Lex Rofeberg and Liana Wertman (from Judaism Unbound and The Torah Studio , respectively) continue with their third conversation of ApocryFest 2024-25: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized -- a 4-part mini-series of Judaism Unbound. In this episode, they explore a wild text entitled The Letter of Aristeas . You can sign up for ApocryFest 2024-25 by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest . Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experi...
Dec 29, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Queer Theology is the longest running podcast by and for LGBTQIA+ spiritual seekers. Its two co-hosts -- Brian G. Murphy and Shannon TL Kearns -- join Judaism Unbound for an episode exploring what it means to queer theology ("queer" as a verb!). If you love what you hear, head to www.judaismunbound.com/classes and register for their upcoming (in January 2025) mini-course in the UnYeshiva, entitled Queering Theology: A Crash Course in Reading the Bible Queerly (people of all genders, sexualities,...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Lex Rofeberg and Liana Wertman (from Judaism Unbound and The Torah Studio , respectively) continue with their second conversation of ApocryFest 2024-25: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized -- a 4-part mini-series of Judaism Unbound. In this episode, they explore a fascinating text called Joseph and Aseneth (and sometimes just Aseneth ). You can sign up for ApocryFest 2024-25 by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest . Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal stuff, during Hanuk...
Dec 25, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lex Rofeberg and Liana Wertman (from Judaism Unbound and The Torah Studio , respectively) kick off the 2024-25 edition of ApocryFest: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized -- a 4-part mini-series of Judaism Unbound. They open up big questions about what “Jewish canon” does and doesn’t mean, why those questions are worth discussing on Hanukkah in particular, and dive together into one of apocrypha’s wild, wonderful texts: The Book of Judith. You can sign up for ApocryFest 2024-25 by heading to www.Ju...
Dec 20, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Xava De Cordova is the co-founder of Shel Maala: a digital-first queer Yeshiva, and the co-host of Xai, How are You, one of our favorite fellow-podcasts in the Jewish podcasting universe. She is about to be teaching an amazing 3-week mini-course in the UnYeshiva, entitled Sabbatean Heresy: Shabbetai Tzvi and Permitting the Forbidden . We're thrilled to be offering a sneak-preview of the course by offering up this episode of Judaism Unbound featuring De Cordova, along with Michael Sokolovsky -- h...
Dec 16, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Leora Fridman is the author of Bound Up: On Kink, Power, and Belonging , and also serves as director of The New Jewish Culture Fellowship . She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring the intersection of Jewishness and kink — and the immense importance of art, to the future of Judaism. Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva! Explore Judeo-Futurism, Shabbetai Zvi, and more! Purchase Leora Fridman's book, Bound ...
Dec 13, 2024•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we’re bringing you an episode of our newest podcast, Tales of the Unbound! In its inaugural season Tales of the Unbound follows the Jewish journey of two incarcerated individuals, their chaplain, and the community they co-created in the most unlikely of places. In Tales of the Unbound Episode 6 , Miriam Terlinchamp reflects on her journey into the rabbinate, beginning with childhood memories and learning about holiness in unlikely places. She recalls pivotal moments that challenged he...
Dec 06, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rebecca Hornstein serves as executive director of Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice , but she is also a talented artist who creates ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts, often crafted to be beautiful art pieces), through a project called Rituals for Revolutionaries . She joins Dan and Lex for a conversation that covers ketubot, the power of Jewish ritual moments, and a magical Yiddish word that may be new to you: “veltlich” (“secular” or “worldly”). This episode is ...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Getzel Davis is the founder and executive director of Unorthodox Celebrations , a project launched to help folks find the right person to officiate at their weddings, bar/bat/b mitzvahs, baby namings, or other Jewish life cycle event. He joins Dan and Lex for the 4th conversation in an ongoing Judaism Unbound mini-series exploring Jewish weddings. Register for the next gathering of Shabbat Unbound on November 22nd via this link! If you're listening after 11/22, you can register for our December ...
