Identity/Crisis

Rachel B. Gross (San Francisco State University) joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss her new book, Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice, and its central argument: that foodways, children's literature, and Jewish nostalgia represent a defining feature of American Jewish religion today - and that that's not a bad thing. 

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt joins host Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss Jewish perspectives on the emerging Biden administration, what was “good for the Jews” and what was “bad for the Jews” about the Trump administration, and most importantly, how American Jews can strengthen the precious “software” of the American government.

Journalists Isabel Kershner (The New York Times) and Ben Sales (JTA) join host Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the successes and failures to date of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Israel, Palestine, and the global Haredi community. 

Articles mentioned in this episode: I attended an Orthodox anti-vaccine rally. Here’s what I saw. by Ben Sales in the Jewish Telagraphic Agency

Netanyahu's Two Israels by Yossi Klein Halevi the Times of Israel

Identity/Crisis is produced by the Shalom Hartman Institute in association with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Host Yehuda Kurtzer and Yoni Appelbaum (The Atlantic) come together the morning after a mob breached the US Capitol for a conversation on the roots of the chaos of January 6, 2021, the youthfulness and fragility of American multiracial democracy, and the core idea of America that we can return to and build upon.  

You can find a link to Yoni Applebaum's December 2019 essay, "How America Ends," here.

Shalom Hartman Institute Research Fellow Micah Goodman joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss Israeli secularism's renewed engagement with Jewish tradition, the different dynamics of change in Israel and the diaspora, and his new book, The Wondering Jew. 

Congressman-Elect Jamaal Bowman joins host and constituent Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss his campaign against 30-year incumbent Eliot Engel, the values he brings to the 117th Congress, and his message to the diverse communities he represents in the Bronx and Westchester County. 

Host Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by Muslim Leadership Initiative alumnae Inas Younis  and Rabia Chaudry to discuss Muslim-Jewish relations during and after the Trump presidency, the nature of the Israel-Palestine conflict's impact on American interfaith cooperation, and the risks and rewards of speaking across difference.

Referenced in this episode: Muslims Not Only Survived, We Thrived by Zaid Jilani - https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/muslims-survived-and-thrived

Guest host David Zvi Kalman (Shalom Hartman Institute) and Dovid Lichtenstein (The Lightstone Group, Headlines) discuss podcasting, politics, the pandemic, and halacha in the modern world. 

Hartman Fellow in Residence Mijal Bitton speaks to Yehuda Kurtzer about diverse American Jews, politics, and the goals and problematics of the project of diversity. 

Mijal's article can be found here: https://www.jta.org/2020/11/19/opinion/many-jews-of-color-and-diverse-jews-are-politically-conservative-and-many-voted-for-trump

Lila Corwin Berman (Temple University) joins host Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the ways in which America has shaped philanthropy, and the ways in which philanthropy has shaped the American Jewish community, over the last thirty years. 

This episode was recorded live as part of the Judaism, Citizenship, and Democracy symposium hosted by the Hartman Institute from October 19-30, 2020. 

Host Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by Daniel Kurtzer (Princeton), a former US Ambassador to Egypt and Israel and longtime American negotiator in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. They remember Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, and reflect on the humanity and necessity of the peace process.

Identity/Crisis is partnering with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. A full transcript of this episode can be found at: 

In the liminal space between the US election and the declaration of a result, Yehuda Kurtzer and Shalom Hartman Institute Director of Faculty Elana Stein Hain discuss the right relationship between religion and politics, the necessity and limits of political pluralism, and what Torah they're learning for this moment. 

On the eve of the 2020 US election, Yehuda Kurtzer talks about the future of America, Judaism, and American Judaism with Dahlia, Leah, and Tyler - three teenage alumni of Hartman's Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Thought Leaders from around the country.

Featuring Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic) and Yehuda Kurtzer (Hartman)

Mentioned in this episode:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/trumps-collaborators/612250/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/coronavirus-american-failure/614191/

 In episode #30 of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Arielle Angel and Jacob Plitman of Jewish Currents about the history and future of Jewish progressive movements and the relationship between liberalism and Jewish tradition.

