New Voices Magazine , a Jewish and justice-focused magazine by and for Jews ages 18-24, recently published an investigation -- written by Julia Hegele -- entitled "How Jewish Summer Camps Are Damaging LGBTQ+ Youth." The investigation, which you can read here , shines a light on the experiences of LGBTQ+ campers -- now LGBTQ+ camp alumni -- who have for decades faced exclusion, emotional conflict, pressure, and trauma at their Jewish summer camps. It includes voices from a wide range of Jewish ca...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 4 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 eighth 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 ,...
Jun 13, 2022•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Allison Silverman is an Executive Producer for the Netflix series Russian Doll . She joins Dan and Lex for a conversation that covers a ton of ground: the many and intersecting Jewish layers of the show, a behind-the-scenes look at how a series like this is created, and even whether TV shows like Russian Doll could be a potential source for new Jewish rituals and practices. If you're a Netflix subscriber, you can view Russian Doll for yourself by clicking here! To access full shownotes for this ...
Jun 10, 2022•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kendell Pinkney is a theatre-artist, creative producer, and rabbi. He serves as the Artistic Director of The Workshop , a newly launched arts and culture fellowship for professional JOCISM (Jews of Color, Indigenous Jews, Sephardi, and Mizrahi) artists. Pinkney joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring big-picture questions of Jewish art, along with specific questions about The Workshop in particular. To access full shownotes for this episode, click here . If you're enjoyi...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Liora Ostroff and Naomi Rose Weintraub are the curator-in-residence and artist-in-residence, respectively, for The Jewish Museum of Maryland (JMM). They explore, in conversation with Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg, a recent exhibition that they helped to install at JMM, entitled A Fence Around the Torah: Safety and Unsafety in Jewish Life . We encourage to explore the exhibition yourself, before you listen to this episode, or as you listen to it, via AFenceAroundTheTorah.com . To access full show...
May 27, 2022•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Tobolowsky , author of a new book entitled The Myth of the Twelve Tribes of Israel , joins Dan and Lex to talk about what the Twelve Tribes of Israel myth is, and why it matters. They explore the ways in which groups have mobilized it -- all around the world -- for a few thousand years, and how that conversation across the millennia can help us better understand how people (and communities) continually construct and reinvent their identities. To access shownotes for this episode, click he...
May 20, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Marques Hollie is a Philadelphia-based theatre artist, ritual leader, operatically-trained vocalist, and -- most importantly for this episode -- an ordained Maggid! What's a Maggid, you ask? That's a great question. It's so great that we devoted much of this episode to exploring it! Listen in to learn what a Maggid has been in the past, what it is today, and what it could become in the future. Marques Hollie is one of our teachers in The UnYeshiva , Judaism Unbound's digital center for Jewish le...
May 13, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Stephen Daniel Arnoff , author of a new book entitled About Man & God & Law: The Spiritual Wisdom of Bob Dylan (and host of a similarly-titled podcast ), joins Dan and Lex for a conversation that's a little bit about Bob Dylan -- but largely about his influence on others, including American Jews. Between Passover and Shavuot, Judaism Unbound is offering several different 3-week "mini-courses" that you can take through the UnYeshiva -- our digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning. Learn ...
May 06, 2022•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast In recent days, it has become clear that the future of reproductive justice in the United States is at risk. With the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned, many organizations are speaking out publicly, to ensure continued access to safe abortions around the country. Among Jewish organizations, the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) has been a leader in this regard. Two years ago, two of NCJW's leaders -- Sheila Katz and Danya Ruttenberg -- joined Dan and Lex in a conversation that ex...
May 04, 2022•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Deborah Newbrun , co-founder of SVARA's Queer Talmud Camp , and the beloved former-director of Camp Tawonga , is launching a new initiative, entitled Divorce and Discovery: A Jewish Healing Retreat . She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to discuss her vision for the first-ever Jewish retreat that will be crafted, specifically, to provide participants the chance to heal from divorce. The inaugural Divorce and Discovery retreat will take place October 27-30, 2022, and you can learn more about i...
