Judaism Unbound (Institute for the Next Jewish Future)

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).

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Who determines what "counts" as genuine Judaism today? Those who serve in official leadership capacities of the Jewish world, or can ordinary Jews (the "folk") determine for themselves what what forms of Jewish life are "authentic" and what Judaism fundamentally "is"? In this episode, Dan and Lex wrestle with this basic question while looking back on a fascinating series of conversations with guests over the past few weeks.

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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.

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Wendie Bernstein Lash and Lex Rofeberg continue their conversation about Elul, the final month of the Jewish year -- which serves as an "on-ramp" into the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They explore what the sports terminology of "home field advantage" has to do with Judaism, extend previous conversations about space and time, and consider the impact of blasting a Shofar in public.

This “mini-episode” is the third and final episode, of three, that are being released as part of Elul Unbound 2022 (our 15th-17th Elul episodes overall). To listen to all of our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past four years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2022, by signing up at this link, and sign up for our first Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering (September 2nd), where we will be exploring Elul in real time with friends, by clicking here.

Jessica Tamar Deutsch is an artist whose work explores the connections between ancient Jewish tradition and contemporary creative culture and expression. Her newest visual story, Rebbe Nachman’s The Lost Princess, will be released in February and is available for pre-order through Ayin Press. In this episode, Deutsch joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about Hasidism, the creative process, and art’s potential to open up Jewish text. 

Check out our upcoming full semester classes in the UnYeshiva by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/classes!

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Richard Elliott Friedman, scholar of the Hebrew Bible and author of the best-selling work Who Wrote the Bible?, joins Dan and Lex to discuss his newest book, The Exodus. He argues that the story of the Exodus outlined in the Torah represents a real historical event, experienced not by the whole Israelite nation writ large, but by a particular segment of it -- the Levites.

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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.

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Lex Rofeberg and Liana Wertman (from Judaism Unbound and The Torah Studio, respectively) continue with their third conversation of ApocryFest 2024-25: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized -- a 4-part mini-series of Judaism Unbound. In this episode, they explore a wild text entitled The Letter of Aristeas.

You can sign up for ApocryFest 2024-25 by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

For all of our episodes from past years' ApocryFests, click here.

Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva! Explore Judeo-Futurism, Shabbetai Zvi, and more!

Marie Kondo isn’t Jewish. But Dan and Lex think her ideas are relevant to the Jewish future. In this conversation, they tell you why!

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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."

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Asya Vaisman Schulman and Sebastian Schulman join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to talk about each of their individual relationships to Yiddish language and culture, along with their collective relationship to Yiddish that is embodied through their nuclear family. This episode is the third in a series of episodes produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding.

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!

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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 they initially were in the Bible). How might this help us find meaning in the latter days of the holiday(s), which do not contain a seder or organized ritual? 

 To access shownotes for this episode, click here. 

Between Passover and Shavuot, we are offering several different 3-week "mini-courses" that you can take through the UnYeshiva -- our digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning. Learn more about these mini-courses, and/or register for them, by clicking here!

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 heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/store.

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-zones, featuring a rich diversity of Jewish backgrounds and experiences? Apply to be part of our Certificate Program in Unbound Judaism. Learn more at www.judaismunbound.com/certificate. The deadline to submit your application for cohort 2 of this program is July 15th, 2024.

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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 haLev Fife!

Learn more about the UnYeshiva by heading to www.unyeshiva.com, and register for our spring 2022 "UnYeshiva Sneak Preview" (live in Zoom, featuring all four teachers) by clicking here.

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Shai Held, the President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at Hadar, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about God, love, and the ways in which the two are indelibly connected.

Do you want to play a role in shaping Judaism Unbound's future? You can! Fill out this brief survey, in which you can provide feedback about our work thus far, along with your vision of what we could create moving forward. Head to bit.ly/JUFeedback now!

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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 Podcasts, or anywhere else that podcasts are found.

In this episode, presented in collaboration with The Mervis Chair, Borns Jewish Studies Program, Indiana University Bloomington, the Dybbukast explores a series of letters which document a moment in the late 1860s when opposing viewpoints caused a split in the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas.

