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God as an Encounter, Not a Belief | Dr. Mijal Bitton
Description
Is the life of a Jew an individual journey with God or a communal one? What is being asked of the Jewish people right now? When your faith fractures, how do you find wholeness again in your relationship with God?
A conversation with Dr. Mijal Bitton exploring faith in God, the current Jewish experience, Judaism not just as a religion but as a family, the significance of our ancestral bonds and the power and necessity of individual contributions to the collective Jewish narrative.
Dr. Mijal Bitton is a spiritual leader, public intellectual, and sociologist. She serves as Scholar in Residence at the Maimonides Fund and Rosh Kehilla of the Downtown Minyan in New York City. A Visiting Researcher at NYU Wagner, she directed pioneering research on Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States.
Mijal is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, a New Pluralist Field Builder, and a Sacks Scholar. She co-hosts the podcast Wondering Jews and shares weekly reflections on Jewish life, identity, and resilience in her Substack newsletter, Committed.
Substack: https://mijal.substack.com/
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1cU0NTHYQZOTARwuXTbpLU?si=uPmpMnd6RbycOuFli-N9Sg
Website & contact: mijalbitton.com
Instagram: @mijalbitton
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introducing Mijal Bitton
03:12 The Jewish Experience: Identity and Collective Responsibility
05:56 Faith and Imperfection: Navigating Belief in Difficult Times
08:48 Judaism Beyond Religion: A Family and Community
12:04 The Interconnectedness of Faith and Peoplehood
14:56 Finding Your Individual Path Within a Collective Identity
17:48 The Role of My Ancestors in Shaping My Faith
21:10 Hope vs. Optimism: A Jewish Perspective on Challenges
23:53 The Joy of Being Jewish
27:13 The Future of Judaism: A Vision for the World
30:02 Fighting for Our Place: Political Mobilization and Community Engagement
32:54 Personal Practices: Staying Centered Amidst Responsibilities
36:10 Sephardic Heritage: A Unique Perspective on Tradition
38:56 Closing Thoughts: Embracing Our Roles in the Jewish Community