Identity/Crisis

Yehuda Kurtzer and David Koffman (York University) chart out the unique questions that face Canadian Jews as citizens of a binational, bilingual, self-described settler state, and the way those questions inform their communal Zionism, continuity, and scholarship. This episode originally aired on June 14th, 2021.

Where does song end and prayer begin? Joey Weisenberg, founder and director of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute and author of The Torah of Music and Building Singing Communities joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the spiritual role of music in Jewish communal life, what creating has been like in a time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to share some music that will uplift and inspire you. Music included in this episode is listed below and at this Spotify playlist.• Yonati (Song of Songs, 2:14)• Gam Ki Eilech• Shokhein Ad• Ya’aleh Koneinu• Lincoln’s Nigun / Yamin U’smol (Kabbalat Shabbat)• L’eila (Kaddish) It can be purchased through Rising Song Records.   This episode originally aired on April 5th, 2022.

Something to nosh on as we go inside the world of Jewish food influencers. Kosher food influencers can often create a platform where niche religious content has an appeal beyond its immediate circle. Has social media brought Jewish food to the mainstream? Shayna Weiss, Associate Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University returns to Identity/Crisis to explore the overlap of eating and social identity, kosher food culture and the power of Jewish food influencers with host, Yehuda Kurtzer. This episode originally aired on May 3rd, 2022. You can listen to Shayna Weiss's previous Identity/Crisis appearance in Ep. 10: "The Hasidim of Netflix and the Israelis of HBO".

Anti-Palestinian violence committed by disaffected young Israelis increased by 50% in 2021. Why do the IDF, the police, and society turn a blind eye towards these Jewish terrorists? Who is responsible for prosecuting their crimes? Haviv Rettig Gur, Senior Analyst for The Times of Israel, sat down with Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the violence perpetrated by the Hilltop Youth, the politics around holding them accountable, and how internal divisions in Israeli society create an environment in which this behavior can proliferate. This episode originally aired on Feburary 15th, 2022.

Miriam Anzovin is a millennial TikToker who is transforming Talmud study for the social media age. Her “hot takes” on Daf Yomi, where a person learns one page of Talmud every day, have drawn viral attention from supporters and critics alike. She joins David Zvi Kalman, a Hartman Scholar in Residence and Director of New Media, and Yehuda Kurtzer, to discuss the future and accessibility of Torah study, the whirlwind of going viral on social media, and sh*tposting on the Torah – literally. This episode originally aired on February 8th, 2022.

Israel is experiencing a non-Orthodox religious renaissance that is redefining Judaism and secularism in Israel. Rabbi Noga Brenner Samia, Executive Director of Hillel Israel and alumna of Hartman's Beit Midrash for Israeli rabbis, speaks with Yehuda Kurtzer about what sparked this new brand of liberal Judaism, the role of religion in the public sphere in a diverse religious ecosystem, how to negotiate the balance between the Jewish and democratic character of the state, and what it means to be a "secular rabbi?"

Thomas R. Nides, United States Ambassador to Israel, joins Yehuda Kurtzer for this special Identity/Crisis to discuss the hopes and expectations from the Biden administration's trip to Israel, how this administration views the deteriorated relationship between the US government and the Palestinian leadership, and what the long term plans are for the embassy's residence in Jerusalem.

In an environment in which simple narratives prevail, what does it mean to tell Israel’s subtle and complicated stories? Why are these kinds of stories in particular so powerful? Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Matti Friedman about his new book, Who By Fire, about Leonard Cohen’s little-known concert tour to the front lines of the Yom Kippur War, and how the stories we tell define our relationships with one another.

What is Israel’s responsibility to other nations experiencing crisis or injustice? How does Israel balance its domestic and global agendas on the international stage? Dyonna Ginsburg, OLAM CEO joins Yehuda Kurtzer live from Jerusalem on this episode of Identity/Crisis.

Those who succeeded in shaping how we read our texts are among the most powerful Jews in our history. Max Strassfeld, author and assistant professor in Religious Studies and Classics at the University of Arizona, joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss their new book, which offers a way of rethinking human gender and sexuality in Jewish sources and pokes holes in trans-phobic interpretations. Trans Talmud: Androgynes and Eunuchs in Rabbinic Literature by Max Strassfeld can be purchased with the discount code 21W2240 https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520382053/trans-talmud