The Jewish Story

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep33 Six Day War part VII On the Seventh Day Just as surely as Shabbat follows the six days of the week, there was a day after the Six Day War. When the guns ceased and the discussion began, the framing of Israel's victory became the new battlefield. The final episode of the season traces the path to UN Resolution 242, and uncovers some of its roots as well. Help continu...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep32 Six Day War part VI The power of determination There are certain qualities which, when they manifest, define one's story -determination is one of them. Here is the story of the conquest of the Golan and the close of the war, events which will determine much of the chapters to come. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep31 Six Day War part V - something miraculous What do you see as the greatest miracles in Jewish History? In many ways, how you answer indicates your understanding of history altogether. This episode deals with the first three days of the war, including the return of Am Yisrael to Jerusalem - I leave it up to you to decide where the miracle lies. Help continue making Je...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep30 Six Day War IV The waiting Going into battle may take bravery, but waiting demands a certain type of courage as well. This episode lays out the final steps of the build up to war, known in Israeli history as "the waiting, and the tension which builds in these three weeks will soon explode into war. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike b...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep29 Six Day War III - Israel dwells alone The countdown to war is progressing, and the pieces are almost all in place. As the pressure mounts, some of the fundamental flaws which lie at the heart of the Zionist project are exposed. The question which arises in this episode is - will Israel go it alone? Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike b...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep28 Six Day War II - The point of no return The causes of war may be many and the road to its outbreak long, but every conflict has a tipping point. In this episode, the noose seems to close around Israel. As Egypt's re-militarizes the Sinai and the UN forces evaporate, we seem to have reached the point of no return. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep27 Six Day War I - beginnings near and far Who can say when historical events like the Six Day War actually began, and what were their causes? It is a daunting task, but not one which we can shirk, nonetheless. Here is the first episode in our lead-up to war - a look at a new personality, a battle and some broader context. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep26 Eli Cohen, Hero of Israel Historians may argue about whether one person can shift the course of history, but everyone agrees that a hero can change the world. Here is the story of Eli Cohen, hero of Israel. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on patreon. For more information visit elmad.pardes.org/ravmike. Please let...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep25 Shifting identities in early Israel The present is always built on the ruins of the past, the only real question is - how do we integrate this reality into our identity? This episode looks at the beginning of a shift in Israeli identity in the early 60s, together with the emergence of a new national consciousness among the Arabs in Israel and abroad. Help continue m...

The Jewish Story Season 3, Ep24 Levi Eshkol - a new face of leadership Old politicians never die, they just fade away. The era of Ben Gurion ended in 1963 and it appeared that his replacement, Levi Eshkol, could not live up to his legacy. This episode introduces a new mode of leadership for the State of Israel, and is the first step on the road to telling the tale of the Six Day War. Help continue...

Rav Mike's annual shiur in honor of the yartzheit of his father, Charles M. Feuer, ob"m. Gratitude is one of the keys to happiness, especially in dark times. Join Rav Mike as he explores the connection between the Hanukah candles and our ability to give thanks, and helps us let the light out. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on patreon. For more...

Rav Mike Feuer hosts author and thought leader Yossi Klein Halevi. The conversation touches on his personal experience of Meir Kahane and the early struggle for Soviet Jewry, the challenges of writing, the power of Jerusalem to evoke dreams and much more. Tune in for an inspiring episode treating the impact of 1967 on past, present and future. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story w...

For a few brief weeks, it looked like 1968 would be a revolution in America on par with 1967 in Israel. This episode explores the role of radical Jews in trying to push America toward the birth of a new society. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on patreon. For more information visit elmad.pardes.org/ravmike. Please let us know your comments and t...

At the Sixties progressed they became more intense. In particular, the tone of the civil rights movement shifted from integration to separation and from evolution to revolution. This episode will explore the impact of these shifts on the 'grand alliance' between Jews and African Americans. shedding light on both past and present. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike b...

1964 was the Freedom Summer in America, and it saw a wave of white, Jewish volunteers leaving the comfort of their suburban existence to fight the battle against racism in the rural south. This episode explores the suburban cultural vacuum which many of them were fleeing and asks whether they went South as Jews, human beings or both. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mi...

Kickstart your Torah routine with Pardes Daily! For the month of Elul, traditionally a time when Jews prepare for the upcoming new year, Pardes Daily will be offering three Rosh Hashanah themed daily learning tracks featuring beloved Pardes Faculty. After 10-20 minute podcasts a day, 5 days a week, for the four weeks of Elul you will complete one of the following areas of study: * Mishnah Rosh Has...

The 1960s were a revolutionary period in American history, and since the Jews were so deeply involved it is a turning point in the Jewish Story as well. This episode begins our slow march toward 1967 with a look at how the twin spirits of prophecy and pragmatism moved Jewish leadership during the Civil Rights movement. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supportin...

Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip was fifteen years ago, but to me it feels like yesterday. In this interlude, author Daniella Levy joins me to discuss the fiction work which she wrote to engage this complex event. Along the way we speak about Tisha B'Av, what it means to be an immigrant and how one can tell a true story from multiple perspectives. To get a copy of Daniella's book please...

In the first decade of the state, Prime Minister Ben Gurion was haunted by one thought - that a second holocaust could come at the hands of Israel's enemies. In order to stave off this fear he relentlessly pursued nuclear weapons. The question is whether this pushed destruction off or brought it closer? Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on patreon...

The Holocaust was so dark and vast that the Jews struggled to integrate it into their consciousness, despite the hundreds of thousands of survivors in their midst. One of the turning points in even addressing this issue was the capture and trial of Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Final Solution. He was taken and tried, but was it for justice, vengeance or education? Help continue making Jewis...

The memory of the Holocaust is dark and traumatic enough that it threatens to overwhelm even the light of the present. Here is the first part of an exploration of Holocaust memory in Israel's open decade, as seen through the lens of one of the darker stories of the early state - the Kastner affair. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on patreon. For...

From Rav Mike: I can't watch what is happening in silence, but nor am I willing to simply be a cheerleader for chaos. Here are some thoughts on structural violence and what can all learn from the murder of George Floyd. We are social creatures who inherit society from our ancestors and bequeath it to our children. A posture of pursuing justice makes sure that enough of the inevitable debts built-i...

Life offers so few opportunities to stop and reflect that we need to seize every chance. What better time to look back at the questions with which we began this season than in Israel's tenth year. Here is an episode which once again takes a look at questions which drive the three dimensions of the Jewish Story. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on...

The Sinai campaign was many things - a preemptive strike against Israel's enemies, the last gasp of colonialism in the Middle East and a complete failure of international law. This episode explores the 1956 war from all these angles. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on patreon. For more information visit elmad.pardes.org/ravmike. Please let us kn...

The clock is counting down toward the 1956 Sinai Campaign. Before we can tell that story the threads of the Cold War, infiltration and post-colonial politics have to come together. Help continue making Jewish history a relevant story with Rav Mike by supporting him on patreon. For more information visit elmad.pardes.org/ravmike. Please let us know your comments and thoughts about the podcast, writ...