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Recommended Podcasts
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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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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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Yakov Danishefsky: Religion and Mental Health: God and Us
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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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Menachem Penner & Gedalia Robinson: A Child’s Orientation
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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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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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Micah Goodman: ‘I don’t want Gaza to become our Vietnam’
Micah Goodman doesn’t think Palestinian-Israeli peace will happen within his lifetime. But he’s still a hopeful person.
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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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Yakov Danishefsky: Transmitting the Jewish Story with Emotional Health
We talk to Yakov Danishefsky about the imperfect ways in which we transmit the Jewish story.
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David & Sydney Magerman: When a Child Makes Aliyah
We talk to David Magerman and his daughter Sydney, who decided to make aliyah while on her gap year in Israel.
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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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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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Talia Khan: A Jewish Israel Activist and Her Muslim Father
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Talia Khan—a Jewish MIT graduate student and Israel activist—and her father, an Afghan Muslim immigrant, about their close father-daughter relationship despite their ideological disagreements.
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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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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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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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Frieda Vizel: How the World Misunderstands Hasidic Jewry
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.
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Shlomo Katz: ‘Today’s idol worship is self-persecution’
Shlomo Katz joins us to discuss the challenge of technology, Torat Eretz Yisrael, and the true purpose of the Jewish People.
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Benny Morris: ‘We should have taken Rafah at the start’
Leading Israeli historian Benny Morris answers 18 questions on Israel, including Gaza, Palestinian-Israeli peace prospects, morality, and so much more.
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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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Channah Cohen: The Crisis of Experience
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Channah Cohen, a researcher of the OU’s study on the “Shidduch Crisis.”
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Anita Shapira: ‘You cannot wipe out Hamas’
Leading Israel historian Anita Shapira answers 18 questions on Israel, including destroying Hamas, the crisis up North, and Israel’s future.
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Essays
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 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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(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 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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A Letter to Parents of Intergenerational Divergees
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
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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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How the Damascus Affair Created Modern Jewish Solidarity
In 1840, a blood libel in Damascus transformed a local accusation into an international Jewish crisis.
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A Prayer for Israel to Add to Your Pesach Seder
Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon wrote this special prayer for Israel for Jews to recite at their Pesach Sedarim this year.
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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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Edmond Jabès Had Questions—and He Learned to Live With Them
As the holiday of Passover approaches, we take a look into a man whose life was marked by questions: Edmond Jabès.
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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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His Ladder Will Take You to the Zohar
Are you a fan of Kabbalah and the Zohar? Thank Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag.
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Judith Herman Is Giving Voice to Survivors
Dr. Judith Herman has spent her career helping those who are going through trauma, and has provided far-reaching insight into the field.
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Censorship Uncensored: A Timeline of Jewish Censorship
Over time, the advancement of thought and modernism in culture has led to the disagreement of how much should be shared and…
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The Reform Movement Challenged the Oral Torah. How Did Orthodox Rabbis Respond?
Reform leaders argued that because of the rabbis’ strained and illogical interpretations in the Talmud, halachic Judaism had lost sight of God.…
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A History of Jewish Belonging
In Parshat Vayikra, we are reminded that communal belonging lies at the heart of religious identity.
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Divinity and Humanity: What the Jewish Sages Thought About the Oral Torah
Our Sages compiled tractates on the laws of blessings, Pesach, purity, and so much more. What did they have to say about…
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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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The Erasure of Sephardic Jewry
Half of Jewish law and history stem from Sephardic Jewry. It’s time we properly teach that.
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‘All I Saw Was Cult’: When Children Find Faith
In reprinted essays from “BeyondBT,” a father and daughter reflect about what happens when a child finds faith.
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How Does Halacha View Non-Jewish Holidays?
From Halloween and Valentine’s Day to the New Year, halacha offers pathways for American Jews to think about national holidays.
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The Art of the Interview: The Best Three Interviewers for You to Know
As podcasts become more popular, the interview has changed from educational to artistic and demands its own appreciation.
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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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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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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 Weinberger: ‘The Jewish People are God’s shofar’
In order to study Kabbalah, argues Rav Moshe Weinberger, one must approach it with humility.
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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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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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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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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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Intergenerational Divergence
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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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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…
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18Forty: Exploring Big Questions (An Introduction)
18Forty is a new media company that helps users find meaning in their lives through the exploration of Jewish thought and ideas.…