Dr. Laura Leibman, Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College shares about the history of Jews in the Caribbean, and Dr. Judah Cohen, the Lou and Sybil Mervis Professor in the Study of Jewish Culture and Professor of Musicology and Jewish Studies at Indiana University, discusses Jewish life on St. Thomas, the circumstances surrounding the split, and the ways in which this story relates to the complexities of communal identity.

David Biale is the Emanuel Ringelblum Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Jewish History at the University of California, Davis and the the award-winning author/co-author of seven books on Jewish history. He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about counterculture, secularism, and reaching for our roots, all in the context of understanding the Jewish past and present.

New 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva begin soon! Learn more about them by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/classes!

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. 

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Natalie Ginsberg and Madison Margolin, two co-founders of the Jewish Psychedelic Summit, join Dan and Lex to discuss their upcoming event, taking place on May 2nd-3rd. Register for the Jewish Psychedelic Summit here!

The third co-founder of the summit, Zac Kamenetz, is himself a past guest on Judaism Unbound (listen to his episode here). Learn more about the Jewish Psychedelic Summit by heading to www.JewishPsychedelicSummit.org. 

For full shownotes on this bonus episode, click here.

Sandy Fox, American Jewish historian and host of Vaybertaytsh, a “feminist podcast for the Yiddish-speaking and the Yiddish-curious,” joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation that weaves together the topics of Yiddish, podcasting, summer camp, gender, and much more. (Fox is also known among Yiddish-speakers as סאָסיע־פֿריידל).

This episode is the fourth in a series of episodes produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding. 

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 full shownotes for this episode, click here.

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 2023, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore ways in which spirals might connect to the month of Elul, and the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

This Elul bonus episode is the third of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2023 (our 18th-21st Elul episodes overall). For a 3-session Elul mini-course, which helps you take your Elul observance to the next level, you can register for Elul: Your On-Ramp Into Rosh Hashanah -- which is being taught by Wendie Bernstein Lash, longtime facilitator of Elul Unbound! 

To check out our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past five years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2023, by signing up at this link, and sign up for our third Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering (Friday, September 8th), where we will be exploring Elul in real time with friends, by clicking here.

Xava De Cordova is the co-founder of Shel Maala: a digital-first queer Yeshiva, and the co-host of Xai, How are You, one of our favorite fellow-podcasts in the Jewish podcasting universe. She is about to be teaching an amazing 3-week mini-course in the UnYeshiva, entitled Sabbatean Heresy: Shabbetai Tzvi and Permitting the Forbidden. We're thrilled to be offering a sneak-preview of the course by offering up this episode of Judaism Unbound featuring De Cordova, along with Michael Sokolovsky -- her co-host of Xai, How are You.

Sign up for the UnYeshiva mini-course Sabbatean Heresy: Shabbetai Tzvi and Permitting the Forbidden here! 

Financial aid for the mini-course is available via this link, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

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 individual level and a collective level.

This “mini-episode” is the first of two that are being 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 our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2021, our month-long preparation for the "holi-year" that is Shmitah (the holi-year), by signing up at this link. Sign up for our first weekly Zoom gathering, where we will be exploring Elul and Sh'mitah in real time, with friends, by clicking here.

To get a sense of the Israel conversation from the point of view of a congregational rabbi, Dan and Lex are joined by Sharon Kleinbaum, Spiritual Leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), in New York City. In their conversation, they discuss topics including the varied and evolving perspectives on Israel in Jewish-and-LGBTQ spaces, the consequences of institutional red-lines around Israel discourse, and the importance of interfaith bridge-building.

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Wendie Bernstein Lash and Lex Rofeberg think that Elul -- the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar-year -- should be a time to think about Jews in space! No, this bonus episode is not about that clip at the end of Mel Brooks's History of the World Part I, entitled Jews in Space. It's not about outer space at all! Instead, it's about inner space, along with the physical spaces/locations that we inhabit, and how we might make them sacred.

This “mini-episode” is the second of three that are being released as part of Elul Unbound 2022 (our 15th-17th Elul episodes overall). To listen to all of our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past four years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2022, by signing up at this link, and sign up for our first Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering (September 2nd), where we will be exploring Elul in real time with friends, by clicking here.

