Danielle Durchslag is an artist and filmmaker whose work frequently looks at questions of Jewish identity and wealth. A great-granddaughter of Nathan Cummings (founder of the Nathan Cummings Foundation ), she joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about "the Jewish 1%" -- but also about what they together come to term "the Jewish 25%." If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! ...
Dec 25, 2020•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jay Ruderman and Shira Ruderman , the president and executive director, respectively, of the Ruderman Family Foundation , join Dan and Lex for a conversation about Jewish philanthropy, inclusion of people with disabilities, and the work they've done combining the two. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! To access shownotes for this episode, click here ....
Dec 18, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aaron Dorfman , President of Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation exploring what Jewish philanthropy has been, is, and could be. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! To access shownotes for this episode, click here ....
Dec 11, 2020•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mara Benjamin , Chair of Jewish Studies at Mount Holyoke College, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about her book The Obligated Self: Maternal Subjectivity and Jewish Thought . They look through a Jewish lens at questions of obligation, choice, and (wait for it...) BOUNDedness -- along with how those questions intersect with the topic of motherhood. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Supp...
Dec 04, 2020•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jake Marmer is the author of a new poetry collection, entitled Cosmic Diaspora , and its corresponding album, entitled "Purple Tentacles of Thought and Desire." He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation exploring the intersection of art and Judaism (the conversation also includes excerpts of Marmer's poems and music!). If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! To access shownot...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel Mikva , the Rabbi Herman E. Schaalman Chair of Jewish Studies, and Senior Faculty Fellow of the InterReligious Institute, at Chicago Theological Seminary , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation that dives into her book Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam , recently published by Beacon Press . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donat...
Nov 20, 2020•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode of Judaism Unbound is presented in partnership with Theatre Dybbuk . Once a month, their podcast -- called The Dybbukast -- releases a new episode, and we are proud to feature this first episode of their podcast as a bonus episode here on Judaism Unbound's channel. In each episode, they bring novels, mythological narratives, poems, plays, and lyrics from throughout history to life, all while revealing their relationships to issues still present today. Subscribe to The Dybbukas...
Nov 16, 2020•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast There was a pretty big election recently! Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg ask what this presidential election can help to illuminate about Judaism, America, and how today's American Jews might relate to the two. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! To access shownotes for this episode, click here ....
Nov 13, 2020•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg open up what might be a strange question -- but we promise it's an interesting one! What happens if we understand Judaism as a medium of art, like paint, such that it can be deployed (painted with) in all sorts of creative ways? How would this differ from an image of Judaism (get it??) where we conceive of it as an already-completed painting, which we wouldn't be able to change, now that it's completed? If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things...
Nov 06, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Keshira HaLev Fife , the Oreget Kehillah (Weaver of Community/Executive Director) for Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation reflecting on the word "priestess" as both a noun and as a verb. They ask who priestesses are, what priestessing is, and why even priestesses themselves benefit from being priestessed. With respect to all of these questions, they explore how they tie to the Jewish past, present, and future. This episode is the seventh in...
Oct 30, 2020•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yael Kanarek , an Israeli-American artist, has spent the past few years rewriting the entire Torah -- in Hebrew and English -- by changing the genders of all characters (and animals, and more). In this episode she speaks with Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg about her project, called Toratah (Her Torah) , and what it might mean for the future of Jewish text and Jewish practice. This episode is the sixth in a series of episodes exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of America's Jewish ...
Oct 23, 2020•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lila Corwin Berman , director of the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History and author of the book The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex: The History of a Multibillion Dollar Institution , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about American Jewish philanthropy's history. They also explore ways in which that history opens up expansive questions about issues ranging from the Holocaust, to Israel, to sexism, and key terms in Jewish life like "continuity" and "identity." ...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sheila Katz and Danya Ruttenberg , CEO and Scholar-in-Residence of the National Council of Jewish Women , join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the history and legacy of their organization, along with the work that they're continuing to do today to build a more just, more liberated world. This episode is the fifth in a series of episodes exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of America's Jewish women. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep th...
Oct 09, 2020•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yehuda Kurtzer and Claire Sufrin , co-authors of the book The New Jewish Canon: Ideas & Debates 1980-2015 , join Dan and Lex for a conversation about what a contemporary Jewish canon even is, how they went about deciding the pieces that made it in, and how those questions connect to other Jewish textual canons, past, present, and (potentially) future. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound ...
Oct 02, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sarah Waxman , founder of an organization called At The Well , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about Rosh Chodesh (the Jewish practice of marking a new month). They explore the history of Rosh Chodesh, its relationship to women's spirituality, and At The Well's "Well Circles," which empower women to share this sacred monthly celebration in community with one another. This episode is the fourth in a series of episodes exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of A...
Sep 25, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bovo-Buch: Chivalric Romance, Cultural Collision is a four-episode podcast series produced by theatre dybbuk , presented in collaboration with Judaism Unbound. Bovo-Buch is Elia Levita's 16th century Yiddish adaptation of the popular Italian chivalric romance Bovo d’Antona. The book was extremely popular among Jewish communities of the time, and is an example of the cultural convergence that occurs when a narrative is adapted into a new context. Our three episode podcast is a combination of scho...
