All things good things must come to an end, so here is the concluding episode of season 5. In it you will find an exploration of how to relate to the brokenness of the world, some thoughts on our present posture and even hints about what the future might hold. See you in the fall!
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A second wrap up interview for season five. Dr. Zhenia Fleisher lived in all three of the 20th century’s major centers of Jewish life – USSR, Israel and the USA. Tune in for her thoughts on past present and future.
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Here is a talk with Rav Yehuda HaKohen of the Vision Movement, the first in couple of conversations which will close our exploration of American Jewish life in the 80s. We range from the personal to the political, touching on tough Jews, Soviet Jewry and what is was like growing up at a time when…
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American Jewry in the Eighties were as safe and comfortable as a Jewish community had ever been – and yet the shadow of the Holocaust still loomed large over their identity. Here is an exploration of how the political power and personal charisma of Rabbi Meir Kahane intersected with this fear – and had explosive…
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The 1980s saw many seismic shifts in the fabric of American Jewish society, and among them was the earthquake of the Jonathan Pollard affair. The 1985 arrest of the Navy analyst rocked the US/Israel relationship and accelerated the fragmenting of attitudes toward Israeli among Jews in the US. Whether you see Jonathan Pollard as a…
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Here is the third and culminating episode in a story that we have been following since season four. The Eighties saw a welding together of American Cold War policies and the struggle for Soviet Jewry in a dramatic fashion. Super power summits, glasnost, the release of Natan Sharansky and the Freedom Sunday march all came…
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As we circle in toward the end of season five, it is time to check back in with American Jewry. The 1980s were a time of economic and social security for the Jews of the US, and the overall growth of their religious communities was boosted by a surprise source – the kollel. It was…
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Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim) is a time when past and present come sharply together, and have the potential to define our future. Social activist and former Jerusalem city council member Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz joins me to discuss the potential of the holy city and this momentous day.
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Menachem Begin has been part of our exploration of the Jewish Story since the uprising against the British back in 1944, and the Lebanon War was the last chapter in which he took an active role. In order to give a fitting wrap up to such an important character, here is an interview with Dr….
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The RRG Bet Midrash Torah Cafe hosts Rav Mike Feuer for a live word of Torah on Yom Haatzmaut – Israel Independence Day. How does history create obligations, and why is it important to rejoice? If you want to discover the connection between gratitude and redemption, listen all the way to the end of this…
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