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 talk to Elliot Kaufman about what happened inside Israel’s war room after October 7 and how Israel came to lose the battle over its own story.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to author Bruce Feiler about family narratives.
We talk to Rabbi YY Jacobson about how each of us can experience redemptive consciousness by feeling Hashem’s infinite love and presence in this moment.
Rabbi Shmuel Braun joins us to discuss spirituality and free will.
As a Haredi woman of the Israeli left, Nechumi Yaffe lives between a few different worlds—and she feels at home in Israel’s new “Religious Left” movement.
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.
Gedale Fenster joins us to discuss how to live a life of unshakeable faith and joy.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin opens up about his mental health journey.
Talking about the “Haredi community” is a misnomer, Jonathan Rosenblum says, and simplifies its diversity of thought and perspectives.
In this episode, we talk to a father and daughter who were estranged and then reunited.
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.
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.
On this episode of 18Forty, we have a frank conversation with author Kayla Haber-Goldstein about her personal, painful journey to find God.
Dovid Bashevkin and Nachi Weinstein discuss the ideas behind Bashevkin’s book ‘I Read This Over Shabbos.’
Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer answers 18 questions on Israel, including the Haredi draft, Israel as a religious state, Messianism, and so much more.
Sagui Dekel-Chen was held hostage in Gaza for 498 days—or 43 million seconds. He came home on Feb. 18.
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.
We talk to Rabbi Etan Epstein, the founder of The 300 Club, a program of committing to learning Torah for five minutes a day.
Haviv answers 18 questions on Israel.
Micah Goodman doesn’t think Palestinian-Israeli peace will happen within his lifetime. But he’s still a hopeful person.
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 for a special podcast with our host, David Bashevkin, to discuss the podcast’s namesake, the year 1840.
We talk to Ben and Yael de Toledo about doing teshuva by returning to community.
The true enemy in Israel’s current war, Einat Wilf says, is what she calls “Palestinianism.”
At some point, my husband and I will need to tell my children that I’m agnostic. But for now, we’re focused on…
What temporary spaces can reveal about attention, exposure, and the experience of not knowing.
Can Jewish fiction make sense of October 7?
Silicon Valley promises ethical AI. But do we even know how to raise ethical children?
Perhaps the most fundamental question any religious believer can ask is: “Does God exist?” It’s time we find good answers.
Five takeaways from Parshat Bereishit—and what they reveal about faith and science
Koren’s latest Tanakh Graphic Novel brings a fresh midrashic lens to Bereshit and Noach.
Parshat Shemot introduces the enduring question of what it means to remain a people when acceptance proves fragile.
Joy and meaning can be found not only despite the brokenness, but even because of the brokenness.
My family made aliyah over a decade ago. Navigating our lives as American immigrants in Israel is a day-to-day balance.
Children cannot truly avoid the consequences of estrangement. Their parents’ shadow will always follow.
Rav Froman was a complicated character in Israel and in his own home city of Tekoa, as people from both the right…
To talk about the history of Jewish mysticism is in many ways to talk about the history of the mystical community.
A 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, a lone soldier, and more. Here are seven olim sharing their stories of aliyah.
Children don’t come with guarantees. Washing machines come with guarantees.
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wears the mantle of Kahane in Israel. Many Orthodox Jews welcomed him with open arms.
Christianity’s focus on the afterlife historically discouraged Jews from discussing it—but Jews very much believe in it.
I consider the Rebbe to be my personal teacher, and I find this teaching particularly relevant for us now.
Their motivations are not ideological extremism but a basic survival instinct to protect their families from the past’s failed paradigms.
A Hezbollah missile killed Rabbi Dr. Tamir Granot’s son, Amitai Tzvi, on Oct. 15. Here, he pleas for Haredim to enlist into…
In Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, we learn that holiness requires moving beyond the letter of the law to its spirit.
From Freud through today, our desire to heal asks us to consider why we care so badly—and maybe if it’s hindering the…
In this episode, Liel Leibovitz reflects on falling in love with the Talmud precisely because it is so difficult—and on how its…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi YY Jacobson, one of the foremost online teachers of Torah, about…
We speak with Naftuli Moster about how and why he changed his understanding of the values imparted by Judaism.
Talking about the “Haredi community” is a misnomer, Jonathan Rosenblum says, and simplifies its diversity of thought and perspectives. A Yale-trained lawyer…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Shais Taub, the rabbi behind the organization SoulWords, about shame, selfhood, and…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin answers questions from Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple Reform synagogue,…
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Etan Epstein, the founder of The 300 Club, a program of…
On this 18Forty panel, we speak with Alex Jakubowski of Lightning Studios, Sara Wolkenfeld of Sefaria, and Ari Lamm of BZ Media…
What is Jewish peoplehood? In a world that is increasingly international in its scope, our appreciation for the national or the tribal…
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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