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Recommended Podcasts
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Elisheva Carlebach & Debra Kaplan: The Unknown History of Women in Jewish Life
We speak with Professors Elisheva Carlebach and Debra Kaplan about women’s religious, social, and communal roles in early modern Jewish life.
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Haviv Rettig Gur: ‘Hamas is upset the death toll in Gaza isn’t higher’
Haviv answers 18 questions on Israel.
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Menachem Penner & Gedalia Robinson: A Child’s Orientation
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.
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Chava Green: ‘From God’s perspective, men and women are exactly the same’
Dr. Chava Green joins us to discuss the role of women in the Messianic Era and seeing God in the everyday.
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Chava Green: What Is Chabad’s Feminist Vision?
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Chava Green—an emerging scholar who wrote her doctoral dissertation on “the Hasidic face of feminism”—about how the Lubavitcher Rebbe infused American sensibilities with mystical sensitivities, paying particular attention to the role of women.
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Pawel Maciejko: Sabbateanism and the Roots of Secular Judaism
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.
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Eitan Webb and Ari Israel: What’s Next for Jewish Students in Secular College?
We speak with Rabbis Eitan Webb and Ari Israel about Jewish life on college campuses today.
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Shais Taub: ‘God gave us an ego to protect us’
Rabbi Shais Taub discusses how mysticism can revive the Jewish People.
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Einat Wilf: ‘Jews Are Never Allowed To Win, and Arabs Are Never Allowed to Lose’
The true enemy in Israel’s current war, Einat Wilf says, is what she calls “Palestinianism.”
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Why 1840?
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.
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Larry and Tzipora Rothwachs: Here Without You — A Child’s Eating Disorder
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.
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Dovid Bashevkin: A Reform Rabbi Interviews an Orthodox Rabbi [Denominations 2/2]
David Bashevkin answers questions from Diana Fersko about denominations and Jewish Peoplehood.
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Mark Wildes: Is Modern Orthodox Outreach the Way Forward?
We speak with Mark Wildes, founder and director of Manhattan Jewish Experience, about Modern Orthodox outreach.
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Child & Parental Alienation: Keeping Families Together
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we discuss parental alienation.
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Eitan Hersh: Can the Jewish Left Talk With the Jewish Right?
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.
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The Dardik Family: A Child Moves Away From Zionism
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.
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Bruce Feiler: The Stories That Bind Us
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to author Bruce Feiler about family narratives.
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Michael Oren: ‘We are living in biblical times’
Israel is a heroic country, Michael Oren believes—but he concedes that it is a flawed heroic country.
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Jonathan Rosenblum: ‘Would you want to live in a country run by Haredim?’
Talking about the “Haredi community” is a misnomer, Jonathan Rosenblum says, and simplifies its diversity of thought and perspectives.
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Leah Forster: Of Comedy and Community
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.
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Liel Leibovitz and Lisa Ann Sandell: When A Spouse Finds Faith
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.
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Rav Daniel Kalish: The Song of Teshuva
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David Bashevkin: My Mental Health Journey
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin opens up about his mental health journey.
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How Different Jewish Communities Date
On this episode of 18Forty, we explore the world of Jewish dating.
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The Four Pillars That Actually Shape Jewish High School
These four forces are quietly determining what our schools prioritize—and what they neglect.
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3 Arguments for God’s Existence
Perhaps the most fundamental question any religious believer can ask is: “Does God exist?” It’s time we find good answers.
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Why So Many Laws? Mishpatim and the Making of a Moral Society
What Mishpatim teaches about human nature, moral fragility, and the structures a just society requires.
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5 Ways the Torah Trains Us to Love Our Enemies
In Parshat Mishpatim, the Torah embeds one of its most radical emotional demands inside its civil code: Help your enemy.
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Towards the Derech: How Does a Reform Jew Return?
The “way” of myself and other formerly Reform Jews is unclear, but our desire for spiritual growth is sincere.
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(What) Do Jews Believe About the Afterlife?
Christianity’s focus on the afterlife historically discouraged Jews from discussing it—but Jews very much believe in it.
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5 Perspectives on Sinai in an Age of Empiricism
Parshat Yitro anchors Judaism in revelation. But what does Sinai mean in a world where proof is the highest authority?
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Why Is Meir Kahane Making a Comeback Among Orthodox Jews?
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wears the mantle of Kahane in Israel. Many Orthodox Jews welcomed him with open arms.
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How Rav Kook and the Lubavitcher Rebbe Saw the Jewish People
What if the deepest encounter with God is found not in texts, but in a people? Rav Kook and the Lubavitcher Rebbe…
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How Archaeology Rewrote the History of Tefillin
From verses in Parshat Bo to desert caves, tefillin emerge as one of Judaism’s earliest embodied practices.
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A Letter to Children Estranged From Their Parents
Children cannot truly avoid the consequences of estrangement. Their parents’ shadow will always follow.
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Is Judaism Fundamentally Zionist?
God promised the Land of Israel to the Jewish People, so why are some rabbis anti-Zionists?