Sep 23, 2020•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bovo-Buch: Chivalric Romance, Cultural Collision is a four-episode podcast series produced by theatre dybbuk , presented in collaboration with Judaism Unbound. Bovo-Buch is Elia Levita's 16th century Yiddish adaptation of the popular Italian chivalric romance Bovo d’Antona. The book was extremely popular among Jewish communities of the time, and is an example of the cultural convergence that occurs when a narrative is adapted into a new context. Our three episode podcast is a combination of scho...
Sep 22, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bovo-Buch: Chivalric Romance, Cultural Collision is a four-episode podcast series produced by theatre dybbuk , presented in collaboration with Judaism Unbound. Bovo-Buch is Elia Levita's 16th century Yiddish adaptation of the popular Italian chivalric romance Bovo d’Antona. The book was extremely popular among Jewish communities of the time, and is an example of the cultural convergence that occurs when a narrative is adapted into a new context. Our three episode podcast is a combination of scho...
Sep 21, 2020•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aaron Henne and Erith Jaffe-Berg join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to kick-off a 4-part bonus series of Judaism Unbound, in partnership with Theatre Dybbuk, exploring and experiencing Bovo Buch, a 16th-century chivalric romance, written in Yiddish (yes, you read that right!). The remaining three episodes in this series will be released on consecutive days: September 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. Learn more about Theatre Dybbuk by heading to www.TheatreDybbuk.org. To access shownotes for this episode, c...
Sep 20, 2020•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jill Hammer and Taya Shere , co-founders of Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute , join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the old, the new, and the ways in which Kohenet's work blurs the line between the two. This episode is the third in a series of episodes exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of America's Jewish women. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbou...
Sep 18, 2020•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rosh Hashanah 2020/5781, as this episode is released, is less than a week away. But Wendie Bernstein Lash, Lex Rofeberg, and Estee Solomon Gray are ready to talk about Rosh Hashanah 2021/5782 already. Why? Well, next year's Rosh Hashanah will kick off a year-long observance called Shmitah (the Sabbatical year). And they think that if a year-long observance is really going to be meaningful, you gotta prep for it! In this bonus episode, they brainstorm what this coming year could look like, as an ...
Sep 13, 2020•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aaron Koller , author of Unbinding Isaac: The Significance of the Akedah for Jewish Thought , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to dive deep into the story of the binding of Isaac in historical context and as it is utilized today. Check out The Akedah Project , which features over 30 different perspectives on the Binding of Isaac (“ akedah ” means “binding” in Hebrew), in video form, at AkedahProject.com . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or...
Sep 11, 2020•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast The month of Elul, and the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are most often associated with personal forms of introspection and self-improvement. But how can we immerse ourselves not only in "I" work, but also "We" work? How can Elul be a time for introspection on a communal and societal level, and not just within each individual? In this bonus podcast, Wendie Bernstein Lash, Lex Rofeberg, and Dan Libenson explore those questions. This “mini-episode” is the 3rd of four that will be relea...
Sep 06, 2020•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Judith Rosenbaum , CEO of the Jewish Women's Archive (JWA), joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring how, when you center the lives and narratives of Jewish women, the story of what Judaism has been fundamentally changes. This episode is the second in a series of episode exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of America's Jewish women. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Sup...
Sep 04, 2020•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast What if, this whole time, we've been carving out these realms called "sacred" and "profane," but in reality, the mundane, everyday stuff of our lives could also potentially be holy? Wendie Bernstein Lash and Lex Rofeberg talk it out, and connect the conversation to the holi-month of Elul. If you're curious why this episode is marked "EXPLICIT," well, you'll just have to listen! This “mini-episode” is the 2nd of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2020 . To listen to our first four...
Aug 30, 2020•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pamela Nadell , author of America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to kick off a series exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of America's Jewish women. America's Jewish Women was the recipient of 2019's National Jewish Book Award for Book of the Year. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! To acce...
Aug 28, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Lash launch 2020’s edition of the “holi-month” known as Elul, which serves as an on-ramp into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, by asking a simple (but not simple at all) question: Why is this Elul different from all other Eluls? This “mini-episode” is the 1st of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2020 . To listen to our first four Elul bonus episodes, released in 2018, click here . For the next four, released in 2019, click here. Experience the journey of Elu...
Aug 23, 2020•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex look back on recent conversations, featuring organizations created by and for Jews of Color. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! To access shownotes for this episode, click here ....
Aug 21, 2020•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eric Goldstein , author of The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring the history of American Jews and their relationship to whiteness. Their conversation looks at the ever-evolving relationship between particularism and universalism for American Jews, contemporary discourse around white Jews and Jews of Color, and more. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthl...
Aug 14, 2020•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Audrey Sasson , Executive Director of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation looking back on the origins of her organization, looking out at the present moment our society is facing, and looking forward, toward the Jewish (and global) future. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! To access shownotes for this episode, c...
Aug 07, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
