Dan and Lex close out Judaism Unbound's 4-episode mini-series on Jewish circumcision. They explore, in particular, the treatment by Jewish institutions of families, who have opted not to circumcise their children, and of those children themselves. 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! You can also buy Judaism Unbound merch (hoodies! stickers! mugs! so much more!) by headi...
Dec 24, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shaye Cohen , the Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, joins Dan and Lex for the 3rd conversation in a unit of episodes exploring Jewish circumcision. This discussion, on the history of Jewish circumcision, from the Hebrew Bible till today, builds on "A Canonical History of Jewish Circumcision," a chapter in Cohen's 2005 book Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised: Gender and Covenant in Judaism . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep thin...
Dec 17, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Max Buckler , Director of Strategic Initiatives for Bruchim , and Charlene Thrope , a member of its extended team, join Dan and Lex for a conversation that explores alternatives to circumcision as the primary way to welcome amab (assigned-male-at-birth) babies into the Jewish community. This episode is the second of two episodes featuring guests from Bruchim , a recently-launched organization that seeks to foster welcoming spaces for Jewish families who have opted out of the ritual of circumcisi...
Dec 10, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lisa Braver Moss , Rebecca Wald , and Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon are the founding members of B'ruchim's executive board. So what's B'ruchim? It's a recently-launched organization that seeks to foster welcoming spaces for Jewish families who have opted out of the ritual of circumcision. In this episode, the three co-founders join Dan and Lex for a conversation about why their organization exists, how opposition to circumcision can come from a deeply Jewish place, and what it might look like for Jewish ...
Dec 03, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Zack Bodner , CEO of The Oshman Family JCC and author of Why Do Jewish? A Manifesto for 21st Century Jewish Peoplehood , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about his book. They also explore together what makes West-Coast Judaism distinctive, along with whether the digital world is itself a new kind of geographic "coast." 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! You can als...
Nov 26, 2021•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jeremy Dauber , the author of American Comics: A History and Jewish Comedy: A Serious History , who serves as the Atran Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture at Columbia University, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about these two books. 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 19, 2021•1 hr 1 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 their second season's first episode 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...
Nov 15, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex celebrate the 3-century mark of podcast episodes. They consider the drastic growth of Jewish creativity and experimentation, all around the country and in the digital world, over the 6 years that Judaism Unbound has existed, and they ask what a recent New York Times magazine article can help us understand about the idea of "Jewish leadership." There are also, as a fun treat, some outdated references to the 2006 film "300!" If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep thin...
Nov 12, 2021•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Julie Weitz , a performance artist whose work "uses humor and ritual to propose ethically-grounded and intersectional reconsiderations of pressing contemporary issues," joins Dan and Lex for a conversation exploring the legend of the Golem -- and how it might be relevant to our observance of the Sh'mitah year (the once-every-7-year sabbatical year, marked via a recalibration of humans' relationship to the earth, and the remission of debts). If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us kee...
Nov 05, 2021•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Musician and songwriter Ezra Furman , whose albums include Twelve Nudes (2019) and Transangelic Exodus (2018), and whose work serves as the soundtrack to the Netflix series Sex Education , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about her spiritual journey, weaving the ancient with the new, breaking Judaism out of its "glass box," and more. Throughout, Furman speaks to the importance of creating a world in which every person is "inconveniently themselves," and Judaism, in parallel fashion, is "inco...
Oct 29, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ginna Green and Lynn Harris , co-hosts of A Bintel Brief -- another podcast in the ever-growing Jewish pod-o-sphere -- join Dan and Lex for a conversation about A Bintel Brief . In their discussion, they explore the evolution of A Bintel Brief from (over 100 years ago) a written advice column in Yiddish to an oral podcast, released via the internet. They also consider the value of one of the scariest words, in Jewish communities and in our broader society -- "should." If you're enjoying Judaism ...
Oct 22, 2021•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shaul Magid , the Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College and author of Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation exploring this new book, which opens up discussions around some of the most important Jewish issues of our time — pride (“identity”), survival (“continuity”), unity (disunity), power, and more. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or month...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Omri Harel and Gil Kidron, co-hosts of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions , join Dan and Lex for a conversation looking at the Bible as a literary text. They explore how its writing can provide hints about its authors -- and the time periods that they inhabited -- and they ask whether we might read the Bible differently from how it was taught to us when we were children. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Suppo...
Oct 08, 2021•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast LUNAR: The Jewish Asian Film Project , cultivates connection, belonging and visibility for Asian American Jews through authentic multimedia storytelling and intersectional community programming. Jenni Rudolph , LUNAR's Executive Creative Director, and Gen Xia Ye Slosberg , LUNAR's Executive Producer, join Dan and Lex to explore the origin and first season of LUNAR. They also offer a sneak preview of season 2, to be released on October 6th, 2021 (just a few days after this podcast episode's relea...
Oct 01, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ilana Kaufman is the Executive Director of the Jews Of Color Initiative , which recently commissioned a study entitled Beyond the Count: Perspectives and Lived Experiences of Jews of Color . Ari Y. Kelman was a member of the research team that conducted the study. The two of them join Dan and Lex for a conversation about this new study, and how we might apply its findings to American-Jewish life, now and in the future. Certain parts of this episode reference particular parts of the study, and it...
Sep 24, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex dive into a brand new Judaism Unbound initiative called The UnYeshiva . The UnYeshiva is a brand-new, digital-first, center for Jewish learning (and unlearning, hence the name Un Yeshiva!), offering a mixture of synchronous (in-real-time) and asynchronous (at your own pace) courses. Learn more at www.unyeshiva.com ! Learn more about Dan's first course, Leadership in a Time of Wandering , by clicking here . Learn more about Lex's course, called Jewish Discontinuity , by clicking here ...
