Orthodox Conundrum – Details, episodes & analysis

This podcast is being released less than a day after the Israeli army preemptively struck thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon, doing so just fifteen minutes before those launchers were supposed to fire hundreds of missiles into northern and central Israel.

Thank God that as of now, Israel clearly won this exchange. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but for now we can breathe just a bit easier than we did when we first heard the news early this morning.

This event, like many others before it, highlights the reality that Israel is a nation that has been experiencing a kind of collective and individual trauma ever since October 7th; and Jews across the world, both because of the rise in antisemitism and because of their deep concern about what’s happening in Israel, have experienced very real trauma, as well.

Trauma is not itself a type of mental illness, but it can lead to mental illness - and Jews in general, and Israelis in particular, are at risk of developing PTSD and other mental illnesses as a response to the events of the past year. Many people run the risk of experiencing suicidal ideation, depression, and more - and we need to determine if the medical community has the resources necessary to deal with a potential mental health crisis. Moreover, this also raises important and unavoidable halachic and hashkafic questions for those who diligently follow Jewish law.

In order to talk about mental health, including what factors make it a potential crisis, the definition of trauma and PTSD, whether suicide has been on the rise, if any issues are being hidden from the public, the meaning of post traumatic growth, how we can best prevent trauma from blossoming into mental illness, the problem of stigma, and what to do if you suspect that a friend is suffering from mental illness, Scott spoke with Gila Tolub, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of ICAR Collective. Afterwards he had a conversation with Rav Yoni Rosensweig, the founder of Maaglei Nefesh Center for Halacha, Community and Mental Health, about some of the halachic and hashkafic issues that have arisen in the realm of mental health, as a direct consequence of October 7th and the war against Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Iran’s other proxies.

The interview with Gila Tolub begins at 3:42.

The interview with Rav Yoni Rosensweig begins at 52:48.

Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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The October 7th massacre, and the subsequent war against Hamas, other Iranian proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis, and Iran itself, have caused many people throughout the Jewish world to reconsider what Israel means to them, and what kind of society Israel should create. Many continually return to the idea that Israel should be a light unto the nations, an Ohr laGoyim, or a Medinah l’Mofet, an exemplary nation and society. Although, given the rampant anti-Israel and antisemitic attitudes that pervade societies across the globe, it is unlikely that many plan on using Israel as a model for their own behavior, we still have a responsibility to do so for ourselves - so that even if other people despise us, we are confident that we are creating the most ethical and moral country on earth.

Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, recently composed an article for the Wall Street Journal which offers a somewhat different perspective. The article concludes by arguing that rather than concentrating on being a light to the nations, “For now, in this summer of dread, the urgent question for Israelis is how to be a light to ourselves.” In other words, we need to concentrate primarily on healing the schisms and problems within our own society; if we believe that being a light to the nations is not a goal, but an extant reality, then we are lost.

Yossi's opinions about how Israel should move forward are simultaneously disturbing and hopeful - the hallmark, that is, of deep thinking that both acknowledges the reality that we face, and the miraculous and unpredictable presence of God. Join Scott and Yossi for a timely and thought-provoking conversation that all Jews - in Israel and elsewhere - need to hear.

Nishmat, the Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women, is back with its new semester of Online Beit Midrash learning, starting September 8. Study Talmud, Tanach, Halacha and more with some of the best Torah teachers in Jerusalem - all from the comfort of your home. Classes are open to women of all learning backgrounds. For a full class schedule and registration, go to: https://2ly.link/1zHAZ

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Schools which identify with the Modern Orthodox world and espouse a Centrist Orthodox hashkafa, nevertheless will sometimes hire teachers who profess a Hareidi worldview. In some ways, this is a welcome development; breaking down the barriers that separate our various communities is generally a good thing, and we should be pleased when we discern a willingness to engage Jews with different viewpoints.

On the other hand, it often seems that Modern Orthodox institutions are more willing to hire Torah teachers who hail from ultra-Orthodox communities than the other way around. And according to Rabbi Yitzchak Blau, there may be some serious, albeit unintended consequences to this willingness, that Modern Orthodox Jews may find troubling. Rabbi Blau wrote an article in the journal Conversations entitled “The Hareidi Option” where he outlines some of the messages that our children and students may be hearing from their Hareidi teachers and books which most Modern Orthodox Jews would find extremely objectionable.