Apr 29, 2022•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan Libenson talks to Gil Kidron , of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions , about the podcast’s first season. They explore Gil’s ideas of who might have been responsible for writing some of Genesis's, most prominent stories -- and for putting the final edit together. In doing so, they ask what political and spiritual interests the book of Genesis might have served, before it was combined with the rest of the books into what we now know as the Torah. The second season of A Podcast of Biblical Propo...
Apr 27, 2022•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Natan Margalit is the founder and president of an organization called Organic Torah. He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about his new book, entitled The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom, Ecological Thinking, and Healing in a Fragmented World . This conversation is the latest in a recurring Judaism Unbound series, where once a month we have been exploring Shmita (the year of release) with a wide variety of different thinkers, activists, and artists. To access shownotes for t...
Apr 22, 2022•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex have a PSA: Passover, in the bible, is two holidays! Not one. You've been conned! Or...ya know...Jewish history is interesting and one of the holidays in a sense "swallowed" the other over time. But also, maybe you've been CONNED. ( See this article, by Michael Satlow, for a more in-depth explanation ). In any event, Dan and Lex are curious what we might create, if we conceived of the holiday(s) of Passover and Chag HaMatzot ("Matzah Festival") as potentially two different things (as...
Apr 15, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg schmooze in the 6th episode in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the past, what Jewish food is today, what it could be in the future, and who decides. In this conversation, they hone in specifically on what the distinctions are between "Jewish Eating" and "Kosher Eating," and why those distinctions are important to consider. To access shownotes for this episode, click here . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things...
Apr 08, 2022•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Arthur Waskow , a visionary Jewish activist and teacher, joins Judaism Unbound for a special mid-week bonus episode. In it, Waskow reflects on two key pieces of his life's work: the creation of The Freedom Seder , over 50 years ago, and his founding of The Exodus Alliance this year. The Exodus Alliance is a multifaith campaign to heal earth & humankind from carbon pharaohs and their climate plagues, and you can learn more about it at www.exodusalliance.org . For another Judaism Unbound episode f...
Apr 05, 2022•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Exodus Alliance is a group of multifaith organizations, faith leaders, and everyday people taking action for climate justice. On Passover, they plan to organize Passover street seders in front of Chase banks all across the country -- the world’s largest investor in fossil fuels -- to challenge the financial underpinnings of this "Carbon Pharaoh." Nate DeGroot , national organizer for The Shalom Center , and Madeline Canfield , organizing coordinator for the Jewish Youth Climate Movement , re...
Apr 01, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus , professor of religion at Wheaton College Massachusetts, is the author of Gastronomic Judaism as Culinary Midrash . He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about what that book's title argues. In other words, how is Jewish food, and how are Jewish eating practices, "midrash" -- forms of interpretation that play with, and expand, the bounds of Jewish tradition? This episode is the 5th in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the ...
Mar 25, 2022•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rob Nipe and Nora Rubel , the team behind Grass Fed -- Rochester, New York's vegan and kosher butcher shop -- join Dan and Lex for a conversation about what makes something count as "really" meat, and how that relates to Jewish eating. This episode is the 4th in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the past, what Jewish food is today, what it could be in the future, and who decides. To access shownotes for this episode, click here . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , ...
Mar 18, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sara Eifler , Program Director for Jewish Veg , joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the spiritual practice that is....eating! Together they look at some ancient Jewish texts, some contemporary Jewish rituals, and play around with some puns. Jewish Veg is an organization that inspires and assists Jews to embrace plant-based diets, as an expression of Jewish values. This episode is the 3rd in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the past, what Jew...
Mar 11, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nir Levy , Atlanta Field Manager for OneTable (an organization that empowers folks to find, share, and enjoy Shabbat dinners), and Annie Prusky , OneTable's Manager of Development and Research, join Dan and Lex for a conversation about one of the most beloved Jewish rituals: Shabbat dinner. You can learn more about OneTable, and sign up to either host or attend a Shabbat dinner near you, at OneTable.org . This episode is the 2nd in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in t...
