Best Jewish Studies Podcasts (2024)

1
Beresheit 5785: Beginnings and Fractures 38:46

1h ago38:46

38:46

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Simonne Abadee in celebration of the beginning of our creation, the new year, and a new reading of our Torah, offering the chance to engage anew in our learning.Ten years ago, Simonne came to Pardes and immersed herself in Torah learning. Through this, a whole new world of life opened up to her. She has chosen to…

1
Hélène Jawhara Piñer, "Matzah and Flour: Recipes from the History of the Sephardic Jews" (Cherry Orchard, 2024) 47:16

42m ago47:16

47:16

From Hélène Jawhara Piñer, Gourmand World Cookbook Award-winning author of Sephardi: Cooking the History, comes a collection of 125 meticulously crafted recipes showcasing the enduring flavors that define Sephardic culinary heritage. Matzah and Flour: Recipes from the History of the Sephardic Jews (Cherry Orchard Books, 2024) offers a tantalizing e…

1
Shared Paths: Exploring Jewish and Muslim Experiences in America 41:42

32m ago41:42

41:42

This week on International Horizons, John Torpey, Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute, speaks with sociologists Mucahit Bilici and Samuel Heilman about their book, Following Similar Paths: What Jews and Muslims Can Learn From One Another (University of California Press, 2024). Bilici and Heilman explore how Judaism and Islam, as minority religio…

1
Peter Joshua Atkins, "The Animalising Affliction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: Reading Across the Human-Animal Boundary" (Bloomsbury, 2022) 44:42

1h ago44:42

44:42

The Animalising Affliction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: Reading Across the Human-Animal Boundary (Bloomsbury, 2022) is a detailed investigation into the nature of Nebuchadnezzar's animalising affliction in Daniel 4 and the degree to which he is depicted as actually becoming an animal. Peter Atkins examines two predominant lines of interpretation:…

1
Rachel O'Sullivan, "Nazi Germany, Annexed Poland and Colonial Rule: Resettlement, Germanization and Population Policies in Comparative Perspective" (Bloomsbury, 2023) 1:03:05

1h ago1:03:05

1:03:05

Nazi Germany, Annexed Poland and Colonial Rule: Resettlement, Germanization and Population Policies in Comparative Perspective (Bloomsbury, 2023) examines Nazi Germany's expansion, population management and establishment of a racially stratified society within the Reichsgaue (Reich Districts) of Wartheland and Danzig-West Prussia in annexed Poland …

1
Simcha Gross, "Babylonian Jews and Sasanian Imperialism in Late Antiquity" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:14:22

3d ago1:14:22

1:14:22

From the image offered by the Babylonian Talmud, Jewish elites were deeply embedded within the Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). The Talmud is replete with stories and discussions that feature Sasanian kings, Zoroastrian magi, fire temples, imperial administrators, Sasanian laws, Persian customs, and more quotidian details of Jewish life. Yet, in the s…

1
Ora Horn Prouser et al., "Under One Tent: Circus, Judaism, and Bible" (Ben Yehuda Press, 2023) 1:03:48

35m ago1:03:48

1:03:48

The study of Jewish text, over two millennia, has traditionally taken place in the Bet Midrash (the communal study hall), sitting at a table or desk. Studying the Bible has been a project of thinking, talking, contemplative reflection, and debate. There are other ways. Dr. Ora Horn Prouser, Cantor Michael Kasper, and circus artist and choreographer…

1
Sukkot 5785: Vulnerability and Joy 27:04

1h ago27:04

27:04

How can embracing vulnerability lead to a deeper sense of joy during Sukkot?In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy delve into the paradox of Sukkot, exploring how vulnerability and joy are deeply intertwined in the festival. They discuss how the temporary nature of the sukkah highlights the fragility of life and how embr…

1
Aliza Arzt, "Turning the Pages: Conversations Through Time with Rabbi Isador Signer" (Ben Yehuda Press, 2024) 1:16:01

11m ago1:16:01

1:16:01

Today I talked to Aliza Arzt about Turning the Pages: Conversations Through Time with Rabbi Isador Signer (Ben Yehuda Press, 2024) In 1924, Rabbi Isidor Signer was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. He had been born in Romania and raised in Montreal. He would go on to lead congregations in Bethlehem, Pennsylvan…