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.

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Ketzirah Lesser is an ordained kohenet (Jewish priestess) who creates "magickal judaica, art, and ceremonies inspired by Jewish history and traditions." Her creations range from amulets and shrines, to Haggadot (guidebooks to the Passover seder), to AI art based on Yiddish folklore. If you're reading all this and thinking..."Wait, I thought amulets and shrines were considered idolatrous" or "I'm confused, why is 'magickal' spelled with a 'k'," then this episode is for you! Lesser joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about why Judaism should absolutely be full of magic(k)al experiences -- and how one can most effectively facilitate sacred Jewish witchcraft.

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 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 heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/store.

Returning to our exploration of the 2013 Pew Study of Jewish Americans, Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are joined by Avi Rubel and Mike Wise, co-founders and leaders of Honeymoon Israel, the only major national initiative that we know to have been conceived and created as a direct consequence of the findings of the Pew Research Center’s population study, called “A Portrait of Jewish Americans.”

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Alec Gewirtz is a community-builder and writer who co-founded The Nearness -- a community platform to nurture people in their spiritual lives. The Nearness offers 6-week journeys (the next journey begins in April 2023), where participants gather digitally, in regular small-group conversations. These conversations are built on structured conversation prompts, shared practices, and support among the participants, and are supplemented by additional workshops, offered by poets, activists, wisdom teachers, and more. Gewirtz joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 8th episode in an ongoing mini-series focused on Jewish spirituality.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. 

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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 release!). Watch all released episodes of LUNAR via this link!

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Michael Lerner -- a theologian, activist, rabbi, and psychotherapist -- joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation looking back at over 50 years of justice work, drawing on Jewish wisdom and in partnership with progressives from other spiritual traditions. 

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 

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! Learn more about Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

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.

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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."

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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" -- yes!).

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 heading to www.judaismunbound.com/store.

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David Kasher, associate rabbi at IKAR and author of a new book entitled ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to provide some commentary (get it??) on how we read the Torah. In their conversation, they explore some of the incredible opportunities, and potential drawbacks, that arise when reading Torah through traditional and less-traditional lenses.

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This Hanukkah, Judaism Unbound is partnering with The Torah Studio on an initiative called Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized! Learn all about it (and register for it!) by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/apocrypha.

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 

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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

Rachel Gildiner, the CEO of Gather, Inc. -- a nonprofit that is committed to reorienting how Jewish professionals and organizations define success -- joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about what it means to prioritize people, over programs, in Jewish life.

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 

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 heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/store.

In this 4th of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman celebrate the book of Judith. One of the better-known books of the apocrypha, there’s actually a great deal of historical precedent for tying the story of Judith to the celebration of Hanukkah. The three co-hosts ask why that is, along with talking through some of the nuts and bolts of what this fascinating story (with a fascinating heroine) is all about.

You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

Lauren Tuchman is a sought-after spiritual leader and educator whose work focuses on disability access and inclusion. Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018, she is, as far as she is aware, the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the nexus between visual impairment, inclusion, and Jewish tradition. This episode is the second in an ongoing series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring Disability Torah.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. 

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Joseph Berman, founding rabbi of The New Synagogue Project (NSP), and Lauren Spokane, NSP’s “lead instigator,” join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about how their intentional community is looking to help build a better, more just world.

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Tivona Reith and Holly Smith are two of Judaism Unbound’s most dedicated and longstanding listeners. They join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about becoming Jewish as adults, and whether we might benefit from shifting our terminology from “conversion” to “integration.” This episode is the 7th in an ongoing mini-series exploring conversion to Judaism.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.

And a reminder: Elul Unbound is back! Our annual exploration of the final month of the Jewish year, which serves as an on-ramp into Rosh Hashanah, is here. Register for Elul Unbound (almost all components of it are free!) via this link!

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David Zvi Kalman founded and owns Print-O-Craft (an independent publisher of Jewish books), co-founded Jewish Public Media (a podcasting platform), and recently completed his PhD — in Jewish technology and Islamic jurisprudence — at the University of Pennsylvania. He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about what it’s like to wear many Jewish hats, all at once.

