Shulem Deen: Faith, Without Faith (OTD Series Re-Release)

In this special Purim episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we bring you a recording from our live event with the comedian Modi, for our annual discussion on humor. As a preeminent Jewish comedian of only growing popularity, Modi finds himself needing to navigate the nuances of public and private life while he brings “Moshiach energy” to audiences all over the world. In this episode we discuss: What makes laughter have ”Moshiach energy”? What guidance would Modi have for a parent of a gay child? What is Modi’s favorite prayer to lead as a chazan?Tune in to hear a conversation about the element of redemption we find in humor amid a broken world. Interview begins at 5:08.Voted one of the top 10 comedians in New York City by The Hollywood Reporter, Modi is one of the comedy circuit’s most sought-after performers. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Modi emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of seven and was raised on Long Island. After graduating from Boston University, he worked as an investment banker until his first open-mic night made him realize that stand-up was his true calling. Equipped with a sharp wit and a knack for reading an audience, Modi has gone on to become a successful fixture in New York's vibrant comedy scene, often doing bits that incorporate his heritage, and he is a hit with diverse Jewish audiences as well as fans of all backgrounds and beliefs.References:And Here's Modi - Episode 14 (Rabbi Manis Friedman)Chasing SpielbergTaanit 22aThe Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne W. DyerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

4 Mars 20231h

This series is sponsored by Ari and Danielle Schwartz in memory of Danielle’s grandfather, Mr. Baruch Mappa, Baruch Ben Asher Zelig HaLevi.In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to three different advocates for affordable Jewish education about the state of the tuition crisis.While it is a sensitive subject to discuss, the cost of Jewish education remains one of the most vital issues at play in Jewish life today, as passing on a Torah education to the next generation is of the utmost importance.Why is Jewish education so expensive?How exactly does the process of providing financial aid work?What large-scale measures can be taken to attack the tuition crisis?Tune in to hear a conversation about how we can be more effective in our effort to provide a Torah education for all Jewish children. Interview with Richard Hagler begins at 7:20Interview with Chavie Kahn begins at 59:30Interview with Maury Litwack begins at 1:11:42Richard Hagler has been a longtime executive director of the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach schools. Chavie Kahn is the director of school strategy and policy at UJA-Federation of New York. Maury Litwack is the managing director of the Orthodox Union and founder of Teach Coalition.References:Teach Coalition18Forty Podcast: “Michael A. Helfand: Church, State, and Jewish Education”America in the King Years trilogy by Taylor BranchBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

28 Feb 20232h 9min

This series is sponsored by Ari and Danielle Schwartz in memory of Danielle’s grandfather, Mr. Baruch Mappa, Baruch Ben Asher Zelig HaLevi.In this edition of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klein—an expert on the history of Orthodox girls’ education—about the value of education for all people.With the founding of the Bais Yaakov movement, Sarah Schenirer sought to create a culture of education that was inclusive to the marginalized. Over a century later, we encounter a related but simultaneously new set of challenges. In this episode we discuss:What made the early Bais Yaakov movement both controversial and revolutionary? What would Sarah Schenirer think of the state of Jewish education in the 21st century?Are graduating adults still in need of education and youth programming?Tune in to hear a conversation about the indispensability of Jewish education from the early 20th century to today.Interview begins at 29:30.Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klein is the Academic Dean of Women's Institute of Torah Seminary & College, an Orthodox Jewish college for women. A scholar and author, Dr. Klein speaks on Jewish history, Tanach, leadership and communication skills across the United States and internationally. Dr. Ginsparg Klein received her Ph.D. from New York University, where she researched the history of Orthodox girls’ education in America and the Bais Yaakov Movement. References:18Forty Podcast: “Yitzchak Breitowitz: Navigating Controversy”18Forty Podcast: “Yisroel Kaminetsky: The Goal of Jewish Education”Sarah Schenirer and the Bais Yaakov Movement: A Revolution in the Name of Tradition by Naomi SeidmanReading Jewish Women: Marginality and Modernization in Nineteenth-Century Eastern European Jewish Society by Iris ParushIn Her Hands: The Education of Jewish Girls in Tsarist Russia by Eliyana R. Adler Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860-1920 by Melissa R. Klapper Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klein on Bais Yaakov Education and Culture Across North America, at Harvard Law SchoolBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

21 Feb 20231h 58min

This series is sponsored by Ari and Danielle Schwartz in memory of Danielle’s grandfather, Mr. Baruch Mappa, Baruch Ben Asher Zelig HaLevi.In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak to Michael A. Helfand, a Pepperdine Law professor specializing in religious liberty, about the meaning of the First Amendment as it relates to the funding of religious schools.With education so deeply essential to the modern Jewish community, we are confronted with the high cost of private schooling. In America, is the government able to step in and help? Should it? Why doesn’t the government fully fund religious schools?What is the “Lemon test”?Does “separation of the church and state” mean the government cannot support any religious institution, or only that it must support all religious institutions equally?Tune in to hear a conversation about the history and status of religious schools in American law.Interview begins at 9:58.Professor Michael Helfand is an expert on religious law and religious liberty. A frequent author and lecturer, his work considers how U.S. law treats religious law, custom and practice, focusing on the intersection of private law and religion in contexts such as religious arbitration, religious contracts and religious torts. He is currently an associate professor at Pepperdine University School of Law and co-director of Pepperdine University’s Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University. Professor Helfand is an executive board member of the Beth Din of America, where he serves as a consultant on the enforceability of rabbinical arbitration agreements and awards in U.S. courts.References:The New American Judaism by Jack Wertheimer“Remembering Rabbi Norman Lamm” by Michael A. HelfandTo Build a Wall by Gregg IversReligion and State in the American Jewish Experience by Jonathan D. Sarna and David G. DalinBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