1
Judaism is About Love: A Discussion with Shai Held 34:53

1h ago34:53

34:53

A dramatic misinterpretation of the Jewish tradition has shaped the history of the West: Christianity is the religion of love, and Judaism the religion of law. In the face of centuries of this widespread misrepresentation, Rabbi Shai Held―one of the most important Jewish thinkers in America today―recovers the heart of the Jewish tradition, offering…

1
Tikva Hecht, "Tashlikh" (Ben Yehuda Press, 2024) 48:13

4d ago48:13

48:13

Poetry is a commentary on life, on the human longing to find shelter in a space where the spiritual and the physical, the holy and the profane meet. For thousands of years, the exploration of text, of words, of what was not said between the lines has been a creative and meaning-making outlet for Jewish scholars and artists. With Tashlikh (Ben Yehud…

1
Jamie Michaels and Doug Fedrau, "Christie Pits" (Dirty Water Comics, 2019) 48:09

2d ago48:09

48:09

A gritty ride through Toronto's immigrant neighbourhoods, Christie Pits (Dirty Water Comics, 2019) tells the incredible true story of when young Jewish and Italian immigrants squared off against Nazi-inspired thugs on the streets of Toronto. This is the history of a gruff and unrecognizable Canada - one of 'swastika clubs' and public bigotry.A home…

1
Yom Kippur 5785: Forgiveness and Growth 28:26

7d ago28:26

28:26

What role does vulnerability play in the Yom Kippur process of teshuvah?In this Yom Kippur-focused episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Dr. Elisha Ancselovits explore how to approach this sacred day following a year marked by deep pain and loss. They discuss the challenges of asking for forgiveness in the shadow of such suffering and offer guidance o…

1
Anat Geva, "The Architecture of Modern American Synagogues, 1950s-1960s" (Texas A&M UP, 2023) 53:52

12d ago53:52

53:52

Today I talked to Anat Geva about The Architecture of Modern American Synagogues, 1950s-1960s (Texas A&M UP, 2023). There is no one mandate on how to build the exterior of a synagogue - something that I don't think I ever thought about, yet it was something that Professor Anat Geva focused on. Famous architects of different backgrounds built the sy…

1
Robert Rozett, "Conscripted Slaves: Hungarian Jewish Forced Laborers on the Eastern Front During the Second World War" (Yad Vashem, 2014) 1:03:00

15d ago1:03:00

1:03:00

From the spring of 1942 until the summer of 1944, some 45,000 Jewish men were forced to accompany Hungarian troops to the battle zone of the Soviet Union. Some 80% of the Jewish forced laborers never returned home. They fell prey to battle, starvation, disease, and grinding labor, aggravated immensely by brutality and even outright murder at the ha…

1
Naomi Seidman, "In the Freud Closet: Psychoanalysis and Jewish Languages" (Stanford UP, 2024) 1:13:30

7d ago1:13:30

1:13:30

There is an academic cottage industry on the "Jewish Freud," aiming to detect Jewish influences on Freud, his own feelings about being Jewish, and suppressed traces of Jewishness in his thought. In Translating the Jewish Freud: Psychoanalysis in Hebrew and Yiddish (Stanford University Press, 2024), Naomi Seidman takes a different approach, turning …

1
Shalva Weil, "The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity" (Routledge, 2021) 43:43

7d ago43:43

43:43

Speaking with Professor Shalva Weil, one receives a glimpse into the wider world. Through her family ties, her personal journeys, and her research, she has gained, and shares, an understanding of the unique nature and histories of different groups. In this interview she shared the significance of a Jewish community that lasted less than 200 years b…

1
Rosh Hashana 5785: Renewal in Challenging Times 38:42

10d ago38:42

38:42

This Rosh Hashana podcast is sponsored by Ricki and Dr. David I. Bernstein in memory of Ricki’s parents, Beatrice and Murray Kirschblat z”l, survivors of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, respectively. Beatrice and Murray were each the sole survivors of large families which perished in the Shoah. Their resilience and courage in building a family after such…

