Episodes

  • Covenant, Compromise, Sacrifice, and Kindness

    Covenant, Compromise, Sacrifice, and Kindness
    Nov 26 2024
    This political moment may cause American Jews to ask: “Where have we seen this before?” In this episode recorded live in NYC, Yehuda Kurtzer challenges the impulse to reach backwards for old frameworks to describe our current situation, and instead offers a vision for a new era in American-Jewish politics – one shaped by a culture of compromise and defined by an embrace of kindness. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    48 mins
  • A Counterculture of Kindness

    A Counterculture of Kindness
    Nov 12 2024
    Donald Trump’s presidential comeback has many fearful for the future of American democracy. As with most recent election cycles, last week’s process was mired in a discourse of absolute and incompatible truths, creating conflicts in local communities that many are struggling to reconcile. Yehuda Kurtzer approached six Hartman faculty, fellows, and staff with the question: What should be the agenda for the American Jewish community in working to repair our democracy in the wake of these elections? In this week’s episode, hear responses from Justus Baird, Deborah Barer, Flora Cassen, Michael Koplow, Akiva Mattenson, and David Zvi Kalman. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS 
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    27 mins
  • Rabbinic Identities/Rabbinic Crises –Spheres of Belonging

    Rabbinic Identities/Rabbinic Crises –Spheres of Belonging
    Nov 5 2024
    In addition to their responsibilities as leaders and shapers of local Jewish communities, rabbis are responsible for leading the Jewish people forward into the future. The weight of this work is heavy, but the number of people who choose the rabbinic profession is dwindling. In the third and final episode of Rabbinic Identities/Rabbinic Crises, our guests discuss the boundaries of the Jewish tent, the importance of interfaith relationship-building, and the future of the rabbinic profession. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    44 mins
  • Rabbinic Identities/Rabbinic Crises – A Good Fit

    Rabbinic Identities/Rabbinic Crises – A Good Fit
    Oct 29 2024
    North American Jews are seeking different types of belonging, marked by a steady decline in synagogue membership over the last several decades. What are people searching for in their Jewish communal lives, and how are rabbis adjusting their work to accommodate these new communal needs? In this second episode of Rabbinic Identities/Rabbinic Crises, our guests discuss the considerations in finding the perfect shidduch between a rabbi and a community, and how they approach drawing the boundaries that define their communities while shaping warm and welcoming environments. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    46 mins
  • Rabbinic Identities/ Rabbinic Crises – The Private and the Public

    Rabbinic Identities/ Rabbinic Crises – The Private and the Public
    Oct 22 2024
    For rabbis, the line between the personal and the professional is not always clear cut. As leaders of communities, they are in the public eye and trusted as models of Jewish living, while also living in and among the community. In this first episode of Rabbinic Identities/Rabbinic Crises, Yehuda Kurtzer explores our guests’ paths to the rabbinate and the challenges and blessings of working in and leading a community as both a professional and a private individual. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    45 mins
  • A Nation That Still Can't Sleep

    A Nation That Still Can't Sleep
    Oct 7 2024
    In the hours following October 7, 2023, Yehuda Kurtzer reached out to friends and colleagues in Israel, both expressing his concern and support and asking them to share their personal experiences following Hamas’ deadly attack. He gathered their responses in A Nation That Can’t Sleep, released on October 11. This year, Yehuda reconnected with those same friends and colleagues, inviting them to reflect on the unimaginable year that has since passed. Their interwoven stories reveal the profound struggle to extract meaning from memory as time relentlessly marches forward and history unfolds with unstoppable force. Click here to view and download the resource developed by the Ritual Center at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem to commemorate October 7, 2023 throughout the month of Tishrei. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    48 mins
  • Who by Martyrdom?

    Who by Martyrdom?
    Oct 1 2024
    As we gather in synagogues across the world for Rosh Hashana this week, we confront human mortality with the fresh memory of so much violent death since October 7, and the threat of more to come. This week Yehuda Kurtzer spoke with Yair Furstenberg, Professor of Talmud at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, about how Jewish tradition can help us confront death’s senselessness. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS 
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    50 mins
  • A More Perfect Union

    A More Perfect Union
    Sep 24 2024
    November is rapidly approaching, and with it the end of the tumultuous U.S. presidential election cycle. In this week's episode, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Aaron Dorfman, Founder and Executive Director of A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy, about his efforts to mobilize the American Jewish community to strengthen U.S. democracy, what’s at stake in this election, and how American Jews are uniquely positioned to contribute to—and benefit from—a healthy democracy. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    53 mins