Nov 22, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Heshvan is the month that comes after Tishri -- the month containing Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and multiple other Jewish holidays. It (Heshvan) is often framed as "a month with no Jewish holidays." The problem? It is not a month with no Jewish holidays! In this episode, Lex, Miriam, and Rena Yehuda ( members of Judaism Unbound's staff team ) dive into multiple Jewish holidays that have taken place in the past -- and continue to take place today -- during the month of Heshvan. They also ask some...
Nov 15, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Charlie Schwartz, co-founder and director of Lehrhaus: A Jewish Tavern & House of Learning , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Lehrhaus, Jewish "third spaces," and blurring the boundaries between Jewish learning and Jewish eating. Register for the next gathering of Shabbat Unbound on November 22nd via this link! Access full shownotes for this episode via this link . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -...
Nov 08, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mazal Tov, Congratulations, Mazaltations, and Congratul Tov to Miriam Terlinchamp!!! Judaism Unbound’s executive director is getting married the weekend of this episode’s release. Tune in to a conversation where Miriam, Dan, and Lex take this joyous occasion as a wonderful opportunity to dive deeper into how we might experiment creatively with Jewish weddings — and how doing so could help us experiment with Jewish ritual more broadly. Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our 8-week co...
Nov 01, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we’re bringing you an episode of our newest podcast, Tales of the Unbound! In its inaugural season Tales of the Unbound follows the Jewish journey of two incarcerated individuals, their chaplain, and the community they co-created in the most unlikely of places. In Tales of the Unbound Episode 5 , we reach the apex of the storyline, talking through all the details of the “big day” of conversion. Miriam recounts the challenges of facilitating a traditional Jewish conversion ritual for A...
Oct 25, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Sukkot! Chag Sameach! The 7-day-long festival of Sukkot is here, and Dan and Lex welcome Joseph Altshuler and Ethan Blake — both founders of local Sukkah festivals celebrating creative design and architecture — to explore what this festival can teach us. Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our upcoming 8-week courses in the UnYeshiva! Explore Jewish communities around the world, gender in Judaism, Maimonides's (Rambam's) theology, fierce women in Torah, and more! Access full sh...
Oct 18, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yom Kippur is here! For the past two years, Yom Kippur is often the single most popular day — all year — for folks to listen to Judaism Unbound. To those of you incorporating our podcast into your observance of this holiday, wishing you a beautiful and unbound Yom Kippur. In this episode, Rachel Cohen — policy correspondent for Vox Media — joins Dan and Lex for a conversation connecting Yom Kippur to an article (a VERY Jewish article) she wrote recently, entitled “ Why I Changed my Mind About Vo...
Oct 11, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Irwin Keller is the spiritual leader of Ner Shalom in Sonoma County, California, author of the new book Shechinah at the Art Institute , and — importantly for this conversation — one of the most thoughtful wedding officiants you’ll find anywhere. He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation exploring the ritual work that weddings do, along with a variety of perspectives regarding who they are for (who is the “client”). This episode is the 3rd in a Judaism Unbound mini-series exploring Jewish weddings...
Oct 04, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Keshira haLev Fife , a kohenet (Jewish priestess), ritual designer, community-weaver, and founder of Kesher Pittsburgh joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. How might we more effectively orient to the notion of teshuva (often translated “repentance” or “return”) over these 10 days? Could floating in kayaks have something to do with how we might re-invent these High Holidays? This episode is the third in a Judaism Unbound mini-series, helping listeners prepare f...
Sep 27, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash think not only about our entry into the new year (Rosh Hashanah) -- but toward the holiday of Yom Kippur that follows shortly afterward. This Elul bonus episode is the fourth and final bonus episode that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2024 (our 22nd-2...
Sep 24, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we’re bringing you an episode of our newest podcast, Tales of the Unbound! In its inaugural season Tales of the Unbound follows the Jewish journey of two incarcerated individuals, their chaplain, and the community they co-created in the most unlikely of places. Tales of the Unbound: Episode 4 - “Do Good Time” follows Ari’s spiritual journey of claiming Jewish identity. There’s an incentive process in prison sentences called meritorious time. We call it “Good Time." For Ari, Good Time ...