1
Steven T. Katz, "The Holocaust and New World Slavery: A Comparative History" (Cambridge UP, 2019) 58:08

9d ago58:08

58:08

The Holocaust and New World Slavery: A Comparative History (Cambridge UP, 2019) offers the first, in-depth comparison of the Holocaust and new world slavery. Providing a reliable view of the relevant issues, and based on a broad and comprehensive set of data and evidence, Steven Katz analyzes the fundamental differences between the two systems and …

1
Estelle Tarica, "Holocaust Consciousness and Cold War Violence in Latin America" (SUNY Press, 2022) 1:05:59

10d ago1:05:59

1:05:59

Holocaust Consciousness and Cold War Violence in Latin America (SUNY Press, 2022) proposes the existence of a recognizably distinct Holocaust consciousness in Latin America since the 1970s. Community leaders, intellectuals, writers, and political activists facing state repression have seen themselves reflected in Holocaust histories and have used H…

1
Waitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024) 1:28:36

12d ago1:28:36

1:28:36

Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite bei…

1
Zeev Levin, "Collectivization and Social Engineering: Soviet Administration and the Jews of Uzbekistan, 1917-1939" (Brill, 2015) 1:23:49

13d ago1:23:49

1:23:49

In Collectivization and Social Engineering: Soviet Administration and the Jews of Uzbekistan, 1917-1939 (Brill, 2015), Zeev Levin seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of government efforts to socialize the Jewish masses in Uzbekistan, a process in which the central Soviet government took part, together with the local, republican and regional ad…

1
Francesco Lotoro, "The Lost Music of the Holocaust: Bringing the Music of the Camps to the Ears of the World at Last" (Headline, 2024) 1:31:55

15d ago1:31:55

1:31:55

Scores sewn into coat linings, instruments hidden in suitcases, sheet music stashed among dirty laundry, concertos written on discarded food wrappers - these are just some of the ingenious ways prisoners in civilian, political and military captivity from 1933 to 1953 protected their music in the darkest of times. Italian pianist and composer France…

1
Nitzavim – Vayelich 5784: Empowering Leadership 31:33

18d ago31:33

31:33

How do words of encouragement shape Joshua’s leadership and the future of the Jewish people?In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Aviva Lauer explore Parshat Vayelech, focusing on the leadership transition from Moshe to Yehoshua. Join them and dive into the significance of the repeated phrase "chazak ve’amatz" (be strong and brave) and how Moshe and…

1
Hannan Hever, "Hebrew Literature and the 1948 War: Essays on Philology and Responsibility" (Brill, 2019) 1:22:15

17d ago1:22:15

1:22:15

Hebrew Literature and the 1948 War: Essays on Philology and Responsibility (Brill, 2019) is the first book-length study that examines the conspicuous absence of the Palestinian Nakba in modern Hebrew literature. Through a rigorous reading of canonical Hebrew literary texts, the author addresses the general failure of Hebrew literature to take respo…

1
Shane Burley and Ben Lorber, "Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism" (Melville House, 2024) 1:10:01

18d ago1:10:01

1:10:01

Antisemitism is on the rise today. From synagogue shootings by white nationalists, to right-wing politicians and media figures pushing George Soros conspiracy theories, it’s clear that exclusionary nationalist movements are growing. By spreading division and fear, they put Jews, along with other marginalized groups and multiracial democracy itself,…

1
Tom Navon, "Radical Assimilation in the Face of the Holocaust: Otto Heller (1897–1945)" (SUNY Press, 2024) 1:03:59

18d ago1:03:59

1:03:59

This book explores the confrontation of radically assimilated Jews with the violent collapse of their envisioned integration into a cosmopolitan European society, which culminated during the Holocaust. This confrontation is examined through the biography of the German-speaking intellectual and prominent communist theoretician of the Jewish question…

1
Seth J. Frantzman, "The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza" (Wicked Son, 2024) 39:03

1M ago39:03

39:03

A harrowing account on the frontlines of the war between Israel and Hamas, The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (Wicked Son, 2024) War tells the story of how Hamas surprised Israel with its deadly attack, killing more than 1,000 people and kidnapping more than 250. With unparalleled access to the Israeli soldiers and units that f…