Articles referenced in the episode:

• https://jewishcurrents.org/justice-you-shall-pursue/
• https://jewishcurrents.org/a-pickle-shaped-void/

In episode #29 of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer talks with Rabbi Sharon Brous (IKAR) and Rabbi Elie Kaunfer (Hadar) about whether and how one should pray for the welfare of a government and president to which one is opposed.

Mentioned in the episode:

- Jewish Prayers for the United States Government: A Study in the Liturgy of Politics and the Politics of Liturgy by Jonathan Sarna (https://bit.ly/2Idue2f)

- Identity/Crisis #7: https://www.hartman.org.il/identity-crisis-7-no-mosque-no-church-no-shul-now-what/

Malka Simkovitch (Catholic Theological Union) and Zev Eleff (Hebrew Theological College) join host Yehuda Kurtzer to explore the history and present of the relationship between Jews and Catholics through the lens of the Supreme Court and their respective communal roles in American politics. 

Hartman Senior Fellow and Senior Editor at Slate Dahlia Lithwick joins Yehuda Kurtzer to talk about the Jewish life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, z"l. Find Dahlia's piece for the Jewish Women's Archive here.

Featuring Jill Stauffer (Associate Professor of Peace, Justice, and Human Rights; Haverford College) and Aaron Koller (Professor of Near Eastern Studies; Yeshiva University).

Featuring Abby Pogrebin and Yehuda Kurtzer.

For more on the Still Small Voice Series, see: https://forward.com/tag/still-small-voice/

This week's guests are Sheila Katz (National Council of Jewish Women) and Shira Berkovits (Sacred Spaces). The episode was guest-hosted by Sarah Mulhern (Shalom Hartman Institute).

Featuring Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic) and Yehuda Kurtzer (Hartman)

Mentioned in this episode:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/trumps-collaborators/612250/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/coronavirus-american-failure/614191/

To watch classes from All Together Now, go to summer.hartman.org.il

Featuring Yehuda Kurtzer, Rachel Jacoby-Rosenfield, Lauren Berkun, Justus Baird, and Justin Pines.

To watch classes from All Together Now, go to summer.hartman.org.il

Featuring Rivka Press Schwartz (SAR / Hartman), Anshel Pfeffer (Haaretz), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Hartman).

Mentioned in this episode:

Yehuda Kurtzer, "Memory Malpractice:" https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/memory-malpractice-beinart

Anshel Pfeffer, "Peter Beinart's One State Solution Sounds So Perfect It's Practically Utopian:" https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-peter-beinart-s-one-state-solution-sounds-so-perfect-it-s-practically-utopian-1.8983601

Featuring Benay Lappe (Svara), Arielle Korman (Ammud), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Hartman)

Featuring Julie Cooper (Tel Aviv University) Shaul Magid (Shalom Hartman Institute / Dartmouth University), Daniel Kurtzer (School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University), Sara Hirschhorn (Northwestern University), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Shalom Hartman Institute).

To purchase The New Jewish Canon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Jewish-Canon-Emunot-Philosophy/dp/1644693607

Featuring Ruth Balinsky Friedman (Ohev Sholom), Carrie Bornstein (Mayyim Hayyim), Rachel Rosenthal (JTS), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Shalom Hartman Institute)

To register for Hartman's summer programming, go to https://www.hartman.org.il/

This episode features Jodi Rudoren (Forward), Philissa Cramer (JTA), and Yehuda Kurtzer.

This episode features Tamara Cofman Wittes (Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution), Michael Koplow (Israel Policy Forum), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Shalom Hartman Institute).

Featuring Ginna Green, Isaiah Rothstein, and Yehuda Kurtzer.

Mentioned in this episode:

- Danielle S. Allen, "Our Declaration": https://www.amazon.com/Our-Declaration-Reading-Independence-Equality-ebook/dp/B00FPT5KYW

- ‘Believe us’: Black Jews respond to the George Floyd protests, in their own words: https://www.jta.org/2020/05/31/united-states/believe-us-black-jews-respond-to-the-george-floyd-protests-in-their-own-words

Mentioned in today's episode:

https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_foer_feats_of_memory_anyone_can_do?language=en

Sukkah City
https://forward.com/articles/132454/forward-50-2010/

Moonwalking
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301277/moonwalking-with-einstein-by-joshua-foer/

For more information on all of Hartman's digital summer programming, go to bit.ly/HartmanSummer

A conversation between Rabbi Rick Jacobs (Union for Reform Judaism), Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal (Rabbinical Assembly / United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Shalom Hartman Institute).