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Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg reflect on recent episodes of Judaism Unbound, touching on topics ranging from Jewish t-shirts, to psychedelics, to intersectionality, along with asking questions about what the terms “rabbi” and “antisemitism” should and should not connote moving forward.

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Judith Seid, author of God-Optional Judaism: Alternatives for Cultural Jews Who Love Their History, Heritage, and Community, joins co-hosts Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about God, from the perspective of Secular Humanistic Judaism.

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Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are excited to talk about dinosaurs, mammals, and what they have to teach us about the evolutions of 21st century Judaism(s). 

If you would like to learn more about jewishLIVE, head to jewishLIVE.org -- and stay in the loop by giving our Facebook page a like. 

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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. 

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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.

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Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash talk about the “holi-month” known as Elul, directly preceding the Jewish New Year. It is observed through a journey of introspection and personal growth. This “mini-episode” is the 4th of four that were released as part of Elul Unbound 2019. To listen to any or all of the four episodes that were part of Elul Unbound 2018, click here.

Sign up for Elul Unbound: SVARA-Style, a first-of-its-kind chance to learn Talmud in a traditionally-radical and traditionally-digital (?) way, here! Event will take place Tuesday, September 24th at 8 pm Eastern/5 Pacific.

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 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. Participate in Elul Unbound 2020, through a piece of Elul content arriving daily in your inbox, by signing up at this link. 

Laura Yares is the author of a brand-new book, entitled Jewish Sunday Schools: Teaching Religion in Nineteenth-Century America. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about her book -- in some ways about Sunday Schools, to be sure, but in other ways a chance to explore the broader question, "What even is religion?" , through the history of Sunday Schools in the 19th century. They also ask what the book can help us learn, today, about our 21st century Jewish landscape.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.

Learn more about Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/unyeshiva. And 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!

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 camps -- different geographic regions, Jewish denominations, and affiliations -- and also offers up potential strategies for reparative work moving forward.

In this episode of Judaism Unbound, Hegele -- along with New Voices' editor-in-chief, Rena Yehuda Newman -- join Dan and Lex to discuss this investigation.

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 

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 heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/store.

Lori Schneide Shapiro joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about Open Temple, an emerging Jewish community she founded in Venice, California.

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Miriam Anzovin is a visual artist, writer, content creator, and massive Jewish nerd, exploring the juxtaposition of pop culture, nerd culture, and Jewish culture. Through her #DafReactions, an ongoing video series where she shares her reactions to the daily Talmud page on TikTok, she has become one of the world's best-known commentators on the Talmud -- though despite that, she hesitates to call herself a "teacher" of Talmud. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about #DafReactions, its burgeoning community of followers worldwide, and what it all means for the future of Judaism. This episode is the fourth in an ongoing series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring digital Judaism.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. 

UnYeshiva mini-courses start in just a few days, as this episode is released! Check out your options for 3-week experiences of Jewish learning, being offered right now, via this link.

Vanessa Ochs, a scholar of Jewish ritual and the second-ever guest on Judaism Unbound  way back in episode 5, makes a grand return to our podcast! She connects with Dan and Lex to discuss an upcoming UnYeshiva mini-course she's teaching, entitled Jewish Ritual Lab:  Experiments in Jewish Creativity and Invention.

If you love what you hear in this episode, head to www.judaismunbound.com/classes and register for Ochs's upcoming mini-course in the UnYeshiva (begins January 15th, 2025)! Financial aid is available for anyone who needs it, via this link.

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 or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

Dan and Lex have one word for you, listeners……Nu? Just kidding, they have many thousands of words to offer in this episode, which concludes a unit of conversations about Yiddish language and culture in America. This episode is the sixth and final episode in a series produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding.

If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help to support our kickstarter campaign, currently underway to fund our book project, Judaism Unbound: Bound. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Dan and Lex are joined by Brett Lockspeiser, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Sefaria for the last interview in this series exploring the creations of "regular Jews" (people who did not set out to become Jewish professionals). In this episode, we explore the beginnings, evolution, and future of Sefaria, a free digital library of Jewish texts that describes its work as "the Future of 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 here.

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!

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 anywhere else that podcasts are found.

