x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Martini Judaism

Religion News Service

For those who want to be shaken and stirred. Join one of American Judaism’s most prolific thought leaders and his special guests as they talk about the current state of Judaism, American culture, politics, religion, and spirituality.

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

53:22

A Reform Jewish woman and an Orthodox rabbi talk...

Martini Judaism ·

2024/09/23

Two of my favorite people — Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer — who have just written a new book, "It Takes Two To Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses," with a foreword by Mayim Bialik. This is a book about each Torah portion, as read through their lenses, and is a series of conversations and intellectual wrestling matches.

en

52:54

It's More Than L'chaim: Judaism Is a Celebration of...

Martini Judaism ·

2024/09/06

First, this modern Orthodox rabbi was one of the first rabbis to really touch my life and to engage me in what my Protestant colleagues would call “formation.”Rabbi Yitz Greenberg was a congregational rabbi in Riverdale, NY; the founder of the Jewish studies program at City College of New York; the creator of CLAL, the Center for Learning and Leadership – which is a think tank for Jewish pluralism and intra-Jewish conversation. I first met Rabbi Greenberg and his wife, Blu, the major Jewish

en

11:49

When the reverend became a rabbi

Martini Judaism ·

2024/08/16

We need to take the spiritual journey of Ana Levy-Lyons with the gravity it deserves. Truth be told: There is a shortage of rabbinical students. Jews need rabbis. Levy-Lyons obviously has the human, intellectual and spiritual skills for it. I look forward to welcoming her as a Jew, and certainly as a colleague.But there is far more to this story than is readily apparent. This is not only a story about how someone has entered Judaism. It is also a story about how someone left the Unitarian

en

11:28

A new Jewish denomination: Josh Shapiro-ism

Martini Judaism ·

2024/08/09

Jews have been living on an emotional roller coaster.In recent weeks, we experienced a welcome "high." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was under serious consideration for vice president on the Democratic ticket. Then, in recent days, for many Jews, a "low" when Josh Shapiro was passed over in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Jews have a right to be disappointed. But along with that disappointment, let us realize the Shapiro possibility contains two serious lessons for American Jews. First, the

en

10:59

Could the White House become a Jewish home?

Martini Judaism ·

2024/07/26

More than forty years ago, as I prepared to ascend the pulpit for my first High Holy Days sermon as a rabbi, one of the elders of my congregation, dear old Arthur Leibowitz, pulled me aside.“Rabbi,” he said to me, “Preach the Dickens at ’em.” I said to him: “OK, Arthur. Just please don’t have any great expectations.” American Jews already know, intuitively and rationally, that they are living in the "worst of times." The rise of antisemitism, both in the United States and abroad, and the ongoing,

en

52:01

The 39th-Generation Rabbi Who Is Reinventing Judaism:...

Martini Judaism ·

2024/04/18

“I am running away to join the circus.”It was 2004, and my synagogue in Atlanta had welcomed Amichai Lau-Lavie as a guest speaker. Amichai had been the founder of Storahtellers, a ritual theater company, which was an innovative approach to presenting Torah in synagogue. He had come to our congregation along with what could only be described as a madcap ensemble of actors, singers and theater professionals – who also knew Torah. They dramatized the Torah portion. And, much more. The congregation

en

11:08

Is the Eclipse Good For the Jews?

Martini Judaism ·

2024/04/05

I am experiencing serious FOMO.I am totally bummed that I am going to be out of the range on Monday to watch the solar eclipse. So, let's talk about Judaism and eclipses. Are there eclipses in the Bible? Most likely. It is possible that the plague of darkness during the Exodus from Egypt was a total eclipse of the sun. Likewise, when the sun stood still in the book of Joshua, that also might have been an eclipse. There are also references to solar eclipses in medieval Jewish texts, especially as

en

52:13

God loves you. Deal with it.

Martini Judaism ·

2024/03/21

What are the three little words that rabbis almost never, ever, say to their congregations.Hold on, because I am about to say them. God loves you. That is the topic of Rabbi Shai Held's new book, "Judaism Is About Love,"` which is also the topic of today's "Martini Judaism" podcast. Wait a second, you are saying. Isn't this supposed to be Martini Judaism -- not Martini Evangelical Christianity? Am I reading the wrong column, or has Jeff Salkin decided to convert? Neither. Let’s face it: “God loves

en

51:36

A new poetry, post-Oct. 7

Martini Judaism ·

2024/03/14

A very intelligent young person once asked me: “When did the Bible stop?”“What do you mean?” I responded. “I mean,” she said, “when did they decide that the Bible was finished? Why can’t we simply add on to it? Why can’t it be like a loose-leaf notebook, where you put things in and take them out whenever you need to?” I admit I had found that question to be, well, irreverent. Now I am not so sure. Now I actually think it was a great question and I have been asking it myself. Not about taking pages

en

44:33

We need a post-October 7 Talmud: a conversation with...

Martini Judaism ·

2024/02/24

It is November 10, 1938. It’s in a small city in Germany. It is the night after Kristalnacht, the night of broken glass that ushered in the mass roundups and the killings that would become the Holocaust, what we call the Shoah in Hebrew.There are a group of men shoved together in a cell. They are all of different ages. One of them turns to a much younger man, a rabbinical student who was no more than twenty years old. “You! You are a rabbinical student. You are a student of Judaism. So tell us –

en

12:21

Converts are Jewish. Period.

