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TEXTing — Judaism
TEXTing

In this special series, TEXTing: IRL – Ideas for Real Life, Elana Stein Hain explores how classic and modern Jewish texts can help us wrestle with the big dilemmas of our time.
Sitting down with guests who are accomplished practitioners in their fields, Elana explores how Jewish wisdom can guide us to act with integrity in the face of complex questions about allyship, gratitude toward flawed leaders, and navigating political relationships.
TEXTing: IRL — Ideas for Real Life: accessible, relevant, and deeply Jewish.

Latest Episodes:

Uncomfortable Gratitude: Deliverance from a Flawed Source – with Tamara Mann Tweel Jul 18, 2025

How do we respond with gratitude toward someone whose values and policies we otherwise oppose?

In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain is joined by civic educator and Hartman research fellow Tamara Mann Tweel to explore what Jewish tradition can teach us about uncomfortable gratitude, the cognitive dissonance created when someone we find morally troubling takes an action we support, and how we can respond when deliverance comes from a flawed source.

Episode Source Sheet

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Allyship at the Edge: Navigating Difference – with Jacob Feinspan Jul 11, 2025

How can we stay true to our Jewish commitments while remaining active in movements that don’t always want us there?

In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain sits down with Jacob Feinspan, Executive Director of Jews United for Justice, to explore the complex dilemmas raised by the increased normalization of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Drawing on Maimonides' teachings about friendship, they tackle the nature of coalitions, navigating discomfort and acknowledging red lines, and how to foster relationships when we disagree.

Episode Source Sheet

Watch the video version of this episode here.

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Know Thy Enemy Dec 19, 2024

As we recall the miraculous story of the Maccabean victory this year, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war highlights challenging questions of national and individual identity. How do we see ourselves in relation to our enemy in times of conflict?

In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes study a text from Bereshit Rabbah about how we compare ourselves to our enemies and discuss how those comparisons influence who we are and who we imagine ourselves to be in war.

Episode Source Sheet

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A Guide to Jealousy Dec 02, 2024

In a world that is so connected through technology, we are inundated with highly curated images of other peoples’ seemingly perfect lives. Many of us feel jealous of these imagined realities. In this episode, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky discuss a text from Deuteronomy Rabbah 9:9 to help us understand where jealousy comes from and how to manage it.

Episode Source Sheet

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Gratitude and Sorrow Nov 18, 2024

In times of heartache, how do we find room for gratitude? In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes study a text from Tractate Brachot, Chapter 9, about divergent blessings for times of joy and times of sorrow and discuss how gratitude can help us through dark times.

Episode Source Sheet

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The Ruling Authorities Nov 04, 2024

As Americans race to the polls to make their voices heard, uncertainty about the future hangs in the air. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky examine three musings from Pirkei Avot on the function of government, and discuss election anxieties, the purpose of governing bodies, and the importance of voting in this crucial election.

Episode Source Sheet

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Finding Joy in Crisis Oct 21, 2024

In times of great tragedy, joy can feel out of place, or even inappropriate. However, when tragedy becomes a consistent part of our lives, we must learn to survive and continue to live through it. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain explore a text from Tosefta Sotah and discuss how to muster joy when tragedy seems to have no end.

Episode Source Sheet

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Remembering and Forgetting: The High Holidays as a Time of Solidarity Oct 07, 2024

During the High Holiday season, the focus of the Jewish people turns to the millenia of shared history and tradition reflected in the Days of Awe. In a session given by Elana Stein Hain for A Day of Learning for Our Hostages, Elana explores the connection between solidarity and memory, and the pieces of our tradition that bind us even across our differences. A Day of Learning for Our Hostages was held on September 30, 2024 to honor the shloshim of the six hostages murdered in August, show solidarity with the hostages still in captivity, and call on the Israeli government and the international community to prioritize their return.

Episode Source Sheet

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What’s Your Fish? Sep 23, 2024

When you feel like running away, where do you go to see things from a new perspective?

In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain explore the story of Jonah and the fish — the story traditionally read as haftorah on Yom Kippur afternoon — through the lens ofPirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Chapter 10, Section 9. Through this powerful midrash, Elana and Yonah discuss how temporarily seeking shelter from our problems can help us approach them in a more thoughtful and healthy way. They ask the question: what’s your fish?

Episode Source Sheet

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Living with Dissonance Sep 09, 2024

The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l did everything they could to rescue their son and the other hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 but in the end, they were unable to prevent his murder along with five other hostages.

In this special episode, Elana Stein Hain turns to a midrash in Sifrei Bamidbar to consider how to grieve this tremendous loss of life and grasp the seeming senselessness of this tragedy, in conversation with three Israeli scholars at the Shalom Hartman Institute—Tal Becker, Tehila Friedman, and Shoshana Cohen.

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Spiraling Upwards Aug 26, 2024

History repeats itself, but are we doomed to relive the mistakes of the past?

In this episode Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes explore cycles of life, destruction, and redemption through the lens of Tisha B’Av Kinot (liturgical poetry), Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), and Devarim (Deuteronomy), and ask whether we could—or should—break out of them.

Episode Source Sheet

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A Foundation for Hope Aug 12, 2024

Living through crisis propels us to reflect on historical crises and consider the consequences of our behavior on future generations. As Tisha B’av approaches, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky study a text from Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) chapter 32 about how we process cataclysmic events and imagine a future beyond them.