Episode four, presented in collaboration with The Contemporary Jewish Museum, explores two murder pamphlets, "The Murdered Jewess Sara Alexander: Life, Trial and Conviction of Rubenstein the Polish Jew" and "Rubenstein, or The Murdered Jewess: Being a Full and Reliable History of This Terrible Mystery of Blood.” Published in 1876, both pamphlets tell the tale of Pesach Rubenstein, a Jewish immigrant who was convicted of killing his cousin Sara Alexander and disposing of her body in a cornfield. The case was a sensation in the press and took hold of the popular imagination.

Dr. Eddy Portnoy, Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and author of Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press (Stanford University Press 2017), discusses the story behind the pamphlets as the first significant intersection of Jews, the local and national press, and the American judicial system.

Binya Kóatz, a "queer&trans/diasporic/arab-jewish/ashkenazi/god-loving/musical/femme/multilingual/ancestral-dreaming soul making joy and art and radical community," joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about transness, diaspora, Talmud, theology, and more, along how all of those topics flow into one another.

This episode is the seventh episode in a series that intertwines explorations of Judaism, through lenses of transgender experience, and explorations of gender, through lenses 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!

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Tiffany Shlain, author of 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about her weekly practice of “Tech Shabbat.”

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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, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

Vanessa Ochs, author of The Passover Haggadah: A Biography, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the origins, evolutions, and revolutions of the Passover Haggadah — the text that is used as a ritual guide to the Passover Seder.

This episode is the third in an ongoing series exploring new, old, and new-old approaches to the holiday of Passover.

Pre-order The Passover Haggadah: A Biography here!

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To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Shira Stutman, who serves as Senior Rabbi at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington D.C, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the second half of a 2-part conversation. [1] Together they ask some big questions about the ecosystem of 21st century Judaism, working to combat a disease (not physical!) they term “Wish-I-Had-This-Itis” in the process.

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To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

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 Virtual Gathering of Jewish Famers," will be taking place via Zoom on two consecutive Sundays -- January 30th and February 6th (spaced out in order to reduce Zoom fatigue). Register for the Jewish Farmer Network's conference by clicking here!

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 heading to www.judaismunbound.com/store.

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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."

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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.

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Ilana Kaufman, Executive Director of the Jews of Color Initiative, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about confronting racism, better understanding Jewish history, and why -- when counting Jews -- we need to do so in ways that reflect our contemporary reality.

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Donniel Hartman, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about religion's "auto-immune disease," the concept of "God-intoxication," and other key ideas from his book Putting God Second.

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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 UnYeshiva mini-courses is now live, and it’s not too late to register! We’ve got everything from Phish to zines to death. Learn more and sign up at JudaismUnbound.com/Classes. Financial aid is available if needed, just fill out this form!

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Becca Leviss, currently studying at Harvard Divinity School, wants to push us beyond the Jewish "right-now" and into the Jewish "not-yet." She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about Judeo-Futurism -- a framework she is building, and which she wants to co-create with Jews all around the world. 

If you love what you hear in this episode, head to www.judaismunbound.com/classes and register for Leviss's upcoming mini-course in the UnYeshiva (begins January 7th, 2025), entitled Judeo-Futurism! Financial aid is available for anyone who needs it, via this link.

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 or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

Sandy Cardin and Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, of the Our Common Destiny initiative, join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring the topic of Jewish unity.

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Lex Rofeberg, and guest co-hosts Wendie Lash and Estee Solomon Gray, explore what Elul helps to teach about the broader flow of Jewish time, in the second of four bonus episodes for the month of Elul.

Experience Elul Unbound, through daily emails from Judaism Unbound, by clicking here!

Explore resources for the second week of Elul, which we have curated on our website, by clicking here.

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 circumcision.

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 heading to www.judaismunbound.com/store.

To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

In the first of four bonus episodes, Dan, Lex, and guest co-host Wendie Lash argue that Judaism can be a technology of self-improvement. They explore how, in particular, the month of Elul provides an opportunity to experience that possibility.

Experience Elul Unbound, through daily emails from Judaism Unbound, by clicking here! Explore resources for the first week of Elul, which we have curated on our website, by clicking here.

