Evolve
Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
Displaying all 9 Episode of Evolve with the tag “reconstructing judaism”.
-
Episode 69: I’m Right, You’re Wrong: What Data Reveals About North American Jewish Opinion on Israel, Zionism and Anti-Zionism
July 24th, 2025 | Season 1 | 1 hr 3 mins
american jews, anti-zionism, brandeis university, cognitive testing, intermarriage, israel, jewish community, jewish continuity, jewish demographics, jewish education, jewish identity, jewish inclusion, jewish studies, jewish surveys, jewish values, judaism, matt boxer, reconstructing judaism, social science research, zionism
How do people really feel about Israel? Brandeis University researcher Matthew Boxer learned some surprising things from surveying more than 1,800 North American Jews.
-
Episode 66: Roan Boucher on Anti-Trans Legislation and Christian Nationalism
April 24th, 2025 | Season 1 | 1 hr 11 mins
anti-trans, anti-trans legislation, anti-zionism, antisemitism, christian nationalism, evolve, israel, jewish, legislation, nationalism, polic, race, racism, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist, trans issues, trans rights, transgender, zionism
Activist and organizer Roan Boucher(he/him) details the unprecedented surge in anti-trans legislation across America and its connection to Christian Nationalism.
-
Episode 62: Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Rabbi Alex Weissman on Dismantling Racism
January 16th, 2025 | Season 1 | 56 mins 36 secs
10/7, anti-racism, anti-semitism, antisemitism, jewish, judaism, mussar, october 7, rabbi, racism, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist, rrc
“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. Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Rabbi Alex Weissman reflect on why, in an age of skyrocketing antisemitism, it’s as important as ever for Jewish communities to address racism from within.
-
Episode 59: The Reconstructionist Connection to Democracy: Past, Present and Future
October 31st, 2024 | Season 1 | 1 hr 7 mins
decision 2024, democracy, donald trump, election, jd vance, joe biden, judaism, kamala harris, mordecai kaplan, on tyranny, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist judaism, timothy snyder
Democracy holds a special place in Reconstructionist teachings, liturgy and practice. Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., and Rabbi William Plevan, Ph.D., dive deep into Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan’s — the founding thinker of Reconstructionist Judaism — thinking on democracy and pluralism and why it matters today.
-
Episode 58: A Palestinian Scientist and Reconstructionist Rabbi Are Working Together to Rebuild Gaza
October 16th, 2024 | Season 1 | 1 hr 28 secs
arava, arava institute, climate change, east jerusalem, environment, environmental science, gaza, gaza war, israel, jerusalem, jewish, judaism, middle east, palestine, peace, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist, sukkot, war
Tareq Abu Hamed, Ph.D., and Rabbi Michael Cohen join host Bryan Schwartzman to discuss Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, which for nearly 30 years has brought together students and faculty from Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and elsewhere to build relationships and solve pressing environmental challenges.
-
Episode 56: Human Rights Attorney Turned Rabbinical Student Maria Pulzetti on Confronting Problematic Torah Verses and Examining Reproductive Justice Through a Jewish Lens
August 29th, 2024 | Season 1 | 1 hr 4 mins
abortion, bible, jew, jewish, jews, judaism, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist, reconstructionist judaism, reproductive justice, reproductive rights
If we embrace Judaism, what do we do with passages from Torah and elsewhere that seem to directly undermine our worldviews and values? Human rights attorney turned rabbinical student Maria Pulzetti makes a compelling case that we should deal with these problematic biblical passages head-on.
-
Episode 54: Religion Scholar Louis Newman Discusses Shattered Faith, the War in Gaza and Antisemitism on College Campuses
July 11th, 2024 | Season 1 | 1 hr 11 mins
anti-semitism, antisemitism, college campus, gaza, hamas, israel, israel-hamas, jewish, judaism, protest, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist, war
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. What can we learn from our history? Where do we go from here?
-
Episode 47: For Us, By Us: The Trans Halakhah Project
November 30th, 2023 | Season 1 | 51 mins 5 secs
israel, jewish, judaism, reconstructing judaism, reconstructionist
Halakhah is for Orthodox Jews. It means Jewish law: what you can and can’t do. Right? Not according to Laynie Soloman a passionate teacher of Jewish text and thought at SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva. Soloman says that Halakhah isn’t law, per se, since law – especially when it comes to queer and trans folks – can serve as an instrument of oppression. Rather, Soloman speaks of Halakhah as “Jewish practice and its surrounding discourse,” i.e. what Jews do.
-
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.