This episode was sponsored by Daniel and Jessica Courtney in memory of Dr. Stuart A. Courtney.
Today, we’re sharing one of our episodes from our new program Talmud Daily, featuring our dear friend Liel Leibovitz.
You can sign up for Talmud Daily at talmuddaily.org, and you can subscribe in your podcast app by searching Talmud Daily.
In this episode, Liel reflects on falling in love with the Talmud precisely because it is so difficult—and on how its questions, frustrations, and intricate details can transform the way we live.
For more 18Forty:
NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/join
CALL: (212) 582-1840
EMAIL: info@18forty.org
WEBSITE: 18forty.org
IG: @18forty
X: @18_forty
WhatsApp: join here
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.
As a Haredi woman of the Israeli left, Nechumi Yaffe lives between a few different worlds—and she feels at home in Israel’s new “Religious Left” movement.
Gedale Fenster joins us to discuss how to live a life of unshakeable faith and joy.
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 about two impactful books about Shabbos and their authors.
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 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 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 sit down with Rav Moshe Weinberger, rabbi and educator, to discuss the role of mysticism in modern-day Judaism.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, Dovid Bashevkin dives deeply into the world of dating.
Leading Israeli historian Benny Morris answers 18 questions on Israel, including Gaza, Palestinian-Israeli peace prospects, morality, and so much more.
Haviv answers 18 questions on Israel.
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.
We speak with Naftuli Moster about why he changed his understanding of the values imparted by Judaism.
In this episode, we talk to a father and daughter who were estranged and then reunited.
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.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we hear questions, criticisms, complaints, thoughts, and feedback from our listener community.
We talk to Rabbi Etan Epstein, the founder of The 300 Club, a program of committing to learning Torah for five minutes a day.
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, David Bashevkin opens up about his mental health journey.
In this episode of 18Forty Podcast, we had the privilege of speaking with Professor Haym Soloveitchik, University Professor of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University.
We talk to Michael Eisenberg about the state of the Jewish People in Israel and the diaspora.
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.
Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer answers 18 questions on Israel, including the Haredi draft, Israel as a religious state, Messianism, and so much more.
One can read the whole story of Jonah as a reflection on the lies we tell ourselves and the redemption that is…
Perhaps the most fundamental question any religious believer can ask is: “Does God exist?” It’s time we find good answers.
Moshe could not make the crossing with the people, so he leaves them Haazinu, a song that could cross generations.
Joy and meaning can be found not only despite the brokenness, but even because of the brokenness.
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.
My family made aliyah over a decade ago. Navigating our lives as American immigrants in Israel is a day-to-day balance.
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wears the mantle of Kahane in Israel. Many Orthodox Jews welcomed him with open arms.
To talk about the history of Jewish mysticism is in many ways to talk about the history of the mystical community.
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
In one of 18Forty’s Must Reads, Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin writes that, at its core, Yom Kippur is a day of time travel.
We read the book of Jonah on Yom Kippur before the afternoon prayer. How does this curious text bring us to stand…
Christianity’s focus on the afterlife historically discouraged Jews from discussing it—but Jews very much believe in it.
If You’re Reading These Words is a book in which all the heroes have died, yet it overflows with life.
A 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, a lone soldier, and more. Here are seven olim sharing their stories of aliyah.
If legal codes tell us the laws, then the Mishna is less like a legal code than a record of disagreements about…
A Hezbollah missile killed Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot’s son, Amitai Tzvi, on Oct. 15. Here, he pleas for Haredim to enlist into…
Teshuva is beyond any words, ideas, or concepts because it is not something we do but something we are.
From Freud through today, our desire to heal asks us to consider why we care so badly—and maybe if it’s hindering the…
In Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, we learn that holiness requires moving beyond the letter of the law to its spirit.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi YY Jacobson, one of the foremost online teachers of Torah, about…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Shais Taub, the rabbi behind the organization SoulWords, about shame, selfhood, and…
In this episode, Liel Leibovitz reflects on falling in love with the Talmud precisely because it is so difficult—and on how its…
We speak with Naftuli Moster about how and why he changed his understanding of the values imparted by Judaism.
Talking about the “Haredi community” is a misnomer, Jonathan Rosenblum says, and simplifies its diversity of thought and perspectives. A Yale-trained lawyer…
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 talk to Rabbi Etan Epstein, the founder of The 300 Club, a program of…
On this 18Forty panel, we speak with Alex Jakubowski of Lightning Studios, Sara Wolkenfeld of Sefaria, and Ari Lamm of BZ Media…
We talk to Tania Friedlander about how her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis challenged her expectations and taught her to become capable of more.
Rabbi Moshe Gersht first encountered the world of Chassidus at the age of twenty, the beginning of what he terms his “spiritual…
Why did this Hasidic Rebbe move from Poland to Israel, only to change his name, leave religion, and disappear to Los Angeles?
In this special Simchas Torah episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin—parents of murdered hostage Hersh…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Ben and Yael de Toledo, founders of Pnima Jerusalem, a soulful community…
A free 40-week journey through the Talmud. No Hebrew or background required. 7,000+ people have already signed up — join us.