We talk to David Magerman and his daughter Sydney, who decided to make aliyah while on her gap year in Israel.
We try to make transcripts available the week a podcast is released—thank you for your patience!
A Letter in the Scroll: Understanding Our Jewish Identity and Exploring the Legacy of the World’s Oldest Religion by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
We talk to Rabbi Shaanan Gelman and his son Ziggy about the persistence of a parent-child relationship when the latter faces addiction.
We talk to Yakov Danishefsky about the imperfect ways in which we transmit the Jewish story.
Haviv answers 18 questions on Israel.
Rabbi Daniel Rowe joins us to discuss the inner dimensions of the Torah and how one can connect with the divine will.
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.
The true enemy in Israel’s current war, Einat Wilf says, is what she calls “Palestinianism.”
Micah Goodman doesn’t think Palestinian-Israeli peace will happen within his lifetime. But he’s still a hopeful person.
We speak with Yehuda Geberer about the history of the yeshiva world.
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
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, David sits down with Leah Forster, a world-famous ex-Hasidic comedian, to talk about how her journey has affected her comedy.
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 historian and professor Pawel Maciejko about the false messiah Sabbatai Zevi, Sabbateanism, and the roots of Jewish secularism.
Leading Israeli historian Benny Morris answers 18 questions on Israel, including Gaza, Palestinian-Israeli peace prospects, morality, and so much more.
Yossi answers 18 questions on Israel.
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 episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Daniel Statman, a professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa, about what it means to wage a moral war.
We speak with Rabbi Aaron Kotler about the beginnings of the American yeshiva world.
Leading Israel historian Anita Shapira answers 18 questions on Israel, including destroying Hamas, the crisis up North, and Israel’s future.
Rabbi Gil Student speaks with Rabbi Aryeh Klapper and Sofer.ai CEO Zach Fish about how AI is reshaping questions of Jewish practice.
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 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 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.
Perhaps the most fundamental question any religious believer can ask is: “Does God exist?” It’s time we find good answers.
If God has no need for offerings, why does the Torah devote an entire book to them—and what does that reveal about…
In Parshat Vayikra, we are reminded that communal belonging lies at the heart of religious identity.
Notes from a mamad: How war kills intellectual curiosity, and why I picked up a book anyway
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
Children cannot truly avoid the consequences of estrangement. Their parents’ shadow will always follow.
Christianity’s focus on the afterlife historically discouraged Jews from discussing it—but Jews very much believe in it.
Over time, the advancement of thought and modernism in culture has led to the disagreement of how much should be shared and…
From verses in Parshat Bo to desert caves, tefillin emerge as one of Judaism’s earliest embodied practices.
Between early prayer books, kabbalistic additions, and the printing press, the siddur we have today is filled with prayers from across history.
Why does the night of order, of freedom and liberation, have so much disorder to it? Why is it so chaotic, disjointed?
Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon wrote this special prayer for Israel for Jews to recite at their Pesach Sedarim this year.
To talk about the history of Jewish mysticism is in many ways to talk about the history of the mystical community.
Joy and meaning can be found not only despite the brokenness, but even because of the brokenness.
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wears the mantle of Kahane in Israel. Many Orthodox Jews welcomed him with open arms.
Dr. Judith Herman has spent her career helping those who are going through trauma, and has provided far-reaching insight into the field.
Kosher phones make calls and send texts. No Instagram, no TikTok, and no distractions. Maybe it’s time the world embraces them.
I’d advise reading Rav Kook as you would read a poem, with an eye less to the argument or claim he is…
God promised the Land of Israel to the Jewish People, so why are some rabbis anti-Zionists?
Their motivations are not ideological extremism but a basic survival instinct to protect their families from the past’s failed paradigms.
For some, Purim is the triumph of exile transformed. For others, it warns that exile can never replace the Land of Israel.
I consider the Rebbe to be my personal teacher, and I find this teaching particularly relevant for us now.
Religious Zionism is a spectrum—and I would place my Hardal community on the right of that spectrum.
My family made aliyah over a decade ago. Navigating our lives as American immigrants in Israel is a day-to-day balance.
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, we speak with Mark Wildes, founder and director of Manhattan Jewish Experience, about Modern Orthodox…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin answers questions from Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple Reform synagogue,…
Rabbi Moshe Gersht first encountered the world of Chassidus at the age of twenty, the beginning of what he terms his “spiritual…
Rabbanit Sarah Yehudit Schneider believes meditation is the entryway to understanding mysticism.
Why did this Hasidic Rebbe move from Poland to Israel, only to change his name, leave religion, and disappear to Los Angeles?
18Forty helps users find meaning through the exploration of Jewish thought and ideas.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, recorded live at Stern College, we speak with Rabbi Moshe Benovitz, director of NCSY Kollel,…
This series, recorded at the 18Forty X ASFoundation AI Summit, is sponsored by American Security Foundation.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Shais Taub, the rabbi behind the organization SoulWords, about shame, selfhood, and…
Support Jewish explorations today by supporting 18Forty. Your partnership makes our work possible.
Donate today.
