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Mark Trencher: Orthonomics: The Cost of Frum Life
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Mark Trencher – founder of Nishma Research – about finances in the Orthodox community.
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Agunah Revisited: How To Avoid High Conflict Divorce
We revisit the topic of agunot by talking to Sarah Nissel, Yona Elishis, and Keshet Starr.
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Adam Ferziger: Agents of Change
We talk to Adam Ferziger about how American Jews have helped shape the evolution of Israeli Judaism.
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Rav Moshe Weinberger: Can Mysticism Become a Community?
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.
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Michael Eisenberg: Iran, USA, Israel: What Comes Next
We talk to Michael Eisenberg about the state of the Jewish People in Israel and the diaspora.
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Dr. Ora Wiskind: How do you Read a Mystical Text?
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.
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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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Biti Roi: ‘Every generation brings mysticism to a different stage’
Dr. Biti Roi answers eighteen questions on Jewish mysticism, including Shabbat, the feminine presence within the Divine, and more.
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When a Parent Becomes Estranged
In this episode, we talk to a father and daughter who were estranged and then reunited.
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Joey Rosenfeld: Can Mysticism Heal Us?
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.
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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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Dr. Moshe Koppel: Halacha as a Language
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Moshe Koppel, professor of computer science at Bar-Ilan University to discuss some of the ideas in his books Judaism Straight Up and Meta-Halakhah. We discuss how to conceptualize the halachic system and explore how Halacha’s development can be seen through the prism of language and…
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Lizzy Savetsky: Becoming a Jewish Influencer and Israel Advocate
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.
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Yehoshua Pfeffer: ‘The army is not ready for real Haredi participation’
Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer answers 18 questions on Israel, including the Haredi draft, Israel as a religious state, Messianism, and so much more.
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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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Ammiel Hirsch: ‘What Did We Do Wrong?’ Peoplehood and the Reform Movement
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and a leader of the Reform Movement, about the understanding of Jewish Peoplehood among the heterodox majority of American Jews.
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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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Aliza and Ephraim Bulow: When A Spouse Loses Faith
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.
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Alana Newhouse: Why is the Whole World Fighting About Zionism?
We talk to Alana Newhouse about why seemingly everyone is arguing about Israel.
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Modi Rosenfeld: A Serious Conversation About Comedy
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.
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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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Shaanan Gelman & His Son: When a Child Becomes Addicted
We talk to Rabbi Shaanan Gelman and his son Ziggy about the persistence of a parent-child relationship when the latter faces addiction.
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Aaron Kotler: Inside the Lakewood Yeshiva
We speak with Rabbi Aaron Kotler about the beginnings of the American yeshiva world.
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Can Nature Teach Torah? R. Yerucham Levovitz Thought So.
In the eyes of the great architect of the yeshiva world, the world itself is a Torah text—and we ought to study…
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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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The Bitter Waters
In Parshat Naso, the Sotah ritual leaves us with questions we cannot dissolve so easily.
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Diving Into The World of Mysticism
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A Letter to Children Estranged From Their Parents
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Army Service is Essential for Every Jew: Letter From an IDF Combat Soldier in Gaza
Yes, the Israeli army needs Jews to draft, but more than that, Jews need to experience what it means to serve.
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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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‘Are Your Brothers To Go to War While You Stay Here?’: On Haredim Drafting to the IDF
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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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How to Read a Long Book
I, for one, care deeply about the future of long books—and about reclaiming my own ability to read them. Here’s what I’ve…
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How the Lubavitcher Rebbe Teaches Us to Transcend Ourselves
I consider the Rebbe to be my personal teacher, and I find this teaching particularly relevant for us now.
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Between Modern Orthodoxy and Religious Zionism: At Home as an Immigrant
My family made aliyah over a decade ago. Navigating our lives as American immigrants in Israel is a day-to-day balance.
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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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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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‘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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Can Censorship Edit Our Past?
It isn’t only censorship that creates the narrative of our history, but it is every creative endeavor that we engage in.
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The Words They Left Behind
If You’re Reading These Words is a book in which all the heroes have died, yet it overflows with life.
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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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Do We Care Too Much? Furor Sanandi and Our Desire to Heal
From Freud through today, our desire to heal asks us to consider why we care so badly—and maybe if it’s hindering the…
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The New Tower of Babel
Watching AI spread through every corner of life raises an unsettling question: What kind of world are we building for our children?
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Is Israel the Future of Judaism? Israeli and Diaspora Jews Weigh In.
Israel is clearly important to Jews. The question becomes: To what extent?
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It’s Not About Kahane. Here’s Why Jews Support Ben-Gvir
Their motivations are not ideological extremism but a basic survival instinct to protect their families from the past’s failed paradigms.
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5 Ways Atonement Works (Even When the Text is Hard)
In Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, we learn that holiness requires moving beyond the letter of the law to its spirit.
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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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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 Vulnerable Conversation About Shame, Selfhood, & Authenticity with Shais Taub & David Bashevkin
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Shais Taub, the rabbi behind the organization SoulWords, about shame, selfhood, and…
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Moshe Gersht: ‘The world of mysticism begs for practicality’
Rabbi Moshe Gersht first encountered the world of Chassidus at the age of twenty, the beginning of what he terms his “spiritual…
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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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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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Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin: How Torah Gives Us Faith and Hope
In this special Simchas Torah episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin—parents of murdered hostage Hersh…