Identity/Crisis

Latest Episodes:

#66: Gen Z (and their Questions) Return to Campus Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

Rabbis Jessica Lott (Northwestern Hillel) and Charlie Schwartz (Center for Jewish and Israel Education at Hillel International) join Hartman's Director of Campus Initiatives, Danielle Kranjec, to shed light on what has changed in the last, disrupted year of college education. They discuss how generational shifts do and don't inform conversations about Israel, how geography and demographics impact pluralism, and how big the tent is–or should be–on campus.

#65: Tel Aviv's Spaceport Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

Internationally acclaimed Israeli science fiction author Lavie Tidhar joins guest host David Zvi Kalman to discuss the relative dearth of Jews in space, the state of the science fiction genre outside of the US, and his recent and upcoming works including the Tel Aviv-set novel Central Station.

#64: Sociology, Ideology, and Pew 2020 (Corrected) Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

Hartman Director of Faculty Elana Stein Hain and Scholar-in-Residence Mijal Bitton discuss the Pew 2020 study, and the conversations Jews are - and aren't - having about it. What about our conversations have changed since the last major survey in 2013, and what's at stake when we guide our communities by the numbers?

This conversation was recorded as part of Hartman's summer of learning and is being released here in an edited version.

#63: A Quintessentially American Jewish Institution Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Shuly Rubin Schwartz (JTS) joins Yehuda Kurtzer to reflect on her new role as Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the integrative learning that happens there. Together they discuss the ideals of the institution, the challenges of leading in a polarized era, and the value of history as context for profound and long-lasting learning.

#62: Foundational Judaism: What is It, and How Do We Teach It? Jul 15, 2021

Show notes

Elana Stein Hain (Shalom Hartman Institute) joins Yehuda Kurtzer to introduce Hartman's newest curricular offering, Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism, a sophisticated yet accessible introduction to Jewish thought for educators and students of all backgrounds. Featured here is an episode of the companion podcast, Conversations for a Thoughtful Judaism, where Hartman scholars Sara Labaton and Tomer Persico speak about the role of Jewish practice in their lives.

Learn more at shalomhartman.org/foundations

#61: What is Jewish Studies For? Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

Shaul Magid (Dartmouth College) and Pamela Nadell (American University) join Yehuda Kurtzer to take a broad view of the academic field of Jewish Studies: its origins, its uneasy relationship with the community and philanthropy that enable it, and its problematics.

#60: To Fight Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism, Look at the Data Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

Eitan Hersh (Tufts University) recently published two sociological papers on antisemitism and sentiment about Israel in America's young adults. He joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss what the data says, the pitfalls of analyzing communal problems with anecdotal evidence, and the way individuals can actually effect political change.

Referenced in this episode: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/political-hobbyists-are-ruining-politics/605212/

#59: The Canadian Jewish Difference Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

Yehuda Kurtzer and David Koffman (York University) chart out the unique questions that face Canadian Jews as citizens of a binational, bilingual, self-described settler state, and the way those questions inform their communal Zionism, continuity, and scholarship.

#58: How to Lose Without Violence Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

Joel Braunold (S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace) joins Yehuda Kurtzer to talk about peace-making in the Middle East: its preconditions, the person-to-person work that might enable it, and the uncomfortable truth that "peace" might mean - for everyone - " to agree to lose non-violently."

#57: Learning How to Listen Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

Yona Shem-Tov and Leah Solomon of Encounter join Yehuda Kurtzer to talk about what Israeli and American Jews aren't seeing, what is simple and what is complicated about the ongoing conflict, and how to listen and speak more courageously.

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