Martini Judaism – Details, episodes & analysis

On Tuesday, July 16, I and a group of rabbis traveled south from Jerusalem — to the Gaza envelope. There, we visited the places that Hamas had ravaged on Oct. 7, 2023. We visited the site of the Nova music festival, where we said kaddish for the young victims. We visited Kibbutz Nir Oz. We walked through the rubble of the burnt houses, the burnt kitchen, the places where people died, and the places where people were taken hostage. One-quarter of the residents of Nir Oz were killed or taken hostage. I have experienced many moments of pain in my Jewish life, even as I have experienced many moments of joy and exaltation. But never in my life have I encountered the memories of such sheer evil as I did at Nir Oz. I had not known at that time that I was walking in the footsteps, walking the same ground, as Alex Dancyg, of blessed memory — a proud son of Warsaw. And so it was in Warsaw on Yom Kippur that I dedicated the memorial service to his memory. Adapted from my Yizkor sermon, given on Yom Kippur, Beit Warshawa, Warsaw, Poland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two of my favorite people — Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer — who have just written a new book, "It Takes Two To Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses," with a foreword by Mayim Bialik. This is a book about each Torah portion, as read through their lenses, and is a series of conversations and intellectual wrestling matches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is November 10, 1938. It’s in a small city in Germany. It is the night after Kristalnacht, the night of broken glass that ushered in the mass roundups and the killings that would become the Holocaust, what we call the Shoah in Hebrew. There are a group of men shoved together in a cell. They are all of different ages. One of them turns to a much younger man, a rabbinical student who was no more than twenty years old. “You! You are a rabbinical student. You are a student of Judaism. So tell us – what does Judaism have to say to us at a time like this?” The recipient of that weighty question was young Emil Fackenheim. He would spend the rest of his life coming up with answers to that question. In so doing, he became one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of our time . In this column and accompanying podcast, we pose that question to Liel Leibovitz. He is an Israeli journalist, author, media critic and video game scholar. He is a prolific writer, mostly for Tablet magazine. I have followed his work for years.We talk about Liel's fascination with that often arcane, and central, Jewish text... how the contemporary writer Jonathan Rosen called the Talmud “a drift net for catching God”... and how the Talmud is like an ancient version of the Internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The other day, I was talking to someone about a friend of mine who had converted to Judaism, a.k.a., joined the Jewish people. My conversation partner stopped me in my tracks. "I don't believe in that," he said. "You can't convert to Judaism. You can't just join the Jewish people. You either are Jewish, or you are not. What — you take a class, and you take a test and they dunk you (in the mikveh, the ritual bath) and poof — you're Jewish?!?" "No!" he continued. "You have to have a yiddishe neshame, a Jewish soul. You have to have centuries of suffering and feeling. It has to be in your DNA!" I will tell you what went "poof," at that moment. 2,500 years of Jewish history, law and theology went "poof." More than 40 years as a congregational rabbi working with Jews-by-choice went "poof." More than 40 years of being an activist and a leader in the Reform movement working to welcome Jews-by-choice went "poof." More than 40 years of having colleagues in Jewish professional life who are Jew-by-choice went "poof." And, let us be clear: Thousands of years of people joining the Jewish people to live Jewish lives and sometimes, tragically, to die Jewish deaths, went "poof." So, let me say it again — just in case you were not listening decades ago, or just in case you are new to this topic. Judaism is not a closed club. Judaism is not a secret society. Judaism is not in your DNA. Actually, there are genetic elements of having ethnic Jewish ancestry. Every week, countless people are finding out, via 23 and Me, that they are, in fact, some percentage Jewish. But, therein lies the paradox. The Jews are a tribe, a family, a people and a nation — into which you do not have to be born, but in fact, that you can join. Is it easy to feel that sense of connection, and that sense of history? No. Can you learn it? Absolutely. And it happens all the time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you ever think, in your wildest imagination, that the events of October 7 would lead to an all out culture war that would involve every sector of American intellectual and academic life? Me neither. And yet, here we are -- with the result that many American Jews are now questioning the role of the university in their lives, and in the life of the Jewish community. To help us discern the depths of the university and the Jews, check out the podcast -- a conversation with Mark Oppenheimer. He has been writing about American religion for more than 25 years. From 2010 to 2016, he wrote the “Beliefs” column, about religion, for "The New York Times," and he created "Unorthodox," the world’s most popular podcast about Jewish life and culture, with over 7 million downloads to date. He is the author or editor/co-editor of five books, including "The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar's and Everything In Between" and "Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood." He holds a Ph.d in religious studies from Yale University; has taught there, at Stanford University, Wesleyan University, and New York University, and currently serves as the vice-president of open learning at American Jewish University, We have a wide-ranging conversation -- most of which is about the experience of Jews in the Ivy League.