocaust itself and the experience of the "second-generation." It also, apparently, is a risky, corrupting influence - in Tennessee, at least. You likely have heard about school board's decision -- Anne and Shoshanna discuss how it reflects the misguided culture of censorship and the dramatic need for Holocaust education. Music: "Misery"...