Sep 17, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aimee Lucido , author of the brand-new book Recipe for Disaster , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about the book's themes of being "Jewish enough" -- even and especially when others suggest that you're not! They also touch on other topics featured in the book, including Jewish food, the Shmita year, and more. You can purchase Recipe for Disaster via this link! Also, Judaism Unbound will be holding a digital gathering to discuss the book, for those who read it. Sign up to discuss the book, a...
Sep 10, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nigel Savage , the founder and former CEO of Hazon: the Jewish Lab for Sustainability , joins Judaism Unbound on the eve of Rosh Hashanah (and the Shmita year that Rosh Hashanah commences), for an inside look at Shmita in the 21st century. They explore how the recent wave of Shmita observances (beginning in 2000 and partially spearheaded by Hazon) began, and how Shmita has evolved and grown over the past few decades. They also look forward to where Shmita could still go, now and in the future. I...
Sep 05, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast David Seidenberg , author of Kabbalah and Ecology: God's Image in the More-Than-Human World , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about why Shmita is the central commandment of the entire Torah. This episode is the fourth in a series of episodes about the Shmita year. The Shmita year is a once-every-seven-years occasion, first described in the Bible, and its next occurrence begins on Rosh Hashanah 2021 (September 6th, 2021). It calls for a radical recalibration of our society’s relationship to ...
Sep 03, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wendie and Lex are back for a special bonus episode, to think together about the holi-month of Elul, and the upcoming holi-year of Shmita (sabbatical year). In this conversation, they connect Shmita to the practice of land acknowledgement. This “mini-episode” is the second of two that have been released as part of Elul Unbound 2021 (our 13th and 14 Elul episodes overall). To listen to all of our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbound 2018, 2019, and 2020, click here . Join o...
Aug 30, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cindy Milstein , editor of There is Nothing so Whole as a Broken Heart: Mending the World as Jewish Anarchists , joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about what anarchism is, and why "Jewish Anarchism" isn't at all a contradiction. This episode is the third in a series of episodes about the Shmita year. The Shmita year is a once-every-seven-years occasion, first described in the Bible, and its next occurrence begins on Rosh Hashanah 2021 (September 6th, 2021). It calls for a radical recalibratio...
Aug 27, 2021•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eli Kaplan-Wildmann , a designer and artistic director who has worked extensively on designing spaces for television and theater, along with designing Jewish ritual objects, joins Dan and Lex on this episode of Judaism Unbound. Their conversation begins with an exploration of Kaplan-Wildmann’s new project ( Shmita Steps ), which is simultaneously a “cooperative strategy game about redistribution of wealth” and a ritual object meant to combine elements of the Passover Seder with the Biblical idea...
Aug 20, 2021•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Shmita year is a once-every-seven-years occasion. For an entire year, the land is given its own Shabbat -- a chance to rest. And it's not only humans' relationship to land that gets "reset." It is also a Biblical commandment for debts between human beings to be forgiven when the Shmita year rolls around. In this first episode devoted to the topic of Shmita (the next Shmita year begins on Rosh Hashanah, in less than a month!), Hannah Knibb Henza and Sarah Zell Young , from The Shmita Project ...
Aug 13, 2021•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast One year ago, Wendie Bernstein Lash and Lex Rofeberg released a bonus episode of this podcast entitled "Prepping for the Holi-Year." At that point, Sh'mitah, a once-every-seven-years opportunity to radically recalibrate our relationship to the planet, and to our society, was a year away. But now...it ain't a year away anymore! It's one month away. So it's time to really, truly gear up for this holi-year. Wendie and Lex are back, to game-plan together for what this year might mean -- on an indivi...
Aug 08, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex like books! Very much! So much that...they want to consider what American Judaism would look like, if contemporary Jews centered reading Jewish fiction to the same extent that we center other elements of Jewish experience, like synagogue attendance. They also explore what might be different, if we understood that the seemingly mundane Jewish literature of one era is, potentially, the Jewish sacred text (Torah) of the next. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep thin...
Aug 06, 2021•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex continue their deep-dive into the Pew Research Center's recently-released study on Jewish Americans. They also bring in another study of American Jews -- the Jewish Electorate Institute 's National Survey of Jewish Voters -- which garnered a number of headlines due to its findings around shifting approaches of American Jews to Israel-Palestine. There are a lot of numbers/percentages from studies thrown around in this episode! So that you’re able to soak them in most effectively, it m...
Jul 30, 2021•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tema Smith , Director of Professional Development for 18 Doors , joins Dan and Lex to discuss -- and re-frame -- the Pew Research Center's 2020 study of Jewish Americans. 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 ....
Jul 23, 2021•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Philip Graubart , author of Planet of the Jews and Women and God (and many other books ), joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about those two books. Each of them, in different ways, provides commentary on what it is to be an American Jew, and what Judaism could look like in various alternate universes. 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 ep...
Jul 16, 2021•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel Sharona Lewis , author of The Rabbi Who Prayed With Fire: a Rabbi Vivian Mystery , joins Dan and Lex to talk about her book, a mystery novel that doubles as a deep-dive into Jewish communal institutions, racial justice, queer representation, and more! 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 ....
Jul 09, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex reflect on recent conversations (7 of them!) that have intertwined explorations of Judaism, through lenses of transgender experience, and explorations of gender, through lenses of Jewish experience. They consider the myriad ways in which trans Jews are (and will continue to be!) on the front lines of efforts to pioneer sacred forms of Judaism for our time and the future, and they ask what those folks have to teach us about upending binaries more generally. If you're enjoying Judaism ...
Jul 02, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
