Jewish Quest – Details, episodes & analysis

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Dr Noam Cohen uncovers the fascinating link between the background to Isaac's birth and the Ugaritic text of the Aqhat Epic. 

Dr. Noam Cohen is Visiting Assistant Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. He received his PhD from NYU, with a dissertation examining portrayals of spousal violence in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient West Asian texts.

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Due to several requests we are extending this series of audios featuring Rabbi Jacobs, from 2005 recordings. All are also avaialable with video by visiting www.booksof.louisjacobs.org. A free months subscription is available.

Rabbi Louis Jacobs reflects in this video upon his past appointments, starting from his early steps as assistant Rabbi in Eli Munk’s Beit Midrash in Golders Green, and concluding with the creation of the New London synagogue and the instigation of the Masorti movement. He offers intimate descriptions of his experience in these communities, each time contemplating the religious outlook of their respective congregants and the various initiatives he undertook to further their development.

He takes the opportunity to offer some insights on what he refers to as minhag Angliya, or more simply, the traditional religious outlook of English Jews. The civility and intellectual integrity which, in his view, characterizes Anglo-Jewry, was lost over the past decades to a more haredi-influenced notion of hashkafah. Rabbi Jacobs debases this shift as ‘inauthentic’, and claims that it was with the intention of upholding the traditional religious outlook of British Jewry that he established the New London synagogue.

Finally, Louis Jacobs offers some insights on recent infighting within the English-Jewish community. He expresses certain reservations concerning the ideology professed by the Masorti movement, and in a similar vein, justifies his opposition to the Stanmore Accords, proclaiming that there is no use of holding back criticism in situations of ideological conflict.

The recording is followed by a short extract on mysticism, in which Rabbi Jacobs offers some reflections on the role of mysticism in contemporary Judaism. He puts forward his belief in the continued relevance of mystical and kabbalistic Jewish sources, each representing forms of expression of the ineffable. He debases, on the other hand, ‘Pop Kabbalah’, or the attraction to mystical excitement or ecstasy professed by a large number of individuals today (including Madonna, Barbara Streisand, or Mick Jager), arguing that such views are based on superstition, and come out as quaint.

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This very recently discovered audio tape has just been digitized. This lecture, although spoken almost 50 years  ago is an important contribution to the debate on Zionism. Simon Eder, Education Director of The Louis Jacobs Foundation  introduces the talk:-

Replacing this weeks podcast, we share a recording from Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs z"l in 1981. Speaking at a rabbinic conference in Israel, he sets out clearly how a Masorti approach to Zionism differs from Religious Zionism, and yet, with no less passion, or dedication to the sanctity of the land and what our commitment to the State of Israel should entail. As we grapple today, with what the future of Zionism should mean, his words, then are just as relevant for us now. 

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Rabbi Daniel Nevins explores the legacies of Jacob and Joseph and shares an important overarching lesson from the book of Genesis. 

Rabbi Danny Nevins is dedicated to exploring the sacred realm of Torah and its intersection with contemporary ethics, culture, and technology. Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Nevins was named Head of School of Golda Och Academy in 2021, dedicating himself to support the faculty and students in the creation of an outstanding and warm Jewish learning environment. Previously, he worked at The Jewish Theological Seminary as the Pearl Resnick Dean of the Division of Religious Leadership. He writes responsa on topics of contemporary halakhah, essays, prayers, and Torah commentaries, many of which can be viewed on his website - rabbinevins.com. 

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Simon Eder explores the way in which again and again Joseph connects the dots.

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Professor Naomi Graetz discusses Asnath, the mysterious wife of Joseph.

Naomi Graetz taught English at Ben Gurion University of the Negev for 35 years. She is the author of Unlocking the Garden: A Feminist Jewish Look at the Bible, Midrash and God (Piscataway NJ: Gorgias Press, 2005), The Rabbi’s Wife Plays at Murder (Beersheva: Shiluv Press, 2004), S/He Created Them: Feminist Retellings of Biblical Stories (Professional Press, 1993; second edition Gorgias Press, 2003), and Silence is Deadly: Judaism Confronts Wifebeating (Jason Aronson, 1998).

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Abraham Joshua Heschel was perhaps the most influential figure in Jewish thought over the last century. Born in 1907, he grew up in Warsaw amongst Polish Hasidim and indeed was descended Rabbinic luminaries on both sides. He was though perhaps always happiest at the nexus between the sacred and the secular. Heschel studied philosophy and Biblical criticism in Berlin before becoming a pivotal figure in America, where he galvanized the Jewish and non-Jewish world alike on issues of social justice. His Judaism was at once profoundly rooted in tradition and simultaneously subversive of the status quo. His theological commitments  always undergirded his courageous, outspoken efforts on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement, his protests against the war in Vietnam, and his work to improve Jewish and Christian relations following the Shoah. His output was of course prolific with works such as The Sabbath, The Prophets and God in Search of Man.

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Rabbi Shimon Felix discusses some of the key themes that we encounter in the Joseph story and shares their relevance for today. 


Rabbi Shimon Felix is the Executive Director Emeritus of the program. He was born in New York, and has lived in Jerusalem since 1973. Rabbi Felix has been associated with The Bronfman Fellowship since 1991. He received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Hamivtar, where he served as educational director. Rabbi Felix has worked in a wide variety of educational programs including Michelelet Bruria, the Israeli school system and Yakar. He headed The Jewish Agency’s Bureau for Cultural Services to Communities and also served as assistant to Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. He is the Director of Re: IL Regarding Israel.

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Professor Naomi Graetz discusses the rape of Dinah in light of both favourable and negative views of welcoming outsiders into the tradition. 

Naomi Graetz taught English at Ben Gurion University of the Negev for 35 years. She is the author of Unlocking the Garden: A Feminist Jewish Look at the Bible, Midrash and God (Piscataway NJ: Gorgias Press, 2005), The Rabbi’s Wife Plays at Murder (Beersheva: Shiluv Press, 2004), S/He Created Them: Feminist Retellings of Biblical Stories (Professional Press, 1993; second edition Gorgias Press, 2003), and Silence is Deadly: Judaism Confronts Wifebeating (Jason Aronson, 1998). Her current areas of interest are: teaching Jewish Sources about trafficking and workshops teaching women to study and engage in writing Midrash. She writes a weekly blog at https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/naomi-graetz/. 

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Rabbi Samuel Klein discusses the parallels between Jacob's first encounter with Rachel and Marina Abromivic's performance at MOMA in 2010 entitled: ''The Artist is Present''.

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Rabbi Samuel Klein is Director of Jewish Engagement for the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Samuel was Chief Jewish Officer of the Jewish Community Center San Francisco and Executive Director of the Bronfman Jewish Education Centre, Montreal. He holds Masters degrees in Theology from Cambridge University and History of Art from University College London and trained as a teaching artist at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.