Judaism Unbound

Tzitzit Project is an invitation for everyone, and every body, to engage with the mitzvah of wearing the four-cornered ritual garment, with fringes, called a tallit katan (also referred to as tzitzit). Its co-founders, Julie Weitz and Jill Spector, launched Tzitzit Project to open up this practice, historically held by cisgender men, to women, trans, and non-binary Jews. They join Dan and Lex for the 7th episode in an ongoing mini-series on Jewish spirituality.Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.Register for our upcoming courses in the UnYeshiva (beginning the second week of February), taught by Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, Sara Eifler, Shefa Gold, via JudaismUnbound.com/classes! For direct links to each of their courses, click the corresponding link below:Speaking Jewish Around the Globe: Endangered Jewish Languages from Italy to India and Beyond - Sarah Bunin BenorPlant-based Torah: Jewish Ethical Eating as Spiritual Practice - Sara EiflerThe Call of Love: Reimagining Religion with Love at t

Dan and Lex, in the 6th episode in an ongoing mini-series on Jewish spirituality, want to soak in some of the lessons they've taken from their previous conversations in this unit. They explore how spirituality ties to questions of self, of community, and of society, and whether a central component of spirituality might boil down to dissolving one's sense of self.They also announce some exciting news: the launch of the UnYeshiva's brand-new certificate-program in Unbound Judaism! Learn more via www.judaismunbound.com/certificate , where you can take your first steps in our application process.Register for our upcoming courses in the UnYeshiva (beginning in early February), via JudaismUnbound.com/classes, and access full shownotes for this episode via this link.

Shefa Gold is an educator, composer, and spiritual leader whose music, teachings, and spiritual methodologies have influenced clergy, lay-leaders, and seekers around the world. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 5th episode in an ongoing series on Jewish spirituality, and together they explore the transformative potential of the Song of Songs (a biblical book whose central theme is love). They also immerse in forms of Jewish sacred-chant -- Gold brings some of those chants to our podcast in real time, and she also outlines why chant plays a key role in her methodology of transmitting Jewish wisdom.Register for Shefa Gold's course in the UnYeshiva, entitled The Call of Love: Reimagining Religion with Love at the Center, by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/love! To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. Also at that link, you can register for an info session (Wednesday, January 25th at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT or Thursday, January 26th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT) to learn more about our spring cour

Ariana Katz, the founding rabbi of Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl ("Shtiebl" refers to an intimate, cozy space where prayer and study meet), joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 4th episode in an ongoing series on Jewish spirituality. Together they explore what it means to build an intentional, spiritual, community, and also consider the importance of holding a mindset of spiritual abundance. To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. New UnYeshiva courses kick off in just a few weeks (February 2022!). Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com. And if you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

Yoshi Silverstein is the founder and executive director of Mitsui Collective, an organization that seeks to "build resilient community, through embodied Jewish practice and somatic antiracism." Silverstein joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 3rd episode in an ongoing mini-series on Jewish spirituality, and in their conversation they explore ways in spirituality connects not only to our souls -- but also to our physical bodies.To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com. And if you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

Wendie Bernstein Lash, a longtime friend and collaborator of Judaism Unbound who co-facilitates our Elul Unbound initiative every year -- as an on-ramp to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur -- joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg in the 2nd episode of an ongoing mini-series on Jewish spirituality. Bernstein Lash, a spiritual director (and teacher of other spiritual directors) for decades, outlines what spiritual direction is -- along why it may be worth emphasizing it more in contemporary Jewish life.Are you interested in exploring spiritual direction for yourself? Fill out this form, and we will help match you with a spiritual director.To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

In this 5th and final episode in a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman conclude the first-ever edition of Apocry-Fest by synthesizing some of the conclusions they've reached as a result of this mini-series. In doing so, they consider a variety of strategies to supplement, up-end, and/or re-shape our Jewish canon.If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

Josh Feigelson, the president and CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality -- and also the author of a new book entitled Eternal Questions: Reflections, Conversations, and Jewish Mindfulness Practices for the Weekly Torah Portion -- joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 1st episode in an ongoing mini-series exploring contemporary Jewish spirituality. To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.

In this 4th of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman celebrate the book of Judith. One of the better-known books of the apocrypha, there’s actually a great deal of historical precedent for tying the story of Judith to the celebration of Hanukkah. The three co-hosts ask why that is, along with talking through some of the nuts and bolts of what this fascinating story (with a fascinating heroine) is all about.You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

In this 3rd of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman dive into an apocryphal book called Jubilees. While not traditionally tied to the festival of Hanukkah, the three hosts argue that it could be part of a broader effort to consciously integrate, into our contemporary Jewish practice, books that never made it into the bible -- but which have been held as sacred by groups of Jews in a variety of historical contexts. You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

In this 2nd of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman dive into a little-known book called Megillat Antiochus -- the scroll of Antiochus. They compare and contrast its Hanukkah narrative with some better-known versions, and ask what it would look like if we incorporated this book into our experiences of Hanukkah today. You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday! 

