Show notes
This episode features a fascinating interview with Professor Ada Taggar-Cohen who founded the only Jewish Studies program in Japan at Doshisha University in Kyoto. Margarita and Ada discuss being Jewish in Japan, her research, and her perspective on the Torah. The episode takes and interesting turn when Ada and Margarita discuss - Is what's written in the Torah unique to the Jews? Was Masada really heroic? What's the deal with the Messiah?
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What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda
03:55 Who is Professor Ada Taggar-Cohen?
05:51 How did Ada decide to move to Japan?
07:45 Ada's research - "we have to look at the Torah as an edited text"
09:21 The connection of Zionism to the Hebrew Bible
10:01 The Torah is rooted in the heritage of the Near East - what does this mean?
11:48 Comparison of Hittite texts to the Torah
15:01 On the evolution of Judaism - the ability to choose
15:58 On living in "Temple Times" when the Messiah comes - it's a matter of personal belief
17:19 "The Messiah will come, but not in my times"
19:03 On Holocaust survivors
19:50 Margarita's takes - Messianic Judaism? Modern interpretation of the Torah? What's what?
23:48 Margarita's takes - Heroes of the Holocaust, Masada, & do we have an obligation to fight back?
28:04 On assimilating in Japan as an Israeli person
30:00 The Japanese treat everyone as foreigners - doesn't matter if you are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, etc.
30:38 On the Jewish community in Japan - "there is no antisemitism in Japan"
32:10 The Japanese are pacifists - they have a hard time wrapping their mind around the Hamas/Israel war
33:09 The Japanese are fascinated with the Jewish people
34:03 What is it like teaching Japanese students Jewish Studies?
36:41 Ada's class on Jewish women - who is an inspiring Jewish woman? Guest Nomination
40:18 Closing Remarks
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