14 Feb 20231h 32min

In this edition of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to David’s rebbe, Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky, longtime principal of DRS Yeshiva High School, about the state of Jewish education in America.We find ourselves in a transformative time in the realm of Jewish education. Jewish literacy is at an all-time high, and yet we are still faced with existential angst. In this episode, Yisroel Kaminetsky tells us what goes into creating a yeshiva experience that delivers the most benefit to the most students — and how we can avoid instances of people falling through the cracks. How can we build a Jewish-education system that provides a “path home” for every Jew?How can parents supplement the education their children get at school?How should we define success, and in what ways can a yeshiva, God forbid, fail a student?Tune in to hear a conversation about laying the groundwork for a strong Jewish future.Interview begins at 25:58.References:A Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensLithuanian Yeshivas of the Nineteenth Century by Shaul StampferFamilies, Rabbis and Education by Shaul StampferMemorable Encounters by Dr. Joseph Kaminetsky“I Want Arvei Psachim with Rabeinu Dovid Rishus Cold Rishus Seltzer CHECK OUT OF LIFE” on YouTubeMesilat Yesharim by Moshe Chaim LuzzattoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

7 Feb 20231h 44min

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, you, our listeners, feature as our guests as we listen to your responses to our series on Romance & Commitment and the Origins of Judaism. It is our double-absolute privilege to hear how 18Forty’s explorations of the big, juicy Jewish ideas have interacted with your own lives. In this episode we discuss: What are the audience’s reflections on dating, loneliness, and belonging?What are some potential future 18Forty topics?How does David remember all the things he reads?And of course, what pronunciation corrections do listeners have for David?Tune in as we check in on the 18Forty audience and hear the thoughts that have been most pressing on your minds. Please do leave us your own voicemail with feedback or questions that we may plan on a future episode, at 917-720-5629.Voicemails begin at 4:40. References:18Forty Podcast: “How Different Jewish Communities Date”18Forty Podcast: “Channah Cohen: The Crisis of Experience” 18Forty Podcast: “Lawrence Schiffman: The World of Early Judaism”18Forty Podcast: “Tova Ganzel: The Judaism of the Prophets & the People”The Shame Borne in Silence: Spouse Abuse in the Jewish Community by Rabbi Abraham J. TwerskiPri Tzadik by Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin18Forty Podcast: “Ari Koretzky: In Conversation with Dovid Bashevkin”The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryFrankenstein by Mary ShelleyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

24 Jan 20231h 46min

In this edition of the 18Forty Podcast, we are privileged with the return of Dr. Malka Simkovich—Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies and director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago—who helps us explore Second Temple Judaism and how it relates to Jewish life today. By diving deep into the Jewish past, Malka enables us to understand the narratives and commitments that have allowed the Jewish people to persist through the most existential challenges. In this episode we discuss: What was the relationship between the ancient Jews and the surrounding dominant cultures? How did the Jewish world respond to the destruction of the Second Temple? What are the differences between Jewish and Christian notions of truth? Tune in to hear a conversation about the central practices and distinctions that have marked and preserved the Jewish people across the millenia. Interview begins at 25:53.Dr. Malka Simkovich is the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies and director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She earned a doctoral degree in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism from Brandeis University and a Masters degree in Hebrew Bible from Harvard University. She is the author of The Making of Jewish Universalism: From Exile to Alexandria (2016), and Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism (2018).References:Malka Simkovich on 18Forty: The Mystery of the Jewish People Tzidkat HaTzadik by Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin“God’s First Love: The Theology of Michael Wyschogrod” by Meir Y. SoloveichikOutside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture edited by Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. SchiffmanBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

17 Jan 20231h 22min

This episode is sponsored by Daniella and Ari Schwartz in memory of their grandfather Mr. Baruch Mappa a”h - Baruch Ben Asher Zelig HaLevi.In this edition of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Rav Yitzchak Breitowitz—Rav of Kehillos Ohr Somayach and host of the Q & A with Rabbi Breitowitz Podcast—about the key Jewish issues of our time and how we should handle them. Rabbi Breitowitz helps us look for the correct framework for discussing intellectual difficulties, family challenges, and the nature of the expanding and diverse Jewish tradition. How should we discuss sensitive topics on public forums?What is Rabbi Breitowitz’s advice for 18Forty?What sources can people turn to when they’re losing faith in Judaism?Tune in to hear a conversation about what it means to address the big and fraught questions.Interview begins at 19:51Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Ner Israel Rabbinical College, and Harvard Law School. He’s been a rav in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. He currently teaches at Ohr Somayach.References:The Q & A with Rabbi Breitowitz PodcastSiftei Chaim - Emunah Ve'Bechirah by Rabbi Chaim FriedlanderTzidkat HaTzadik by Tzadok HaKohen of LublinNineteen Letters by Samson Raphael HirschHoreb by Samson Raphael HirschRav Hirsch on Torah by Samson Raphael HirschTanya by Shneur Zalman of LiadiBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

10 Jan 202354min