18Forty Podcast

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Jenna Weissman Joselit, a professor of Jewish studies and history, about the everyday expressions of Judaism that reinforce the identity and distinctiveness of the Jewish People. 

In this episode we discuss:

—What consequential institutional decisions shaped the trajectory of American Judaism?
—What overlooked personalities and phenomena contributed to the development of American Judaism?
—What is the role of the tallis in American Jewish aesthetics?

Interview begins at 10:42.

Tune in to hear a retrospective reflection on modern Jewish life and culture.

Jenna Weissman Joselit is the Charles E. Smith Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of History at The George Washington University. She specializes in the history and culture of America’s Jews, U.S. cultural history, and the relationship between material culture and identity. She is the author of Set in Stone: America’s Embrace of the Ten Commandments, The Wonders of America: Reinventing Jewish Culture, 1880–1950, which received the National Jewish Book Award in History, and A Perfect Fit: Clothes, Character, and the Promise of America. She writes a monthly column on American Jewish culture for Tablet and has been a frequent contributor to the Jewish Review of Books, The New Republic, TNR Online, Gastronomica, and the Forward.

References:

American Judaism: A History by Jonathan D. Sarna

Mordecai M. Kaplan: Restless Soul by Jenna Weissman Joselit

New York's Jewish Jews: The Orthodox Community in the Interwar Years by Jenna Weissman Joselit

Our Gang : Jewish Crime and the New York Jewish Community, 1900-1940 by Jenna Weissman Joselit

Set in Stone: America's Embrace of the Ten Commandments by Jenna Weissman Joselit

Jenna Weissman Joselit in Tablet

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, we talk to historian Zev Eleff about what 250 years of Jewish life in America can teach us about religion, identity, and the future of American Judaism.

In this episode we discuss:

—Why did colonial Jews support the American Revolution despite knowing the dangers of opposing those in power?
—How did Jewish denominations and institutions as we know them emerge in America, and what roles did Zionism and U.S. immigration policy play in this?
—Where are we headed on our American Jewish journey, and what have we learned along the way?

Tune in to hear a conversation about the intersection of the Jewish story and American exceptionalism.

Interview begins at 11:00.

Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff is the president of Gratz College. Zev is the author and editor of nine books and more than 50 scholarly articles in the fields of Jewish Studies and American Religion, including Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History, Dyed in Crimson: Football, Faith, and Remaking Harvard’s America, and Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life. His research focuses on American Jewish history, sports, and Modern Orthodox history.

References:

Jeremiah 29:7

The Greatest of All Time: A History of an American Obsession by Zev Eleff

Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life by Zev Eleff

18Forty Podcast: “Zev Eleff: Is This the End of American Judaism?”

American Judaism: A History by Jonathan D. Sarna

The Rag Race: How Jews Sewed Their Way to Success in America and the British Empire by Adam D. Mendelsohn

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, we talk to Elana Moskowitz, an educator at Michlelet Mevasseret Yerushalayim, about how her American Jewish upbringing shaped her life and worldview.

Moskowitz grew up Orthodox in America in the 1990s—alongside her brother David Bashevkin—before moving to Israel and joining a Haredi community in Jerusalem. 

In this episode we discuss: 

—What is the unique new contribution of American Judaism to the Jewish story? 
—What have been the successes and failures of Judaism on American shores? 
—How do familial and institutional influences shape the lives we believe we ought to lead?

Tune in to hear an inside conversation about the Bashevkin family and what it means to live in a medina shel chesed.

Interview begins at 19:40. 

Mrs. Elana Moskowitz grew up in New York and earned her B.Ed in English from Michlalah Jerusalem College. She is a passionate and energetic educator who has been teaching and mentoring in various seminaries in Eretz Yisrael for the past 25 years. She currently teaches at Michlelet Mevasseret Yerushalayim (MMY) where she heads their second-year program. In addition to guest lecturing for both Anglo and Israeli-American women, Elana is a writer for Mishpacha magazine where she develops and contributes Torah content. She lives with her husband and children in Yerushalayim.

References:

"Thank You from an American Jewish Child" by David Bashevkin

“An apology from your American Jewish parents” by David Magerman

“A Kosher Home” by Elana Moskowitz

“​​The Grandfather I Thought I Knew” by Elana Moskowitz

"Sounds of My Childhood” by Elana Moskowitz

Reb Mendel and His Wisdom by Yisroel Greenwald

“When life is like weaving a quilt” with Frieda Vizel

“Yiddishkeit Without Ideology: A Letter To My Son” by Moshe Koppel

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 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.