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 Translation via this link — and purchase the companion book, entitled A Guide to the Guide to the Perplexed: A Reader’s Companion to Maimonides’ Masterwork, via this link.

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 or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

Open Tent Be Mitzvah is a two-year experience, offered by the organization Judaism Your Way, that is focused on a student’s coming-of-age journey within a Jewish context. It culminates in a distinctive, meaningful "Be Mitzvah" ceremony that helps a student find their unique Jewish leadership voice. Amy Atkins and Amanda Schwartz, two of Open Tent Be Mitzvah's lead educators, join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation. They explore together what it looks like when B Mitzvah (or, in their nomenclature, "Be Mitzvah!") is a process that is customized to align with each student's interests and passions -- empowering them to shape Judaism for themselves in the process.

This episode is the 4th in an ongoing mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes, honoring Bat Mitzvah's 100th anniversary, and exploring the present and future of B Mitzvah ("B Mitzvah" is a term for Jewish coming-of-age ceremonies, across the gender spectrum). Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.

Register for ShavuotLIVE: a 24-Hour Extravaganza of Jewish Learning (Friday May 26-Saturday May 27), by heading to bit.ly/shavuot23!

Elijah the Prophet is a popular guy! To our knowledge, he is the only person invited to every Passover Seder in the world -- and even encouraged to drink wine at each one of those Seders (drink responsibly, Elijah). But uhhh....who exactly is he? If you've opened the door for this fella every year, but never known exactly what his story is, this is the conversation for you! Daniel Matt, scholar of Jewish mysticism and author of the book Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to dive into the nearly-3000-year (and still-evolving!) biography of Elijah the Prophet. 

Register for our 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearing -- by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/classes! The next block of mini-courses begins in mid-April.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. 

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.

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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.

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Barry Finestone, President and CEO of the Jim Joseph Foundation, and Josh Miller, its Chief Program Officer,join Judaism Unbound to discuss the Foundation’s recently-completed process of rethinking and resetting its strategic approach to grantmaking in its main area of focus, Jewish education and learning.

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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!).

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Evan Moffic, author of the new book The Happiness Prayer: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for the Best Way to Live Today, joins Dan and Lex for a discussion of how a text that is over 1,000 years old aligns closely with the findings of positive psychology. The conversation moves beyond positive psychology into an exploration of the shifting role of American synagogues and even, of all things, the Chicago Cubs' recent World Series victory.

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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!

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Ariana Katz, the founding rabbi of Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl ("Shtiebl" refers to an intimate, cozy space where prayer and study meet), joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 4th episode in an ongoing series on Jewish spirituality. Together they explore what it means to build an intentional, spiritual, community, and also consider the importance of holding a mindset of spiritual abundance. 

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 

New UnYeshiva courses kick off in just a few weeks (February 2022!). Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com. And 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!

Noam Sienna, author of the book A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts from the First Century to 1969, joins Lex and Dan for a conversation about expanding our understanding of the Jewish past.

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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 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 heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/store.

Molly Tolsky is the founding editor of Hey Alma, and the editor of Kveller. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about digital Judaism, pop culture as Torah, and finding humor in dark spaces. 

Learn more about Shawn Harris's upcoming (un)course, called Dungeons & Dragons & Dreidels,  by clicking here!  It starts in just a few days (November 5, 2023), as this episode is released! Learn more about other upcoming UnYeshiva mini-courses, beginning in late November, by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/classes.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. 

And 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!

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, join Dan and Lex to consider what Shmita has been in the past and what Shmita could be moving forward. In doing so, they name the centrality of art, and creativity, as we re-invigorate this ancient practice. They also undrescore the opportunity we have, as Jews and human beings, to align Shmita with a variety of contemporary fights for social and climate justice. 

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Ayin Press is an artist-run publishing platform, production studio, and research collective -- rooted in Jewish culture and emanating outward. They recently launched, and there's much to be excited about! High on the list is the adjective "artist-run" that begins their self-identification -- a great hyphenated adjective that we hope more Jewish organizations will come to embody!

Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are joined by Tom Haviv, Eden Pearlstein, and Penina Eilberg-Schwartz -- three people who play a central role in the work of Ayin Press, as publishers and editors. Together, they consider the power of having organizations (and publications/presses) that are consciously artist-led, the importance of publications that dance between both sides of the digital/print divide, and the meaning of their name, "Ayin."

