Season 3
TJS3 Interlude What is a Jew?
The art is by Dan Levkovitch מאת דני לבקוביץישראלי, יליד צרפת, 2002-1927 - The Israeli Cartoon Museum, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32910158
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TJS S3 Purim 5779: The Oldest Hatred, a practical analysis
Illustration attribution www.maxpixel.net/Aggression-Viole…ss-Attack-656795
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TJS S3E3 Mass Immigration and Ingathering the Exiles - part I
illustration attribution: By Government Press Office (Israel), CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22807003 Rav Mike Jewish History Kibutz Galuyot Ben Gurion
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TJS S3E4 Sink or Swim - mass immigration and the in-gathering part II
There are times in the history of peoples and nations when the decisions made shape the future. The three years after Israel's foundation saw its population double through...
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TJS S3 Passover Interlude: The Exodus, a story beyond belief
The commandment around which seder night revolves is the telling of the story of the Exodus. Many people today struggle with questions of historicity, meaning - did this...
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TJS S3 Interlude Independence 5779 Independence or self-actualization?
There is no word for independence in Biblical Hebrew, and the roots of the modern word can teach us much. This might right be called the day when...
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TJS S3E5 1949 Boundary issues - part I
In 1949 Israel was in the dangerous position of winning the battle and losing the war. Though ceasefire agreements were in place, peace remained elusive. This episode opens...
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TJS S3E6 The limits of retaliation
Every value has a boundary and every state a border, which means that often we have to fight to maintain them. Here is the story of Israel's struggle...
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TJS S3 Interlude Jerusalem Day 5779
Every once in a while you have to get out of the house, and even out of the box. Where better to do that than Jerusalem, and who...
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TJS S3E7 70 years of constitutional crisis part I - 1949
If I asked you whether Israel has a constitution are you sure that you would know the answer? This episode is the first half of answering the question...
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TJS S3E8 Seventy years of constitutional crisis - part II 1992
In part two of this exploration of Israel's seventy year constitutional crisis we take a look at the revolution of 1992 and how it contributed to today's battles....
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TJS S3E9 1945-55 part I Did the Jews turn white?
1945 to 1955 is known as the 'Golden Decade' of American Jewry. Here is the first of three episodes that aim to fill in the Jewish Story on...
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TJS S3E10 1945-55 part II Shadows on the Golden Decade
The decade after World War Two was a Jewish decade for America. Not only did the Jews achieve the suburban dream, but their culture stepped right into the...
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TJS S3E11 1945-55 part III The reorganization of American Zionism
We spoke about the suburbs and the shadows, now it is time to talk about Zionism. The 'Golden decade' was a time of reorganization in general, and particularly...
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TJS S3 Interlude: Am Yisrael and the postmodern challenge
graphic attribution: www.flickr.com/photos/versionz/2596831861
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TJS S3 Interlude: 9th of Av
Some timely questions for a difficult day. How do we reach redemption if we don't know what it looks like? How do we transform suffering into a source...
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TJS S3E12 The Reparations Controversy
The focus of our story has returned to the land of Israel, where it is once again a time of controversy. Despite the population growth, the economic hardships...
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TJS: S3E13 Israel among the nations part I The Lavon Affair 1954
The 1950's were a formative time in Israeli history. The Cold War was getting hot, internal politics were volatile, and the it seemed as if the War of...
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TJS: S3E14 Israel among the nations part II: War Approaches 1955
The clock is counting down toward the 1956 Sinai Campaign. Before we can tell that story the threads of the Cold War, infiltration and post-colonial politics have to...
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TJS S3E15 Israel among the nations part III: Operation Kadesh
The Sinai campaign was many things - a preemptive strike against Israel's enemies, the last gasp of colonialism in the Middle East and a complete failure of international...
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TJS S3 Interlude: 5780 A New Horizon
The High Holy Days are also know as the Days of Awe which can be awesome, or awful. Here is a look at how to tie the work...
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TJS S3 Interlude: Kingdom or client state?
Sukkot is a time to sit in the Sukkah and reflect, so here are a few thoughts from my Sukkah. This is an exploration of what it means...
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TJS: S3E16 Israel at age ten
Life offers so few opportunities to stop and reflect that we need to seize every chance. What better time to look back at the questions with which we...
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TJS: S3E17 The Kastner affair
The memory of the the Holocaust is dark and traumatic enough that it threatens to overwhelm even the light of the present. Here is the first part of...
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TJS S3E18: The Eichmann Trial
The Holocaust was so dark and vast that the Jews struggled to integrate it into their consciousness, despite the hundreds of thousands of survivors in their midst. One...
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TJS S3 Interlude: War, what is it good for?