Episode Source Sheet

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TEXTing Live: The Rabbinic Panopticon Jul 29, 2024

The world has changed dramatically over the past millennium, yet the challenges we face concerning how we exist in public, and who we allow to shape our world view, is a tale as old as time. On this episode of TEXTing, recorded live at Hartman’s Rabbinic Torah Seminar in Jerusalem, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes explore texts about rabbinic ‘influencers’ and discuss how universal public scrutiny shapes how we think and behave.

Episode Source Sheet

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Another Way Jul 15, 2024

Everyone does things that they regret sometimes but expressing that regret can often be a challenge. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain examine a text from Shemot Rabbah to discover how we can meaningfully express our regrets and make amends.

Episode Source Sheet

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Keeping Memory Alive Jul 01, 2024

What is so painful about forgetting? The Jewish people rely on collective memory to keep traditions and communities alive, so a loss of memory is equivalent to a loss of connection. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky examine a passage from the Sifrei Devarim (Midrash on the Book of Deuteronomy), chapter 48, and explore our fear of forgetting, and how we keep memory alive.

Episode Source Sheet

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place Jun 18, 2024

The rise of antisemitism on both the right and the left has the Jewish people caught on the center line of a high-stakes tennis match. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain explore a Talmudic passage from Tractate Yoma 10a, to discuss how we maintain agency during troubling times, and how we look to the future when we can’t yet see the horizon.

Episode Source Sheet

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In the Face of Change Jun 03, 2024

Major moments of change, as Israelis and Jews around the world have experienced over the course of this past year, impose a daunting uncertainty about the future. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes dive into a story from Vayikra (Leviticus) Rabbah 29:2 that explores the complicated relationship that we have with both change and the status quo.

Episode Source Sheet

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A Fish out of Babylon May 20, 2024

What does it mean to feel out of place? When is discomfort something to work through, and when does it indicate that a change is needed? On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and special guest Shlomo Zuckier explore two stories of misfits, mistreatment, and the search for belonging, from the Jerusalem Talmud in Tractate Berachot, and how they can help us navigate Jewish community in a post-October 7 world.

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From Where I Sit May 06, 2024

Our political landscape and personal relationships are rife with misunderstandings and miscommunications. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain dive into a story from Nedarim 66b about a series of miscommunications between a Talmudic married couple to understand the difference between miscommunications and conflicting viewpoints and consider how we take responsibility for such differences.

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Controlling Chaos Apr 19, 2024

How do we understand the role of chaos in our lives, which feels so omnipresent right now? How can we defend against the mayhem? On this episode of Texting, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky examine two passages from the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds and explore the surprising ways that chaos can be contained.

This episode of TEXTing is sponsored by Nancy and Brad Bell.

Episode Source Sheet

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Pride and Shame Apr 08, 2024

In excess, both pride and shame can be destructive forces, yet to cultivate a healthy ego, one needs a moderate dosing of each. In this episode of Texting, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes unpack tractate Yoma page 22b, which highlights the tension between the need to stand up for oneself and the imperative to be magnanimous and forgiving. What emerges is the importance of interpersonal relationships, as we strive to treat others as we want to be treated.

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Living with Contradiction Mar 25, 2024

Right now, Jews are struggling to live with conflicting feelings— loyalty and dissent, compassion and rage, fear and hope. In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky turn to an ancient text—Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)—as well as rabbinic interpretations, to consider how we might live and thrive amidst contradiction.

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Code-switching Mar 11, 2024

Many Jews have found themselves frequently code-switching, altering their speech to fit in, during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In this episode of Texting, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain take a close look at an instance of code switching in the rabbinic Midrash, Pesikta DeRav Kahana 4:7-8, and what it can tell us about communicating with different audiences today.

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To Laugh or to Cry? Feb 29, 2024

As the rabbis of the Talmud faced exile and marginalization, they sometimes turned to humor and satire to cope with the challenges they faced. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes examine a passage from Talmud Bavli Bekhorot 8b-9a that preserves how the rabbis satirized the Roman cultural sphere—and consider what we can learn about how humor might comfort and guide us through difficult times.

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Individuals in a Time of Communal Tragedy Feb 15, 2024

In times of war, personal tragedy tends to be subsumed by a collective sense of loss and grief. Borrowing a metaphor from a rabbinic passage about the spread of wildfire in Bava Kamma 60a-60b, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky, a professor of philosophy and Jewish studies at Princeton University, explore human interconnectedness as it relates to evil in the world. Together they consider the question: during times of communal pain, when is it right, or even necessary, to close ourselves away, and when are we morally bound to participate in the wider community?

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Critiquing Power Jan 31, 2024

How do we relate to power today beyond the binary narrative of oppressor and oppressed? In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain examine a passage from the Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin that explores what it means to challenge those who hold power. Through the classic rabbinic reading of the story of the rebellion of Korach from Numbers 16, more complex possibilities emerge for understanding and critiquing power through a Jewish lens.

We are grateful to the Walder Charitable Fund and Micah Philanthropies for their generous support of TEXTing.

Episode Source Sheet

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Loss and Uncertainty Jan 17, 2024

Since the devastation on October 7 and throughout the subsequent Israel-Hamas War, Israelis and Jews worldwide have endured tremendous loss and deep uncertainty. In the first episode of TEXTing, a podcast devoted to the exploration of Jewish texts in relation to current events, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes turn to the Talmud in tractate Hagigah to address this shock, disbelief, alienation, and despair.

We are grateful to the Walder Charitable Fund and Micah Philanthropies for their generous support of TEXTing.

This episode is also sponsored by Erica Schacter Schwartz

Episode Source Sheet

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