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 

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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

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, 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 heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/store.

It's hard to believe, but Judaism Unbound has been around for 2 years! Dan and Lex take this episode to look back on major themes from their conversations about American Judaism. Taking on abstract conceptions like "authority" and "creativity," along with practical realities like the internet and funding, Dan and Lex consider where the project of "unbounding" Judaism is at this moment and where it could be headed in the future.

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Jill Hammer – award-winning author, scholar, ritualist, poet, dreamworker and midrashist – is co-founder of Beit Kohenet and of the Kohenet movement, and currently serves as the Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion. She joins Dan Liebenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about dreaming as a medium for communal connection, Jewish meaning-making, and divine revelation.

Check out our upcoming full semester classes in the UnYeshiva by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/classes!

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. And 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!

In this 5th and final episode in a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman conclude the first-ever edition of Apocry-Fest by synthesizing some of the conclusions they've reached as a result of this mini-series. In doing so, they consider a variety of strategies to supplement, up-end, and/or re-shape our Jewish canon.

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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

Deborah Dash Moore, Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of History at the University of Michigan, joins Judaism Unbound on the ground at the National Museum of American Jewish History. In conversation with Dan Libenson, she looks at the origins and evolution of the organization B’nai B’rith. This bonus episode is part of a series of bonus episodes, recorded in partnership with the American Jewish Historical Society and the National Museum of American Jewish History.

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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 recalibration of our society’s relationship to land, food, debt, work, equality, and time – all of which resonate with crises we face today. Learn more at Shmitaproject.org.

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To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Jennie Rosenn, the founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the urgency of our collective work -- across boundaries of religious difference, and across generational divides -- to combat climate change. They explore particular roles that Jewish individuals, communities, and institutions can play in this effort, along with the imperative that they (we!) be in coalition with other communities, as we all seek to give humanity a fighting chance in the face of existential crisis.

To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 

Register for one or more of our 3-week mini-courses, in the UnYeshiva, by clicking here! 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!

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.

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Dan and Lex offer up 5-minute mini-episodes for each night of Hanukkah. This "long version" packages all of the episodes together so that you can listen before the holiday and map out which ideas you would like to utilize yourself. In addition, each night's episode will be released as a stand-alone podcast a few hours before candle-lighting for that night!

Check out all of our Hanukkah Unbound resources at www.judaismunbound.com/hanukkah!

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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 clicking here!

To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Abby Eisenberg, an independent Jewish educator and life cycle officiant, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg in a conversation that asks what it would mean to conceptualize our Jewish practices as “Learning Judaism,” through which the continual engagement with Jewish texts would be centered above any particular relationship to Jewish law or belief.

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To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

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 UnYeshiva!), 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. Dive into our at-your-own-pace courses, curated by Katie Kaestner-Frenchman, here! 

Register to attend one of two "Grand Tours" of the UnYeshiva, via these links: September 20th Grand Tour, September 21st Grand Tour.

This bonus episode of Judaism Unbound is presented in partnership with Theatre Dybbuk. We are proud to feature their third 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.

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In this second of The Dybbukast's five-episode series with the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University (NEJS), they explore "The Imagined Childhood,” a short story originally published in Hebrew in 1979. Written by the prolific 20th-century Iraqi-born Israeli author Shimon Ballas, the story served as an epilogue to a collection of short stories whose narratives intersect with the author's early life in Baghdad.

Yuval Evri, Assistant Professor of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi, and Sephardic Jewish Studies, takes us through the author's immigrant history and his multilingual engagement in Arabic, Hebrew, and French throughout his body of work.

Read the transcription for "The Imagined Childhood"

THE TEAM

Hosted by Aaron Henne
Scholarship provided by Yuval Evri, PhD
Edited by Mark McClain Wilson
Story editing by Julie A. Lockhart with Aaron Henne
Featuring the voice of Jonathan C.K. Williams
Theme music composed by Michael Skloff and produced by Sam K.S.
Transcription by Dylan Southard

Ariel Burger joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to discuss his book Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom, winner of a 2018 National Jewish Book Award.

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To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.