1
William H. F. Altman, "The German Stranger: Leo Strauss and National Socialism" (Lexington Books, 2010) 2:12:04

30d ago2:12:04

2:12:04

Leo Strauss was a German-Jewish emigrant to the United States, an author, professor and political philosopher. Born in 1899 in Kirchhain in the Kingdom of Prussia to an observant Jewish family, Strauss received his doctorate from the University of Hamburg in 1921, and began his scholarly work in the 1920s, as well as participating in the German Zio…

1
Ki Tavo 5784: Collective Responsibility 32:28

30d ago32:28

32:28

In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Raphael Polisuk delve into the covenant ceremony at Har Grizim and Har Eval in Parshat Ki Tavo. They explore how this moment of blessings and curses establishes a collective responsibility among the Jewish people and its significance as they enter the land. Through classic commentaries, they examine the ch…

1
Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" (Brandeis UP, 2023) 41:38

1M ago41:38

41:38

Today I talked to Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold's their book Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field (Brandeis UP, 2023). In this discussion we discuss best teaching practices for Israel Incorporating Israel educators from inner-city nontraditional college classrooms, the US marine core university, Jewish day school high schools and pre…

1
Aviad Moreno, "Entwined Homelands, Empowered Diasporas: Hispanic Moroccan Jews and Their Globalizing Community" (Indiana UP, 2024) 1:01:42

1M ago1:01:42

1:01:42

Dr. Aviad Moreno is himself an incarnation of entwined homelands. He is an Israeli whose grandfather moved from Morocco to Venezuela, sent his son back to Morocco to study. The family hailed from Spain before the Exile in 1492 only to maintain much of the Spanish language and character. These migrations create a unique diaspora for the Jews of nort…

1
Katharine J. Dell, "The Lord by Wisdom Founded the Earth" (Baylor UP, 2023) 16:06

1M ago16:06

16:06

The foundation of the earth, its division from the heavens and the waters, God's provision of all of nature as well as human and animal life, God's relationship to the world, and the ethics and morality of our human response; these key themes, related to both creation and covenant, emerge from the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible. In her recen…

1
Debora Kantor, "Examining Jewish Identity in Argentine Cinema: Nonfiction Films on Israel" 19:55

28d ago19:55

19:55

In this episode, Debora Kantor, a lecturer at the National University of San Martin, Buenos Aires, discusses her research on the representation of Jews and Jewishness in Argentine modern and contemporary cinema. She delves into her specific project on Argentine nonfiction films about Israel, examining how these films reflect both collective and per…

1
Marilynne Robinson, "Reading Genesis" (FSG, 2024) 33:06

1M ago33:06

33:06

For generations, the book of Genesis has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherency, just as fu…

1
Geoffrey D. Claussen, "Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought" (Jewish Publication Society, 2022) 38:02

1M ago38:02

38:02

Today I talked to Geoffrey D. Claussen about Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought (Jewish Publication Society, 2022). How do modern Jews understand virtues such as courage, humility, justice, solidarity, or love? In truth: they have fiercely debated how to interpret them. This groundbreaking anthology of musar (Jewish traditions regard…

1
What Makes Someone Jewish? 36:08

1M ago36:08

36:08

In this episode, host Avishay Artsy and guest scholars Noah Feldman, Susannah Heschel, and Shaul Magid consider what makes someone Jewish by asking three questions: What are the Jews exactly? What do Jews believe, and how central is religion to Jewish identity? Where does the Jewish state fit into Jewish identity?…

1
Yaacob Dweck, "Dissident Rabbi: The Life of Jacob Sasportas" (Princeton UP, 2019) 54:07

1M ago54:07

54:07

In 1665, Sabbetai Zevi, a self-proclaimed Messiah with a mass following throughout the Ottoman Empire and Europe, announced that the redemption of the world was at hand. As Jews everywhere rejected the traditional laws of Judaism in favor of new norms established by Sabbetai Zevi, and abandoned reason for the ecstasy of messianic enthusiasm, one ma…

1
Ki Teitzei 5784: Compassion and Limits 34:02

1M ago34:02

34:02

In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Michael Hattin explore the mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen (sending away the mother bird) in Parshat Ki Teitzei. They discuss how this seemingly small commandment reflects deeper values of compassion and limits on consumption. Through classical commentaries, they examine how this mitzvah helps cultivate sensitiv…