Martini Judaism ·

2024/02/08

The other day, I was talking to someone about a friend of mine who had converted to Judaism, a.k.a., joined the Jewish people. My conversation partner stopped me in my tracks. "I don't believe in that," he said. "You can't convert to Judaism. You can't just join the Jewish people. You either are Jewish, or you are not. What — you take a class, and you take a test and they dunk you (in the mikveh, the ritual bath) and poof — you're Jewish?!?" "No!" he continued. "You have to have a yiddishe neshame,

en

50:02

Is the university good for the Jews? With Mark...

Martini Judaism ·

2024/01/25

Did you ever think, in your wildest imagination, that the events of October 7 would lead to an all out culture war that would involve every sector of American intellectual and academic life? Me neither. And yet, here we are -- with the result that many American Jews are now questioning the role of the university in their lives, and in the life of the Jewish community. To help us discern the depths of the university and the Jews, check out the podcast -- a conversation with Mark Oppenheimer. He has

en

49:27

Are American Jews in crisis? A conversation with...

Martini Judaism ·

2024/01/11

“Don’t know much about history…” Those were the immortal words of Sam Cooke. It happens to be true. Many of us don’t know much about history. Just think of the way that we use the word. Someone gets fired from a job, and what do we say? “She’s history.” But, I love history, especially American Jewish history. No one has nourished that love of history more than Professor Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, past president of the Association for Jewish Studies and Chief Historian of the National

en

43:31

Why Israel matters: A conversation about the National...

Martini Judaism ·

2023/12/28

No one ever asks, "Why should India exist?" Or Albania. Or the United States. Or any country in the world. Except for one country: Israel. So, let me make this simple — and overly simplistic. Why does Israel exist? Here are my two R's of Israel. To rescue Jews who are persecuted. To save Jews from Jew-hatred. That was the wake-up call that Viennese journalist Theodor Herzl experienced during the trial of Alfred Dreyfus for treason in France in the early 1890s. He saw the mobs in the streets calling

en

55:00

A Jewish rock star reflects on Oct. 7 + Peter Himmelman

Martini Judaism ·

2023/12/05

Do you know what it’s like to fall in love? I don’t mean falling in love with a romantic partner. I am talking about the moment of falling in love with a performer — because you know that person gets it and gets you and understands you. That is what happened to me back in 1991, when a friend of mine played me an album called “From Strength to Strength” by Peter Himmelman. That title is a biblical quote. It’s what Jews say to each other at significant moments in life: “May you go from strength to

en

38:48

What's your story? A new podcast reveals the depth of...

Martini Judaism ·

2023/11/09

I first encountered Nora Gold when I read her amazing novel, Fields of Exile, which is about the anti-Israel ideologies that are now sweeping across the academic world – in her case, with a unique focus on what is happening in Canada. It is about antisemitism on the college campus. That book was enough to make me a total fan. Today, we are talking to her about her new collection -- 18: Jewish Stories Translated From 18 Languages. This is the first anthology of this kind in 25 years. And, no -- these

en

50:49

What do we do now? Coping with the challenges of...

Martini Judaism ·

2023/11/02

What do we do now? Many Jews, all over the world, are asking themselves that question during these difficult weeks. Israelis are asking: What do we do now – to rebuild our land, our towns, our kibbutzim, our broken lives? What does it mean to maintain hope in the Jewish future? A new book -- "Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People" -- offers its readers numerous answers to those complex questions. This is an amazing, unnerving, and challenging book. It brings together a

en

43:01

We need to talk about antisemitism. A lot. With Rabbi...

Martini Judaism ·

2023/10/19

A blood libel. That was the first thing that went through my mind when I heard about the bombing of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which claimed the lives of between 200 and 300 people. Palestinians, much of the Arab world, and various organizations immediately blamed Israel. There is now ample evidence, accepted by the United States, that the bombing was the result of a failed rocket that had been launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Here is the audio and transcript of the Hamas terrorists

en

41:15

How the _____ did this happen? Israel, Hamas, the...

Martini Judaism ·

2023/10/12

I can't. I just can't. At Kibbutz Kfar Aza, they have found the bodies of some 40 babies, some of whom had been beheaded. This past week has been the most difficult week in the history of the Jewish people since the end of the Shoah/Holocaust in 1945. There is a word for what happened, and it is not an “attack.” It is a pogrom, and it makes the most infamous pogroms in Jewish history – those at Kishinev, 1903 -- pale in comparison. They did not go after military targets. Hardly. They have taken

en

54:07

Why social justice in Israel cannot wait: a...

Martini Judaism ·

2023/10/05

"Embarrassed." "Ashamed." "Confused." "Ambivalent." "Frightened." Last week, I sat with a group of Jews in a synagogue. It was an adult education session, and I had asked them to complete the following sentence: “When I think of Israel, I am…” Those were the reactions – what goes through their minds as they think about Israel, and what goes through their souls as they think about Israel. I was shocked, but I was not entirely surprised. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

en

61 results

Similar Podcasts

Jeff Haygood, Pastor

PodPoint

PASTOR ALVARO VALENCIA

Pastor Alvaro Valencia

Grace Life Church CT.

PodPoint

Pleasant View Church

Ted Nance

Christian Heritage Church"s Podcast

PodPoint