In this episode, the hosts explore controversial aspects of Disney World, discuss their obsession with Padre Pio, and interview comedian Moshe Kasher about his memoir on subcultures. They also share heartfelt letters from listeners and discuss the importance of learning Arabic for cultural understanding in Israel.

This week on Unorthodox, it’s our final episode of 2023.We bring you the latest installment of The Archive, our series exploring the collection of the National Library of Israel. This one is all about Franz Kafka: his feelings on Zionism, his attempts to learn Hebrew, and the tangled web in which his manuscripts were trapped.Then, we hear from Israeli historian and political commentator Gadi Taub about his new video podcast, Israel Update, which he hosts alongside the Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran. You can follow along on Tablet at tabletmag.com/israelupdate. Finally, we’re sharing another installment of our country-crossing series, Across the JEW.S.A, created with the support of the Jewish Federations of North America. Liel travels north to Montreal to visit one of the oldest Jewish communities in Canada. You can catch up on all our travels Across the JEW.S.A. at tabletmag.com/jewsa. Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line: . Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com.Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.SPONSORS: NLI, the National Library of Israel, proudly supports our series The Archive. Discover the treasures, collections, and stories of the National Library of Israel here.Simplify your giving with the Jewish Communal Fund, the nation's largest Jewish donor-advised fund. Act by December 29th to lock in the maximum charitable deduction for 2023. Get started at JCFNY.org.The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards honor up to 15 Jewish teens from across the United States with an award of $36,000 to recognize their impact and leadership to repair the world. Learn more at DillerTeenAwards.org.Don’t miss Harmony, the acclaimed new musical from Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman that Entertainment Weekly calls “powerful, moving and more resonant than ever.” Get tickets today at HarmonyANewMusical.com.

This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. On Friday, Tanya Singer delivers the fruits of the Beautifully Jewish Craft-Along, bringing handknit hats to IDF soldiers, crocheted dolls to hospitalized children, and handmade cards to Israelis across the country. Along the way, she encounters all sorts of crafters and creators, and reveals the common threads of resilience and generosity that make the tapestry of the Jewish people so strong.For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael.For more eyewitness accounts from Israel, listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation. Unorthodox’s reporting from Israel was made possible thanks to support from the Natan Foundation, the Maimonides Fund, and Tablet.Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. On Thursday, we meet some of the non-Jews who make up the Jewish state. We visit El Masar Elementary School in Daliyat El Carmel and speak with Druze students, parents, and teachers affected by the war. We also meet Tareq Nassar and Mona Suliman of the Sinsila Center Beekeeping Project in East Jerusalem, which encourages Muslim women to cultivate profitable and climate-friendly beehives on their rooftops. Plus, a special visit to a 700-year-old Coptic Christian tattoo shop in Jerusalem’s Christian quarter, where one of our producers gets some ink.For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael.For more eyewitness accounts from Israel, listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation. Unorthodox’s reporting from Israel was made possible thanks to support from the Natan Foundation, the Maimonides Fund, and Tablet.Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.SPONSORS: Simplify your giving with the Jewish Communal Fund, the nation's largest Jewish donor-advised fund. Act by December 29th to lock in the maximum charitable deduction for 2023. Get started at JCFNY.org.The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards honor up to 15 Jewish teens from across the United States with an award of $36,000 to recognize their impact and leadership to repair the world. Learn more at DillerTeenAwards.org.Don’t miss Harmony, the acclaimed new musical from Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman that Entertainment Weekly calls “powerful, moving and more resonant than ever.” Get tickets today at HarmonyANewMusical.com.

