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 Just a few days ago, one of the leading luminaries of Jewish Studies scholarship, David Biale , died at the age of 75. He was a 3-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, and a committed scholar-activist who devoted his life not only to intellectual pursuits – but also to justice. His work had a profound influence on the ways we understand Judaism Unbound, and in the wake of his passing, we wanted to re-release his appearance on our podcast that was initially released toward the end of 202...
Jul 30, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan and Lex conclude their series of episodes on disability and Judaism. They discuss the wisdom from these episodes, including strategies for imagining accessible Jewish futures, how to navigate a tradition that contains both harm and insight, and how we make choices about editorializing our tradition in order to speak to who Jews are in the present. This episode is the 8th and final episode in a series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring disability justice and Judaism. Access full shownotes ...
Jul 26, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tales of the Unbound is a new addition to the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts! Its first season follows the stories of Ari and Josh, two men pursuing Jewish conversion while incarcerated. Despite facing obstacles and judgments, they find belonging and community within Judaism. “Tales of the Unbound: Episode 2 – “Yes Way” explores the role of prison chaplaincy in cultivating a sense of belonging and Jewish connection among incarcerated people. This episode specifically follows Amy, the Jewish ...
Jul 19, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ari Saks recently completed an 11-year career as a full-time pulpit rabbi, and is currently focused on reaching out to interfaith families, primarily through his podcast called Interfaithing . He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about co-officiating interfaith weddings, how he thinks about presiding over meaningful marriage rituals, and the importance of celebrating interfaith families. Are you pining for a trans-generational community of Jewish learning and growth, spanning multiple time-zo...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rena Yehuda Newman (They/Them) is a Jewish, transgender writer, educator, independent publisher, and illustrator living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Rena Yehuda is also the new Director of the UnYeshiva Certificate Program . They join Lex on the podcast for a conversation about the UnYeshiva Certificate Program and how creative, collaborative learning environments can help us envision emergent Jewish futures. Are you pining for a trans-generational community of Jewish learning and growth, spanni...
Jul 05, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR . Her book, The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World , is a national bestseller, and her 2016 TED talk, “Reclaiming Religion,” has been viewed by more than 1.5 million people. Brous was named #1 on the Newsweek/The Daily Beast list of most influential Rabbis in America , and has been recognized by The Forward and Jerusalem Post as one of the fifty most influential Jews. She joins Dan and Lex for a conversat...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sharoni Sibony is a multi-talented Jewish educator, and the artist behind an exhibition entitled My Body’s Keeper: Provocations and Possibilities . Sibony joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Jewish ritual technologies, art, disability Torah, and more. This episode is the 7th in an ongoing series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring Disability Torah. 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...
Jun 21, 2024•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tales of the Unbound is a new addition to the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts! This new series follows the spiritual journeys of folks who leave one way of being for another, claiming agency as they embrace revolutionary Jewish innovation. They build circles of belonging and imagine new ways to engage with their emergent communities. With every awakening, others awake alongside. Tales of the Unbound's first season follows the stories of Ari and Josh, two men pursuing Jewish conversion while i...
Jun 14, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s almost time… for Shavuot! Dan, Lex, and Miriam come together for a conversation about what Shavuot will look like this year at Judaism Unbound. They explore the connections between Shavuot and conversion, renewing our commitment to Judaism through ritual, and how we can meaningfully experience Shavuot in new and ancient ways. Click HERE to register for ShavuotLIVE 2024, taking place June 8th-June 9th! Access full shownotes for this episode via this link . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound ...
Jun 07, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shai Held, one of the most influential Jewish thinkers and leaders in America, is president and dean of the Hadar Institute in New York City. Held received the prestigious Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education, and has been named multiple times to Newsweek’s list of the most influential rabbis in America and to the Forward's list of the most prominent Jews in the world. He is the author of Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence (2013) and The Heart of Torah: Essays on the ...
May 31, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elliot Kukla (he/they) is a rabbi, author, and activist. Elliot has worked at the intersection of justice and spiritual care to those who are ill, dying and bereaved since 2007. They are currently on the faculty of SVARA, where they also direct the Collective Loss Adaptation Project (CLAP) . Elliot joins Lex Rofeberg and Dan Libenson for a conversation about justice-based radical spiritual care, and what both the experience of chronic illness and the Jewish tradition offer our world as we conten...
May 24, 2024•49 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. ----------------------------------------...
May 21, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jess Belasco is the founder and director of The Disability Justice Torah Circle , a space in which Jews with disabilities can build community around Torah, engage Jewish text through a disability justice lens, and nurture and amplify their voices to impact the broader Jewish community. They join Lex Rofeberg and Dan Libenson for a conversation about what disability has to say about Torah and what Torah has to say about disability. There are some amazing mini-course offerings beginning next week ...
May 17, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chava Shapiro is the founder of the Jewish Zine Archive , an archival collection of Jewish zines and a digital Jewish cultural space. They join Lex Rofeberg and Dan Libenson for a conversation related to their upcoming UnYeshiva mini-course, Unraveling Jewish Zines: From Rashi to the Haggadah to Instagram , which will explore the intersection of Jewish identity, DIY ethos, and artistic innovation through the lens of zine culture. Learn more about (and register for) Chava Shapiro’s UnYeshiva 3-we...
May 10, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dalia Marx , an author, teacher, and activist who promotes liberal Judaism in Israel, is the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. Her book, From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar , uses a progressive approach to explore each Hebrew month and its holidays alongside art and literature. She joins Lex Rofeberg and Dan Libenson for a conversation about the Jewish calendar of the past, present, and future. Our newest round of UnYeshiv...
May 03, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Livia Thompson serves as the Executive Director of JBI (formerly Jewish Braille Institute): an organization enabling access to Jewish life through audio, braille, and large-print texts. She joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about JBI and its powerful work. This episode is the 4th in an ongoing series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring Disability Torah. There are some amazing mini-course offerings beginning at the end of April in the UnYeshiva. Check out these classes at www.judaismunbound....
Apr 26, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tzemah Yoreh is a rabbi, scholar, and liturgist who recently wrote a book entitled So Compassionate It Hurts: My Life as a Rabbi On the Spectrum . He joins Judaism Unbound for the third episode in an ongoing series exploring Disability Torah. There are some amazing mini-course offerings beginning at the end of April in the UnYeshiva. Check out these classes at www.judaismunbound.com/classes ! Access full shownotes for this episode via this link . If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound , please help ...
Apr 19, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hadar Cohen is an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic and artist. She teaches spirituality and Jewish mysticism at Malchut , a mystical school teaching direct experience of God, creates art focused on shifting societal narratives, such as Prostrations and The Selichot Project , and writes about Judaism through the lens of intersectional feminism, as seen in her Feminism All Night project. She joins Lex Rofeberg for a conversation conversation about her upcoming UnYeshiva class , which delves into the cu...
Apr 12, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