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Don’t know much about history…” Those were the immortal words of Sam Cooke. It happens to be true. Many of us don’t know much about history. Just think of the way that we use the word. Someone gets fired from a job, and what do we say? “She’s history.” But, I love history, especially American Jewish history. No one has nourished that love of history more than Professor Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, past president of the Association for Jewish Studies and Chief Historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. In this podcast, Professor Sarna and I get into the weeds of American Jewish history, and the history of anti-Semitism, American style. Pay attention: Both Brandeis University and the state of Israel are celebrating their 75th anniversary. One event happened in Waltham, Massachusetts; the other, in the Middle East. How are those two events linked?  Americans have had “diverse and conflicting attitudes“ toward Jews. Name some Americans who were simultaneously antisemitic and philo-semitic (lover of Jews). Why were my parents upset when I purchased a 1966 Mustang? (Hint: consider the maker). Who was America's most famous and visible Jew-hater? (Answer: In the 1930s, Father James Coughlin, an antisemitic priest, had a huge radio following. Imagine Father Coughlin with TikTok). Compared to other American minorities, historically Jews have gotten off pretty easy. Name some other groups in America that have suffered bigotry -- even more than the Jews. (Hint: and not just Blacks). Is anti-Zionism a form of anti-Semitism? (Hint: the Hamas killers bragged to their parents that they killed -- not Israelis, not Zionists, but Jews.) (A second hint: What was the name of the most infamous Czarist anti-Semitic tract, that is still a best seller in too many places? It is a mythology of global Jewish control, and its name is "The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of ___________.") What would happen if college admissions corresponded to the percentage of Jews in America? (Hint: It would not be good for the Jews.) As bad as it might seem today, what makes this situation "better" than other surges of anti-Semitism that we have experienced in the past? (Hint: watch how the government is responding). Finally, you must listen to the very end -- because Professor Sarna offers words of hope, determination, and inspiration that will lift your souls. How does he do it? Because he is, after all, a historian. Please enjoy my new book -- the first book to outline what a post-October 7 American Judaism will look like -- and how we can restore communal obligation to liberal Jewish life. Tikkun Ha'Am/ Repairing Our People: Israel and the Crisis of Liberal Judaism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one ever asks, "Why should India exist?" Or Albania. Or the United States. Or any country in the world. Except for one country: Israel. So, let me make this simple — and overly simplistic. Why does Israel exist? Here are my two R's of Israel. To rescue Jews who are persecuted. To save Jews from Jew-hatred. That was the wake-up call that Viennese journalist Theodor Herzl experienced during the trial of Alfred Dreyfus for treason in France in the early 1890s. He saw the mobs in the streets calling for death to the Jews. It caused him to sing a much earlier version of The Animals' classic song "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place." That urge became political Zionism. (How wonderful that we no longer have mobs in the streets chanting "Death to the Jews!" Oh. Wait. ... ) The second reason is resurrection — of the Hebrew language, of Jewish culture and of Judaism itself. That, roughly speaking, is the cultural Zionism of Ahad Ha'Am. How are those two R's doing? Listen to the podcast, as I interview Raquel Ukeles, chief editor of the new catalog of some of the richest of the library's holdings: "101 Treasures From the National Library of Israel." Ukeles serves as the library's head of collections. She earned a Ph.D. from Harvard in comparative Islamic and Jewish studies. She also studied Jewish law in Jerusalem and New York, and Islamic law and Arabic in Egypt, Morocco and the Netherlands. Here is what you will learn. The National Library of Israel is not a "Jewish" library. Quite the contrary: It is an institution that cherishes and celebrates all aspects of Israeli society. One of its major collections is of Islam and the Middle East. The library reaches way beyond Israel. it sees itself as a guardian of global