18Forty Podcast

In this annual debate episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin moderates a discussion on finances within the Orthodox Jewish community. 

The specific resolution is: The current state of semachot in our community and the level of spending on them, as well as extravagance in lifestyle in general, is problematically excessive and should be significantly curtailed.

Rabbi Larry Rothwachs defends the affirmative, while Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klein argues the negative.

In this episode we discuss:

—Are extravagant weddings a detriment to the Jewish community, or do the benefits outweigh the negative externalities?
—What should the Jewish community spend more and less money on?
—Could financial education in Jewish schools alleviate cultural financial pressures?

Tune in to hear a conversation about what we desire as a community and how we can attain it.

Debate begins at 6:17.

Rabbi Larry Rothwachs is a rabbi, therapist, and educator who has led Congregation Beth Aaron in Teaneck, New Jersey since 2002. A longtime teacher and leader within Yeshiva University and RIETS, he currently serves as Director of Professional Rabbinics at RIETS, head rabbi of Camp Morasha, and founding rabbi of Meromei Shemesh, a new community in Ramat Beit Shemesh. He lives with his wife, Chaviva, and their family.

Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klein is Dean and Chief Academic Officer of Gratz College and a scholar of Jewish education and history. Formerly Academic Dean at the Women’s Institute of Torah Seminary & College, she is a widely sought speaker on Jewish history, Tanakh, leadership, and communication. She earned her Ph.D. from New York University researching Orthodox girls’ education and the Bais Yaakov movement, and lives in Baltimore with her family.

References:

18Forty Podcast: “A Debate Between Yitzchak Blau & Itamar Rosensweig: Does Morality Exist Outside of Judaism?”

Eruvin 13b

Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis

The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack

For more 18Forty:
NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/join
CALL: (212) 582-1840
EMAIL: info@18forty.org
WEBSITE: 18forty.org
IG: @18forty
X: @18_forty
WhatsApp: join here

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin responds to listeners’ feedback and comments, in conversation with Denah Emerson.

In this episode we discuss:

—Should every Jew be Orthodox?
—Is the gap year in Israel “just a business”?
—How does one develop their own Jewish identity at a phase in life when it’s no longer mediated by institutions?

Tune in to hear what the 18Forty community has been thinking about regarding the conversations we’ve shared.

Voicemails begin at 9:40.

David Bashevkin is the founder and host of 18Forty. He is also the Clinical Assistant Professor of Jewish Values at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business. He completed rabbinic ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, a master’s degree at the Bernard Revel Graduate School, and his doctorate in Public Policy and Management at The New School’s Milano School of International Affairs. He has published four books, including Sin·a·gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought and a Hebrew work, B’Rogez Rachem Tizkor (trans. In Anger, Remember Mercy).

References: 

18Forty Podcast: “Michael Eisenberg: Iran, USA, Israel: What Comes Next”

Genesis 15

18Forty Podcast: “Michael Olshin: Reimagining the Gap Year in Israel”

18Forty Podcast: “Diana Fersko: An Orthodox Rabbi Interviews a Reform Rabbi”

18Forty Podcast: “Dovid Bashevkin: A Reform Rabbi Interviews an Orthodox Rabbi”

How Judaism Became a Religion: An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought by Leora Batnitzky

“The Future Is Sephardic” by Mijal Bitton

Joshua 7

18Forty Podcast: “Mark Wildes: Is Modern Orthodox Outreach the Way Forward?”

18Forty Podcast: “Elisheva Carlebach & Debra Kaplan: The Unknown History of Women in Jewish Life”

For more 18Forty:
NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/join
CALL: (212) 582-1840
EMAIL: info@18forty.org
WEBSITE: 18forty.org
IG: @18forty
X: @18_forty
WhatsApp: join here

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

Ahead of the next episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we invite you to hear David Bashevkin's appearance on 18 Questions, 40 Mystics.

What does it mean to live a Judaism that fits into our lives? David Bashevkin explores the meeting point of mysticism and modernity. 

