Aimee Lucido and Sofiya Pasternack , award-winning authors of novels geared toward students in middle grades, join Dan and Lex for a conversation about Jewish fiction. They explore some of the gaps in the ecosystem of Jewish literature and envision what it would look like to fill some of those gaps -- through their own work, but also through work done by other authors. Aimee Lucido is the author of Emmy In the Key of Code , a semifinalist for the UK's Carnegie Medal (comparable to the American N...
Apr 23, 2021•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex close out a mini-series of conversations about Torah (and the Bible more generally) by claiming that Torah isn't just those books from a few thousand years ago. It's not even just those books, plus the oral conversations written down centuries later. We -- our experiences and our intuitions -- are also part of the term "Torah." 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 ...
Apr 16, 2021•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Xava De Cordova and Michael Sokolovsky , co-hosts of Xai, How Are You? (a fellow podcast in the Jewish pod-o-sphere), join Dan and Lex for a crossover episode, airing simultaneously as an episode of Judaism Unbound and an episode of Xai, How are You! The four of them talk about what the Talmud is, who Shabbetai Zevi is, what Xai How are You is, and -- for the first time in Judaism Unbound's history -- how Dan and Lex are doing. Perhaps most importantly, they dwell on the figure of Shabbetai Zevi...
Apr 09, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tzemah Yoreh , author of Why Abraham Murdered Isaac: The First Stories of the Bible Revealed and leader of The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism , joins Dan and Lex to talk about what Yoreh terms "the original bible." Find out how some of the stories, like the binding of Isaac, may not have always looked the way they do today, and why that matters for those who are interested in the stories of the Bible! If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time...
Apr 02, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Liana Wertman joins Dan and Lex to discuss her work as the founder of The Torah Studio , a new (and fully-digital) center for Torah study that encourages people to take ownership of traditional Jewish texts. 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 ....
Mar 26, 2021•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Baruch Halpern , the Covenant Foundation Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Biblical history and Biblical archaeology. They explore how those two realms relate to one another (get it? "DIGGING" up Biblical History!), along with what these ancient texts and discoveries have to do with us today. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism U...
Mar 19, 2021•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex, in celebrating 5 years since Judaism Unbound launched its podcast, reflect on some of the core ideas they've explored in that time -- and they add on some new thoughts, drawing on a framework of "low-voltage" and "high-voltage" forms of Jewish experience. 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 ....
Mar 12, 2021•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shawn Lichaa is a Karaite. "What's that," you ask? Very valid question! Karaites are a group of Jews whose traditions, and interpretations, are built around the Bible alone -- not the Talmud or any other piece of what Rabbanites (rabbinic Jews) call "the oral Torah." Lichaa, founder of The Karaite Press and A Blue Thread: A Jewish Blog with a Thread of Karaite Throughout , joins Dan and Lex to explore Karaite Jews' relationship to the Bible, and ways in which their approaches differ from rabbini...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Anna Solomon , author of The Book of V -- a contemporary novel that is crafted in relationship to the Biblical book of Esther -- joins Dan and Lex to discuss her work, along with and ways in which her contemporary novel could influence readers' experience of the holiday of Purim. 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 ....
Feb 25, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Abraham Riesman , author of True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee , joins Dan and Lex to explore two meanings of the phrase "Marvel's Torah" (this episode's title). First, "the Torah of Marvel" -- what can be learned from the Marvel comics universe when approached through a Jewish lens? And second, "Marvel is Torah" -- the idea that the structure of Marvel's universe, in and of itself, represents a kind of modern-day Bible. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things g...
Feb 19, 2021•56 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 episode four of their podcast as a bonus episode here on Judaism Unbound's channel. 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 in Apple Podcasts , or ...
Feb 14, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast So there's the Torah. 5 books of Moses. But what happens right afterward? Rachel Havrelock , Associate Professor of English and Jewish Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago, joins Dan and Lex to talk about the book that comes right after the Torah -- Joshua. Full of violent conquest, it's not a book that's easy for contemporary readers. But what can we learn when we look at it closely? If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-de...
Feb 12, 2021•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ron Hendel , the Norma and Sam Dabby Professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, joins Dan and Lex to open up a mini-series of conversations (to be released in the coming weeks) on the Hebrew Bible. How old is the Bible? What "genre(s)" is it? Is it best understood as one big book or a bunch of smaller books? Why does any of this matter? These are questions asked and explored (but not necessarily answered!) in this podcast. If you're enjoying Judaism U...
Feb 05, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast The mittens. The vibe. You saw it, we saw it, everybody saw it -- everywhere, Bernie memes. Dan and Lex weave together a conversation about those memes, Jewish philanthropy, Jewish identity, and Torah (which is, as our title suggests, the genre within which "Bernie memes" is properly classified). 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, ...
Jan 29, 2021•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex round out their mini-series of episodes on Jewish philanthropy. They ask questions about the possibility of new communal structures of philanthropic giving, explore monthly-gifts as a form of Jewish practice, and argue against the idea that Jews should allocate the majority of their giving to Jewish-specific organizations. 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!...
Jan 22, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Joanna Ware and Nadav David , Director and Steering Committee member, respectively, of Jewish Liberation Fund (JLF), join Dan and Lex for a conversation about organizing money on the Jewish left. They ask identify gaps in our Jewish philanthropic systems (especially around Jews of Color and Israel-Palestine), and they advocate for shifts to some conventional philanthropic practices that could yield a brighter, more liberated future. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things...
Jan 15, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amy Schilit Benarroch , co-founder of Righteous Crowd , a micro-giving platform that engages the Jewish community in support of small non-profit organizations, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about how financial giving can be a collective process, along with how it can be a weekly (not just yearly!) spiritual practice. 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 clickin...
Jan 08, 2021•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Liz Fisher is the CEO of Amplifier , an organization devoted to "igniting, strengthening, and informing giving to transform and grow philanthropy." She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about giving circles, and in particular what potential they have to contribute (pun intended!) to important shifts in Jewish philanthropy. 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 click...
Jan 01, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 
