Identity/Crisis

Yehuda Kurtzer discusses his recent trip to Israel and the deep trauma facing Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora due to the war with Hamas. The ethical considerations of Israel's military campaign and the struggle for justice and compassion among liberal North American Jews are explored. The importance of solidarity among Jews and the challenges of finding a balance between supporting Israel and questioning its conduct are emphasized. The perception of American support for Israel, the comparison of 9-11 to recent events, and the growing rift between diaspora and Israeli Jews are also discussed.

The events of the past few weeks and war in Israel will be a defining, even identity-shaping, moment for a generation of young Jews. In this week's episode, Yehuda Kurtzer chats with several young Jewish students from the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Hevruta Gap-Year program, an experience for Israeli and North American students to live and learn together. They share the ways the war has already changed their outlooks - from a conviction about future army roles to fear about arriving on college campuses, and they consider their obligations to one another as Jews. Despite all that is changing, they point us toward their own sources for hope.JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

Discussion on resilience and mobilization in Israeli society during the ongoing war with Hamas. Highlighting the recent challenges in Jerusalem and the successes of a protest movement against judicial reform. Exploring the unity among different factions and the role of civil infrastructure. Insights into the extent of devastation caused by attacks, organizing support for affected communities, and the risks faced by civilians. Ways for North American Jews to offer vocal, financial, and political support for Israel.

Saturday, October 7 was the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust as a result of the brutal attack by Hamas terrorists. Israel has been at war since. Over the last few days, Jews all over the world have reached out to friends and family in Israel via WhatsApp to check-in. In this week's episode, Yehuda Kurtzer collected voice messages from seven friends and colleagues in Israel that offer a window into their experiences and capture their perspectives on this unprecedented moment of uncertainty, pain, loss, and resilience.JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Hebrew calendar, Israeli Jews in Tel Aviv clashed about what it means for Judaism to manifest in the public square, tensions that relate directly to recent political battles over the character of the Jewish State. Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Yossi Klein Halevi and Masua Sagiv to process these events and interrogate their emotional reactions to the protests, the integrity of Jewish prayer, the perils of partisanship, and what it means to be consistent in one's commitment to democracy. Street fights over prayer offer liberal Israelis a chance to define a Judaism they can believe in by Masua SagivThe state of our brokenness by Yossi Klein HaleviJOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

Dwelling in temporary booths during the holiday of Sukkot reminds us of the Israelites wandering after their exodus from Egypt and inspires us to consider the vulnerability of housing insecurity. As we look towards a week of sitting in our own booths, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Hannah Lebovits, assistant professor of Public Affairs and Planning at the University of Texas, Arlington. Together they discuss some of the structures that prevent society from fully addressing housing insecurity, how we might approach solutions, and how Judaism can inform our perspective towards our unhoused neighbors. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

In response to the current political moment in Israel, the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America hosted a day-long virtual Teach-In on September 20. This episode is a recording of Yehuda Kurtzer's opening session, where he challenges us to expand our understanding of what Jewish tradition teaches us about how we can respond in times of crisis. In addition to protest, he suggests that blowing shofar, teaching, and fasting are all rituals that transform and mobilize us as individuals and as a community.A source sheet accompanying this session can be found here.JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

Yehuda Kurtzer talks to Rabbi David Wolpe about the art of writing a rabbi's sermon. They discuss the writing process, the division between a rabbi's public and private life, and the role of politics at the pulpit. They also touch on the evolution of sermons in Jewish worship, challenges faced by women rabbis, the need for a different vocabulary to challenge thinking, and addressing Israel in sermons. The speakers express the desire for meaningful sermons during high holidays and discuss the irony of the synagogue experience.

The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in October 2018 was the deadliest attack on Jewish people in American history. For Adam Reinherz, award-winning journalist and senior staff writer at the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, it was also something much more personal. In the years since the attack, Adam has reported on everything—from the tragedy to its fallout to the shooter's recent death sentence—across dozens of articles, for the sake of both his Jewish community and the larger world. In this week's episode, Adam and Yehuda Kurtzer discuss what it means to approach a story that holds both particular and universal resonance.A list of Adam's articles on the shooting can be found here.JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS

"The Jewish establishment" evokes images of a small group of insiders with some combination of power, affluence, and influence. This isn't necessarily wrong, but the power and purpose of that establishment has shifted significantly since its height in the middle of the 20th century, and it also exists in relationship to its critics.Eric Fingerhut has been a member of many "establishments." He was a congressman for Ohio 19th district, CEO of Hillel International, and is now the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). In conversation with Yehuda Kurtzer, he shares his perspectives on the power and limits of representing North American Jewish communities, particularly during times of political crisis; the systems of democracy within his own organization; and where he sees hope for the Jewish future in both North America and Israel.Yehuda Kurtzer’s article “The Establishment Has No Clothes”