Register now for "The Revelation Will Be Digitized" on May 27, a virtual conversation about the future of online Jewish education. Joshua Ladon, Hartman’s Director of West Coast Education, will host Miriam Heller-Stern (HUC-JIR), Daniel Septimus (Sefaria), and Lisa Colton (Darim Online) to explore the questions that emerge for Jewish education in an era of COVID and Zoom. Register at https://updates.hartman.org.il/shavuot-2020.php

Featuring write and journalist Elissa Strauss and Aliza Kline of OneTable.

Mentioned in this episode: https://onetable.org/soloshabbat

Featuring Joseph Cedar (HBO's Our Boys, Footnote), Naomi Seidman (University of Toronto), and Shayna Weiss (Brandeis).

Mentioned in this episode:

Naomi's review of Netflix's Unorthodox: https://bit.ly/2YIryQv

Shayna's review of One of Us: https://bit.ly/3ba9Vf7

Article on the growth of Israeli TV in America: https://bit.ly/2zhsuRa

Featuring Tomer Persico, Sigalit Ur, and Yehuda Kurtzer.

Featuring Rabbi Ethan Tucker (Hadar), Stephanie Ives (Beit Rabban Day School), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Hartman).

Mentioned in this episode:

Shalom Hartman Institute's online iEngage class: http://static.hartman.org.il/dev/uploads/2020/03/iEngage5-_Online-learning-flyer-0320_final.pdf?mc_cid=a64a52da4b&mc_eid=18e469e147&mc_cid=a090cea215&mc_eid=%5bUNIQID%5d

Featuring Rev. Laura Everett (Massachusetts Council of Churches), Maggie Siddiqi (Center for American Progress), and Yehuda Kurtzer (Shalom Hartman Institute).

Mentioned in this episode: https://religionnews.com/2020/04/09/a-holy-week-disrupted-by-death-answered-by-an-honest-easter/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/17/opinions/coronavirus-faith-leaders-showing-the-way/index.html

Mentioned in this episode:

Joan Nathan cookbooks: https://amzn.to/39JoGon

Story about Todos the Roman: https://bit.ly/2yBfAND

This episode features Yehuda Kurtzer of Shalom Hartman, David Rosenn of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, and Joanna Samuels of the Manny Cantor Center.

Texts and articles discussed in this episode:

Dahlia Lithwick in Slate: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-will-supercharge-american-inequality/608419/

Derek Thompson in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-will-supercharge-american-inequality/608419/

Talmud Ketubot 67b: https://www.sefaria.org/Ketubot.67b.2?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

Identity/Crisis is a production of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Music by SoCalled.

For the first segment, we discussed these articles in eJewishPhilanthropy:

https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/courageous-leadership-now-an-urgent-agenda-for-the-jewish-community-and-its-institutions/

https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/major-jewish-organizations-form-emergency-pandemic-coalition/

The pieces discussed in the second segment were:

Identity/Crisis is a production of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Music by SoCalled.

The story about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai mentioned in the first segment can be found here: https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.33b.5?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

The sermon of Rabbi Nissim of Gerona can be found here: http://static.hartman.org.il/dev/uploads/2020/03/Derashot-HaRan-11.pdf

Identity/Crisis is a production of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Music by SoCalled.

The responsum referred to in this episode is Tzitz Eliezer, Vol. 20, §19. An audio recording of the translation can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u16hsy6uk0r92oh/AAApC39Pi0IuA-XC2fCji-gTa/Recording%202020.03.12/Tzitz%20Eliezer/ZOOM0009?dl=0&preview=ZOOM0009_Tr2.WAV&subfolder_nav_tracking=1

Identity/Crisis is a production of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Music by SoCalled.

Links from this episode:

Michael Walzer: https://www.resetdoc.org/story/citizenship-pluralism-and-political-action/

Mishnah Bava Batra 1:5: https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Bava_Batra.1.5?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en