The founder of 18Forty, Rabbi Dr. David Bashevkin is the director of education at NCSY as well as an instructor at Yeshiva University. He is the author of four books, and has been rejected from many prestigious fellowships and awards.

Now, he joins us to answer eighteen questions with Rabbi Dr. Benji Levy on Jewish mysticism including how to embrace holiness, the purpose of prayer, and the search for meaning in an age of distraction. 

Here are our questions: 
What is Jewish mysticism?
How were you introduced to Jewish mysticism?
In an ideal world, would all Jews be mystics?
What do you think of when you think of God?
What is the purpose of the Jewish people?
How does prayer work?
What is the goal of Torah study?
Does Jewish mysticism view men and women the same?
Should Judaism be hard or easy?
Why did God create the world? 
Can humans do something that is against God’s will?
What do you think of when you think about Moshiach?
Is the State of Israel part of the final redemption?
What is the greatest challenge facing the world today?
How has modernity changed Jewish mysticism?
What differentiates Jewish mysticism from the mysticism of other religions? 
Does one need to be religious to study Jewish mysticism?
Can mysticism be dangerous?
How has Jewish mysticism affected your relationships with yourself and with others?
What is a Jewish teaching that you always take with you?

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we revisit the topic of agunot by talking to Sarah Nissel and Yona Elishis, who run the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center of Los Angeles.

We’re also joined by Keshet Starr, CEO of Shalom Task Force. In this episode we discuss:

How do potentially amicable divorces escalate to being high-conflict? 
Why does adversarial divorce seem to be increasingly common in the Jewish community?  
What do experts in the area of agunot think of the related social-media movements? 
Tune in to hear a conversation about the integrity of our marriages in the Jewish community. 

Interview begins at 15:16.
Keshet Starr joins at 53:20. 

Sarah M. Nissel is the founding Executive Director of the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center and a visiting professor of law and religion at Pepperdine Caruso school of law, where she leads the Faith & Family Mediation Clinic. A Yale and NYU Law graduate, she previously worked in white-collar and complex litigation, served at the Innocence Project, and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and four children.

Yona Elishis is a family law mediator and Adjunct Clinical Professor at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, where she teaches in the Faith & Family Mediation Clinic in partnership with the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center of Los Angeles (JDAC). Trained at Osgoode Hall Law School, Columbia Law School, and New York University School of Law, she previously practiced family and corporate law in Toronto and New York and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and five children.

Keshet Starr is the CEO of Shalom Task Force, which works to combat and prevent domestic abuse in the Jewish community. Previously, she led the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. She lives in Hillside, New Jersey, with her family. 

References:

Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden

See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Violence by Jess Hill

Marriage Story (2019)

Gett (2014)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we revisit the topic of agunot by talking to Sarah Nissel and Yona Elishis, who run the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center of Los Angeles.

We’re also joined by Keshet Starr, CEO of Shalom Task Force. In this episode we discuss:

How do potentially amicable divorces escalate to being high-conflict? 
Why does adversarial divorce seem to be increasingly common in the Jewish community?  
What do experts in the area of agunot think of the related social-media movements? 
Tune in to hear a conversation about the integrity of our marriages in the Jewish community. 

Interview begins at 15:16.
Keshet Starr joins at 53:20. 

Sarah M. Nissel is the founding Executive Director of the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center and an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine Law, where she leads the Faith & Family Mediation Clinic. A Yale and NYU Law graduate, she previously worked in white-collar and complex litigation, served at the Innocence Project, and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and four children.

Yona Elishis is a JDAC mediation consultant specializing in family law and dispute resolution. Trained at Osgoode Hall, Columbia, and NYU, she practiced family and corporate law in Toronto and New York before joining JDAC. She also runs the children’s clothing brand Matooka Kids and is raising five children.

Keshet Starr is the CEO of Shalom Task Force, which works to combat and prevent domestic abuse in the Jewish community. Previously, she led the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. She lives in Hillside, New Jersey, with her family. 

References:

Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden

See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Violence by Jess Hill

Marriage Story (2019)

Gett (2014)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.