Orthodox Conundrum

Increasingly, members of the Religious Zionist community in Israel have discovered the thinking and writings of Rabbi Shimon Gershon Rosenberg, better known by his initials, Rav Shagar. ​​The more they read the many books that have been released after his early passing in 2007 at the age of 57, the more they are challenged, excited, and inspired by his depth, creativity, and authentic religiosity and spiritual longing. Nevertheless, the larger English-speaking Orthodox world remains largely unfamiliar with Rav Shagar's life-changing ideas. This is a shame, as Rav Shagar, perhaps as much as any other Orthodox thinker over the past fifty years, deals directly with issues that confront Religious Zionism and Modern Orthodoxy. Whether we're looking for guidance in defining truth, challenges to faith, religious pluralism, the impact of fundamentalism, the mystical experience and so much more, Rav Shagar's voice is one that needs to carry great weight as Orthodoxy moves deeper into the 21st century. To that end, Scott coordinated a discussion about Rav Shagar with Rabbis Zachary Truboff and Yehoshua Engelman - two individuals who have intimate familiarity with Rav Shagar and his unique path in Torah. We hope that this episode inspires listeners to learn more about Rav Shagar, and to make his thinking a more central part of Orthodox discourse throughout the world. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

"The medium is the message" said philosopher Marshall McLuhan, and the idea that the way we receive information is likely more important and influential than the information itself, is now truer than ever. Because of social media, our world has changed far more than we realize. For Orthodox Jews, who have lived behind literal and symbolic walls for the past 2000 years, the change is one that may completely upend the way we understand the world at large and even the Torah itself. Some communities have responded by rejecting everything associated with the new media landscape; or at least they're trying. Others welcome it with open arms and perhaps throw all caution to the wind. On this episode, Dina Rabhan offers a broad overview of the social media landscape, and its potential dangers and genuine opportunities for people in general, and for religious Jews in particular. In a fun, informative, and important conversation that cites philosophers from Henri Nouwen ("What is most personal is most universal") to Michael Scott ("Wikipedia is the best thing ever!"), Dina provides information about what social media can offer us, and what it can and does take away. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

On October 28th, 1965, as part of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI promulgated Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions. That event cleared the way for a potentially better relationship between Roman Catholics and Jews. Crucially, the Catholic Church also has officially rejected attempts at converting Jews to Christianity. Despite this positive start, the relationship between Jews and Catholics remains a complicated one. Many people argue that Catholics have made huge steps in the right direction that should be celebrated... though others suggest that things aren't quite so simple. Some question how much these positive steps have trickled down to Catholics in the pews. Others emphasize that Nostra Aetate was supposed to be the first of several positive moves toward dealing with the Church's history of anti-Judaism, but instead has been treated by many Catholics as the final word on the subject - thereby ignoring Catholic complicity in anti-Jewish persecution for millenia, and pretending that the process of repentance is finished. Even more troubling is the suggestion that Nostra Aetate implicitly provides absolution for the Church, saying that anti-Jewish attitudes were never part of Church doctrine, and that the Church accordingly bears no responsibility for horrible events like the Holocaust. Rav Soloveitchik famously expressed concern that Catholic overtures toward Jews could lead to attempts at converting them. And some wonder whether there is an intentional double entendre when Pope John Paul II called Jews the elder brothers of Christians… when Jews who study Sefer Bereshit know that the older brother is the brother who is rejected. To discuss the state of Jewish-Catholic dialogue in 2022, and its potentially positive ramifications as well as its potential dangers, Scott had a fascinating conversation with Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich, the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies and the director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

During the Selichot that we have been reciting for the past two weeks, we repeat G-d's Thirteen Attributes of Mercy over and over again. Many shuls have the minhag to say them three times when we open the Aron before the Torah reading on Rosh Hashanah morning, and in some synagogues they're recited every time we open the ark during the ten days of repentance. Most significantly, the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are the central motif of Maariv on the night of Yom Kippur, and during the final prayer before Yom Kippur comes to a close, Neilah. The reason that we repeat them is clear: Chazal quote G-d Himself as saying that reciting these attributes will result in G-d's forgiveness. This idea is called the "Brit Shlosh Esreh" - the covenant of the thirteen. But that only begs the question of why. Why does G-d promise to forgive us just because we say the 13 Attributes of Mercy? Is this some kind of magic trick? And if it works like magic, why do we need to say them more than once? Join Scott as he answeres this question, and offers an explanation of each of the Attributes as explained by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, in order to help your davening on Yom Kippur be deeper and more meaningful. To print a two page PDF which summarizes these ideas, go to the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

