Since inaugurating this podcast, and focusing a long series on charedim and army service, one episode has conspicuously been missing: a full treatment of the halachic parameters of the notion of milchemes mitzvah, as well as an analysis commonly advanced ideals such as "Torah magneh u'matzleh" ("Torah study protects"). In this episode we remedy that void and address these issues that are vital to any Torah-centered Jew. To do so, we speak with Rabbi Dr. Yitzchak Lifshitz, a noted rav and rosh Ko...
May 08, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 20
Dr. Moshe Koppel is a leading computer scientist in Israel, with a specific expertise in AI. But over past twenty years he has led an intellectual movement promoting judicial reform within Israel. Through his Kohelet Policy Forum, Dr. Koppel researches alternatives to the entrenched judicial dynamics, and advocates for what he considers a more balanced and democratic approach, in line with other Western countries. Obviously, this topic has been at the center of stormy debates and protests in Isr...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 19
Tzili Schneider has created one of the most remarkable bridge-building educational operations in Israel, Kesher Yehudi . Ari Koretzky has previously interviewed Tzili on his other show, Jews You Should Know . Relevant to the Iyun Podcast, however, we focus in this episode on Tzili’s recent efforts with hostage families and NOVA survivors; she has engaged each of these populations with Shabbatonim and other outreach methods, resulting in a significant Jewish awakening fostering deep bonds of mutu...
Mar 02, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 18
The charedi communities of the United State and Israel are separated physically by an ocean, but culturally and psychologically by a great deal as well. Many Americans lack basic awareness of current developments on the ground in Israel, the actual attitudes towards army service and general integration being promulgated there. The resulting gap leads to widespread misconceptions, and inhibits Anglos from forming fully informed positions. InStep Together is a new grassroots initiative aimed at re...
Feb 03, 2025•53 min•Ep. 17
Tuvia Tenenbom is quite a colorful character. An author, playwright, mathematician, computer scientist, and all-around polymath, Tuvia was raised in a chareidi Israeli home, in the lap of the Chazon Ish, Rav Shach and other great luminaries. His own life veered on a different course, but he recently returned to those ideological precincts, spending a year in Mea She’arim, Jerusalem, fully immersed in the local community. The product of his embedded travels is the book, “Careful, Beauties Ahead: ...
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 16
Why are we here? What’s it all about? Obviously, Judaism has quite a bit to say about this topic. In fact, it may be its entire animating essence! Still, as expressed in contemporary living, even those who identify as strictly Torah-observant may respond divergently to this most-important question. On this episode, Tzvi Goldstein will argue that the Chareidi mindset on “the purpose of life” is orientated towards a Next-World (Olam Ha’Ba) perspective, built on a mystical approach popularized by R...
Nov 21, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 15
Jonathan Rosenblum is a long-time columnist, pundit and observer of the Orthodox/chareidi communities in Israel and worldwide. He joins us on this episode to explore the unique role and purpose of chareidi media. His wonderful new volume, “Ordinary Greatness,” a compilation of many columns, and more, is available for purchase wherever great Jewish books are sold. Mentioned in this episode: https://herutcenter.org.il/arthur-laffer/#ticket https://herutcenter.org.il/arthur-laffer/#ticket https://h...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 14
Rabbi Moshe Taragin is a long-time Ram at Yeshivat Har Etzion (“The Gush”), as well as a popular speaker and author on a wide variety of Torah topics. A student of Rav Aharon Lichsteinstein, zt”l and Rav Yehuda Amital, zt”l, R’ Taragin absorbed their weltanschauung over many years. In this episode, we ask him to sketch out, for the uninitiated, the “Dati Leumi” community in which he lives and teaches. Many people beyond this large and vibrant society may be unaware of the variegated options ther...
Sep 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 13
In his role as founding director of the Haredi Institute of Public Affairs (HIPA) , Eli Paley is well positioned to evaluate the chareidi relationship to Israeli society. As Iyun founder Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer has written , the most vital factor in the entire chareidi conscription conundrum may just be whether, or to what degree, chareidim see themselves as “Israeli.” In this wide-ranging conversation about chareidi identity, we tackle these questions and aim to decipher the trends at play in cu...
Aug 26, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 12
One of the under-appreciated concerns - sometimes articulated, often unconscious - held by Chareidim with respect to army service, is the concept of “chain of command.” For a young man whose guiding force in life is G-d, the Torah and rabbinnic authority, submission to faceless officers high up the IDF’s ladder can seem sacrilegious. This is compounded when considering possible halachic matters of life and death: who is authorizing actions that place soldiers’, and others’, lives at risk? Are th...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 11
“Daas Torah.” These two words are among the most loaded in modern hashkafic - and political - discourse. But what, in fact, does it mean, and how might it apply to the current crisis over chareidi conscription, whatever one’s view of the matter? It would be presumptuous to attempt to treat the topic of Daas Torah comprehensively on one episode of a conversational podcast. One is referred to Lawrence Kaplan’s classic article on the matter, and many other sources, for this more holistic treatment....
