This week, Uri and Rivky discuss a recent Tablet article: “Secular Synagogues Take Root in Israel.” (Thanks to astute Tach-head Adi for the tip!) As the article documented, there is a recent rise of non-observant Israelis looking for deeper spiritual connection to Judaism, and they're finding it in new ways, like through secular synagogues. But is a secular synagogue an oxymoron? Is this movement inspiring, or sacrilegious, or both? And could/should such a movement exist here in the United State...
Jan 14, 2020•31 min
This week, Uri and Rivky speak about the recent march against antisemitism, where over 10,000 marched from Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn to protest the recent antisemitic incidents. Many have mentioned the less-then-huge participation of Hasidic and Haredi groups. Uri and Rivky ask, when is it appropriate to focus on, or let go of, different factions within a larger community? How do we foster love, community, and unity when some groups reject others? See more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01...
Jan 09, 2020•29 min
This week, instead of hearing from Uri and Rivky, we hear from you: the Tach-Heads! You spoke about who you tend to agree with, the issues from this past year that you thought were the most important, the things you want us to discuss in the future, and the people you want us to interview.
Jan 02, 2020•19 min
In the last few weeks, antisemitism has been back in the news. (Did it ever leave?) President Trump released his executive order on combating antisemitism, and, in that same week, Jews were gunned down in a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, an unprecedented act that shook many of us to our core. Uri and Rivky ask, what about the executive order was so controversial? And, what happened in Jersey City? Is there a larger meaning to it all? And, ultimately, is there any connection we can draw bet...
Dec 26, 2019•38 min
This week, Uri and Rivky spoke with Gary Rosenblatt. Before retiring several months ago, Gary had been the Editor In Chief at the Jewish Week for almost thirty years, and he now serves as Editor At Large. They spoke about the responsibilities of journalism, what “Jewish” journalism looks like, and how to filter bias and respond to criticism when reporting on your own community. Gary also reflects on the most important stories he wrote, and didn’t write, over his career in journalism. Between the...
Dec 18, 2019•38 min
This week Rivky and Uri discuss a recent article written by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, entitled "The First Modern Orthodox Jew: Two Models." Rabbi Pruzansky contrasts Avraham and Lot, and uses them as models for two ways Orthodox Jews can approach the secular world, specifically the world of secular college. Rivky and Uri ask, does this article accurately depict the MO world? Too harsh? Not harsh enough? And what do we think in general about this type of approach to Jewish life? Links: Rabbi Pruzan...
Dec 04, 2019•37 min
This week, Uri and Rivky welcome writer and activist Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll, who believes that the attempt to erase women from Judaism is a scourge Orthodoxy must take seriously. Uri, Rivky, and Shoshanna discuss activism and feminism, and ask, is this really as big a deal as people think? How can you be frum and feminist? And what are the fundamental goals for this movement?
Nov 27, 2019•57 min
Last month, The New Yorker published a piece entitled, “Astrology in the Age of Uncertainty,” in which the writer asked, what’s with all these educated millennials who see no contradiction between using astrology and believing in science? Uri and Rivky speak to some of those same millennials, and ask, what’s the deal? Why do we seem to find astrology so compelling? What do Jewish sources tell us about astrology? And, is it real, and does that matter? Links: New Yorker Article https://www.newyork...
Nov 20, 2019•55 min
What are the defining issues for the American Jewish community to tackle in the 21st century? To speak to this, Uri and Rivky speak to Dr. Elana Stein Hain, Scholar in Residence at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, and leading Orthodox thinker and speaker. They also get into lots of the most relevant questions of our day, including: is Zionism is essential to being a religious Jew? How should we handle religious text that make us cringe? And, why we don’t speak about God when we spe...
Nov 15, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Though the majority of Jews in America see themselves as left-leaning, the majority of Orthodox Jews lean more to the right. This week, Uri and Rivky spoke to Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and Dean of the Tikvah Summer Institute at Yale University. We ask Rabbi Gottlieb: What is Tikvah? What is Jewish conservatism? We also discuss some challenges facing modern Jewish education, as well as the lessons that Jews can learn from other religious groups, such as Christians an...
Nov 06, 2019•1 hr 5 min
It’s been one year since the shooting at Tree of Life, in which a right-wing gunman entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and killed 11 people, and injured 6 more. At the one year anniversary, Uri and Rivky analyze the articles and think pieces published about American antisemitism - particularly Bari Weiss, Zack Beauchamp, and Deborah Lipstadt. They ask, how has the American Jewish community changed since Tree of Life? What is a more “important” focus - left-wing antise...
