Judaism Unbound

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." Register for the course he is teaching in the UnYeshiva, beginning in early October, via this link!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!

Danya Ruttenberg, the 'Rabbi of Twitter,' joins for a special Yom Kippur episode. They explore her book on making amends and discuss the steps of repentance, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, personal actions vs societal change, challenging Yom Kippur liturgy, and more.

Some people become Jewish at some point in life after they are born. Typically, they're referred to as either "Jews-by-choice" (in contrast to "Jews-by-birth") or as "converts" to Judaism. Amelia Dornbush, who underwent a conversion to Judaism during college, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about why she would not describe herself as a "Jew-by-choice," and why that term may create more problems than it solves. This episode is the 9th in an ongoing Judaism Unbound mini-series exploring conversion to Judaism.Fall 2023 Courses in the UnYeshiva (Judaism Unbound's digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning) are open for registration! Learn more about this semester's courses -- taught by Yoshi Silverstein, Eliana Light, Tamar Kamionkowski, Caryn Aviv, and Rachel Rose Reid -- via www.judaismunbound.com/classes.Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.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!

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this fourth and final bonus episode of Elul Unbound 2023, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the topic of second chances, through ancient Jewish stories and contemporary life.This Elul bonus episode is the fourth of four that has been released as part of Elul Unbound 2023 (our 18th-21st Elul episodes overall). Check out Elul Unbound by visiting www.judaismunbound.com/elul.To check out our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past five years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2023 by signing up at this link, and sign up for our final Elul Unbound Zoom gathering of 2023 (Thursday, September 14th), where we will be forging our kavanot (intentions) for the new year in real time with friends, by clicking here.

Benay Lappe, the founder of SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva -- and, way back in Judaism Unbound's earliest days, the first guest on our podcast -- joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about conversion to Judaism in the Talmud. As it turns out, the process of becoming Jewish was a lot simpler for the early rabbis than it is today. But just how much simpler? To find out, listen in to this episode, the 8th in an ongoing mini-series exploring conversion to Judaism. Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.And guess what?? Fall 2023 Courses in the UnYeshiva (Judaism Unbound's digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning) are open for registration! Learn more via www.judaismunbound.com/classes.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!

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this third bonus episode of Elul Unbound 2023, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore ways in which spirals might connect to the month of Elul, and the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.This Elul bonus episode is the third of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2023 (our 18th-21st Elul episodes overall). For a 3-session Elul mini-course, which helps you take your Elul observance to the next level, you can register for Elul: Your On-Ramp Into Rosh Hashanah -- which is being taught by Wendie Bernstein Lash, longtime facilitator of Elul Unbound! To check out our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past five years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2023, by signing up at this link, and sign up for our third Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering (Friday, September 8th), where we will be exploring Elul in real time with friends, by clicking here.

Tivona Reith and Holly Smith are two of Judaism Unbound’s most dedicated and longstanding listeners. They join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about becoming Jewish as adults, and whether we might benefit from shifting our terminology from “conversion” to “integration.” This episode is the 7th in an ongoing mini-series exploring conversion to Judaism.Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.And a reminder: Elul Unbound is back! Our annual exploration of the final month of the Jewish year, which serves as an on-ramp into Rosh Hashanah, is here. Register for Elul Unbound (almost all components of it are free!) via this link!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!

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this second bonus episode of Elul Unbound 2023, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the power of the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet -- Bet!This Elul bonus episode is the second of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2023 (our 18th-21st Elul episodes overall). For a 3-session Elul mini-course, which will help you take your Elul observance to the next level, you can register for Elul: Your On-Ramp Into Rosh Hashanah -- which will be taught by Wendie Bernstein Lash, longtime facilitator of Elul Unbound! To check out our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past five years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2023, by signing up at this link, and sign up for our second Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering (Friday, September 1st), where we will be exploring Elul in real time with friends, by clicking here.

Israel has played a central role in American-Jewish life for quite some time. Eric Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, co-directors of a new documentary film entitled Israelism, join Dan and Lex for a conversation about their film, which explores a movement of young American Jews fighting to redefine Judaism’s relationship to Israel-Palestine. Learn more about Israelism by heading to IsraelismFilm.com. The film debuted at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, won Best Documentary at the Arizona International Film Festival, and garnered a Spirit Award at the Brooklyn International Film Festival. It also won the Audience Award at the 2023 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the oldest and largest Jewish film festival in the world. To explore bringing a screening of Israelism to your community, email Contact@IsraelismFilm.com. Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.And a reminder: Elul Unbound is back! Our annual exploration of the final month of the Jewish year, which serves as an on-ramp into Rosh Hashanah, is here. Register for Elul Unbound (almost all components of it are free!) via this link!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!  

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this first bonus episode of Elul Unbound 2023, Lex Rofeberg, Wendie Bernstein Lash, and Micah Sandman launch their month-long exploration of the power of twos/seconds!This Elul bonus episode is the first of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2023 (our 18th-21st Elul episodes overall). For a 3-session Elul mini-course, which will help you take your Elul observance to the next level, you can register for Elul: Your On-Ramp Into Rosh Hashanah -- which will be taught by Wendie Bernstein Lash, longtime facilitator of Elul Unbound! To check out our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past five years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2023, by signing up at this link, and sign up for our first Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering (Friday, August 25th), where we will be exploring Elul in real time with friends, by clicking here.