1
Oren Kroll-Zeldin, "Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine" (NYU Press, 2024) 1:07:05

1M ago1:07:05

1:07:05

Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine (NYU Press, 2024) digs into the experiences of young Jewish Americans who engage with the Palestine solidarity movement and challenge the staunch pro-Israel stance of mainstream Jewish American institutions. The book explores how these activists address Israeli government policies o…

1
Naomi Leite, "Unorthodox Kin: Portuguese Marranos and the Global Search for Belonging" (U California Press, 2017) 1:31:07

1M ago1:31:07

1:31:07

Unorthodox Kin: Portuguese Marranos and the Global Search for Belonging (U California Press, 2017) is a lively, readable exploration of "chosen" identity, kin, and community in a global era. Anthropologist Naomi Leite examines the complexity of how we know ourselves -- who we "really" are -- and how we recognize others as strangers or kin through t…

1
Jeremy Salamon, "Second Generation: 100 Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table" (Harvest Publications, 2024) 48:58

1M ago48:58

48:58

From Jeremy Salamon the chef and owner of Agi’s Counter in Brooklyn comes 100 classic Hungarian and Jewish recipes reinvented for a new generation – Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table (Harvest Publications, 2024). Salamon speaks to New Books Network, talking about the inspiration that came from growing …

1
Dan Stone, "Fate Unknown: Tracing the Missing after World War II and the Holocaust" (Oxford UP, 2023) 1:09:27

2M ago1:09:27

1:09:27

In Fate Unknown: Tracing the Missing after World War II and the Holocaust (Oxford University Press, 2023), Dan Stone tells the story of the last great unknown archive of Nazism, the International Tracing Service. Set up by the Allies at the end of World War II, the ITS has worked until today to find missing persons and to aid survivors with restitu…

1
Cary Nelson, "Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles" (Academic Studies Press, 2024) 40:42

2M ago40:42

40:42

Completed shortly before Hamas carried out its barbaric October massacre, Cary Nelson's Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles (Academic Studies Press, 2024) takes up issues that have consequently gained new urgency in the academy worldwide. It is the first book to ask what impact antisemitism has had on the f…

1
Shoftim 5784: Righteous Leadership 33:06

1M ago33:06

33:06

How does the Torah guide us in creating balanced and just leadership?In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Nechama Goldman Barash explore Parshat Shoftim, delving into the Torah's vision for leadership and governance. They discuss the various models of leadership presented in the parsha—from judges to kings—and how these roles are meant to balance p…

1
Ronnie Grinberg, "Write like a Man: Jewish Masculinity and the New York Intellectuals" (Princeton UP, 2024) 56:06

2M ago56:06

56:06

In the years following World War II, the New York intellectuals became some of the most renowned critics and writers in the country. Although mostly male and Jewish, this prominent group also included women and non-Jews. Yet all of its members embraced a secular Jewish machismo that became a defining characteristic of the contemporary experience. W…

1
Notes from the Field: A Personal View of the War on Gaza 44:43

2M ago44:43

44:43

We start this season of International Horizons with an interview with Dr. Eli Karetny, an American political scientist and administrative director of the Ralph Bunche Institute who spent the last academic year in Israel with his family. The plan was to do research on the Israeli Bedouin in the Negev desert – until the Hamas attacks of October 7 ups…

1
Lori Gemeiner-Bihler, "Cities of Refuge: German Jews in London and New York, 1935-1945" (SUNY Press, 2019) 1:09:25

2M ago1:09:25

1:09:25

In the years following Hitler’s rise to power, German Jews faced increasingly restrictive antisemitic laws, and many responded by fleeing to more tolerant countries. Cities of Refuge: German Jews in London and New York, 1935-1945 (SUNY Press, 2019), compares the experiences of Jewish refugees who immigrated to London and New York City by analyzing …

1
Jay Garfinkel, "Kohelet's Cocktail: Beyond the Pursuit of Happiness" (Illuminated Press, 2024) 27:03

2M ago27:03

27:03

Dive into the timeless wisdom of Ecclesiastes in Jay Garfinkel's groundbreaking work, Kohelet's Cocktail: Beyond the Pursuit of Happiness (Illuminated Press, 2024) This exquisite "illuminated" digital masterpiece marries the ancient with the avant-garde, offering a fresh, poetic voice to the biblical text that has resonated with humanity for millen…

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