Judaism Unbound

500!!!!

We made it. Somehow, someway, a wild idea that was once a figment of our imagination...has now been around for 500 weeks. In this episode, Dan, Lex, and Miriam celebrate that incredible number -- and take this as an opportunity to look back on the founding and evolution of Judaism Unbound, first as a podcast and then as an organization with many other facets. Miriam, Judaism Unbound's executive director, hosts the first portion of the episode -- with Dan and Lex switching from their typical role of co-hosts to co-guests -- and then she becomes a combination...

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this episode, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the notion of chiasm (for "what is a 'chiasm' -- which is a great question -- click here), along with what it has to do with the month of Elul and the broader 7-year Shmita cycle. This Elul podcast is the third in a mini-series of four that are being released as part of Elul Unbound 2025 (our 26th-29th Elul episodes...

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this episode, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the 13 attributes of mercy, traditionally associated with Elul and the High Holidays. This Elul podcast is the second in a mini-series of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2025 (our 26th-29th Elul episodes overall).

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To check out all our Elul bonus episodes from previous years, which can still be relevant to your...

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash kick off this year's Elul Unbound experience. This Elul bonus episode is the first in a series of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2025 (our 26th-29th Elul episodes overall).

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Energized about Jewish learning and unlearning? Dive into our upcoming 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva! Classes include Elul: Your On-Ramp into Rosh Hashanah...

Miriam’s well sustained her people step by step in the wilderness. In this episode of Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness (featuring Judaism Unbound Gemara/commentary from Lex and Rena Yehuda), to tap into this wellspring of belonging. In addition, connect to the Tao de Ching, what it means to be a “Miriam person,” twilight creations, the mystical meaning of wells, Lakewood New Jersey, and a practice for bringing Miriam’s wisdom to life.

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We are proud to introduce the 3rd podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts: Survival Guide for a Spiritua...

Sara Lippman and Seth Rogoff believe that "foundational texts must be read anew or they become tools of conservatism and reaction." But it's not just a belief they hold -- together, they actualized it into a new book, entitled Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible. This book offers a wide variety of new texts, radically revisioning stories from the Bible in many creative forms. The two co-editors join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about their book, about re-envisioning the Bible more generally, and why "smashing" inherited texts is not only a rebellious act...

Even the most intimate relationships can experience strain around the topic of Israel-Palestine. Dan and Lex are joined by Amy Eilberg and Penina Eilberg-Schwartz, who share their experience discussing and processing their conversations about Israel-Palestine across generational divides.

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Judaism Unbound's offerings for 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva are now open for registration! Check out class descriptions and more to sample a taste of everything from Comix/Comics-making to Anti-Fascist Mussar.

Interested in thinking about how to reframe and reinvigorate your meditations on the cycles of grief and change? Sign up for Elul...

Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg discuss the inherent potential, along with the limitations, of the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’av (the 9th of Av) — understood by many to be the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. What does it mean to mourn a past pain in the present? In this week’s episode, Dan and Lex consider the meanings of grief and reflection as the month of Av progresses and we move towards the month of introspection, Elul.

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Tisha B’av punctuates the end of the Jewish calendar with a bright, momentary grief. Soon aft...

For Mandie McGlynn, founder of Selah Spiritual Care, tarot can serve as a deeply meaningful modality for Jewish experience. McGlynn joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg on this week’s episode to discuss her use of tarot as part of the preparatory work of the month of Elul (the on-ramp month before the High Holidays), through an initiative she created called “Turning Toward Life.” This episode is the second in a mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring tarot through Jewish lenses.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us kee...

Tarot is known to be a practice of reading, of uncovering important meaning behind the symbols each card evokes. But what if there’s an even deeper, secret connection to not just our lives as a whole, but our lives as Jews? For data scientist and author Stav Appel, happening upon a 17th century forgotten tarot deck took him on a journey through Torah and time.

Appel’s Deck and accompanying Booklet, analyzing the Noblet Tarot’s connections to Jewish tradition, are available for preorder through our friends at Ayin Press -- order it here!

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We are proud to introduce the 3rd podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts: Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness, hosted by Jericho Vincent. 

"We are the ancestors of the future." This new podcast offers a spiritual home for listeners seeking to connect Jewish ancestral, feminist wisdom with their own svara: moral intuition. Each episode of this limited series delves into a different story of our ancestor Miriam, illuminating her mystical teachings and offering practical tools for navigating and flourishing in personal or political spiritual wildernesses. We're thrilled to periodically feature episodes of Survival Guide for a...

In Pirkei Avot, one can find the Hebrew teaching to “carry the burden with your friend.” In today’s episode, Torah Studio leaders Lexi Kohanski and Liana Wertman join the Judaism Unbound podcast to discuss their latest offerings in keeping with this lesson, including a class on personal torah and stewardship called Trans Torah for Our Terrible Times. They also share ideas regarding what the significance of torah/Torah can mean for communal and creative learning, in a moment that demands a new level of spiritual grit and gentleness.

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Now, we’re down to the marrow. Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg wrap a mini-series dive into the role of meat— and specifically, the pig — in Jewish life. They do this with an assessment of their own eating habits, reflections on autonomy and identity, and thoughts for practitioners the world over on how to incorporate more openness into our understandings of what it means to eat Jewishly.

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Catch up on previous episodes in this mini-series on the Jewish discourse around meat with Episode 488- Meat: The Key to Jewish History? - John Efron and Episod...

We’re back at the trough this week. Author John Efron joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to share some of the findings in his latest book, All Consuming: Germans, Jews, and the Meaning of Meat. Efron encourages us to get on eye-level with the pig, from symbol to sinew, as a vital indicator of eating — and therefore living — Jewishly throughout history. This episode is the 2nd in an ongoing mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes exploring Jewish history through meat (with an emphasis on pig)!

Apply for the UnYeshiva's Certificate Program for Unbound Judaism by heading to www.ju...

Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are joined by author Jordan Rosenblum to discuss his National Jewish Book Award-winning book, Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig. Interested in learning more about why the pig has felt so terribly treyf (yid. “non-kosher”) all these years? Rosenblum peels back the thick layers of meaning to get to the gristle. 

Apply for the UnYeshiva's Certificate Program for Unbound Judaism by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/certificate!

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with...

In moments of polarization, the wisdom of Tehora Hee — the recognition of inviolable goodness in all people—can be a revolutionary tool. In this episode, R' Jericho talks about seventy faces, checking Biblical assumptions, Tehora he (It is pure), pre-prayer tests, two villains from one of my own spiritual wildernesses, Anne Frank, and a practice for bringing Miriam’s living Torah into our own lives.

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We are proud to introduce the 3rd podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts: Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness, hosted by Jericho Vincent. 

"We are the anc...

Dan and Lex are joined by Rena Yehuda Newman, their colleague at Judaism Unbound who directs the UnYeshiva Certificate Program in Unbound Judaism! This certificate program's 3rd cohort will be beginning in Fall 2025, and applications for it just opened. Together, they explore what the certificate program has achieved so far, and ways in which it will be upping its game in the near future.

Apply for the UnYeshiva's Certificate Program for Unbound Judaism by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/certificate!

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Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying...

Chag Sameach! Shavuot, the annual festival of receiving Torah/revelation, is coming up soon. And that means.....ShavuotLIVE, Judaism Unbound's 24-consecutive-hour extravaganza of Jewish learning and Unlearning, is back and better than ever! 

Dan and Lex are joined in this episode by Annie Prusky, a Jewish educator and current rabbinical student who has presided over many of ShavuotLIVE's most popular sessions over the years. The three of them kibbitz about how Shavuot has evolved over the millennia and where ShavuotLIVE fits into that ongoing evolution.

You can register for ShavuotLIVE 2025 via bit.ly/2025shavuot, and l...

The "semi-quarterly glossy home for subversive Jewish culture" during the Bush years -- better known as Heeb Magazine -- is back! Re-launching as Heeb Media, this storied publication is returning, and two of the people behind its revitalization -- Mik Moore and Libby Lenkinski -- join Judaism Unbound for a conversation about reconnecting with those who knew and loved Heeb the first time around, along with building a new audience of younger readers.

ShavuotLIVE, Judaism Unbound's annual 24-hour extravaganza of Jewish learning and unlearning, is returning! From May 31st at 8 pm ET through June 1st at 8 pm...

Tirzah Firestone is a rabbi, author, Jungian psychotherapist, and leader in the international Jewish Renewal Movement. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring intergenerational Jewish trauma, through the lens of her book Wounds Into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma.

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ShavuotLIVE, Judaism Unbound's annual 24-hour extravaganza of Jewish learning and unlearning, is returning! From May 31st at 8 pm ET through June 1st at 8 pm ET, join hundreds of your friends from all around the world for the biggest event of our calendar year. You can register at bit.ly/2025shavuot!

We are proud to introduce the 3rd podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts: Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness, hosted by Jericho Vincent. 

"We are the ancestors of the future." This new podcast offers a spiritual home for listeners seeking to connect Jewish ancestral, feminist wisdom with their own svara: moral intuition. Each episode of this limited series delves into a different story of our ancestor Miriam, illuminating her mystical teachings and offering practical tools for navigating and flourishing in personal or political spiritual wildernesses. We're thrilled to periodically feature episodes of Survival Guide for a...

Brent Spodek, one of Newsweek's "rabbis to watch" and one of the Hudson Valley's "people to watch," joins Judaism Unbound for a conversation linking recent discussions about Israel-Palestine with an upcoming episode (featuring Tirzah Firestone) on intergenerational Jewish trauma. In it, Spodek argues that Judaism shouldn't be "about Judaism" -- but rather be a platform to channel Jewish wisdom toward pressing questions in our lives as human beings.

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New UnYeshiva mini-courses, leading up to Shavuot, are now open for registration! Learn more about Spirit Guides & Past Lives: Reincarnation in the Kabbalistic Imagination, Disability Torah...

Israel-Palestine, one of the world's most contentious conversations, is also (all the more so!) one of the most contentious conversations among American Jews. Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg close out their recent mini-series of episodes, exploring American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine, with a discussion about Zionism and Anti-Zionism, Jewishly loving Palestinians, and how all of this connects to Judaism Unbound's many years of podcasting about other Jewish topics.

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New UnYeshiva mini-courses, beginning just after Passover, are now open for registration! Learn more about Jewish Theology Unbound, Untangling Tselem Elohim, and Moses, Tzipporah and Us (Powerful...

Happy Passover! Chag Sameach! The holiday known simultaneously as Pesach (Passover), Chag HaMatzot (Matzah-Fest), Z'man Cheruteinu (Time of our freedom), and Chag Ha-Aviv (Spring/Barley-Fest) has arrived. Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg, co-hosts of Judaism Unbound, are joined by guests Daniel Spiro and Marques Hollie for a conversation that explores how we can get more wacky and creative with our Passover seders (traditional ritualized Passover meals) -- along with how we might play with the rest of the holiday, once the seder(s) have concluded.

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For a whole library of Judaism Unbound's Passover resources...

Rafael Neis is a professor, talmudist, historian, artist, and author of When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species. They join Judaism Unbound for a conversation about why the notion of Tselem Elohim is more dangerous than it appears. They explore human exceptionalism, rabbinic texts that place humans alongside other living creatures, and more -- all as a sneak preview of their upcoming 3-week mini-course in the UnYeshiva, entitled Untangling Tselem Elohim (The Image of God).

Register for Untangling Tselem Elohim (The Image of God) by clicking here! Apply for financial...

Amichai Lau-Lavie, co-founder and spiritual leader of Lab/Shul, is a leading voice calling for compassion toward all Palestinians and all Israelis. He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation exploring how the notion of V'ahavta (and you will love) could be channeled more thoroughly in the world -- toward peace and justice for all people. They consider connections between contemporary work for liberation, and the holiday of Passover as well. This conversation is the 9th episode in an ongoing mini-series, exploring American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine.

New UnYeshiva mini-courses, beginning just after Passover, are now open for...

We are proud to introduce the 3rd podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts: Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness, hosted by Jericho Vincent. 

"We are the ancestors of the future." This new podcast offers a spiritual home for listeners seeking to connect Jewish ancestral, feminist wisdom with their own svara: moral intuition. Each episode of this limited series delves into a different story of our ancestor Miriam, illuminating her mystical teachings and offering practical tools for navigating and flourishing in personal or political spiritual wildernesses. Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness charts a radical, fresh J...

Matthew Boxer and Janet Krasner Aronson are both sociologists whose work focuses on American-Jewish life. They join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about two studies that they've been working on, that explore the wide range of meanings that the terms "Zionism" and "Anti-Zionism" hold for American Jews. This episode is the 8th episode in an ongoing mini-series, discussing American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by...

Alissa Wise is the founder and lead organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire. Andrue Kahn is the executive director of The American Council for Judaism. They join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the role of rabbis in this heightened political moment, the work of their two organizations, and the growing movement of Jews creating communities grounded in Jewish diasporism.

Together, they are co-teaching a class in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva entitled Jewish Diasporism(s): Approaches to Nation, Home, and Responsibility, which begins just a few days after this episode is released. Financial aid is available...

People sometimes call Jews "people of the book." And when they say that, they tend to be referring to the Bible, or the Torah (first five books of the Bible). But Eva Mroczek, the Simon and Riva Spatz Chair in Jewish Studies at Dalhousie University, thinks that Jews may actually have a relationship to far more books than we've realized -- including many "lost books," and even many "imagined books" that likely never existed. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about lost Jewish books, and about her upcoming class in the UnYeshiva entitled Lost Bibles...

