The Jewish Story

By 1942 there was no escape from Europe for the Jews, and even if they had managed to run - who would take them in. This second episode on the Holocaust explores the message of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and finally brings American Jewry into the picture of the Jewish Story.

There are things which need to be spoken about no matter how hard, and questions which need to be asked no matter how unanswerable. This is the first of two episodes which engage the how and why of the Holocaust.… Read the rest The post The Jewish Story Season 2, Episode 34: Heart of Darkness first appeared on Elmad Online Learning. Continue reading The Jewish Story Season 2, Episode 34: Heart of...

There is no word for independence in Biblical Hebrew, and the roots of the modern word can teach us much. This might right be called the day when we celebrate 'self-actualization,' but that leaves poses the question - how do we actually become a great nation in our land?

The 1930's saw the hate triangle of Arabs, British and Jews explode into an unprecedented scale of violence known as the Arab Revolt. The revolt brought on yet another cycle of repression and political concessions, and it split the Jews of the Yishuv over the question of whether restraint or retaliation was the proper response to Arab violence. Meanwhile, as violence spirals in the land of Israel,...

In the 1930's the ideological divides between the Revisionist and Labor Zionists grew, and cracks began to appear within the community of the Yishuv. Meanwhile, pressure on European Jewry was increasing with the rise of Nazi Germany. When you put these two processes together, the potential is nothing short of explosive.

It is time to move away from the divisive question of who is a Jew to ask something more essential - what is a Jew? The first half of this episode offers Rav Mike's thoughts on the subject. The second half is a conversation on the same with R' Aaron Leibowitz, social activist and head of the Chuppot initiative offering marriage to Israelis outside of the aegis of the state rabbinate.

Though the land of Israel is the hinge around which the Jewish Story turns, there are many Jews whose future does not lie in Zion. This episode widens the scope of our story to consider the life of Jews in the interwar period, and how they contributed to the nature of Jewishness outside of the Zionist dream.

Patterns are hard things to break, and how they come about can teach us much about ourselves. Here is a look at the cycle of riots which rocked the Yishuv in the 1920’s, and set the mold for Arab/Jewish relations … Read the rest The post The Jewish Story Season 2 Episode 30: Stories of Blood and Fire first appeared on Elmad Online Learning. Continue reading The Jewish Story Season 2 Episode 30: St...

Each successive wave of immigrants that came up to the land brought with them their blessings, and their challenges. As the population grew, so did the nature of power politics. In the 1920's two leaders emerged whose opposing visions define many of the political conflicts in our State today. Here is an episode on David Ben Gurion and Zeev Jabotinsky.

The return of the Jewish people to the tools of political and military power were bound up with their return to the land of Israel. This episode explores the rise of the military model within the Zionist movement, and the power of the martyrdom of Joseph Trumpeldor as an inspiration for further struggle.

World War One brought massive destruction and great change to the world. When the smoke cleared from this great conflagration, the British Empire was left in control of the land of Israel. These seemed to be good news for the Jews, except that Her Majesty's government had promised this piece of Ottoman territory to three different parties.

The world is starting to shake with the rumbles of the coming world war. The destruction which is to come will sweep away much of the old, and open new horizons for the budding Zionist project. But the pioneers must be willing to fight for the land which they long to redeem.

There are times in history which define us even now, and in Israel the Second Aliyah is second to none in that respect. This episode tells of the chalutzim, the idealistic pioneers who came up to the land to build the world, one goat at a time.

The end of the 19th century was a time of dramatic ideological struggle - cosmopolitanism vs. nationalism, socialism vs. capitalism. And early Zionist thought shows such incredible diversity that every element of society, Jewish and non, can be found there. Here is one more stream to explore - the religion of labor.

Did you ever wonder how the Jews when from being the martyrs of Europe to the military power of the Middle East in less than fifty years? This episode exposes the roots of the extraordinary transformation of the physical culture of Am Yisrael in Max Nordau's vision of a muscular Judaism.

At the First Zionist Congress, Herzl awakened the Jews of Europe to their national political life. But Asher Zvi Ginsberg, better known as Ahad Ha'am, tried to teach them that the soul of the people needs to be revived before they seek their national home. The battle between them will become a fundamental split in Zionism whose influence remains until today.

Return to the land of Israel had been a dream for almost 2000 years, and in the late 19th century it began to become a reality. But it took one man to transform the notion of a national rebirth from a subconscious desire to an international issue. Here is a presentation of the early life of Theodore Herzl.

This podcast has been sponsored by Bryna and Joshua Landes and family. The Jewish problem was pressing in the second half of the 19th century, and it took the form of antisemitism. When faced with such a problem, it is not surprising that many leaders took a problem-solving approach to the future of Am Yisrael. But what if our goal is not to solve the problem, but rather fulfill the Jewish mission...

It's time to talk about nationalism. Here is a presentation of the underpinnings of nationalist thought along with a look at what is happening in the Pale of Settlement. And the episode ends with a ground breaking work that emerges from the intersection of the two. Deepen your relationship with Israel as a People and take a journey through the most remarkable, majestic and dramatic history of any...

The struggle between the parochial and the cosmopolitan is a defining tension of the 19th century for Europe as a whole and the Jews in particular. In this episode we will update our understanding of hasidut as it battles with the Galician Haskalah, meet the figure of the radical socialist Jew in the person of Moses Hess, and ask the question whether to be a national or international Jew. Deepen y...

The remarkable persistence of Am Yisrael as an ethnic entity, despite the best efforts of emancipation, is what poses the Jewish Question to European society. And while Europe is asking what to do with the Jews, the Jews will be asking what we do with ourselves, In both cases it will be the power of a scientific approach to historical research which seems to offer the answer. Deepen your relations...

As the Emperor of France spreads the ideals of the revolution through Europe, the question arises - is emancipation a right, a privilege or a threat? Every action had an equal and opposite reaction, and this episode will outline the origins of both the Reform and Orthodox movements. Deepen your relationship with Israel as a People and take a journey through the most remarkable, majestic and dramat...

One of the most complex expressions of sovereignty comes through the relationship between religion and state. Listen in to this interview with Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz, social activist fighting to bring a more healthy and redemptive face to that relationship. Deepen your relationship with Israel as a People and take a journey through the most remarkable, majestic and dramatic history of any people in...

Mendelssohn's story continues, but one man does not a movement make. The Berlin Haskalah was a whole generation of transition, one which struggled with the boundaries of Torah, society and identity. And one which saw some of the first battle lines of modernity being drawn. Deepen your relationship with Israel as a People and take a journey through the most remarkable, majestic and dramatic history...

Moses Mendelssohn was a critical philosopher of the German Enlightenment and the most controversial figure of the Jewish Enlightenment. Whether you think that he was a light to his generation or a a boundary breaker who led many to sin, his life story deserves to be heard. Deepen your relationship with Israel as a People and take a journey through the most remarkable, majestic and dramatic history...