Judaism Unbound

In this 5th and final episode in a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman conclude the first-ever edition of Apocry-Fest by synthesizing some of the conclusions they've reached as a result of this mini-series. In doing so, they consider a variety of strategies to supplement, up-end, and/or re-shape our Jewish canon.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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

In this 4th of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman celebrate the book of Judith. One of the better-known books of the apocrypha, there’s actually a great deal of historical precedent for tying the story of Judith to the celebration of Hanukkah. The three co-hosts ask why that is, along with talking through some of the nuts and bolts of what this fascinating story (with a fascinating heroine) is all about.You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

Josh Feigelson, the president and CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality -- and also the author of a new book entitled Eternal Questions: Reflections, Conversations, and Jewish Mindfulness Practices for the Weekly Torah Portion -- joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 1st episode in an ongoing mini-series exploring contemporary Jewish spirituality. To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

In this 3rd of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman dive into an apocryphal book called Jubilees. While not traditionally tied to the festival of Hanukkah, the three hosts argue that it could be part of a broader effort to consciously integrate, into our contemporary Jewish practice, books that never made it into the bible -- but which have been held as sacred by groups of Jews in a variety of historical contexts. You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

In this 2nd of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman dive into a little-known book called Megillat Antiochus -- the scroll of Antiochus. They compare and contrast its Hanukkah narrative with some better-known versions, and ask what it would look like if we incorporated this book into our experiences of Hanukkah today. You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

In this 1st of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman introduce why Hanukkah is a perfect time to engage with books of the Apocrypha (a category of ancient works of literature that were never officially canonized as part of the Bible)! You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday!  

David Kasher, associate rabbi at IKAR and author of a new book entitled ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to provide some commentary (get it??) on how we read the Torah. In their conversation, they explore some of the incredible opportunities, and potential drawbacks, that arise when reading Torah through traditional and less-traditional lenses.------------------------------------This Hanukkah, Judaism Unbound is partnering with The Torah Studio on an initiative called Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized! Learn all about it (and register for it!) by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/apocrypha.To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

We are thrilled to feature an episode of a new podcast in the Jewish pod-o-sphere, as a bonus episode on our podcast feed! This episode is the third in a new series called Breaking the Glass: Reflections on Interfaith Relationships. Breaking the Glass is a podcast series from Jewish Rhody Media reflecting on the experiences of multifaith couples and families in Jewish communities and beyond. A series that asks its listeners to reimagine traditional ideas of community, family, and partnership, Breaking the Glass is a candid acknowledgement of how our experiences shape each of us, in ways both beautiful and difficult.-------------------------------What happens when force of habit becomes, well, forced? Breaking the Glass's third episode, entitled "Breaking the News, Pt. 2," surveys the institutional responses to multifaith marriage that have cast it into the corners of communal life for far too long. Faith leaders, multifaith marriage advocates and couples break down the role – and toll – of emotions in communal decisions, helping us to break the news to ourselves: multifaith couples are looking for a place in religious communities, and it’s high time they are fully welcome.  -------------------------------Links and References for the episode:Read Rabbi Handlarski’s book: The A—Z of IntermarriageLearn more about her virtual synagogue space: http://secularsynagogue.org/Read Ed Case’s book: Radical Inclusion: Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future Learn more about the Center for Radically Inclusive JudaismWhere to find more Breaking the Glass episodes: https://podpage.com/breaking-the-glass

Happy Hanukkah! Or as we like to spell it, (c)(h)(x)(j)an(n)(i)(u)k(k)a(h)! We're about 1 week early, but in this episode, Dan and Lex explore Hanukkah in depth, asking how we might deepen our relationship to it if we connected it to frameworks from our recent conversation with Emily Tamkin, about her book Bad Jews. Also, they tie the holiday of Hanukkah to....Jewish weddings? It sounds incoherent, I know, but if you listen, we promise it will all make sense!This Hanukkah, Judaism Unbound is partnering with The Torah Studio on an initiative called Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized! Learn all about it (and register for it!) by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/apocrypha.To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com. 

Ayin Press is an artist-run publishing platform, production studio, and research collective -- rooted in Jewish culture and emanating outward. They recently launched, and there's much to be excited about! High on the list is the adjective "artist-run" that begins their self-identification -- a great hyphenated adjective that we hope more Jewish organizations will come to embody!Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are joined by Tom Haviv, Eden Pearlstein, and Penina Eilberg-Schwartz -- three people who play a central role in the work of Ayin Press, as publishers and editors. Together, they consider the power of having organizations (and publications/presses) that are consciously artist-led, the importance of publications that dance between both sides of the digital/print divide, and the meaning of their name, "Ayin."To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. 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! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.