Jew Oughta Know

Latest Episodes:

137. Ten Philosophers: Isaac Luria Aug 28, 2022

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Isaac Luria is taking us into the realm of the visionary and mysterious. We’re looking into the role of kabbalah — mystical Judaism — in our everyday lives. How can an infinite God create our finite universe? How can we mere humans repair a broken world? How did the city of Tsfat in Israel end up as the center of mystical Judaism?

136. Ten Philosophers: Maimonides Aug 21, 2022

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Maimonides says that you might be perplexed. Your intellect tells you that the stories in the Hebrew Bible can’t be scientifically true, but your faith tells you that they are. Maimonides is here to help! He revolutionized Judaism — from law and theology, to ideas about God and approaching Torah with a rational and universal mindset, there’s something for everyone in Jewish history’s greatest philosopher.

135. Ten Philosophers: Judah HaLevi Aug 07, 2022

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In 1141 CE, Judah HaLevi mysteriously disappeared on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, giving rise to legends about the scholar who became Judaism's most celebrated poet. He wrote the Kuzari, a stirring defense of the Jewish faith at a time when the Jewish golden age in Spain was under threat from Muslims and Christians vying for control of Andalusia.

134. Ten Philosophers: Saadia Gaon Jul 24, 2022

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Saadia Gaon single-handedly saved Judaism from splitting apart in the 10th century. He was the first great Jewish medieval philosopher and the spiritual father of Judeo-Arabic culture, defending Rabbinic Judaism against sectarianism and insisting that reason and revelation together seek the truth.

133. Ten Philosophers: Rabbi Akiva Jul 11, 2022

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132. Ten Philosophers: Philo of Alexandria Jun 26, 2022

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131. Ten Philosophers: Hillel the Elder Jun 19, 2022

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Starting off Season 6 with one of the all-time greatest Jewish thinkers: Hillel the Elder, from the 1st century BCE. The sage who summarized the entirety of the Torah while standing on one foot, Hillel's wisdom was preserved by his greatest admirers, giving us a portrait of a man wise, humble, and inspirational.

130. TFTYOS: Back to the Beginning Oct 31, 2021

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Season Finale. What does it mean to be an Israelite? A Jew? A Hebrew?

129. TFTYOS: Who Wrote the Bible? Oct 17, 2021

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Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, when, and how? Boiling a huge topic down to the basics: a thousand-year long literary tradition built by authors across the centuries, compiling story after story to arrive at what we have today.

128. TFTYOS: The Birth of Judaism Oct 03, 2021

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Amidst weeping and rejoicing, the priest-scribe Ezra reads from the Scroll of Teaching before all the people gathered in Jerusalem. The governor Nehemiah records the moment that Judaism burst onto the scene, as the glory of Jerusalem was restored in 445 BCE.

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