Oct 29, 2019•44 min
This week, Uri and Rivky start by talking about Yom Kippur in Israel, as well as the recent controversy regarding the NBA and China. Then they dive into their main topic: a recent letter released by the Chicago Rabbinical Council (CRC), addressing the upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana in the state of Illinois. The letter strongly states that recreational marijuana violates halacha and is forbidden. Uri and Rivky discuss the relevance of this statement, as well as some very interest...
Oct 13, 2019•43 min
On the first episode of 5780, Rivky and Uri start by going over some feedback from last week's episode. Then in the spirit of Yom Kippur and the 10 Days of Repentance, they talk about what makes a good apology, they play some clips of great thinkers discussing the topic, and they analyze some famous apologies (and non-apologies) from this past year. Links: Paul McCartney on Colbert https://youtu.be/475Yc5YlqAU?t=440 Atone Phone Colbert http://www.cc.com/video-clips/liknzb/the-colbert-report-aton...
Oct 07, 2019•40 min
This week, Uri and Rivky first break down some of the recent feedback from the YU March episode - and Uri offers an Elul apology. They they dive into today's topic, a recent article published by Rabbi Gil Student - "Is 929 Kosher?" 929 is the Tanach equivalent of Daf Yomi, in which people study a daily chapter of Tanach. Alongside the actual text study, the website both offer interpretations and commentaries from modern thinkers - both Orthodox and non-Orthodox. In Rabbi Student's essay, he argu...
Sep 24, 2019•40 min
This week, Uri and Rivky begin with feedback about the Rabbi Linzer interview and surmise that everyone's biggest shock was how traditional Rabbi Linzer is. (Some like that, and some hate that, go figure.) They then dive into the main topic for this week’s episode, Yeshiva University and the student march for LGBTQ representation, and the follow-up, the #PledgeNotToPledge campaign. They ask, how homophobic is YU? (What is homophobia, anyway?) If you strip down the five “goals” the organizers are...
Sep 17, 2019•58 min
This week, Uri and Rivky speak with Rabbi Dov Linzer, the President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and a leader in the liberal Orthodox world. We’ve discussed Rabbi Linzer and YCT on the show many times, but sitting down with him is a whole other story! After discussing a little bit about his background, we dove into some important topics, such as: should biblical criticism be a part of Orthodox education? [What is out of bounds? Are there bounds?] What about Zionism, and a love ...
Sep 11, 2019•1 hr 27 min
This week Uri and Rivky start off by getting a little deeper into the Jewish dual loyalty conversation. Should American Jews who serve in the IDF feel weird telling non-Jewish Americans about their army service? They also look at some historical examples of groups of Americans who's loyalty was questioned. Then they dive into the main topic: What do we think about the death penalty? Is there ever a reason to use it? More specifically, should the perpetrator of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life shootin...
Sep 05, 2019•36 min
This week, Uri and Rivky first touch on the new HBO series "Our Boys." Don't worry, no spoilers, but watch along with us! Next, our topic at hand: as Jewish Americans, many of us feel a connection to Israel. But how does that relate to Jewish dual loyalty? Is it real? If America and Israel came into conflict, would we pick a stand? Where? And, are other groups and religions accused of dual loyalty in the same way that Jews are? Related links: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-d...
Aug 28, 2019•31 min
Uri and Rivky spent the past week attempting to stay away from Tlaib, Omar, Bibi, and Trump. They were soooo close, but...no cigar. In this week's ep, they first review the extensive feedback re: last week's episode, about women and the daf yomi videos. Then they talk a little about Tlaib and Omar's cancelled trip to Israel, and a lot about Trump's charge of "disloyal" Jewish American Democrats and ask - is this just a dumpster fire? Is there anything we can get out of this? Music for the ep: ht...
Aug 22, 2019•32 min
In a few months, we will be celebrating the completion of the Daf Yomi, a seven-and-a-half-year cycle of learning the entirety of the 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud. Last time, the largest gathering for the celebration took place at MetLife Stadium in NJ, where a sellout crowd of 90,000+ came to listen to speeches, sing, dance, and celebrate this huge milestone. This week, Uri and Rivky discuss a few videos that have been created and promoted by Agudat Israel, the organization that creates...
Aug 06, 2019•32 min
This week, Uri and Rivky discuss David Frum’s piece in the Atlantic, “What If They’re Not Coming for the Jews This Time? Trump poses a new test for the American Jewish community.” Frum asks, what if Trump and his world are actually pro-Jewish and pro-Israel? What does that mean for us? As Frum puts it, “Jews generally believe ourselves to be bound by an ethical code of tolerance and decency larger than our own parochial interests. Trump seems intent on putting that belief to the test. Will we me...
