Iyun Podcast

After a long hiatus, we return with a crossover episode - Yaakov Wolff, host of the Shtark Tank podcast, interviews Rabbi Yehoshua and Rebbetzin Tamar Pfeffer.More original episodes to come shortly!

Since inaugurating this podcast, and focusing a long series on charedim and army service, one episode has conspicuously been missing: a full treatment of the halachic parameters of the notion of milchemes mitzvah, as well as an analysis commonly advanced ideals such as "Torah magneh u'matzleh" ("Torah study protects"). In this episode we remedy that void and address these issues that are vital to any Torah-centered Jew.To do so, we speak with Rabbi Dr. Yitzchak Lifshitz, a noted rav and rosh Kollel based in Yerushalayim, who has written extensively on these topics in recent months. Rabbi Dr. Lifshiftz is also a professor of philosophy at Shalem College.

Dr. Moshe Koppel, a leading computer scientist and advocate for judicial reform in Israel, explores the Haredi community's complex relationship with governance and reform. He discusses the implications of Israel's lack of a written constitution and the challenges of current judicial practices. Koppel reflects on his unexpected journey into politics and the importance of dialogue in achieving a balanced approach. With a focus on the evolving political landscape, he shares insights on the future of governance and the role of younger generations in shaping unity.

Tzili Schneider has created one of the most remarkable bridge-building educational operations in Israel, Kesher Yehudi. Ari Koretzky has previously interviewed Tzili on his other show, Jews You Should Know.Relevant to the Iyun Podcast, however, we focus in this episode on Tzili’s recent efforts with hostage families and NOVA survivors; she has engaged each of these populations with Shabbatonim and other outreach methods, resulting in a significant Jewish awakening fostering deep bonds of mutual love.

Yitzchak Adlerstein, Director of Interfaith Affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center and recent immigrant to Israel, discusses the cultural divide between American and Israeli Haredi communities. He highlights the misconceptions about army service and integration efforts in Israel. The conversation dives into the ethical dilemmas faced by Anglo-Haredim regarding conscription and the challenges of facilitating community dialogues in the U.S. Additionally, Adlerstein sheds light on the In Step Together initiative aimed at fostering understanding and bridging gaps within Haredi identities.

Tuvia Tenenbom is quite a colorful character. An author, playwright, mathematician, computer scientist, and all-around polymath, Tuvia was raised in a chareidi Israeli home, in the lap of the Chazon Ish, Rav Shach and other great luminaries. His own life veered on a different course, but he recently returned to those ideological precincts, spending a year in Mea She’arim, Jerusalem, fully immersed in the local community.The product of his embedded travels is the book, “Careful, Beauties Ahead: My Year with the Ultra-Orthodox,” an honest and largely flattering portrayal of his time in an otherwise closed society.Tenenbom highlights many of the gifts - fervent religiosity, principled living, embrace of charity and family - that animate chareidi life, yet which so few Israeli “outsiders” ever learn about, much less witness.In an era of intense polarization,Tenenbom’s tome is a reminder that, for all the critique and calls for chareidi reform, the core values must be preserved, radiating out towards the entire Jewish nation, and beyond.

Why are we here? What’s it all about? Obviously, Judaism has quite a bit to say about this topic. In fact, it may be its entire animating essence!Still, as expressed in contemporary living, even those who identify as strictly Torah-observant may respond divergently to this most-important question.On this episode, Tzvi Goldstein will argue that the Chareidi mindset on “the purpose of life” is orientated towards a Next-World (Olam Ha’Ba) perspective, built on a mystical approach popularized by Rav Chaim of Volozhin.Goldstein himself favors what he classifies as a more “centrist”, “This-Worldly” approach, championed by Rav Hirsch and Rav Soloveitchik.Yaakov Resnick pushes back, adding nuance and sophistication to the presentation of Charedi hashkafa, and muddying the picture, just a bit.Stay tuned for our host’s own take at the end of the episode.This conversation was inspired by an article penned by Goldstein on the pages of online publication The Lehrhaus, provocatively titled “Rack up Those Mitzvot,” to which Resnick (along with others) responded with a letter to the editor. (See past Iyun guest Chaim Goldberg’s letter as well.)Yaavov Resnik prefers a lower profile, but for more from Tzvi Goldstein, check out his book, Halachic Worldviews. This unique work explains the background for the "centrist" approach to Torah learning, and offers more than a dozen examples of halachic topics that might be evaluated through the lens of “Torah values.” Tzvi authors a wonderful Substack as well. Give him a follow!

Jonathan Rosenblum is a long-time columnist, pundit and observer of the Orthodox/chareidi communities in Israel and worldwide. He joins us on this episode to explore the unique role and purpose of chareidi media.His wonderful new volume, “Ordinary Greatness,” a compilation of many columns, and more, is available for purchase wherever great Jewish books are sold.

Rabbi Moshe Taragin is a long-time Ram at Yeshivat Har Etzion (“The Gush”), as well as a popular speaker and author on a wide variety of Torah topics. A student of Rav Aharon Lichsteinstein, zt”l and Rav Yehuda Amital, zt”l, R’ Taragin absorbed their weltanschauung over many years.In this episode, we ask him to sketch out, for the uninitiated, the “Dati Leumi” community in which he lives and teaches. Many people beyond this large and vibrant society may be unaware of the variegated options therein, or of just how serious and committed are many of its adherents to limud ha’Torah and shmiras ha’mitzvos. Hopefully, this show can offer a modest corrective to that reality.R’ Taragin speaks with great humility and ahavas Yisroel, and all of his works are well worth our listeners’ attention. Hear some of his classes here and here. And purchase his powerful book about faith post-October 7th, Dark Clouds Above, Faith Below.

In his role as founding director of the Haredi Institute of Public Affairs (HIPA), Eli Paley is well positioned to evaluate the chareidi relationship to Israeli society.As Iyun founder Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer has written, the most vital factor in the entire chareidi conscription conundrum may just be whether, or to what degree, chareidim see themselves as “Israeli.” In this wide-ranging conversation about chareidi identity, we tackle these questions and aim to decipher the trends at play in current society.