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Intergenerational Divergence

This series is sponsored by our friends Sarala and Danny Turkel.

Judaism is a religious culture that places an intense emphasis on continuing the chain of tradition through the context of the family. Yet in an ever-changing contemporary world, families often disagreesometimes in fundamental waysabout how to live this life. Faced with this disagreement between generations, some choose to ignore these differences, focusing instead on the seemingly uninterrupted flow of history within families. However, reflecting on intergenerational divergence offers important insights on the fundamental nature of family, faith communities, and religion in the contemporary world.

Intergenerational Divergence: Our Central Questions

1. Family Narratives and Intergenerational Divergence: How does the way we tell our family’s story impact our family?

2. Dignity in Difference: Can intergenerational divergence be a road to fostering a greater intimacy and growth in a family?

3. Intergenerational Difference and the Jewish Tradition: How can families share a tradition while choosing to practice it differently?

EPISODES

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Rabbi Daniel Grama—rabbi of Westside Shul and Valley Torah High School—and his daughter Aliza—a former Bais Yaakov student and recovered addict—about navigating their religious and other differences.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Menachem Penner—dean of RIETS at Yeshiva University—and his son Gedalia—a musician, cantor-in-training, and member of the LGBTQ community—about their experience in reconciling their family’s religious tradition with Gedalia’s sexual orientation.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Andrew Solomon - a Pulitzer Prize finalist - about intergenerational divergence, as well as his book, Far from the Tree, which was in some ways the very inspiration for this topic.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to the families from our previous series on intergenerational divergence to follow up and see what they’re up to now. As we revisit the previous interviews, we continue the conversations where we left off, drawing from the experiences and wisdom of our guests.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to author Bruce Feiler about family narratives.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Larry Rothwachs and his daughter Tzipora about the relationship of a father and daughter through distance while battling an eating disorder.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rav Moshe Weinberger, Rebbe of Kehillas Aish Kodesh and his son Asher, CEO of Swimply.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Eric and Dr. Adina Yoffie about their journey as a family through ideological differences.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Aliza and Ephraim Bulow, a married couple whose religious paths diverged over the course of their shared life. 
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Liel Leibovitz and Lisa Ann Sandell about what happens when one partner wants to increase their religious practice.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to a son who almost intermarried, the mother of a daughter who married a non-Jew, and Huvi and Brian, a couple whose intermarriage turned into a Jewish marriage—about intergenerational divergence in the context of intermarriage.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we pivot to Intergenerational Divergence by talking to Rachel Yehuda, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, about intergenerational trauma and intergenerational resilience. 
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with an intergenerational rabbinic pair: Rabbi Haskel Lookstein and his son, Rabbi Joshua Lookstein.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to four Haredi soldiers who served in the IDF about breaking from family and communal expectations by enlisting, and the subsequent Intergenerational implications. 
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to a Haredi mother named Dina about her two children who serve in the IDF, one of whom was critically wounded in the current war. 
In this special episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rachel Goldberg-Polin—whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped by Hamas and is still held hostage in Gaza—about heading into Passover with our loved ones still captive.

ARTICLES

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