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PODCAST

18Forty Podcast

Helping you find meaning in life through the exploration of Jewish thought and ideas.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

57:49

David Bashevkin: The Anniversary Episode

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/06/22

In this anniversary episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with our host, David Bashevkin, to reflect on the last year of episodes.18Forty has explored many important and interesting topics and has helped build a community of people interested in exploring these ideas. But it has been a big undertaking involving many unforeseen factors and complications.- How has 18Forty decided what topics and guests to feature?- What has David learned about the process of interviewing?- How has 18Forty been

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90:59

Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter: Should We Censor Jewish...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/06/15

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter - rabbi, professor, and historian - about censorship as it relates to Jewish history.Though censorship exists in many areas, it is particularly interesting to analyze it from the lens of Jewish history. It can be tempting to idealize the lives of gedolim when writing about them, or to whitewash parts of history that don’t fit with our modern conceptions. It can be tricky to navigate history while preserving a given set of

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63:04

Jonathan Rosenblum: Communal Boundaries and Cancel...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/06/08

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Jonathan Rosenblum - journalist and author of multiple ArtScroll biographies - about censorship and specifically how it applies to biographies.One of the many areas in which censorship can be exercised is biography writing. Certain biographies of gedolim have been criticized for censoring their life stories to mask their imperfections, distorting history in the process. But censorship isn’t always about distorting the facts and may instead be about

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75:02

Altie Karper: When a Book Is Banned [Censorship 1/3]

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/06/01

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Altie Karper, editorial director of Schocken Books, about censorship and cancel culture.Every community has boundaries, and every community needs a way to enforce those boundaries. As Altie’s experience publishing a book that received religious pushback tells us, it can be hard to gauge if something will be deemed appropriate. If a public figure says something that doesn’t fit within the boundaries of a community, there should be criticism, but this

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67:36

Protecting us from Ourselves: An Anonymous...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/05/11

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to an anonymous divorced man who gives us his perspective on the divorce process and the need to protect oneself from his own darkest inclinations.While one would never assume themselves capable of get (divorce document) refusal, the emotions of uncoupling run high and it's possible to find yourself considering using the get as a bargaining chip. We sit down with a man who was in this exact predicament and he explains why the get should never be used

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70:45

Bari Mitzmann: Social Media & Agunah Advocacy [Agunah...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/05/04

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Bari Mitzmann - Instagram content creator and host of the Women of Valor podcast - about social media advocacy, particularly in regard to the agunah crisis.With an Instagram audience of 30,000 followers, Bari is often asked to promote causes. One such cause was the recent #FreeChava campaign where Bari's promotion helped spark recent support for agunot. While posting about advocacy on social media seems like a natural thing to do, it can be hard to

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63:12

Keshet Starr: How Should we Advocate for Agunot?...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/04/27

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Keshet Starr - CEO of ORA - about what it’s like to work on the front lines of agunah activism. As the CEO of ORA - the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot - Keshet is directly involved with many cases of get-refusal, working with both parties to ensure a satisfactory resolution. She is also involved in agunah advocacy - both for specific agunot and to raise awareness for the issue in general - and prevention. While many are averse to the

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88:30

Rabbi Shlomo Weissman: The Rabbinic Will and Agunot...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/04/20

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Shlomo Weissman - head of Beth Din of America, YU Professor, and former lawyer - about the halakhic complexities of, and attempted solutions for, the agunah crisis. A halakhic divorce contract, called a “get,” must be given from the husband to wife, and the parties must give/receive the get willingly. When one or the other party doesn’t willingly participate in this process, the marriage cannot be ended, leaving the woman unable to remarry by

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71:50

Andrew Solomon: Far from the Tree [Divergence 4/4]

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/04/05

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Andrew Solomon - a Pulitzer Prize finalist - about intergenerational divergence, as well as his book, Far from the Tree, which was in some ways the very inspiration for this topic. Andrew’s experience with intergenerational divergence began as a child, when his gay identity imbued him with a sense of outsiderness that is evident in his work. His book, Far from the Tree, deals with this topic explicitly, exploring the impact of things like deafness

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79:29

Menachem Penner and Gedalia Robinson: A Child's...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/03/22

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. When Gedalia realized he was gay as a young teenager, his parents weren’t sure how best to deal with the information. They initially attempted conversion therapy, now known to be ineffective at best

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90:43

A Child Becomes Orthodox [Divergence 2/4]

