Podcast Episodes

OTD, Datlash, and the Religious Spectrum: When Orthodox Jews Leave Orthodoxy with Rabbi Alex Israel (CLASSIC EPISODE)

Season 8

The Orthodox Conundrum Podcast is off this week, and we'll be back next week with a brand new episode. In the meantime, enjoy this classic episode about Orthodox Jews who leave Orthodoxy.

There’s a p…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Celebrating Pesach in Challenging Times: Haggadah Insights from Eight Teachers of Torah (245)

Season 8 Episode 24

I’m doing something a little different this week. Instead of discussing an issue in the Jewish world, I want to offer some inspirational words about the Seder as we enter the final week before the be…

Published on 5 months ago

"There Are No Shortcuts to a Healthy Jewish Education": Empowering Growth Without Guilt or Fear, with Rabbi Dr. Judah and Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg (244)

Season 8 Episode 23

We are now less than two weeks away from the night of the Seder, which is almost certainly the most widely practiced example of Jewish education in action. And that raises the issue of how we should …

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

A Moral Voice for Religious Zionism: The Profound (and Profoundly Human) Thought of Rav Yehuda Amital, with Rabbi Moshe Taragin (243)

Season 8 Episode 22

This conversation with Rabbi Moshe Taragin presents an introduction to the profound - and profoundly human - religious philosophy of Rav Yehuda Amital zt'l, the founding rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har …

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Chutzpah - and Illegal Activity - in the Service of Dodging the Draft, with Sam Sokol (242)

Season 8 Episode 21

When hundreds of students enthusiastically sing and dance about dodging the draft, while thousands of others protect those same students by spending more and more time in the IDF because of a manpowe…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

The Mainstreaming of Meir Kahane: A Halachic, Moral, and Theological Mistake, with Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky (241)

Season 8 Episode 20

Several recent articles have raised a troubling question: Is Rabbi Meir Kahane making a comeback? In the wake of the horrific murder of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, some influential pro-Israel voice…

Published on 5 months, 4 weeks ago

The Abuser’s Tool Box: Domestic Abuse in the Orthodox Community, with Keshet Starr (240)

Season 8 Episode 19

Domestic abuse is one of those topics that, sometimes, we simply wish would go away. It’s certainly among the very worst experiences that a person can have, yet it brings forward feelings of shame an…

Published on 6 months ago

The Vanishing Art of Jewish Conversation (and What To Do About It), with Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble (239)

Season 8 Episode 18

The act of talking - dignified and informative conversation, where people connect on a serious level with one another - is essential to the Jewish experience. This goes back to the very creation of A…

Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Religious Jews and Dishonesty: Tax Fraud, Zoning Violations, Downplaying Risk, and More, with Rabbi Jeremy Wieder (238)

Season 8 Episode 17

The Torah is very clear that theft is forbidden; no one doubts that this is true. It is, accordingly, very disturbing that religious Jews as a community don’t seem to be more ethical in these matters…

Published on 6 months, 3 weeks ago

The Ethics of Population Transfers & Prisoner Swaps, Defining "Innocent Civilians," and Other Urgent Ethical Dilemmas, with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody (237)

Season 8 Episode 16

Ever since President Trump presented his plan (or his idea, as it’s unclear how planned out this really is) about resettling the Arab population of Gaza, the Jewish world has been in an uproar. Very …

Published on 6 months, 4 weeks ago