As we enter the period of the Yamim Nora'im followed by Sukkot, we are embarking on what might be the most intense spiritual season of the Jewish calendar. Some people find the davening on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur deeply meaningful; others find it interminably long and drawn out. One method that gives some people spiritual meaning - both in the synagogue and out - is the discipline of Jewish meditation. In order to learn about Jewish meditation - what it means, where it comes from, how it's different from non-Jewish schools, its connection to Maaseh Merkava, Kabbalah, and Chassidut, practical examples of what we can do to integrate meditation into our own davening and much more - including an extensive discussion of the great Jewish meditation teacher, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan - Scott spoke with two well known teachers of Jewish meditation: Rabbi Professor Alan Brill and Rabbi Dr. Meir Sendor. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Today's episode isn't about Rosh Hashanah in an overt way; but Myra Sack's story represents one of the most powerful Rosh Hashanah stories imaginable. Myra and her husband Matt had a beautiful little girl named Havi Lev; and, in her words, We lost our first-born daughter, Havi Lev Goldstein, on January 20th, 2021, at 9:04am. She died peacefully in our bed, in our arms. She died from a cruel disease called Tay-Sachs, that strips your mind and body of every function over 12-18 months. Havi was two years, four months and sixteen days old when she died. Myra wrote a story for the Boston Globe Magazine called "Holding Havi," and as painful and tragic as her story is, it is also profoundly inspiring and uplifting. It combines beauty and sadness, laughter and grief. It offers such important lessons we all need to learn before Rosh Hashanah… and always. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

There is a tremendous amount of Torah learning taking place today, and Orthodox Jews should be excited that such study occupies a central place in so many Jewish lives. Daf Yomi has encouraged and inspired people who never before considered learning Talmud to try to learn all of Shas over 7 and a half years. Alongside classes in Talmud, there are shiurim in Chumash, Tanach, Mishnah, Midrash, Halacha, Musar and more. Yes, we spend a lot of time learning G-d's words. But do we sometimes forget to also learn about G-d? Some Jewish people have intuited this need, and are finding new ways to bring G-d into their lives in a concrete manner. One of these responses has been the growth of what is termed Neo-Chassidut. To find out more about this movement, Scott spoke with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Is belief in Judaism self-evident? Are our principles of faith wholly rational and perhaps even obvious to any thinking person? Or is faith in G-d and Torah more complicated and suffused with questions than many would like to assume? Do we have faith? Do we possess authentic trust in G-d? Deep down, what do we really think about the tenets of Torah Judaism? Do we accept them, doubt them, or maybe both simultaneously? Do we affirm them verbally but question them intellectually? In short, how much do we really believe - and why? In order to address questions of emunah, and to get a better sense of whether belief is logically compelling or whether it requires the proverbial leap of faith, Scott spoke with Jeffrey Bloom and Alec Goldstein, two of the editors of the recent book, Strauss, Spinoza, and Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of Faith. The book, however, was just a starting point; the main focus of the conversation was around why Jews can believe the things that we believe - and why some people don't. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

This episode is, in some ways, two distinct podcasts in one: one about outreach, and one about some major spiritual challenges that exist in the Modern Orthodox world. Many in the Centrist or Modern Orthodox world are uncomfortable with kiruv and outreach; it's often associated with acting with condescension towards people who are not Orthodox, objectifying people who are not Orthodox, and not acting forthrightly towards people who are not Orthodox. Perhaps most concerning, though, is the suspicion that kiruv professionals act as though they have all the answers, that Orthodoxy is a perfect society, and that we need to reach out because everything within Orthodoxy is basically perfect. Many of us would argue that we need to get our own house in order before convincing other people to join the team. Rabbi Mark Wildes, though, is one of the rare Modern Orthodox Jews who is deeply involved in, and believes in, kiruv and outreach to unaffiliated and less-affiliated Jews. Scott asked him how he responds to these criticisms of kiruv professionals and organizations, how we should define the real goals of kiruv organizations, and why most kiruv professionals seem to have a Chareidi or Chassidic orientation. Perhaps even more important, however, was an intense discussion of the problems that Modern Orthodoxy needs to address. Their conversation included a discussion of spiritual anemia, problems that exist in synagogues, the longing - or lack thereof - for the Divine Presence, the differences between experience and intellect in the approach to G-d, how much we should emphasize dogma, and - above all - the need to bring G-d back into the center of our consciousness. This conversation - again, really two conversations - was fascinating, and should give you food for thought as we enter Elul and the days leading up to the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Join Rabbi Wildes's WhatsApp group at https://chat.whatsapp.com/LM0bsDb4sV3FmESMyauFaw. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Lonna Ralbag has been demanding a get from Meir Kin for 18 years and still hasn't received it. According to Jewish law, this means that she cannot remarry, and is effectively trapped as a type of aguna - a chained woman. Meanwhile, her estranged husband, despite public pressure, seems to revel in having become the king of the get-refusers. He has a YouTube channel and managed to remarry while leaving Lonna unable to do the same. And he does all of this while claiming to be a religious Jew, following Halacha. Indeed, he presents himself as the victim of a smear campaign. It's clear that Meir Kin's actions represent a reprehensible perversion of Jewish law and a massive chilul HaShem, desecration of G-d's name. Lonna's story is tragic, but she is strong and is working to relieve her plight and that of other women in comparable situations. Lonna's story is as much a tale of resilience as it is of sadness and frustration. On today's episode, Scott speaks to Lonna Ralbag, her attorney, Daniel Schwartz, and Keshet Starr, Executive Director of the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. If you are interested in participating in a JCH-ORA postnup party, please email scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com and we'll tell you how you can participate. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com