The Jewish Story

Every chapter comes to an end sometime, and with this epilogue season four draws to a close. Listen in for some reflections and where we have been and where we are headed in the season to come, as well as some insights on what it might mean.

The shock waves of the Yom Kippur War ripple through Israeli society down to our day, but the days immediately after tell a story all their own. This episode explores the rise of Israel's first protest movement around Motti Ashkenazi, the first cracks of the Labor government under Prime Minister Golda Meir and the formation of the Likud at the hands of Ariel Sharon. All of these combine to make up...

Every war has a winner, but sometimes identifying who that may be is not a simple task - nor a neutral one. This episode explores the international aftermath of the Yom Kippur war, explaining how the super power confrontation, the Arab oil embargo and the international peace process all created different winners of the conflict.

Some people play a perfect role in the Jewish Story, and in this episode that will be US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and General Ariel Sharon. As the fighting reaches its conclusion, each will give his utmost to achieve his ends, but as we will see though the battle may be won - the war is far from over. photograph by Amnon Tzur https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SuezBrdg1973.jpg

This is the story of how close the end really came during the Yom Kippur War. Even as Israel's tanks held out in the north, turning a stretch of the Golan into 'The Valley of Tears,' the forces in the south were stretched to the breaking point. Nonetheless, an American airlift will provide the arms, and the impetuous general Ariel Sharon the means, to yet snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

A surprise blow is always the hardest to absorb, even if it's not so powerful. The first strike of the Yom Kippur War will be massive, and it will come close to stunning the entire nation of Israel. Listen in to hear how the shock nearly caused leaders like Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan and Chief of Staff David Elazar to lose their way, while the common soldiers of Israel held on for the very life of th...

Sometimes the ideas we hold most dear are those which prevent us from seeing t hat which is most important. Here is an episode about the 'concept,' the security analysis paradigm which stopped Israel for from recognizing its danger almost until it was too late.

Long before there was a start-up nation the Jews were the can do people, but a constant crisis-solving posture poses problems of its own. Here is part two in our effort to build the context for the surprise of the Yom Kippur War. It is a story of technological revolutions, unstoppable confidence and even what might be called an act of piracy. picture attribution: Israeli Navy Spokesman Office

If we call what happened in the 1967 a war of the spirit, then what occurred seven years later was a struggle of psychology. Here is the first episode leading up to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It explores the booming economy, the Israeli Black Panthers and the emergence of a new leader of Egypt, all in an attempt to understand the context for surprise.

The whole world watched in horror as the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games raised the bar on international terror to previously inconceivable heights. The events cannot be forgotten, and their consequences are with us down to this day.

There is a narrative battle which has been raging for decades between Arab and Jew in the land of Israel, and sometimes it breaks out into open warfare. This is the story of the abortive attempt by Palestinians to overthrown the Kingdom of Jordan and the role it plays in giving an international standing to their nationalist struggle.

The Jewish Story Season 5 Interlude: An Interview with Aaron Leibowitz Jerusalem Day is a time when past and present come sharply together and have the potential to define our future. Social activist and former city councilor Rav Aaron Leibowitz joins me to discuss the potential of the holy city and this momentous day. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supportin...

The battlefield and the boardroom come together for the last episode in the series on the War of Attrition. Meet new Prime Minister Golda Meir as she balances war and politics in her new policy of 'asymmetrical response.' Unfortunately this may win her the battle just as it looses the war.

Every major conflict is fought on many fronts. This second installment on the War of Attrition explores the diplomatic front. We will encounter Yitzchak Rabin as the new Israeli ambassador and get our first look at American Jewish policy maker Henry Kissinger as our story leaves the battle ground for the boardroom.

Changing our conceptions is one of the hardest things in life to do, for countries as well as individuals. Israel's stunning victory in 1967 brought many blessings, but it also posed certain challenges in how to understand the post-war reality. Here is the first episode on the War of Attrition, a conflict so poorly understood that many people don't even know it happened.

The return to Israel can have two meanings - a return to the Land and a return to essential self. The birth of a settlement movement striving for redemption was one of the most significant results of the Six Day War, and no community tells the story better than Hebron.

One can look at life as one long string of decisions, whether for individuals or nations. Israel had a number of decisions to make in the wake of the Six Day War and none was more pressing than where to place the borders. Here is an episode about some of the factors in that decision - the Allon Plan and the return to Kfar Etzion - which helped shape the future.

Abundance is always a blessing, so long as one has the capacity to receive it. In the weeks and months after their victory in June of 1967, the Israeli government struggled to absorb the meaning and practical implications of everything which they had just acquired. This episode begins our exploration of the new political, economic and spiritual realities which began on the day after the war.

It is a truism that struggle brings out unexpected powers from within us, and what's true in life is true in history as well. The struggle to liberate Soviet Jewry will be a formative element of our story for decades to come, so here is the first chapter.

There are stories which are turning points in a larger tale, and there are those which prove to be tempests in a tea cup. The story of the 1968 NYC school strike could be read as both. Either way, this episode offers a look at a microcosm of Black/Jewish relations in 1968 which will have a profound impact down to our day.

As each decade passes, the Holocaust retreats in time and grows in memory and this is not a linear process - some years count more than others. This episode looks at American Jewry's relationship to the Shoah before and after the Six Day War and adds an important piece for understanding how Israel and Auschwitz became twin pillars of American Jewish identity.

History is all about telling the story after the fact, but there is a particular wisdom to be gained in the heat of the moment which is easily lost in hindsight. The first episode of season four begins to explore the impact of the Six Day War on American Jewry through the wisdom of the moment itself.

This episode was taken from the Jewish Story Season 4, Interlude The 10th of Tevet: It is Not Too Late to Change Every fast day is an chance for cheshbon nefesh, for making an accounting of life and the world. The Tenth of Tevet offers an additional, unique opportunity - to think about imminent dangers. Here is an exploration of some of the challenges which our world faces and how this holy day ca...

The Jewish Story Season 4, Interlude Yom Yerushalayim - Here is a LIVE Yom Yerushalayim class given in honor of the 10th yartzeit of Fruma Raizel bat Genendel and Nehemia haKohen. It explores the relationship between Yom Ha'atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim, between self-actualization and inspiration, in order to provide insight and inspiration for these holy days. Help continue making Jewish history a...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Interlude Yom Haatzmaut Interview* - Here is an interview of Rav Mike Feuer by Rabbi Yonatan from the RRG Beit Midrash at Hebrew University (May 2020) in which we reflect on Israel Independence day from the historical and spiritual perspectives. If you want some insight into the potential depth of this day, and how the strange circumstances of this pandemic year actually...