Mar 04, 2022•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elaine Goodfriend , a lecturer at California State University, Northridge, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about one of her specialties -- food in the Hebrew Bible. This episode is the 1st in an ongoing mini-series, exploring what Jewish food has been in the past, what Jewish food is today, what it could be in the future, and who decides. To access shownotes for this episode, click here . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a one-time...
Feb 25, 2022•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Harry Freedman , author of Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius , The Murderous History of Bible Translations , and a variety of other books with equally-sensational titles, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation that explores Leonard Cohen's contributions to Judaism -- and potentially to Judaisms of the future. They also connect Cohen's musical creations to other Jewish figures, including Louis Jacobs and Miriam Anzovin (if you're thinking "is she the one from Tiktok" -- ...
Feb 18, 2022•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast The UnYeshiva -- Judaism Unbound's digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- is launching its spring 2022 semester! In this episode, you get to sit in on the very first "Faculty Meeting" (we promise, it's not as boring as most meetings), and hear about the four courses that will be offered this semester. You can also hear about the grander vision of the UnYeshiva, from all four of its current teachers -- Dan and Lex (co-hosts of this podcast), along with Tova Birnbaum and Keshira haLe...
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr 6 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 fourth 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 Podcast...
Feb 10, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lisa Grafstein , creator of the Shmita Debt Release Campaign -- through the organization RIP Medical Debt -- joins Dan and Lex to talk about debt relief, its centrality to the Biblical Shmita year (year of release), disability justice, and how all of those topics tie to her campaign for public office in North Carolina. The Shmita Debt Release Campaign has already raised over 5,300 dollars this year, which will help to forgive 530,000 dollars (!!!!!!) of medical debt. Contribute toward this campa...
Feb 04, 2022•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Asher Edes and Alexander Grace Vickery , co-founders of Shmita Hives , join Dan and Lex for a conversation about their initiative to bring groups of people (hives) together, to build their collective relationship to Shmita -- the year of release. Shmita is a year-long observance, marked every seven years and initially derived from the Torah, during which land is given the chance to rest, and debts are remitted. If you are interested in starting up your own Shmita Hive, it's not too late! Just fi...
Jan 28, 2022•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex have spoken lately, on Judaism Unbound, with the hosts of a bunch of other podcasts -- podcasts that are not Judaism Unbound. They've asked about the structure of those podcasts, the vision behind them, and the goals they seek to achieve. But what haven't they done? Actually said how they, themselves, would answer those questions for Judaism Unbound. Today, they do just that, and offer a look behind the proverbial curtain of Judaism Unbound. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , pleas...
Jan 21, 2022•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Leon Wiener Dow is the host of Pod Drash , a Jewish podcast that talks about podcasts. In this episode of Judaism Unbound, he, Dan, and Lex, talk about Pod Drash. Ergo, this is a podcast talking about a podcast that talks about podcasts. If you like podcasts, therefore, you will like this episode -- three times over! Learn more about Pod Drash by heading to PodDrash.org , and subscribe to PodDrash in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever else you find your podcasts. If you're enjoying Judaism U...
Jan 14, 2022•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Joshua Malina (yes, THAT Joshua Malina) and Shira Stutman (yes, THAT Shira Stutman) join Dan and Lex for a conversation about their (Joshua and Shira's) entry into the Jewish podcast ecosystem, through their brand new podcast, called Chutzpod! Learn more about Chutzpod! by heading to Chutzpod.com , and subscribe to Chutzpod in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Podcast & Radio Addict , or wherever else you find your podcasts. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help us keep things going with a o...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shani Mink and SJ Seldin are the co-founders of Jewish Farmer Network -- a grassroots organization of over 2000 farmers, which mobilizes Jewish agricultural wisdom to build a more just and regenerative food system for all. They join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the Shmita year (year of release), and about how Jews today can combat the pervasive, incorrect idea of "Isn't Jewish farmer an oxymoron?" Jewish Farmer Network's 2022 conference, entitled "Cultivating Culture: A...
Dec 31, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
