#TrendingJewish 21: Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations

December 13th, 2018 · 45 mins 58 secs

About this Episode

Rabbi Jacob Staub, Ph.D., who directs Reconstructing Judaism’s new Evolve project, explains why the website came into being. Structured around a series of essays that tackle questions that rabbis said were most pressing to their congregants, Evolve is meant to serve as a model for civil discourse at a time unprecedented societal divisions. As the former editor of the Reconstructionist, he explains how he hopes Evolve can emulate the level of discourse and innovative thinking that existed in the legacy print publication. Co-host Bryan reveals his fascination with Israeli historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, and asks Rabbi Staub to respond to some of Harari’s critiques of religion and Judaism.

Subscribe by Email


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

Support Evolve

Episode Links

  • Evolve — Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations, an initiative of Reconstructing Judaism, seeks to promote the ongoing evolution of the Jewish community by launching conversation about the urgent issues of our day. 
  • Sowing the Seeds of Constructive Evolution — What can we in the American Jewish community do to infuse our conversations with a tone of mutual respect and open-hearted listening, even when we disagree? The Jewish world needs a number of models to approach these conversations. Here is one way that digital technology can be utilized to advance sacred dialogue.
  • The Reconstructionist Journal (1996-2007)
  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind