Jewniversity

An introductory look at supernatural beings in Jewish tradition - the good, the bad, and the toilet demons.

What makes a Jewish house a Jewish home? We explore the concept of Mikdash Ma'at and the practices, objects, and experiences inherent in building a Bayit Neeman beYisrael.

In honour of Pride and in our final session before the Summer break, we look at LGBT+ life and law in Judaism

In a follow up to last week's episode, we review laws of marriage (Kiddushin), explore some aspects of sexuality in Jewish practice (Onah, Niddah), and consider the laws of divorce (Gittin)

We look at Jewish laws, custom and practices around dating, engagement, sex and marriage

In our 40th episode (!) we deal with the thorny questions of the Messiah (who it is and why) and Messianism

A rapid-fire tour of the Jewish conceptions of death, dying, burial and mourning.

A brief and incomplete survey of modern Israel, from the first Zionist Congress (1897) until the 39th, coming up later this year.

A slightly out-of-the-box look at the magic of the number 7 – from the Menorah to the Omer to Shemittah, Shabbat and more, join us to explore this most sacred of numerals.

All things Pesach: what it is, how we observe it, its history, procedures, practices and frustrations. From Kitniyot to the Haggadah, from Ḥaroset to Ḥazeret

Following up on our last session, we look at the project of Jewish theology and the personalities of Jewish theologians from the Renaissance period until today

We consider the discipline of Jewish theology and philosophy and look at several of the main thinkers in this tradition, from Philo to Maimonides

In our last episode for this High Holy Day series (and our last of both 5784 and 2024), we explore Yom Kippur.

A look at the symbols, customs, laws, and practices of Rosh haShanah - from why its in Tishrei to why the Rabbis hate Tashlich.

The first of our three part series on the Yamim Nora'im. We look at the concept of Teshuvah, how to do it, and how it connects to the main prayers, symbols, and ideas of Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur

A very brief and very rapid look at 2000+ years of antisemitism, anti-Judaism and antizionism

This week we look at the treatment of war in the Torah and in Maimonides's Mishneh Torah with an eye towards understanding what the relevant ethical questions are of battle, siege, taking captives, and conducting warfare.

A whirlwind look at some of the ethical and halakhic issues surrounding sex and gender – from egalitarianism, to LGBT+ identities, Gittin, Shutafut, Niddah and Milah.

Join us on a sloppy and slightly sarcastic 'Tour de Siddur' - all about prayer. Does prayer exist? Do we do it in Judaism? Is it obligatory? Why is the siddur so chonky?!

We refer to the JPS Commentator's Bible (an English Mikra'ot Gedolot), a sample excerpt of which can be found here. 

Join us for a tour of the Who, What, Where, When and Why of the Zohar

This week we look at the cycle of creativity and consolidation, the development of Halakhah, and the two major codes - Rambam's Mishneh Torah and R' Yosef Karo's Shulḥan Arukh.

A look at the concept, methodology and texts of Midrash.

Join us this week as we dive into the six orders and sixty-three tractate of the Mishnah! How did the Mishnah make Judaism and who are the Rabbis (capital R) who made the Mishnah?

We start our series on the Jewish Library by looking in-depth at the 24 books and 969 chapters of the Tana"kh (AKA 'Hebrew Bible')

I. Holy Hades - She’ol, or, The Underworld

Genesis 37:35

(35) And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said: ‘I will go down to She’ol, to my son mourning.’ And his father wept for him.

Numbers 16:32-34

(32) [...] and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all Korah’s people and all their possessions. (33) They went down alive into She’ol, with all that belonged to them; the earth closed over them and they van...

This week we look at the phenomenon of Nevu'ah. Often called 'prophecy' but more often misunderstood as a result, what does it mean to be a Spokesperson for and to God? Who are the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible and what were their messages? Is 'prophecy' in our own time possible?

And we're back! Starting 2024 off with a bang, we're looking at the question of the Torah's 'authorship'. Who wrote it? God? Moses? Some blokes named J.E. and P.D.? Join us for a whirlwind tour of the Torah, a consideration of its composition, and a fiercely anti-fundamentalist polemic on the question of Torah min haShamayim.

This week we look at a broad survey of the histories and themes of Jewish mysticism, AKA Kabbalah

This week we look at Jewish Ethics, how that fits into ideas of Halakhah, what Musar is – and why we should all care very much about our behaviour even outside the bounds of the Torah's laws.

A look at Kashrut - from the Torah to today - with its complexities and contradictions.

A brief and incomplete history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from 1923-2023. Following the events of 7 October, we tried to give some context to the role of Hamas, the difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

Join us as we review the second half of the year - from Tishrei through Adar!

Aaaand, we're back! With the Summer break behind us, we're looking at the calendar, starting with the Hebrew month of Nisan and going through Elul – roughly corresponding to the seasons of Spring (Nisan-Iyyar-Sivan) and Summer (Tammuz-Av-Elul).

*Summer Special* During our break from Jewniversity (we return in September), there will be a few one-off guest appearances on this podcast. First up, I was privileged to be invited to deliver the R' Dr. Louis Jacobs memorial lecture in London, where the topic was 'The Fallacy of Orthodoxy'

Attempting the impossible task of covering the last millennium of Jewish history, we survey major events, figures and developments in Jewish communities around the world through the mediaeval, early modern, and modern periods.

This week we look at 1500 (!) years of history, from the building of the Second Temple to its destruction and the aftermath that resulted in the development of Rabbinic Judaism.

Slides with notes, dates, and maps can be found here. 

This week we take a look at the 613 Mitzvot ('duties', 'commandments') which are in the Torah, their categories and divisions, their significance, and a brief look at jurisprudence and the development of Halakhah.

This week we take a semi-serious and semi-comprehensive approach to Shabbat observance through the lens of Halakhah and rabbinic innovation, exploring the 39 Melakhot (categories of labour), and the rabbinic concepts of Shevut (rest), Muktseh (weekday/Shabbat objects), and Oneg Shabbat (restful pleasure).