Judaism Unbound

What if, this whole time, we've been carving out these realms called "sacred" and "profane," but in reality, the mundane, everyday stuff of our lives could also potentially be holy? Wendie Bernstein Lash and Lex Rofeberg talk it out, and connect the conversation to the holi-month of Elul. If you're curious why this episode is marked "EXPLICIT," well, you'll just have to listen! This “mini-episode” is the 2nd of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2020. To listen to our first four Elul bonus episodes, released in 2018, click here. For the next four, released in 2019, click here. Participate in Elul Unbound 2020, through a piece of Elul content arriving daily in your inbox, by signing up at this link. NOTE: The title of this episode does not suggest, by any means, that our society is "all good" right now. It most certainly is not, and next week's Elul episode looks at that in detail. The title is meant only to suggest that we can find goodness/sacredness in everyday elements of our lives that we could easily breeze right past -- not just in spaces or contexts that we've marked specifically for spiritual or religious practice.   

Pamela Nadell, author of America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to kick off a series exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of America's Jewish women. America's Jewish Women was the recipient of 2019's Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award for Book of the Year.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Lash launch 2020’s edition of the “holi-month” known as Elul, which serves as an on-ramp into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, by asking a simple (but not simple at all) question: Why is this Elul different from all other Eluls?This “mini-episode” is the 1st of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2020. To listen to our first four Elul bonus episodes, released in 2018, click here. For the next four, released in 2019, click here.Experience the journey of Elul Unbound 2020, through a piece of Elul content arriving daily in your inbox, by signing up at this link. Sign up for our second face-to-face gathering of Elul (via Zoom, on Friday, August 28th) by clicking here.

Dan and Lex look back on recent conversations, featuring organizations created by and for Jews of Color.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Eric Goldstein, author of The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation exploring the history of American Jews and their relationship to whiteness. Their conversation looks at the ever-evolving relationship between particularism and universalism for American Jews, contemporary discourse around white Jews and Jews of Color, and more.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Audrey Sasson, Executive Director of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation looking back on the origins of her organization, looking out at the present moment our society is facing, and looking forward, toward the Jewish (and global) future.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Arielle Korman and Mira Rivera, of Ammud: The Jews of Color Torah Academy, join Dan and Lex for a conversation about Ammud and its work. They explore the power of spaces created specifically by and for Jews of Color, the importance of blending traditional Jewish texts with contemporary struggles for justice, and more.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Ilana Kaufman, Executive Director of the Jews of Color Initiative, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about confronting racism, better understanding Jewish history, and why -- when counting Jews -- we need to do so in ways that reflect our contemporary reality.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Yitz Jordan (also known as the hip-hop artist Y-Love), the  co-founder of TribeHerald Media, joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about building online and offline communities that center Jews of Color.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.

Tal Frieden and Becca Lubow, two members of Never Again Action — a movement of thousands of Jews and allies fighting to end the United States’s cruel immigration policies — join Dan and Lex for a conversation reflecting on the first year of Never Again Action’s work. In doing so, they explore what it means to fight for justice through a Jewish lens, why the historic language of “Never Again” is so important, and why organizing that transcends generational divides can be particularly powerful.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!To access shownotes for this episode, click here.