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/03/15

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Robyn—a Reform rabbi who works with interfaith families—and her son Benji—who now identifies as Orthodox and learns in the Mir Yeshiva—about the rewards and challenges of religious diversity in the family.Robyn is a Reform rabbi whose organizational work relates to interfaith families. Though she didn’t raise her family Orthodox, her son Benji was drawn to Orthodoxy in high school, culminating in his attending Ner Yisroel and now the Mir

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88:59

Daniel Grama & Aliza Grama: A Child in Recovery...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/03/08

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Rabbi Daniel Grama—rabbi of Westside Shul and Valley Torah High School—and his daughter Aliza—a former Bais Yaakov student and recovered addict—about navigating their religious and other differences. Daniel is a rabbi in Los Angeles, and has, to some extent, dedicated his life to teaching others about Orthodox Judaism. Aliza experienced a rebellious teenhood in which she left religious observance and succumbed to addiction. As Aliza’s

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82:57

Rabbanit Rachelle Fraenkel: How Can God be Found...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/02/23

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Rabbanit Rachelle Fraenkel—speaker, educator, and yoetzet halacha— about the effects of tragedy on emunah. In 2014, Rabbanit Rachelle Fraenkel’s son Naftali was kidnapped and murdered in a tragic terror attack. The week before the world learned of his fate was sad but hopeful, leaving many feeling crushed by the outcome. Despite this impossible situation, Rachelle was lauded as displaying emunah, faith, in Hashem, remaining optimistic but

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88:10

Dr. Aaron Segal: Can God Be Proven? [God 2/3]

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/02/16

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Aaron Segal, philosophy professor and student of both Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Alvin Plantinga, to discuss God from the perspective of analytic philosophy. Analytic philosophy is mathematical, breaking claims into small pieces to rigorously analyze the language and concepts. The cost of this approach is its unwieldiness and high standards, which Aaron believes has precluded it from providing a capital-P proof of God’s existence. But one

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76:10

Rabbi David Aaron: How Should We Talk About God? [God...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/02/09

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Rabbi David Aaron, author, thinker, and educator, to discuss what God is and isn’t. People often think of God as a powerful, heavenly figure giving commandments, but to Rabbi Aaron, God is more of an experience of awe or good that morally inspires. This experience is impacted by our past experiences, often most prominently by those involving our parents. Rabbi Aaron thinks that many atheists are truly believers and would connect to their faith

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56:00

OTD Highlights

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/01/26

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down for a special session with our host, David Bashevkin, to discuss one of the podcast’s first topics: going off the derech. There are many preconceptions that come with leaving one’s religious life. People often claim to know the precise psychological reasons that caused someone to leave and what kind of life they’re currently living. There are always reasons, but these reasons can be varied and unexpected, and can lead people to very different

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60:20

Talmud Highlights

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/01/19

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down for a special podcast with our host, David Bashevkin, to review the first topic that 18Forty covered: Talmud. Though Judaism has many facets to its practice, Talmud study has long been one of its hallmarks. It is a sprawling text with many commentaries, and so can be analyzed from any number of perspectives. This episode highlight three: those of Ari Bergmann, Chaim Saiman, and Michelle Chesner. From its historical formation to its ideas to its

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37:53

Why 1840?

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/01/12

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. Though humanity’s history is long and rich, it’s only recently that the world has begun to look like we’re used to. From the renaissance to the scientific and industrial revolutions, technology and information seem to be progressing at an exponential rate. Judaism, along with all tradition, had to contend with modernity as we now know it for the

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69:57

Eli Rubin: How do Mysticism and Social Action...

18Forty Podcast ·

2021/01/05

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Eli Rubin – writer and researcher at chabad.org – to think about the stereotypes associated with social justice and vision, and how those seeming boundaries have been transcended. Social reform requires that one embrace at least some change, leading some to think that it is antithetical to conservative worldviews. While the compatibility of Judaism and social justice movements is not guaranteed, it is often the case, even in some of what are

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77:41

Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz: How Should We Educate About...

18Forty Podcast ·

2020/12/29

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz – Shalom Hartman Institute Fellow, SAR Associate Principal, and Princeton PhD – to think about ways in which social justice can be incorporated into Orthodox education systems. History has seen many hierarchical class systems that benefit some to the detriment of others. The Jewish people have not often been the beneficiaries, yet we enjoy much economic and social success in much of the world today. Dr. Press Schwartz

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