Begin exploring
today’s
biggest Jewish
questions…
×
Reuven and Shani Taragin: What’s Next: The Future of Religious Zionism
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Reuven and Shani Taragin, educational directors of World Mizrachi, about what comes next for Israel’s Dati Leumi community.
Summary
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rav Reuven and Rabbanit Shani Taragin, educational directors of World Mizrachi, about what comes next for Israel’s Dati Leumi (Religious Zionist) community. Additionally, we speak with Gideon Davis, a Religious Zionist soldier serving in Gaza.
Mistakenly, we tend to think of the Dati Leumi community as Israel’s analog to Modern Orthodoxy. That makes us miss, however, that Religious Zionism is a rich worldview unto itself, and is something we all can learn from. In this episode we discuss:
- How does the Dati Leumi community differ from the American Modern Orthodox community?
- What can American Jews better understand about the sacrifices and contributions made by Religious Zionists?
- What does it mean to be a member of the Dati Leumi community in 2024?
Tune in to hear a conversation about how a religious mindset can expand beyond personal piety to include a deep commitment to the Jewish People and the world.
Interview with Gideon Davis begins at 6:09.
Interview with Reuven and Shani Taragin begins at 36:42.
Rav Reuven Taragin is a former Wexner Fellow and Musmach of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. Rav Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel where he is responsible for the program’s quality and message and the welfare of each of its talmidim. Rav Taragin is also the Rosh Beit Midrash at Camp Moshava (I.O.), and Rav of Kehillat Eretz Chemdah in Katamon.Rabbanit Shani Taragin is a noted author and teacher at Midreshet Lindenbaum, Midreshet Torah V’Avodah, MaTaN, Migdal Oz, Sha’alvim for Women, Lander College, and the Women’s’ Beit Midrash in Efrat and Ramat Shilo.
Interview with Reuven and Shani Taragin begins at 36:42.
Rav Reuven Taragin is a former Wexner Fellow and Musmach of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. Rav Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel where he is responsible for the program’s quality and message and the welfare of each of its talmidim. Rav Taragin is also the Rosh Beit Midrash at Camp Moshava (I.O.), and Rav of Kehillat Eretz Chemdah in Katamon.Rabbanit Shani Taragin is a noted author and teacher at Midreshet Lindenbaum, Midreshet Torah V’Avodah, MaTaN, Migdal Oz, Sha’alvim for Women, Lander College, and the Women’s’ Beit Midrash in Efrat and Ramat Shilo.
The Taragins are the Educational Directors of World Mizrachi and the RZA (Religious Zionists of America), and they also serve as Roshei Beit Medrash for the Beit Medrash Program in Camp Moshava IO during the summer. They have six children and live in Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion.
References:
The Matrix
Adjusting Sights by Haim Sabato
The Rav Speaks by Joseph B. Soleveitchik
“How Will Redemption Begin?” by David Bashevkin
Meshekh Chokhmah by Meir Simha HaKohen Dvinsk
Recommended Podcasts
podcast
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.
podcast
Haviv Rettig Gur: ‘Hamas is upset the death toll in Gaza isn’t higher’
Haviv answers 18 questions on Israel.
podcast
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.
podcast
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.
podcast
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.
podcast
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.”
podcast
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.
podcast
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.
podcast
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.
podcast
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.
podcast
Shais Taub: ‘God gave us an ego to protect us’
Rabbi Shais Taub discusses how mysticism can revive the Jewish People.
podcast
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.
podcast
David Bashevkin: My Mental Health Journey
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin opens up about his mental health journey.
podcast
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.
podcast
Bruce Feiler: The Stories That Bind Us
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to author Bruce Feiler about family narratives.
podcast
Ken Brodkin: A Shul Becomes Orthodox
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Ken Brodkin, rabbi of New Jersey’s Congregation B’nai Israel, about how he helped turn it into “the Orthodox synagogue for all Jews.”
podcast
Dovid Bashevkin: A Reform Rabbi Interviews an Orthodox Rabbi [Denominations 2/2]
David Bashevkin answers questions from Diana Fersko about denominations and Jewish Peoplehood.
podcast
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.
podcast
Child & Parental Alienation: Keeping Families Together
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we discuss parental alienation.
podcast
How Different Jewish Communities Date
On this episode of 18Forty, we explore the world of Jewish dating.
podcast
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.
podcast
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.
podcast
Yossi Klein Halevi: ‘Anti-Zionism is an existential threat to the Jewish People’
Yossi answers 18 questions on Israel.
Recommended Articles
Essays
The Four Pillars That Actually Shape Jewish High School
These four forces are quietly determining what our schools prioritize—and what they neglect.
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.
Essays
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.
Essays
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.
Essays
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.
Essays
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.
Essays
(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.
Essays
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.
Essays
A Letter to Children Estranged From Their Parents
Children cannot truly avoid the consequences of estrangement. Their parents’ shadow will always follow.
Essays
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…
Essays
Is Judaism Fundamentally Zionist?
God promised the Land of Israel to the Jewish People, so why are some rabbis anti-Zionists?
Essays
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?
Essays
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.
Essays
‘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.
Essays
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.
Essays
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.
Essays
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…
Essays
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.
Essays
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…
Essays
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.…
Essays
A Letter to Parents of Intergenerational Divergees
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
Essays
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…
Essays
Do You Have the Free Will to Read This?
The most important question in Jewish thought is whether we are truly “free” to decide anything.
Essays
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.
Recommended Videos
videos
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…
videos
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?
videos
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,…
videos
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…
videos
Joey Rosenfeld: What Does Jewish Mysticism Say About This Moment?
We speak with Joey Rosenfeld about how our generation can understand suffering.
videos
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…
videos
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.
videos
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…
videos
What are Israel’s Greatest Success and Mistake in the Gaza War?
What has been Israel’s greatest success and greatest mistake?
videos
Mysticism
In a disenchanted world, we can turn to mysticism to find enchantment, to remember that there is something more under the surface…
videos
Jewish Peoplehood
What is Jewish peoplehood? In a world that is increasingly international in its scope, our appreciation for the national or the tribal…
videos
Sarah Yehudit Schneider: ‘Jewish mysticism is not so different from any mysticism’
Rabbanit Sarah Yehudit Schneider believes meditation is the entryway to understanding mysticism.
videos
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,…
videos
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.
videos
Suri Weingot: ‘The fellow Jew is as close to God as you’ll get’
What does it mean to experience God as lived reality?
videos
Matisyahu: Teshuva in the Spotlight
We talk to Matisyahu, who has publicly re-embraced his Judaism and Zionism.
videos
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…
videos
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…