Sometimes in life, and in history, it is time to step back and reflect. I have seen five rounds of conflict since I moved to Israel, all of...
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TJS S3 Interlude Government - a crisis of faith
No matter where you turn, it seems that democracy is in crisis. Here is an interview with Rav Mike which touches on the global situation as well as...
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TJS S3E19: The Samson Option
In the first decade of the state, Prime Minister Ben Gurion was haunted by one thought - that a second holocaust could come at the hands of Israel's...
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TJS S3 E20 The Spirit of the 60’s part I: pragmatism and prophecy
The 1960s were a revolutionary period in American history, and since the Jews were so deeply involved it is a turning point in the Jewish Story as well....
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TJS S3 Interlude Hannukah - releasing the light within
Here is a live interlude from Rav Mike - his annual class in memory of his father, Charles Feuer ob'm. It is an exploration of the Hannukah light...
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TJS S3E21 The spirit of the 60s part II
1964 was the Freedom Summer in America, and it saw a wave of white, Jewish volunteers leaving the comfort of their suburban existence to fight the battle against...
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TJS S3E22 Spirit of the 60s part III: the revolution starts tonight
At the Sixties progressed they became more intense. In particular, the tone of the civil rights movement shifted from integration to separation and from evolution to revolution. This...
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TJS S3E23 Spirit of the Sixties part IV: The radical break
For a few brief weeks, it looked like 1968 would be a revolution in America on par with 1967 in Israel. This episode explores the role of radical...
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TJS S3 Interlude - Redemption Rant
Sometimes you just have to let loose, so here is a rant in response to some listener questions. It touches on the Trump Plan, the current political crisis...
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TJS S3 Interlude: some more questions
Why stop once with a good thing? Here is another interlude answering listener questions on Israel as a Jewish State. Hold out to the end hear what Rav...
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TJS S3E24 Levi Eshkol - a new face of leadership
Old politicians never die, they just fade away. The era of Ben Gurion ended in 1963 and it appeared that his replacement, Levi Eshkol, could not live up...
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TJS S3E25 Shifting identities in early Israel
The present is always built on the ruins of the past, the only real question is - how do we integrate this reality into our identity? This episode...
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TJS S3 Interlude Purim - Own your story
The Jewish Story is narrative therapy for a nation, but how can it also serve each of us in our quest to be actors in our lives instead...
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TJS S3E26 Eli Cohen, hero of Israel
Historians may argue about whether one person can shift the course of history, but everyone agrees that a hero can change the world. Here is the story of...
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TJS S3 Interlude - the many faces of mercy
Sometimes you have to speak from the heart. Here are a few thoughts, or really feelings, about our current situation. There is a tremendous potential in every crisis,...
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SPECIAL LIVE! Pesach 5780 The Haggadah as narrative therapy
We tell stories to make sense of our lives, to give them meaning and direction, and the more challenging life is - the harder it is to craft...
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TJS S3 Interlude - Making every day count
The exodus from Egypt was only the first step on the road to Sinai. The bridge between Egypt and Sinai, between liberation and revelation, is embodied in the...
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TJS S3E27 Six Day War I - beginnings near and far
Who can say when historical events like the Six Day War actualy began, and what were their causes? It is a daunting task, but not one which we...
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TJS Interlude - Yom Haatzmaut Interview 2020
Here is an interview of me by Rabbi Yonatan from the RRG Beit Midrash at Hebrew University in which we reflect on Israel Independence day from the historical...
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TJS S3E28 The Six Day War II - The point of no return
The causes of war may be many and the road to its outbreak long, but every conflict has a tipping point. In this episode the noose seems to...
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TJS S3E29 Six Day War III Israel dwells alone
The countdown to war is progressing, and the pieces are almost all in place. As the pressure mounts, some of the fundamental flaws which lie at the heart...
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TJS S3 Interlude - George Floyd and the burden of history
I can't watch what is happening in silence, but nor am I willing to simply be a cheerleader for chaos. Here are some thoughts on structural violence and...
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TJS S3E30 Six-Day War IV The waiting
Going into battle may take bravery, but waiting demands a certain type of courage as well. This episode lays out the final steps of the build up to...
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TJS S3E31 Six-Day War part V - something miraculous
What do you see as the greatest miracles in Jewish History? In many ways, how you answer indicates your understanding of history altogether. This episode deals with the...
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TJS S3E32 Six-Day War part VI The power of determination
There are certain qualities which, when they manifest, define one's story -determination is one of them. Here is the story of the conquest of the Golan and the...
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TJS S3E33 Six Day War part VII On the Seventh Day
Just as surely as Shabbat follows the six days of the week, there was a day after the Six Day War. When the guns ceased and the discussion...
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