Danya Ruttenberg is an award-winning author, activist, and rabbi, whose most recent book -- On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World -- won a National Jewish Book Award. Ilana Sumka is a nonprofit leader, experiential educator and community organizer with over 20 years of experience, who recently founded Shleimut: Jewish Paths to Wholeness and Peace. The two of them join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 6th episode in an ongoing mini-series, exploring North American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine.

New courses are now open for registration, in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- our digital center for...

In October 2024, Dan and Lex participated in Elevate -- a summit for podcasters hosting shows in the realm of faith and spirituality -- to connect and collaborate with one another. The gathering took place at BYU – Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah – and was hosted by In Good Faith, a podcast produced by BYUradio. After an amazing few days at the summit, In Good Faith invited Dan and I to be guests on their podcast – to speak a bit about Judaism Unbound, but also for the two of us to reflect on our own relationships to religion and spirituality. The epi...

Jay Michaelson, an award-winning journalist, professor, rabbi, and author, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring centrism and radicalism, misinformation that circulates far and wide on the topic of Israel-Palestine, and how we might strive for a better Jewish collective relationship to this important issue. This episode is the 5th in an ongoing mini-series exploring North American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine.

Announcement: New courses are now open for registration, in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- our digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning. Learn more about our classes by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/classes...

This week, we’re bringing you an episode of another podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts -- Tales of the Unbound! In its inaugural season Tales of the Unbound follows the Jewish journey of two incarcerated individuals, their chaplain, and the community they co-created in the most unlikely of places.

In Tales of the Unbound, Episode 7: Happily Ever After?, the narrative explores the challenges and transformations within the Jewish community at Monroe Correctional. The story takes a twist, testing the community's cohesion and purpose. Despite these conflicts, Ari and Josh strive to uphold a sense of...

Mira Sucharov is professor of Political Science at Carleton University. Joshua Shanes directs the Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold Center for Israel Studies at the College of Charleston. Together, they are the co-founders of a digital discussion group called D’rachim — a New Path Forward for Israel/Palestine. They join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 4th episode in an ongoing mini-series exploring North American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- supp...

Peter Beinart, a columnist and political commentator, is the author of a new book entitled Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring narratives of Jewish victimhood and survival, how Biblical texts like Joshua and Esther are mobilized in contemporary debates, and how we might have better intra-Jewish conversations about perhaps the most contentious topic there is for our communities. This episode is the third in an ongoing mini-series exploring American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine.

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're...

Susannah Heschel, the Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about one of the most high-intensity issues there is -- Israel-Palestine on college campuses. This episode is the second in an ongoing mini-series of podcasts exploring conversations about Israel-Palestine in American-Jewish life. 

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

NOTE: This episode was recorded many w...

Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg, co-hosts of Judaism Unbound, explore one of the most contentious topics in Jewish (and broader) life today — Israel-Palestine. They ask how we can build Jewish communities that are able to support one another across difference and serve justice in our world. This episode is the first in an ongoing mini-series of podcasts exploring conversations about Israel-Palestine in American-Jewish life. 

NOTE: This episode was recorded many weeks before it was released publicly, meaning our conversation took place before the ceasefire agreement that was widely reported on January 15th. Initial reports indicate a multi-phase cea...

Vanessa Ochs, a scholar of Jewish ritual and the second-ever guest on Judaism Unbound  way back in episode 5, makes a grand return to our podcast! She connects with Dan and Lex to discuss an upcoming UnYeshiva mini-course she's teaching, entitled Jewish Ritual Lab:  Experiments in Jewish Creativity and Invention.

If you love what you hear in this episode, head to www.judaismunbound.com/classes and register for Ochs's upcoming mini-course in the UnYeshiva (begins January 15th, 2025)! Financial aid is available for anyone who needs it, via this link.

Access full shownotes for this episode via th...

Becca Leviss, currently studying at Harvard Divinity School, wants to push us beyond the Jewish "right-now" and into the Jewish "not-yet." She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about Judeo-Futurism -- a framework she is building, and which she wants to co-create with Jews all around the world. 

If you love what you hear in this episode, head to www.judaismunbound.com/classes and register for Leviss's upcoming mini-course in the UnYeshiva (begins January 7th, 2025), entitled Judeo-Futurism! Financial aid is available for anyone who needs it, via this link.

Access full shownotes f...