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!
In this special episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Professor Jonathan Haidt about the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in honor of his yahrtzeit.
Rabbi Yaakov Klein joins us to discuss the soul of God, Jewish particularism, and personal identity.
We mark the yahrtzeit of Rav Ezra Dovid Halevi Neuberger with remembrances from Dovid Bashevkin and David Fohrman.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Rav Moshe Weinberger, rabbi and educator, to discuss the role of mysticism in modern-day Judaism.
Israel should prioritize its Jewish citizens, Yishai Fleisher says, because that’s what a nation-state does.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down for a special podcast with our host, David Bashevkin, to discuss the podcast’s namesake, the year 1840.
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 Eitan Hersh, a professor of political science at Tufts University, about teaching students of radically different political and religious views how to speak to one another.
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, we sit down with Joey Rosenfeld, social worker and kabbalist, to talk about the differences between mysticism and rationalism and the roles they should play in our lives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not surprise Anshel Pfeffer over the last 17 months of war—and that’s the most disappointing part.
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.
In this edition of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to David’s rebbe, Rav Yisroel Kaminetsky, longtime principal of DRS Yeshiva High School, about the state of Jewish education in America.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Lizzy Savetsky, who went from a career in singing and fashion to being a Jewish activist and influencer, about her work advocating for Israel online.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Ora Wiskind, professor and author, to discuss her life journey, both as a Jew and as an academic, and her attitude towards mysticism.
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.
In this episode, we talk to a father and daughter who were estranged and then reunited.
We talk to Rabbi YY Jacobson about how each of us can experience redemptive consciousness by feeling Hashem’s infinite love and presence in this moment.
We talk to Judah Mischel about how to become a Jewish optimist by choosing to see the good in every corner of Klal Yisrael.
We talk to Michael Eisenberg about the state of the Jewish People in Israel and the diaspora.
Efraim Palvanov answers questions on misinformation, prayer as self-reflection, and every Jew’s role in bringing Mashiach.
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 today’s world, Rabbi Sacks’ message feels more urgent than ever: that God continues to believe in humanity.
Perhaps the most fundamental question any religious believer can ask is: “Does God exist?” It’s time we find good answers.
The 18Forty guide to making meaning on Shabbos, part I
In the midst of crises of faith, Rabbi Sacks’ course of thought profoundly impacted so many, especially in the area of science…
Joy and meaning can be found not only despite the brokenness, but even because of the brokenness.
The 18Forty guide to making meaning on Shabbos, part II
As America grows lonelier, Rav Soloveitchik’s vision of the self offers a challenge to Emersonian self-reliance.
My family made aliyah over a decade ago. Navigating our lives as American immigrants in Israel is a day-to-day balance.
A personal return to the poems that taught me how to imagine America
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wears the mantle of Kahane in Israel. Many Orthodox Jews welcomed him with open arms.
Rav Froman was a complicated character in Israel and in his own home city of Tekoa, as people from both the right…
Children cannot truly avoid the consequences of estrangement. Their parents’ shadow will always follow.
I consider the Rebbe to be my personal teacher, and I find this teaching particularly relevant for us now.
To talk about the history of Jewish mysticism is in many ways to talk about the history of the mystical community.
Yes, the Israeli army needs Jews to draft, but more than that, Jews need to experience what it means to serve.
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
From Freud through today, our desire to heal asks us to consider why we care so badly—and maybe if it’s hindering the…
From verses in Parshat Bo to desert caves, tefillin emerge as one of Judaism’s earliest embodied practices.
A 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, a lone soldier, and more. Here are seven olim sharing their stories of aliyah.
From Avraham’s mission to Rivka’s generosity, Parshat Chayei Sarah outlines a relationship rooted in values, agency, and mutual respect.
If You’re Reading These Words is a book in which all the heroes have died, yet it overflows with life.
Christianity’s focus on the afterlife historically discouraged Jews from discussing it—but Jews very much believe in it.
A Hezbollah missile killed Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot’s son, Amitai Tzvi, on Oct. 15. Here, he pleas for Haredim to enlist into…
Their motivations are not ideological extremism but a basic survival instinct to protect their families from the past’s failed paradigms.
In this episode, Liel Leibovitz reflects on falling in love with the Talmud precisely because it is so difficult—and on how its…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Lahav Harkov, senior political correspondent for Jewish Insider, for a basic primer…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple Reform synagogue, about denominations…
We talk to Tania Friedlander about how her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis challenged her expectations and taught her to become capable of more.
In a disenchanted world, we can turn to mysticism to find enchantment, to remember that there is something more under the surface…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rav Judah Mischel, executive director of Camp HASC and author of the…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, recorded live at Stern College, we speak with Rabbi Moshe Benovitz, director of NCSY Kollel,…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Shais Taub, the rabbi behind the organization SoulWords, about shame, selfhood, and…
Rabbi Moshe Gersht first encountered the world of Chassidus at the age of twenty, the beginning of what he terms his “spiritual…
As a Chabad Hasid, Rabbi Zevi Slavin’s formative years were spent immersed in the rich traditions of Chassidut and Kabbala.
In order to study Kabbalah, argues Rav Moshe Weinberger, one must approach it with humility.
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, we talk to Rabbi YY Jacobson, one of the foremost online teachers of Torah, about…
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