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 10
On May 26th, 2024, the Iyun Institute co-presented a special symposium with The Israel Law and Liberty Forum, titled "Chareidim, the Draft & the Law: Where Do We Go Now?" The panel, moderated by ILLF Executive Director Mrs. Aylana Meisel-Diament, also featured Iyun's own Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, as well as Prof. Ron Shapira (Bar Ilan University) and Prof. Barak Medina (Hebrew University). As a part of our ongoing series on Chareidim and the Army, we present this symposium, lightly edited, for...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 9
Rabbi Eliyahu Chait , the youngest child of famed rabbi, author and singer-songwriter Rabbi Baruch Chait, is making a mark of his own. An IDF alumnus of Netzach, R' Eliyahu recognized a need for a post-army framework servicing young men from chareidi backgrounds with serious Torah learning and options for "re-entry" into civilian life. Kochot, his nascent organization, is offering authentic Torah-based experiences to those who have sacrificed for the People of Israel, as they chart a course for ...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 8
On this episode, two wonderful, "regular" yungermen - each a talmid chochom of stature who has thought and written considerably about this subject - join us for an "Oxford-Style Debate" (sans the audience). Today's proposition: "The time has arrived for many more chareidim to begin to draft to the army." R' Chaim Goldberg is an educator, clinical psychologist and author. Jewish Press Article: https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/the-idf-a-torah-true-calling/2024/04/12/ Substack ("View Fr...
Jun 16, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 7
Rabbi Aviad Goldwicht is a business professional and Torah teacher who also serves as a rabbinic chaplain in the Israel Defense Forces. Since October 7th he has been servicing soldiers and engaging in extremely taxing and holy work. Mentioned in this episode: https://herutcenter.org.il/arthur-laffer/#ticket https://herutcenter.org.il/arthur-laffer/#ticket https://herutcenter.org.il/arthur-laffer/#ticket https://herutcenter.org.il/arthur-laffer/#ticket...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 6
Rabbi Karmi Gross, son of legendary Miami day school founder Rabbi Alexander (Sender) Gross, is a pioneering educator and Jewish leader. A founding rebbe at Yeshivat Maarava, then a principal at day schools in Vancouver, Detroit, and Los Angeles, he finally returned to Israel to found the first Chareidi Hesder yeshiva: Derech Chaim. On Episode 5 of The Iyun Podcast - and Pt. 4 of our mini-series on Chareidim and Army Service - we speak with Rabbi Gross about his background, and this groundbreaki...
May 19, 2024•52 min•Ep. 5
Chareidim & the Army (Pt. 3): What is Nachal Chareidi/Netzach? In Episode 4 of the Iyun Podcast - and Pt. 3 of our mini-series on Chareidim and Army Service - we begin exploring various frameworks that currently exist to absorb those chareidim seeking to draft into military service. We begin with what is known as Nachal Chareidi, or Netzach Yehuda (now Netzach). These two are often conflated, although actually they are related but not identical institutions. We speak with CEO Yossi Levi abou...
May 01, 2024•52 min•Ep. 4
In Episode 3 of the Iyun Podcast - and Pt. 2 of our mini-series on Chareidim and Army Service - we interrogate the "moral claim" leveled by Israeli society, broadly writ, against those Jewish brothers who elect not to serve in the IDF. With Moshe's rhetorical repudiation of, "Shall your brothers go to war and you will stay back?" (Bamidbar 32:6) as a backdrop, we evaluate whether this intuitive, viscerally powerful contention is dispositive on this vital topic. Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer has written...
Apr 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 3
EPISODE SUMMARY This episode of the Iyun Podcast begins our discussion of the complex relationship between Chareidi society and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Featuring insights from Iyun Institute founder Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer and guest Rabbi Yosef Chaim Simchon, the conversation explores the historical, moral, and societal aspects of Charedi participation in the army. From Rabbi Simchon's personal journey and transformational experiences in the IDF to the nuanced objections within the Chare...
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 2
EPISODE SUMMARY On this pilot episode of the Iyun Podcast, we begin our in-depth exploration into Chareidi society, focusing on its integration into modern Israeli society and the implications for the Jewish community at large. Featuring Iyun Institute founder and director Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, we delve into the various factions within Chareidi society, including Litvish, Hasidic, and Sephardi groups, and explore the balance between traditionalism and modernity. Our episode also highlights the...
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 1