In this 1st of a five-episode mini-series, Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound & Un-Canonized, Dan Libenson, Lex Rofeberg, and Liana Wertman introduce why Hanukkah is a perfect time to engage with books of the Apocrypha (a category of ancient works of literature that were never officially canonized as part of the Bible)! You can sign up for Apocry-Fest by heading to www.JudaismUnbound.com/apocryfest. Do so, and we’ll send you all sorts of cool Apocryphal (ApocryFUN!) stuff, during Hanukkah, to help enrich your experience of this holiday!  

David Kasher, associate rabbi at IKAR and author of a new book entitled ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to provide some commentary (get it??) on how we read the Torah. In their conversation, they explore some of the incredible opportunities, and potential drawbacks, that arise when reading Torah through traditional and less-traditional lenses.------------------------------------This Hanukkah, Judaism Unbound is partnering with The Torah Studio on an initiative called Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized! Learn all about it (and register for it!) by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/apocrypha.To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by

We are thrilled to feature an episode of a new podcast in the Jewish pod-o-sphere, as a bonus episode on our podcast feed! This episode is the third in a new series called Breaking the Glass: Reflections on Interfaith Relationships. Breaking the Glass is a podcast series from Jewish Rhody Media reflecting on the experiences of multifaith couples and families in Jewish communities and beyond. A series that asks its listeners to reimagine traditional ideas of community, family, and partnership, Breaking the Glass is a candid acknowledgement of how our experiences shape each of us, in ways both beautiful and difficult.-------------------------------What happens when force of habit becomes, well, forced? Breaking the Glass's third episode, entitled "Breaking the News, Pt. 2," surveys the institutional responses to multifaith marriage that have cast it into the corners of communal life for far too long. Faith leaders, multifaith marriage advocates and couples break down the role – and toll – of emotions in communa

Happy Hanukkah! Or as we like to spell it, (c)(h)(x)(j)an(n)(i)(u)k(k)a(h)! We're about 1 week early, but in this episode, Dan and Lex explore Hanukkah in depth, asking how we might deepen our relationship to it if we connected it to frameworks from our recent conversation with Emily Tamkin, about her book Bad Jews. Also, they tie the holiday of Hanukkah to....Jewish weddings? It sounds incoherent, I know, but if you listen, we promise it will all make sense!This Hanukkah, Judaism Unbound is partnering with The Torah Studio on an initiative called Apocry-Fest: Hanukkah Unbound and Un-Canonized! Learn all about it (and register for it!) by heading to JudaismUnbound.com/apocrypha.To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Learn more about current and upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning an

Ayin Press is an artist-run publishing platform, production studio, and research collective -- rooted in Jewish culture and emanating outward. They recently launched, and there's much to be excited about! High on the list is the adjective "artist-run" that begins their self-identification -- a great hyphenated adjective that we hope more Jewish organizations will come to embody!Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are joined by Tom Haviv, Eden Pearlstein, and Penina Eilberg-Schwartz -- three people who play a central role in the work of Ayin Press, as publishers and editors. Together, they consider the power of having organizations (and publications/presses) that are consciously artist-led, the importance of publications that dance between both sides of the digital/print divide, and the meaning of their name, "Ayin."To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by

Jen Gubitz is the founder and executive director of Modern JewISH Couples -- an organization that supports committed couples on the pathway to partnership, marriage, and beyond. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about Jewish weddings that asks a number of questions. What typically happens, and what should happen, before the wedding day? Why is it not only okay, but wonderful, when non-clergy officiate Jewish weddings? What transformation does the ritual of a wedding ceremony effect, in 2022, when many traditional understandings of what a wedding “does” no longer resonate?Inspired by what you hear in this podcast episode? You can sign up for a 3-week mini-course in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva (a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning), taught by Adina Allen and revolving around the Torah of Creativity. Register for a 3-week mini-course in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva, taught by Jen Gubitz and Dan Libenson, entitled "How to Perform a Jew-Ish Wedding," by clicking here. 

Adina Allen, co-founder and creative director of The Jewish Studio Project, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to explore what Torah is, what creativity is, and what her framework -- a Torah of Creativity -- has to teach the world.Inspired by what you hear in this podcast episode? You can sign up for a 3-week mini-course in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva (a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning), taught by Adina Allen and revolving around the Torah of Creativity. Register for Adina Allen's 3-week course in the UnYeshiva by clicking here, and check out the UnYeshiva's other upcoming "mini-courses" via this link.

This bonus episode of Judaism Unbound is presented in partnership with Theatre Dybbuk. Once a month, their podcast -- called The Dybbukast -- releases a new episode, and we are proud to feature their third season's first episode as a bonus episode here on Judaism Unbound's feed. In each episode, they bring poems, plays, and other creative texts from throughout history to life, all while revealing their relationships to issues still present today. Subscribe to The Dybbukast on Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else that podcasts are found.In this episode, presented in collaboration with the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, we investigate the life and work of the poet Chaya Rochel Andres, who emigrated as a young woman from Poland to Dallas, Texas, where she spent most of her adult life. Her story serves as an entry point for us to explore some of the social, political, and cultural dynamics of Jewish life in the South. Throughout the episode, a variety of poems from Chaya Rochel's body of work

Emily Tamkin is the senior editor, US at The New Statesman and author of a new book entitled Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to explore how the phrase "Bad Jew" has been mobilized throughout American history, how it's used today, and why it might be time to discard it.To access full shownotes for this episode, click here. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Learn more about upcoming courses in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning -- by heading to www.unyeshiva.com.