Aug 01, 2019•28 min
On this phantastic episode, Uri and Rivky talk to Phish aficionado Jonny Miller about the unique phenomenon that is the band Phish, and their fans, affectionally called Phishheads. Why does Phish have such a large and passionate following - particularly among the Jewish community? [Don't worry - you don't need to be a Phishhead for this episode to be fun. Just ask Rivky, who is, as of yet, unconvinced.] PSA: Our conversation went a little longer than usual, so we decided to release the episode i...
Jul 25, 2019•1 hr 10 min
On this phantastic episode, Uri and Rivky talk to Phish aficionado Jonny Miller about the unique phenomenon that is the band Phish, and their fans, affectionally called Phishheads. Why does Phish have such a large and passionate following - particularly among the Jewish community? [Don't worry - you don't need to be a Phishhead for this episode to be fun. Just ask Rivky, who is, as of yet, unconvinced.] PSA: Our conversation went a little longer than usual, so we decided to release the episode i...
Jul 25, 2019•32 min
Last week, the Jewish Press, a weekly newspaper geared towards modern-right Orthodox Jews, published an opinion piece entitled “The Pride Parade - What Are They Proud Of?” The Jewish Press’s Editor in Chief, Elliot Resnick, shared the article on Facebook with the caption “Sin, or the unusual predilection to commit a certain sin, is nothing to be proud of." Over the following few days, a heated conversation ensued in the comments section of that post, and it was also shared by a number of people ...
Jul 16, 2019•31 min
U-S-A! U-S-A! Talking Tachlis wishes a huge mazal tov to the US Women's National Soccer Team! They then dive into this week's topic: patriotism and our military. On July 4th, President Trump gave a much anticipated and controversial address at the Lincoln Memorial that focused on American patriotism and pride, mostly centering around the armed forces and US military victories. And this week, Fivethirtyeight profiled “The Guy Who Wants To Bring Back The Draft.” Chris, a 40 year old white man from...
Jul 09, 2019•31 min
We're baaaack! This week, Uri and Rivky review the many emotional reactions to last week's concentration camp conversation. They then excitedly cheer on the US Women's Soccer Team - Uri just can't get enough of #sports! And lastly, they dive into the recent essay by Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold about her decision to shift her title from Maharat Rachel to Rabba Rachel. Uri and Rivky ask, what do titles mean, exactly? And has there been a shift in our community, in regards to women's rabbinic leader...
Jul 03, 2019•28 min
Rivky and Uri are back in New York and they dive right into some of this week's hot topics. First they talk about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's heartfelt pajama-clad Instagram Live video where she compares the terrible conditions in migrant detention facilities on the US-Mexico border to concentration camps. The Tach Team asks if this comparison is accurate, and even if it isn't, is criticizing AOC more important than criticizing the conditions in these camps? Then, they talk about the latest colle...
Jun 25, 2019•31 min
Rivky and Uri were both in Israel last week, and they got to visit their favorite Israeli podcast- The Promised Podcast! Listen to the shout out they get from their podcasting idol, Noah Efron https://tlv1.fm/full-show/promised-podcast/2019/06/13/the-labor-savers-edition/ Since the Talking Tachlis crew were in Israel, they decided to hit the streets of Jerusalem and find out what real Israelis of all stripes think about America's president. What they hear may surprise you... Music: Hanan Ben Ari...
Jun 18, 2019•28 min
Welcome to our first virtual episode! This week, Uri and Rivky record from different studios - Rivky in the classic Drive In Productions spot, in NYC, and Uri from the satellite studio in Jerusalem. Uri begins by sharing some observations about his trip - such as, why do so many young, generally progressive, Israeli Jews love Trump? They then dive into this week's topic - Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, and its flag dance/march/parade. Uri and Rivky work through some complicated feelings about ...
Jun 04, 2019•30 min
[Disclaimer: while there are no spoilers in the description, there will be spoilers in the episode itself!!] This week, we all finally watched the series finale of Game of Thrones, HBO's hugely popular epic fantasy TV series, based on George RR Martin's series of novels, "A Song of Ice and Fire." Uri and Rivky talk about their experiences of the show and ask, is it weird that, as religious people, we are so casually and publicly invested in a show filled with graphic violence, graphic sex, and g...
May 21, 2019•42 min
