Stay ConnectedListen in as Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman analyze pressing issues for 21st century American Judaism. Mixing their own analysis with interviews of leading thinkers, practitioners, and even “regular Jews,” Lex and Rena Yehuda look to push past the bounds of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century.
You can support Judaism Unbound at www.JudaismUnbound.com/donate.
Dan and Lex are joined by Alix Wall, an award-winning journalist, founder of The Illuminoshi: The Not-So-Secret Society of Bay Area Jewish Food Professionals, and organizer of its "Trefa Banquet 2.0." The banquet (Trefa means "not kosher") gathered Jews together for an experience that combined the culinary and the educational. And yes -- pork was on the menu.
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
To access shownotes for this episode, click here!
Dan and Lex are joined by Tal Ben-Shahar, a lecturer and writer who specializes in the field of Positive Psychology. He describes what "studying happiness" looks like in practice, identifies some of the field's key findings, and explores how religion, and Judaism in particular, intersect with academic research on meaning, purpose, and human flourishing.
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!
Dan and Lex are joined by Barbara Thiede, who is both a Teaching Professor of Religious Studies at UNC-Charlotte and an ordained rabbi who serves as a leader in the Jewish Renewal movement. In their conversation, Thiede questions the myth that rabbis "saved Judaism" in the aftermath of the Second Temple's destruction and pushes us to consider and elevate narratives of Judaism that do not revolve around rabbinic texts and teachings.
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!
In celebration of Judaism Unbound's 100th episode, Dan and Lex are joined by Rabbi Irving ("Yitz") Greenberg, an important thinker whose ideas laid the foundation that Judaism Unbound and many of our previous guests have been building upon, to take a deep dive into his notion that we are living at the dawn of the "Third Era" of Judaism. We explore the theological, philosophical, practical, and political implications of this paradigm. Yitz Greenberg is considered one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the last half century, and his work has spanned the fields of theology, philosophy, education, activism, and philanthropy.
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!
Many Jewish institutions present the perspective that Jewish leadership requires mastery of a certain set of ideas and practices, discouraging anyone lacking that mastery (implicitly and explicitly) from creating the Judaisms that they wish to see in the world. In this episode, Dan and Lex push back against that idea, making the case for "regular Jews" to become creators of our Jewish present and future.
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!
Dan and Lex are joined by Brett Lockspeiser, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Sefaria for the last interview in this series exploring the creations of "regular Jews" (people who did not set out to become Jewish professionals). In this episode, we explore the beginnings, evolution, and future of Sefaria, a free digital library of Jewish texts that describes its work as "the Future of Torah."
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!
In our continuing series on "regular Jews" creating important new initiatives, Dan and Lex are joined by Jenna Reback, a television writer based in Los Angeles who has created a weekly podcast entitled Bad Jew Weekly. Reback talks us through her goal of helping people who have thought of themselves as "bad Jews" on their journey toward becoming "bad-ass Jews." The conversation covers a range of important issues in the Jewish world today, from how to fully welcome converts to the interplay between national and international politics and Jewish institutions.
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!
This Hanukkah, Dan and Lex are bringing you fresh ideas to enrich your Hanukkah experience every night of the holiday. In this episode, hear what tradition they propose for the 8th night.
Check out all of Judaism Unbound's Hanukkah resources, including food to cook, movies to watch, guests to invite, and cocktails to drink, at www.judaismunbound.com/hanukkah!
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
This Hanukkah, Dan and Lex are bringing you fresh ideas to enrich your Hanukkah experience every night of the holiday. In this episode, hear what tradition they propose for the 7th night.
Check out all of Judaism Unbound's Hanukkah resources, including food to cook, movies to watch, guests to invite, and cocktails to drink, at www.judaismunbound.com/hanukkah!
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
This Hanukkah, Dan and Lex are bringing you fresh ideas to enrich your Hanukkah experience every night of the holiday. In this episode, hear what tradition they propose for the 6th night.
Check out all of Judaism Unbound's Hanukkah resources, including food to cook, movies to watch, guests to invite, and cocktails to drink, at www.judaismunbound.com/hanukkah!
If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
