In this minisode of the 18Forty Podcast, we reflect upon a year beyond words (and numbers).
At every stop of the process in the wild journey that has been 18Forty, we’ve been motivated by our fantastic community members who have pushed us to ask deeper questions, to be more honest with ourselves, and to think more sharply and profoundly about what it means to be a Jew today.
We’ve grown with you and for you, and we’re so thankful to be able to provide everything we can for you all. More than anything, organic growth inspires us—people finding out about 18Forty from a friend who can’t stop thinking about a recent interview they listened to, articles and podcasts shared in Whatsapp groups and discussed around Shabbos tables across the world, with feedback streaming in from every corner of the Jewish world.
To another year of more growth, curiosity, and asking better questions—for everything, thank you!
We do our best to have transcripts available the week an episode is released.
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.
We talk to Rabbi Shaanan Gelman and his son Ziggy about the persistence of a parent-child relationship when the latter faces addiction.
In this episode, we talk to a father and daughter who were estranged and then reunited.
In this special Purim episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we bring you a recording from our live event with the comedian Modi, for our annual discussion on humor.
Haviv answers 18 questions on Israel.
Yehudis Golshevsky joins us to discuss gender roles, the State of Israel, and the interconnectedness of all things.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to historian and professor Pawel Maciejko about the false messiah Sabbatai Zevi, Sabbateanism, and the roots of Jewish secularism.
We speak with Moshe Koppel, Malka Simkovich, and Tikvah Wiener about what the AI revolution will mean for the Jewish community.
Shlomo Katz joins us to discuss the challenge of technology, Torat Eretz Yisrael, and the true purpose of the Jewish People.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Yoni Rosensweig, rabbi of the Netzah Menashe community in Beit Shemesh, about the intersection between mental health and halacha.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Frieda Vizel—a formerly Satmar Jew who makes educational content about Hasidic life—about her work presenting Hasidic Williamsburg to the outside world, and vice-versa.
The true enemy in Israel’s current war, Einat Wilf says, is what she calls “Palestinianism.”
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Judah, Naomi, and Aharon Akiva Dardik—an olim family whose son went to military jail for refusing to follow to IDF orders and has since become a ceasefire activist at Columbia University—about sticking together as a family despite their fundamental differences.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David sits down with Leah Forster, a world-famous ex-Hasidic comedian, to talk about how her journey has affected her comedy.
We speak with Rabbi Aaron Kotler about the beginnings of the American yeshiva world.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin moderates a debate between Rabbi Itamar Rosensweig and Rabbi Yitzchak Blau on whether morality exists independently of Judaism.
We talk to David Magerman and his daughter Sydney, who decided to make aliyah while on her gap year in Israel.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Yakov Danishefsky—a rabbi, author and licensed social worker—about our relationships and our mental health.44
We speak with Professors Elisheva Carlebach and Debra Kaplan about women’s religious, social, and communal roles in early modern Jewish life.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz, the director of semicha at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), about the development of halacha.
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 Talia Khan—a Jewish MIT graduate student and Israel activist—and her father, an Afghan Muslim immigrant, about their close father-daughter relationship despite their ideological disagreements.
Perhaps the most fundamental question any religious believer can ask is: “Does God exist?” It’s time we find good answers.
In Parshat Shemini, the Torah’s dietary laws are not just food rules, but a system for shaping the self.
This Pesach, Rabbi Steinsaltz helped me rediscover the art of a good farbrengen—and the responsibility that comes after it.
Christianity’s focus on the afterlife historically discouraged Jews from discussing it—but Jews very much believe in it.
Children cannot truly avoid the consequences of estrangement. Their parents’ shadow will always follow.
From verses in Parshat Bo to desert caves, tefillin emerge as one of Judaism’s earliest embodied practices.
In 1840, a blood libel in Damascus transformed a local accusation into an international Jewish crisis.
Dr. Judith Herman has spent her career helping those who are going through trauma, and has provided far-reaching insight into the field.
God promised the Land of Israel to the Jewish People, so why are some rabbis anti-Zionists?
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
I’d advise reading Rav Kook as you would read a poem, with an eye less to the argument or claim he is…
In Parshat Vayikra, we are reminded that communal belonging lies at the heart of religious identity.
As the holiday of Passover approaches, we take a look into a man whose life was marked by questions: Edmond Jabès.
Joy and meaning can be found not only despite the brokenness, but even because of the brokenness.
What began as a half-hour experiment with ChatGPT turned into an unexpected confrontation with my own humanity.
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wears the mantle of Kahane in Israel. Many Orthodox Jews welcomed him with open arms.
It would not be an overstatement to say that Lévy might be one of the most intriguing, and underrated, religious Jews of…
My family made aliyah over a decade ago. Navigating our lives as American immigrants in Israel is a day-to-day balance.
To talk about the history of Jewish mysticism is in many ways to talk about the history of the mystical community.
Religious Zionism is a spectrum—and I would place my Hardal community on the right of that spectrum.
Between early prayer books, kabbalistic additions, and the printing press, the siddur we have today is filled with prayers from across history.
I consider the Rebbe to be my personal teacher, and I find this teaching particularly relevant for us now.
In today’s world, Rabbi Sacks’ message feels more urgent than ever: that God continues to believe in humanity.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple Reform synagogue, about denominations…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin answers questions from Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple Reform synagogue,…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, recorded live at Stern College, we speak with Rabbi Moshe Benovitz, director of NCSY Kollel,…
Rabbi Moshe Gersht first encountered the world of Chassidus at the age of twenty, the beginning of what he terms his “spiritual…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Shais Taub, the rabbi behind the organization SoulWords, about shame, selfhood, and…
Rabbanit Sarah Yehudit Schneider believes meditation is the entryway to understanding mysticism.
This series, recorded at the 18Forty X ASFoundation AI Summit, is sponsored by American Security Foundation.
In this special Simchas Torah episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin—parents of murdered hostage Hersh…
As a Chabad Hasid, Rabbi Zevi Slavin’s formative years were spent immersed in the rich traditions of Chassidut and Kabbala.
We talk to Matisyahu, who has publicly re-embraced his Judaism and Zionism.
What is Jewish peoplehood? In a world that is increasingly international in its scope, our appreciation for the national or the tribal…
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