

Judaism Unbound
Institute for the Next Jewish Future
Listen in as Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg analyze pressing issues for 21st century American Judaism. Mixing their own analysis with interviews of leading thinkers, practitioners, and even "regular Jews," Dan and Lex look to push past the bounds of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century.
You can support Judaism Unbound at www.JudaismUnbound.com/donate.
You can support Judaism Unbound at www.JudaismUnbound.com/donate.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 6, 2020 • 50min
Episode 212: Haggadot.com - Eileen Levinson
Eileen Levinson, founder of Haggadot.com, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about crowd-sourced haggadot (guide-books to the Passover seder), and about re-imagining Passover more generally. We hope to use this series as a case study of concrete practices for finding deeper meaning in contemporary Jewish practice.This episode is the fourth in an ongoing series exploring new, old, and new-old approaches to the holiday of Passover. 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!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

5 snips
Feb 28, 2020 • 51min
Episode 211: The Passover Haggadah, a Biography - Vanessa Ochs
Vanessa Ochs, author of The Passover Haggadah: A Biography, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the origins, evolutions, and revolutions of the Passover Haggadah — the text that is used as a ritual guide to the Passover Seder.This episode is the third in an ongoing series exploring new, old, and new-old approaches to the holiday of Passover.Pre-order The Passover Haggadah: A Biography 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!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Feb 21, 2020 • 56min
Episode 210: Escape from Egypt - Dan Horwitz
Dan Horwitz, Founding Director of The Well, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about outside-the-box approaches to Passover.If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help to support our kickstarter campaign, currently underway to fund our book project, Judaism Unbound: Bound. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Feb 14, 2020 • 57min
Episode 209: Wait...Soft Matzah? - Barry Dolinger, Naomi Baine
Barry Dolinger and Naomi Baine, co-founders of Mitzvah Matzos, join Dan and Lex for a conversation in which they explain that — despite what you’ve heard — matzah isn’t always hard like a cracker! More than that, they’re offering a new avenue for you, in eating it, to directly contribute to the betterment of our world.If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help to support our kickstarter campaign, currently underway to fund our book project, Judaism Unbound: Bound. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Feb 7, 2020 • 50min
Episode 208: Yiddish...Nu? - Dan and Lex
Dan and Lex have one word for you, listeners……Nu? Just kidding, they have many thousands of words to offer in this episode, which concludes a unit of conversations about Yiddish language and culture in America. This episode is the sixth and final episode in a series produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding.If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help to support our kickstarter campaign, currently underway to fund our book project, Judaism Unbound: Bound. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Feb 5, 2020 • 1h 15min
Bonus Episode: A Pluralism of Necessity - Rena Yehuda Newman
In this special episode, 2019 Judaism Unbound and New Voices Fellow Rena Yehuda Newman (they/them) explores a new concept called “Pluralism of Necessity,” when communities are formed not because their members have much in common, but because they need each other.Click here to check out the shownotes for this bonus episode, including a bio of Rena Yehuda Newman and some questions about the episode for you to explore.

Jan 31, 2020 • 46min
Episode 207: American History of Yiddish - Tony Michels
Tony Michels, the George L. Mosse professor of American Jewish History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the evolving role of Yiddish in America, from the late-19th century through the present. This episode is the fifth in a series of episodes produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding.If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help to support our kickstarter campaign, currently underway to fund our book project, Judaism Unbound: Bound. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Jan 24, 2020 • 52min
Episode 206: "Practical" Isn't the Point - Sandy Fox
Sandy Fox, American Jewish historian and host of Vaybertaytsh, a “feminist podcast for the Yiddish-speaking and the Yiddish-curious,” joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation that weaves together the topics of Yiddish, podcasting, summer camp, gender, and much more. (Fox is also known among Yiddish-speakers as סאָסיע־פֿריידל).This episode is the fourth in a series of episodes produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding. 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!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Jan 17, 2020 • 44min
Episode 205: A Yiddish Family - Asya Vaisman Schulman, Seb Schulman
Asya Vaisman Schulman and Sebastian Schulman join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to talk about each of their individual relationships to Yiddish language and culture, along with their collective relationship to Yiddish that is embodied through their nuclear family. This episode is the third in a series of episodes produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding.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!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.

Jan 10, 2020 • 46min
Episode 204: Confronting Yiddish Shame - Naomi Seidman
Naomi Seidman, the Chancellor Jackman Professor of the Arts at the University of Toronto’s Department for the Study of Religion, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation looking at Yiddish’s intersections with politics, translation, gender, and shame. This episode is the second in a series of episodes produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding.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!To access full shownotes for this episode, click here.