In this episode, Rabbi Blau and Scott talked about the specific messages he believes that Modern Orthodoxy is receiving, and that need to be called out and identified before our students almost unconsciously adopt them. Among the areas they discussed are differing attitudes towards women, Gentiles, secular Jews, the Zionist movement, the Israeli army, divine providence, the role of great Torah scholars, and more.

Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

There is a tremendous amount of Torah learning taking place today, and Orthodox Jews should be excited that such study occupies a central place in so many Jewish lives. Daf Yomi has encouraged and inspired people who never before considered learning Talmud to try to learn all of Shas over 7 and a half years. Alongside classes in Talmud, there are shiurim in Chumash, Tanach, Mishnah, Midrash, Halacha, Musar and more. Yes, we spend a lot of time learning G-d’s words. But do we sometimes forget to also learn about G-d? Some Jewish people have intuited this need, and are finding new ways to bring G-d into their lives in a concrete manner. One of these responses has been the growth of what is termed Neo-Chassidut. To find out more about this movement, Scott spoke with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Is belief in Judaism self-evident? Are our principles of faith wholly rational and perhaps even obvious to any thinking person? Or is faith in G-d and Torah more complicated and suffused with questions than many would like to assume? Do we have faith? Do we possess authentic trust in G-d? Deep down, what do we really think about the tenets of Torah Judaism? Do we accept them, doubt them, or maybe both simultaneously? Do we affirm them verbally but question them intellectually? In short, how much do we really believe - and why? In order to address questions of emunah, and to get a better sense of whether belief is logically compelling or whether it requires the proverbial leap of faith, Scott spoke with Jeffrey Bloom and Alec Goldstein, two of the editors of the recent book, Strauss, Spinoza, and Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of Faith. The book, however, was just a starting point; the main focus of the conversation was around why Jews can believe the things that we believe - and why some people don’t. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

This episode is, in some ways, two distinct podcasts in one: one about outreach, and one about some major spiritual challenges that exist in the Modern Orthodox world. Many in the Centrist or Modern Orthodox world are uncomfortable with kiruv and outreach; it’s often associated with acting with condescension towards people who are not Orthodox, objectifying people who are not Orthodox, and not acting forthrightly towards people who are not Orthodox. Perhaps most concerning, though, is the suspicion that kiruv professionals act as though they have all the answers, that Orthodoxy is a perfect society, and that we need to reach out because everything within Orthodoxy is basically perfect. Many of us would argue that we need to get our own house in order before convincing other people to join the team. Rabbi Mark Wildes, though, is one of the rare Modern Orthodox Jews who is deeply involved in, and believes in, kiruv and outreach to unaffiliated and less-affiliated Jews. Scott asked him how he responds to these criticisms of kiruv professionals and organizations, how we should define the real goals of kiruv organizations, and why most kiruv professionals seem to have a Chareidi or Chassidic orientation. Perhaps even more important, however, was an intense discussion of the problems that Modern Orthodoxy needs to address. Their conversation included a discussion of spiritual anemia, problems that exist in synagogues, the longing - or lack thereof - for the Divine Presence, the differences between experience and intellect in the approach to G-d, how much we should emphasize dogma, and - above all - the need to bring G-d back into the center of our consciousness. This conversation - again, really two conversations - was fascinating, and should give you food for thought as we enter Elul and the days leading up to the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Join Rabbi Wildes's WhatsApp group at https://chat.whatsapp.com/LM0bsDb4sV3FmESMyauFaw. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Lonna Ralbag has been demanding a get from Meir Kin for 18 years and still hasn’t received it. According to Jewish law, this means that she cannot remarry, and is effectively trapped as a type of aguna - a chained woman. Meanwhile, her estranged husband, despite public pressure, seems to revel in having become the king of the get-refusers. He has a YouTube channel and managed to remarry while leaving Lonna unable to do the same. And he does all of this while claiming to be a religious Jew, following Halacha. Indeed, he presents himself as the victim of a smear campaign. It’s clear that Meir Kin’s actions represent a reprehensible perversion of Jewish law and a massive chilul HaShem, desecration of G-d’s name. Lonna’s story is tragic, but she is strong and is working to relieve her plight and that of other women in comparable situations. Lonna’s story is as much a tale of resilience as it is of sadness and frustration. On today's episode, Scott speaks to Lonna Ralbag, her attorney, Daniel Schwartz, and Keshet Starr, Executive Director of the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. If you are interested in participating in a JCH-ORA postnup party, please email scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com and we'll tell you how you can participate. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