Sep 20, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this third bonus episode of Elul Unbound, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore what it means for the observance of Elul to be "God-optional." This Elul bonus episode is the third of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2024 (our 22nd-25th Elul episodes overall). Check out Elul Unbound by visiti...
Sep 17, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jericho Vincent , founder and rabbi of Temple of the Stranger — a mystical community based in Brooklyn, NY — is leading a ritual entitled The Unbinding of Isaac: a provocative, experimental, controversial, and immersive theatrical Rosh HaShanah experience . They join Dan and Lex for a conversation about this wild new ritual, and for a broader exploration of what it means to experiment with the treasures of Jewish tradition. This episode is the second in a Judaism Unbound mini-series, helping lis...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this second bonus episode of Elul Unbound, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash continue their exploration of the power of threes. This Elul bonus episode is the second of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2024 (our 22nd-25th Elul episodes overall). Check out Elul Unbound by visiting www.judaismunbo...
Sep 10, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Zvika Krieger , spiritual leader at Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley, California, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Together they ask and explore a variety of questions: who is the God of the High Holidays? When Jews and their loved ones gather to pray, are they praying to that God? Are they (we) doing something else? Should we chuck most of the liturgy out and re-focus ourselves in a different way? Should we retain the traditional prayers an...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this first bonus episode of Elul Unbound, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the power of the number three — and the fact that we are entering into the 3rd year of the seven-year Shmita cycle! This Elul bonus episode is the first of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2024 (our 22nd-25th Elu...
Sep 03, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Play Steinberg and Sue Reinhold join Dan and Lex for a conversation about Father. Mother. God. — a web-comic Steinberg is in the process of creating! They dive into topics ranging from conversion, to addiction and recovery, to the power of digital Jewish art. Check out Father. Mother. God. via this link! Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming mini-courses in the UnYeshiva (and our 12-week Judaism In-Bound class)! Explore the binding of Isaac, Kol Nidrei, Hasidism, and mo...
Aug 30, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast On June 20th, 2024, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion eliminated its ban on interfaith relationships for rabbinical students. This landmark decision comes on the heels of decades of many years of organizing and advocacy, and Judaism Unbound is thrilled to celebrate it! In this episode, Dan, Miriam, and Lex speak about what this shift means for Jewish leadership — and for Jewish life more broadly. They also name the ways in which the ban on intermarried (and inter-partnered) rab...
Aug 23, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode of Judaism Unbound is presented in partnership with Theatre Dybbuk . We are proud to feature their fourth season's fourth episode as a bonus episode here on Judaism Unbound's feed. In each episode, they bring poems, plays, and other creative texts from throughout history to life, all while revealing their relationships to issues still present today. Subscribe to The Dybbukast on Apple Podcasts , or anywhere else that podcasts are found. ------------------------ Presented in co...
Aug 21, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we’re bringing you an episode of our newest podcast, Tales of the Unbound! In its inaugural season Tales of the Unbound follows the Jewish journey of two incarcerated individuals, their chaplain, and the community they co-created in the most unlikely of places. Tales of the Unbound: Episode 3 — We go HAM follows Josh’s spiritual journey of claiming Jewish identity, finding healing through reconciliation, and what it means to lead from a place of faith. His joy in the face of adversity...
Aug 16, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Perplexed? About Judaism, and God, and life generally? Us too. Maimonides (also known as Rambam) wrote a book specifically for us called The Guide to the Perplexed , a bit more than 800 years ago, and it still has much to teach us today! Lenn E. Goodman , co-author of The Guide to the Perplexed: A New Translation (with Phillip I. Lieberman) joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Maimonides’s work, and how we might apply it in our own time. Purchase The Guide to the Perplexed: A New Translati...
Aug 09, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ollie Schwartz is the founder of Pushcart Judaica , which offers accessible Jewish ritual objects, books, zines, and art that reflect liberatory values, handcrafted beauty, and queer brilliance. Schwartz joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about the power of Jewish objects, reflections on why “people of the pushcart” might be as good a moniker as “people of the book,” and their dreams for the future of Judaica. Access full shownotes for this episode via this link . If you're enjoying Judaism Un...
Aug 02, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
