Episode 62: Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Rabbi Alex Weissman on Dismantling Racism

Reconstructing Judaism — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 07:00:00 -0500

“Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out.” The idea is deceptively simple and strongly rooted in Jewish tradition. To change society, individuals must first address their own attitudes, biases and inner lives. Easy to say, much harder to carry out. With funding from the Wabash Center, Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Rabbi Alex Weissman decided to try this approach at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, which is committed to anti-racism. Working with faculty, Lawson and Weissman led a year-long process grounded in mussar (Jewish ethical practice.) The work was set to begin in earnest on Oct. 17, 2023. In this episode, Weissman and Lawson talk about how the attacks of Oct. 7 and subsequent war cast a shadow over the project but ultimately led to some important insights about how racism has impact Jewish institutions. They also address why, in an age of skyrocketing antisemitism, it’s as important as ever for Jewish communities to address racism.

Theme song, “Ilu Finu” by Rabbi Miriam Margles. Her album This is the Day is available for purchase at CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/miriammarglesandthehadarensemb

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This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Special Guests: Rabbi Alex Weissman and Rabbi Sandra Lawson.

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Episode 54: Religion Scholar Louis Newman Discusses Shattered Faith, the War in Gaza and Antisemitism on College Campuses

Reconstructing Judaism — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0400

For a certain generation of Jewish Americans, Israel and the memory of the Holocaust represented twin pillars of civil religion, argues Louis Newman, a scholar of Jewish ethics and religion. While these pillars may have shown cracks for decades, Newman says they came crashing down on Oct. 7,2023. Israel had failed its most basic function: keeping Jews and all its inhabitants safe. What does a people do when its faith is shattered? What can we learn from our history? Where do we go from here? Newman discusses all this and more in a thought-provoking interview. The author of a new book on how to succeed in college also gives his take on campus antisemitism, anti-Israel protests and what colleges might do to restore both safety and the free exchange of ideas and expression.