Sam Wachs

Episode 27: Beyond Antisemitism

January 31st, 2022  |  Season 1  |  55 mins 39 secs

antisemitism, judaism, progressive judaism

Just days before a horrifying hostage standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, we recorded an episode about antisemitism. Rabbi Jacob Staub, Ph.D., the show’s executive producer, joins Bryan Schwartzman as a guest host as they welcome Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D, for a wide-ranging conversation about her recent Evolve essay, "Beyond Antisemitism." Rather than give in to fear, Deborah argues we should lean into Jewish identity, community and coalition-building.

Episode 26: The Reconstructionist

December 29th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 3 mins

In this special episode celebrating the career of our podcast's executive producer, Rabbi Jacob Staub, Ph.D., guest host Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism, traces how Jacob went from being a secular college student, intent on pursuing a literary life, to one of the most influential Reconstructionist thinkers, writers and teachers of the past 50 years.

Episode 25: 'Adoption Isn’t a Bad Thing, It’s a Tricky Thing'

November 29th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  40 mins 58 secs

adoption, evolve, jewish

The process of adoption is often thought of as children in need of a loving home being matched with couples who get to fulfill deferred dreams of becoming parents. It’s a win-win, right? Minna Scherlinder Morse, a writer and editor as well as an adoptive parent, says the reality and the history is far more nuanced.

Episode 24: Liberation from Opioids: One Rabbi’s Journey

October 12th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 4 mins

opioid, recovery, sobriety, vicodin

Rabbi Michael Perice recently made a startling revelation to his congregation: For four years, he’d been addicted to opioids. Now, celebrating 10 years of liberation, Perice decided it was time to share his story with his community and the wider world.

Episode 23: Hidden Jews in the 21st Century

August 17th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins

conversation, conversion, interview, jewish, judiasm

In the past few decades, descendants of Jews who had been forced to flee, convert, or hide Jewish practices during the Inquisition have been seeking to reconnect with Jewish communities. At times, they have been embraced, other times shunned, and, too often, encountered Jewish experiences that didn’t authentically reflect their Sephardic roots.

Episode 22: Hope as an Ethical Imperative

July 22nd, 2021  |  Season 1  |  52 mins 48 secs

breitman, evolve, hope, jewish, judaism, spiritual direction, staub, therapy

In Barbara Breitman’s telling, hope isn't "some fluffy thing." It's an essential Jewish practice. Hope enables leaders to imagine a different world and work to bring it out about no matter what obstacles stand in the way. Breitman, a spiritual director, therapist and scholar of religion, cites Moses, Noah and Mordechai as Biblical characters who embody this kind of hope. How can ordinary people emulate these examples?

Episode 5: Racism in the Jewish Community

January 30th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  54 mins 51 secs

Imagine you’re an African American Jew-by-choice and made the monumental decision to go to rabbinical school. A fellow synagogue board member says, “wow, you’re more Jewish than the Jews.” Throughout rabbinical school, the first thing you’re asked when you enter Jewish space is “how can you be Jewish?” or “when did you convert?” And then after starting your first job as a campus rabbi, a parent asks if you’re really ordained. In this episode, Rabbi Sandra Lawson shares her personal experiences like these. She seeks to push white Jews to face their assumptions and confront racism within themselves, racism that may not be malicious in intent but is inherited from the world around. Her hopes are for the Jewish people to live up to our highest ideals.