In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Yehuda, Bayla, Elisha, and Avi Samter—members of a family that made aliyah from the comfortable Five Towns life a decade ago—about the divergence between Jewish life in America and in Israel.
Transcripts are typically available the week an episode is released.
We revisit the topic of agunot by talking to Sarah Nissel, Yona Elishis, and Keshet Starr.
We talk to Adam Ferziger about how American Jews have helped shape the evolution of Israeli Judaism.
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.
Jeremy Tibbetts joins us to discuss the role of mysticism in daily life and how each person can find their own “piece of Torah.”
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.
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.
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, David Bashevkin moderates a debate between Rabbi Itamar Rosensweig and Rabbi Yitzchak Blau on whether morality exists independently of Judaism.
Haviv answers 18 questions on Israel.
In this episode, we talk to a father and daughter who were estranged and then reunited.
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 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 talk to Marika Feuerstein about the life of her grandfather, Aaron Feuerstein.
How can our generation understanding mysticism, philosophy, and suffering in today’s chaotic world?
We talk to Michael Olshin about the purpose of the gap year in Israel.
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.
Devori Nussbaum joins us to discuss Hasidism, psychotherapy, and the growth of the soul.
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.
We talk to Rabbi Shaanan Gelman and his son Ziggy about the persistence of a parent-child relationship when the latter faces addiction.
We talk to Alana Newhouse about why seemingly everyone is arguing about Israel.
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…
Rabbi Dr. Zvi Leshem answers eighteen questions on Jewish mysticism, including relationships, Torah study, and the world’s greatest challenges.
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.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to an anonymous email sender about life upon the bridge between the truth of fact and the truth of feeling.
Perhaps the most fundamental question any religious believer can ask is: “Does God exist?” It’s time we find good answers.
I have lived with hearing loss for decades. This is what it’s taught me about community, human ability, and the art of…
As we approach the holiday of revelation, our team reflects on the books they return to each year—including Kafka, Pirkei Avot, and…
Why does the Torah dedicate an entire book to the space between Egypt and the Promised Land?
What business does a Jew who doesn’t wear a kippah at work have with tefillin and an Artscroll Siddur at home?
What Parshat Bamidbar and Shavuot teach us about becoming a blessing
To talk about the history of Jewish mysticism is in many ways to talk about the history of the mystical community.
I suspect that many of us hope to find in Torah something like this—an ancient way of thinking that looks differently at…
Joy and meaning can be found not only despite the brokenness, but even because of the brokenness.
Israel is clearly important to Jews. The question becomes: To what extent?
Children cannot truly avoid the consequences of estrangement. Their parents’ shadow will always follow.
Combining Torah study with the moral will to partake in protecting the State of Israel is the true calling of the religious…
How the rituals we were never required to keep became the practices we could never imagine letting go
My family made aliyah over a decade ago. Navigating our lives as American immigrants in Israel is a day-to-day balance.
Rav Froman was a complicated character in Israel and in his own home city of Tekoa, as people from both the right…
A Hezbollah missile killed Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot’s son, Amitai Tzvi, on Oct. 15. Here, he pleas for Haredim to enlist into…
Christianity’s focus on the afterlife historically discouraged Jews from discussing it—but Jews very much believe in it.
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
What are Jews to say when facing “atheism’s killer argument”?
A 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, a lone soldier, and more. Here are seven olim sharing their stories of aliyah.
Their motivations are not ideological extremism but a basic survival instinct to protect their families from the past’s failed paradigms.
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wears the mantle of Kahane in Israel. Many Orthodox Jews welcomed him with open arms.
Between early prayer books, kabbalistic additions, and the printing press, the siddur we have today is filled with prayers from across history.
What is the Zohar — and why has it captivated mystics, scholars, and seekers for nearly a thousand years?
On this 18Forty panel, we speak with Alex Jakubowski of Lightning Studios, Sara Wolkenfeld of Sefaria, and Ari Lamm of BZ Media…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, recorded live at Stern College, we speak with Rabbi Moshe Benovitz, director of NCSY Kollel,…
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—recorded at the 18Forty X ASFoundation AI Summit—we speak with Rabbi Eli Rubin and Rabbi Steven…
We speak with Naftuli Moster about how and why he changed his understanding of the values imparted by Judaism.
This series, recorded at the 18Forty X ASFoundation AI Summit, is sponsored by American Security Foundation.
Rabbanit Sarah Yehudit Schneider believes meditation is the entryway to understanding 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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