Evolve
Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
We found 7 episodes of Evolve with the tag “judaism”.
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Episode 44: High Holidays: Making Your Soul a Vessel for Change
August 31st, 2023 | Season 1 | 1 hr 7 mins
high holidays, jew, jewish, judaism, reconstructionist, rosh hashanah, yom kippur
In this pre-High Holidays episode, Bryan Schwartzman asks Rabbi Nathan Kamesar how he prepares to lead Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. They discuss ways people can the most out of the holidays, whether they go to synagogue or not.
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Episode 39: Passover (and Judaism) Disrupted
March 29th, 2023 | Season 1 | 1 hr 3 mins
four questions, jewish, judaism, passover, ritual, spirituality
Rabbi Michael Strassfeld's new book, “Judaism Disrupted: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st Century” argues that, some 2,000 years after the birth of rabbinic Judaism, it’s time to fashion Judaism into something new. A few weeks before Passover, he talks with us about how his ideas might apply to the Passover seder, and presents four new, alternate questions.
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Episode 37: The Israeli Government’s War on Women
January 31st, 2023 | Season 1 | 57 mins 19 secs
coalition, israel, judaism, netanyahu, politics, ultra orthodox
According to our guests, Israeli legal scholars and activists Gila Stopler and Yofi Tirosh, this is a moment of crisis for Israel. They detail how the sudden, dramatic drop in women represented in government is shaping an agenda that could dramatically curtail women’s rights. Can the legal system — itself under assault — or popular protests prevent the worst fears from occurring?
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Episode 35: The Heretic: Why an 18th Century Opponent of Rabbinic Authority Matters Today
November 23rd, 2022 | Season 1 | 55 mins 55 secs
jewish podcast, judaism, progressive judaism
Polymath Jay Michaelson, a rabbi, journalist, scholar, LGTBQ activist and meditation teacher, joins the Evolve podcast to discuss his new book, "The Heresy of Jacob Frank: From Jewish Messianism to Esoteric Myth". Michaelson separates myth from fact and explains why Frank’s radical philosophy may have been a precursor to how many non-Orthodox Jews relate to the tradition today.
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Episode 34: The Need for Affinity Spaces for Jews of Color
October 26th, 2022 | Season 1 | 57 mins 16 secs
ammud, interview, jewish, jews of color, judaism, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist, torah, yeshiva
Imagine if there were a digital yeshiva where Jews of Color could gather to learn Torah and Jewish practices in a safe, supportive atmosphere in which no one’s Jewishness is questioned. Good news, Ammud: The Jews of Color Torah Academy already exists! In this episode, we speak with Ammud's executive director, Alexandra Corwin, and delve into why Jews of Color need affinity spaces and how such spaces can benefit all Jewish communities.
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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.
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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?