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The Siddur Has a Lot of Prayers. Where Did They Come From?
Between early prayer books, kabbalistic additions, and the printing press, the siddur we have today is filled with prayers from across history.
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Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits’ Complicated Portrait of Faith
Meet a traditional rabbi in an untraditional time, willing to deal with faith in all its beauty—and hardships.
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What Are the Origins of the Oral Torah?
A bedrock principle of Orthodox Judaism is that we received not only the Written Torah at Sinai but also the oral one—does…
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What Haredim Can Teach Us About Getting Off Our Smartphones
Kosher phones make calls and send texts. No Instagram, no TikTok, and no distractions. Maybe it’s time the world embraces them.
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‘Don’t Wait as Long as I Did’: Seven Stories of Aliyah
A 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, a lone soldier, and more. Here are seven olim sharing their stories of aliyah.
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The Israeli Peace Activist and Religious Leader You Need to Know
Rav Froman was a complicated character in Israel and in his own home city of Tekoa, as people from both the right…
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A Letter to Parents of Intergenerational Divergees
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
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Rav Tzadok of Lublin on History and Halacha
Rav Tzadok held fascinating views on the history of rabbinic Judaism, but his writings are often cryptic and challenging to understand. Here’s…
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The Hardal Community Explained: Torah, Am Yisrael, and Redemption
Religious Zionism is a spectrum—and I would place my Hardal community on the right of that spectrum.
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A Brief History of Jewish Mysticism
To talk about the history of Jewish mysticism is in many ways to talk about the history of the mystical community.
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‘It’s Not Great’: What’s the Deal With Jewish Education?
Jewish students, parents, and educators weigh in about what helps, what hurts, and what we need to do.
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The History of Halacha, from the Torah to Today
Missing from Tanach—the Jewish People’s origin story—is one of the central aspects of Jewish life: the observance of halacha. Why?
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Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin: How Torah Gives Us Faith and Hope
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An Orthodox Rabbi Interviews a Reform Rabbi | Dovid Bashevkin & Diana Fersko
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple Reform synagogue, about denominations…
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A Reform Rabbi Interviews an Orthodox Rabbi | Dovid Bashevkin & Diana Fersko (Part 2)
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin answers questions from Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple Reform synagogue,…
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Is Modern Orthodox kiruv the way forward for American Jews? | Dovid Bashevkin & Mark Wildes
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Mark Wildes, founder and director of Manhattan Jewish Experience, about Modern Orthodox…
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Joey Rosenfeld: What Does Jewish Mysticism Say About This Moment?
We speak with Joey Rosenfeld about how our generation can understand suffering.
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The Hasidic Rebbe Who Left it All — And Then Returned
Why did this Hasidic Rebbe move from Poland to Israel, only to change his name, leave religion, and disappear to Los Angeles?
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Mysticism
In a disenchanted world, we can turn to mysticism to find enchantment, to remember that there is something more under the surface…
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What are Israel’s Greatest Success and Mistake in the Gaza War?
What has been Israel’s greatest success and greatest mistake?
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Zevi Slavin: ‘To be a mystic is to be human at its most raw’
As a Chabad Hasid, Rabbi Zevi Slavin’s formative years were spent immersed in the rich traditions of Chassidut and Kabbala.
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Why Naftuli Moster Left Haredi Education Activism
We speak with Naftuli Moster about how and why he changed his understanding of the values imparted by Judaism.
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Jewish Peoplehood
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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Moshe Benovitz: Why Religious Change Doesn’t Always Last
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, recorded live at Stern College, we speak with Rabbi Moshe Benovitz, director of NCSY Kollel,…
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Matisyahu: Teshuva in the Spotlight
We talk to Matisyahu, who has publicly re-embraced his Judaism and Zionism.
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Is AI the New Printing Press?
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast—recorded at the 18Forty X ASFoundation AI Summit—we speak with Moshe Koppel, Malka Simkovich, and Tikvah…
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Jonathan Rosenblum Answers 18 Questions on the Haredi Draft, Netanyahu, and a Religious State
Talking about the “Haredi community” is a misnomer, Jonathan Rosenblum says, and simplifies its diversity of thought and perspectives. A Yale-trained lawyer…
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Sarah Yehudit Schneider: ‘Jewish mysticism is not so different from any mysticism’
Rabbanit Sarah Yehudit Schneider believes meditation is the entryway to understanding mysticism.
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Suri Weingot: ‘The fellow Jew is as close to God as you’ll get’
What does it mean to experience God as lived reality?
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What’s Next for Jewish Students in Secular College?
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Rabbis Eitan Webb and Ari Israel, head of a campus Chabad and…
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Will AI Replace Rabbis?
On this 18Forty panel, we speak with Rabbi Aryeh Klapper and Sofer.ai CEO Zach Fish about how AI is reshaping questions of…
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Torah Study and ChatGPT: How Should Jewish Education Respond to AI?
On this 18Forty panel, we speak with Alex Jakubowski of Lightning Studios, Sara Wolkenfeld of Sefaria, and Ari Lamm of BZ Media…