This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. Today, we catch up with cookbook author Adeena Sussman and take a trip to the Shuk HaCarmel, southern Tel Aviv’s famous open-air market, to get a taste of how Israel’s famed food scene has been impacted by Oct. 7 (and, of course, sample the delicious local wares). For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael.For more eyewitness accounts from Israel, listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation. Unorthodox’s reporting from Israel was made possible thanks to support from the Natan Foundation, the Maimonides Fund, and Tablet.Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. Today, we visit Roy Shimshon at his dog sanctuary in Moshav Tidhar in Southern Israel, where he is caring for nearly 100 dogs, most of whom have been separated from their owners since Oct. 7. His story gives voice to those who can’t speak for themselves: The animals left behind when their owners were killed, kidnapped, or displaced from their homes. For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael.For more eyewitness accounts from Israel, listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation. Unorthodox’s reporting from Israel was made possible thanks to support from the Natan Foundation, the Maimonides Fund, and Tablet.Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

This week, Unorthodox is publishing daily dispatches from Israel. Today, we head to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities most brutally attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7. Liel, Josh, and Tablet’s Armin Rosen meet up with Chen Kotler, a lifelong Kfar Aza resident, who shows them the devastation firsthand. For information about all the individuals and organizations featured this week and ways to support them, head to tabletmag.com/unorthodoxinisrael.For more eyewitness accounts from Israel, listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation. Unorthodox’s reporting from Israel was made possible thanks to support from the Natan Foundation, the Maimonides Fund, and Tablet.Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

This week on Unorthodox, we’re sharing nine stories of Jewish light during a time when it’s never felt more necessary. Liel brings us a reminder of the true spirit of Hanukkah. We share reflections from attendees and vendors at Tablet’s first Hanukkah Bazaar on how this year’s Hanukkah feels more important than ever. Producer Elie Bleier brings us a story from a makeshift army base near the Gaza Border, where Israeli civilians from across the country traveled to make IDF soldiers a surprising pick-me-up. Sunflowers founder Hadar Kess tells us about her work to help orphaned Israeli children. We bring you a story from our Testimonies Archive, about the 30 day memorial, or shloshim, of Nova music festival victim Oriya Ricardo, and the surprising musical guest who was there. We learn about the heroism of Awad Darawshe, a paramedic murdered at the Nova music festival on October 7th. Brett and Diana Abrams tell us about creating Pizza 4 Moms, which allows Americans to donate meals to be delivered to Israeli families. Danielle Butin tells us about the work that her foundation, Afya, is doing to donate surplus US medical supplies to Israel. And finally, Producer Josh Kross takes to the streets of Tel Aviv to investigate the latest in the quest to make the perfect sufganiyah. Listen to the Testimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for more eyewitness audio accounts from Israel.Write to us at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave a voicemail on our listener line: . Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive. To book us for a live show or event, email Tanya Singer at tsinger@tabletmag.com.Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.SPONSORS: Simplify your giving with the Jewish Communal Fund, the nation's largest Jewish donor-advised fund. In good times or during times of crisis, JCF enables you to respond quickly. Open a fund with as little as $5,000 and let JCF streamline your charitable giving. Act by December 29th to lock in the maximum charitable deduction for 2023. Get started at JCFNY.org.The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards honor up to 15 Jewish teens from across the United States with an award of $36,000 to recognize their impact and leadership to repair the world. Learn more at DillerTeenAwards.org.Don’t miss Harmony, the acclaimed new musical from Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman that audiences are raving about. It’s “powerful, moving and more resonant than ever” says Entertainment Weekly and what we need in a world full of discord. Get tickets today at HarmonyANewMusical.com.

Live show from Baltimore discussing conservative/masorti Judaism, a humorous bar mitzvah experience, Mark Cuban selling the Dallas Mavericks, anti-Semitism on college campuses, the history and significance of Hanukkah, crafting Judaeka and expressing Jewish identity, feeling connected to origins and process, hand spinning and charitable giving, and celebrations and congratulations.

Guest Bernard-Henri Lévy, philosopher and filmmaker, discusses his new film trilogy about Ukrainian heroes. ALS patient Brooke Eby shares her experience with a terminal illness and raising awareness. The hosts cover Israel-Palestine conflicts, Ukraine war, film premiere, upcoming events, and charitable giving. Eby talks about finding humor despite ALS and embracing unexpected circumstances in life. They also discuss band names, celebrity representations of Jewish culture, and the lack of ALS mainstream representation.