We all know that there have been numerous high profile scandals involving sexual abuse on the part of teachers and authority figures in the Orthodox world. We also know that as light is shed on these cases, public awareness grows, and the likelihood of coverups is hopefully lessened. At the same time, we need to explore how to put protocols in place so that schools, institutions, and organizations can avoid many of the problems before they happen, and, should these problems occur, have strong guidelines firmly in place. This ensures that the institution will know how to react, and that parents and people who are connected to the institution will receive real information and have confidence that proper procedure is being followed. In order to discuss this very important topic, Scott interviewed Rahel Bayar, CEO of The Bayar Group, on this week's podcast. Rahel and Scott talked about many issues related to institutions and their reactions to sexual misconduct, harrassment, and boundary crossing behavior. These include questions about what protocols should be put in place, what is involved in a proper investigation, how parents can recognize whether a school is being forthright or is engaged primarily in protecting itself, how institutions can determine if an accusation is credible, whether there are warning signs that schools should look for before hiring teachers, and much more. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Six weeks ago, the Orthodox Conundrum released a panel discussion with Rabbi Moshe Simkovich, Mrs. Rachel Schwartzberg, Mrs. Olivia Friedman, and Rabbi Pesach Sommer entitled The Crisis of Orthodox Teacher Retention. That episode received a fair bit of comment, and at the same time raised as many questions as it solved. For that reason, it was clear that a follow-up episode with expert educational innovators was necessary in order to address additional problems and to suggest further solutions. To that end, Scott invited Rabbi Shmuel Feld and Mrs. Rachel Levitt Klein Dratch to discuss their thoughts about the direction of day school education in much of the Orthodox world. They both combine the expertise that comes from experience and study, with the creativity that is the hallmark of out-of-the-box thinking. Whether they were discussing our overemphasis on titles and how to overcome that problem, or the new ways we need to think about education, or the necessity of involving the totality of community institutions - not just the schools - in using teachers’ skills and hiring them for their programming, Rabbi Feld and Mrs. Dratch were constantly suggesting new ways of thinking about a problem that has been around for decades. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Join Scott Kahn in this rereleased bonus episode for commentaries on 25 of the 40 kinot (lamentations) that Jews recite on the morning of Tisha B'Av. (The time signatures for each commentary are listed below.) Along with all of the Jewish people, we pray that this be the final Tisha B’Av on which we mourn. May the upcoming year be one of gladness, joy, and redemption for us, for all of Israel, and for the whole world. Kinah 6 (שבת סורו) begins at 0:42 Kinah 7 (איכה אצת) begins at 6:17 Kinah 8 (אאדה) begins at 9:04 Kinah 9 (איכה תפארתי) beings at 13:42 Kinah 10 (איכה ישבה) begins at 17:01 Kinah 11 (ויקונן ירמיהו) begins at 19:59 Kinah 12 (אהלי) begins at 25:16 Kinah 13 (אי כה) begins at 29:40 Kinah 14 (איכה את אשר כבר עשוהו) begins at 34:55 Kinah 15 (איכה אשפתו) begins at 40:19 Kinah 16 (זכר את אשר עשה) begins at 41:56 Kinah 17 (אם תאכלנה) begins at 47:35 KInah 18 (ואתה אמרת) begins at 51:11 Kinah 19 (לך ה' הצדקה) begins at 54:59 Kinah 20 (הטה אלקי אזנך) begins at 1:00:30 Kinah 21 (ארזי הלבנון) begins at 1:03:16 Kinah 22 (החרישו) begins at 1:09:51 Kinah 23 (ואת נוי) begins at 1:16:37 Kinah 24 (על אלה אני בוכיה) begins at 1:18:12 Kinah 25 (מי יתן ראשי מים) begins at 1:20:45 Kinah 27 (אז במלאת ספק) begins at 1:24:34 Kinah 31 (אש תוקד בקרבי) begins at 1:30:26 Kinah 36 (ציון הלא תשאלי) begin at 1:34:24 Kinah 41 (שאלי שרופה באש) begins at 1:37:55 Kinah 45 (אלי ציון) begins at 1:41:43 Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.