cultural heritage, dedicated to democratizing knowledge, advancing education, promoting research and fostering dialogue. Its collection spans over 200 languages. What would you find in their collections? I totally geeked out over this stuff. Handwritten works by Maimonides and Sir Isaac Newton. Exquisite Islamic manuscripts, dating back to the ninth century. The personal archives of leading cultural and intellectual figures, including Martin Buber, Natan Sharansky, Hannah Szenes and Franz Kafka. A pre-modern feminist blessing, from a 1480 Italian prayer book. It was the work of Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol, who wrote three prayer books for women. There is a traditional blessing, in which men thank God "for not making me a woman." He changed that, so that women could thank God for "having made me a woman and not a man." The original music of "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" (Jerusalem of Gold) by Naomi Shemer — the most iconic popular song in the history of Israel. Check out this version by the rock band Phish. Ancient Babylonian demon traps (!). A Christian "Book of Hours," describing a certain kind of Christian spiritual contemplation. The library enshrines how Jews understand the world. Yes, we begin with our people; yes, our people are rooted in our land; yes, we share the land with other peoples — and then we ascend to a universal sense of what the best of the humanities can offer. As I went through "101 Treasures From the National Library of Israel," page by page, I wept. Because this is the Israel that relatively few people, even Jews, know — and this is the Israel that our enemies want to destroy. Not on my watch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you know what it’s like to fall in love? I don’t mean falling in love with a romantic partner. I am talking about the moment of falling in love with a performer — because you know that person gets it and gets you and understands you. That is what happened to me back in 1991, when a friend of mine played me an album called “From Strength to Strength” by Peter Himmelman. That title is a biblical quote. It’s what Jews say to each other at significant moments in life: “May you go from strength to strength.” The best cuts from that album? "Woman With the Strength of 10,000 Men,” “Impermanent Things” and "Mission of My Soul.” Himmelman imported Jewish theology and text and put it out on alternative radio. I was hooked. I fell in love. Total musical crush. In 2002, Himmelman was nominated for an Emmy Award for his song "Best Kind of Answer," which appeared on the CBS series Judging Amy, for which he also composed the score. He composed the music for the FOX television show Bones through the fourth season. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his children's album, "My Green Kite." Himmelman is a rarity in American popular music — an observant Jew who observes Shabbat. Some years ago, he turned down three offers to appear on the Tonight Show because they conflicted with Shabbat or Jewish holidays (he accepted the fourth invitation, for an appearance on Thanksgiving). He is married to Maria Dylan. She is the daughter of Bob Dylan. They have four children and grandchildren. You are going to love this podcast. We talk about rock music (my first love), Jewish culture, Jewish identity, spirituality and what it means for Jews to live post-Oct. 7. We listen to his music as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I first encountered Nora Gold when I read her amazing novel, Fields of Exile, which is about the anti-Israel ideologies that are now sweeping across the academic world – in her case, with a unique focus on what is happening in Canada. It is about antisemitism on the college campus. That book was enough to make me a total fan. Today, we are talking to her about her new collection -- 18: Jewish Stories Translated From 18 Languages. This is the first anthology of this kind in 25 years. And, no -- these are not mere maysehs. These are important Jewish short stories, all of them originally published in Jewish Fiction .net. In the book's introductory paragraph, Nora tells a story about an arrogant, ignorant pundit who told his listeners that there was no Jewish fiction being created anywhere other than the United States (and perhaps in Israel). This collection is a response to that charge. It totally blows out of the water the idea that Jewish culture comes only from this continent, and from Israel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do we do now? Many Jews, all over the world, are asking themselves that question during these difficult weeks. Israelis are asking: What do we do now – to rebuild our land, our towns, our kibbutzim, our broken lives? What does it mean to maintain hope in the Jewish future? A new book -- "Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People" -- offers its readers numerous answers to those complex questions. This is an amazing, unnerving, and challenging book. It brings together a remarkable array of new essays from across the Jewish world. An unprecedented, large-scale collection of timely and provocative essays from a wide range of Jewish thought leaders that aims to start a global conversation among Jews about their future as a people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices