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On the first night of Hanukkah 2024, I give to all of you, by way of my seventh-grade bestie and USA TODAY bestselling author Helena Greer, the story of Carrigans Christmasland! Inspired by rage-Tweets about Hallmark movies, these steamy stories dare to ask the important question: "what if this beloved trope was gay?" (and Jewish). Helena and I did the math, and we have known each other for nearly 30 years now (yikes...). We met during the formative, chaotic, defining days of trauma that is middle school in our hometown of Tucson. Those experiences, and more, are central to who we have become, and the exploration and identity we began to discover in those days, like so many of us, has shaped much of who we became, and in Helena’s case, her return to writing and the birth of the Jewish Christmas-tree-farm-owning Carrigans.

This episode will probably resonate with a lot of '90s kids, but we do discuss some of our and our peers' struggles, including sexual assault, disordered eating, self-harm, addiction, and sexual identity. While we reflect on these as part of our own lives and in compassionate, nuanced, and meaningful terms, it may be a lot for some people to take on, and we recognize that. But, perhaps the most important part of the discussion is how friendship and community can--and did--mean the difference between life and death for alienated, traumatized kids like us and our small band of misfits.

While you will not find anyone with a more wise, loving, hilarious, nuanced take on these and a million other topics than Helena, if you need to skip to around 37:00 where we dig in more to the books themselves, go for it, and if you don't wanna hear about it at all and just wanna get those books, go to: https://www.helenagreer.com/books and pick your bookstore poison!

Other topics include: how Jewish is Jewish enough, and can the daughter of a convert father ever get there? How do you know what flavor of Judaism is right for you? Also: the glory of approaching your forties, the power of rage-Tweets, and some Tucson deep cuts that are surprisingly relatable to anyone with a hometown.

GLOSSARY

Sitting Shiva: From the Hebrew word for seven, sheva, the tradition of mourning for seven days including customs like sitting low to the ground and covering mirrors, bringing the family of the deceased food, and sitting in silence together.

Reconstructionist Judaism

Bonus material:

Our Tu Bishvat episode with the hilarious Tobin Mitnick.

Today, Alcoholics Anonymous says it is not affiliated with "any religion, nor is it allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution." You can find more on its Christian origins in Ken Burns' Prohibition documentary, and in many sources across the internet.

Meet Richard Siken

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What is Rosh Hashanah? How do you wish someone a good Yom Kippur? What are the High Holy Days? All this and more with Jewish educators spanning two generations, who happen to also be my family!

This episode is republished from 2023, and was recorded while on a work trip, so it's over Zoom and the sound isn't the best, but it's packed full of information and stupid questions I asked so you don't have to!

Find the original episode here:
Happy Jew Year! What does Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mean, and what to do

And find 2024's Rosh Hashanah episode here:
A non-Jew's first Rosh Hashanah, one year after the October 7 Hamas attacks

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You may know Rosh Hashanah as the Jewish New Year, and you're mostly right (it's technically the anniversary of creation), but that might be about it. Maybe you have some questions, like: when was Rosh Hashanah 2024 (October 2-4)? What are you supposed to wear (white)? What can you do and not do (don't work, but you don't have to fast)? And a very close friend of mine had a really good one: can I come? The answer: HECK YEAH!

So baby had her first Rosh Hashanah, and she let me record her questions afterward, in case it could help other Jew-curious individuals like her--or you?

To note: we've known each other a long time, traveled together, met one another's families, and I can assure you she is a real person. But, because of the nature of her work, we decided to keep her anonymous so she could speak freely and ask all her questions. ICYMI: neither she nor I represent any other organization or individual's perspectives or opinions, and all the errors I may make are based on my lived experience and are entirely my own as well (ok Mom?)?

Thanks to my friend and to all of our non-Jewish buddies who ask questions, who want to understand, and to everyone who greets the world with curiosity and openness, to all of you. Special thanks to Washington Hebrew Congregation, and may you all be inscribed in the Book of Life!

GLOSSARY

MSA / Fus’ha: Fus'ha is the Arabic name for Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), which is the formal version of the language used in print and media and often taught to foreigners as a foundation for conversational Arabic dialects.

Challot: the plural of challah, the braided Jewish egg-bread we also eat to break fasts and at holidays.

Yamaka: (also "kippah" or "yarmulke") the little hat Jewish people wear in services, or more observant Jews wear all the time, to show reverence for God.

LINKS

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

Rabbi Shankman’s Sermon at Washington Hebrew

The Bimah Episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2196108/episodes/12958722

The “who by stoning and who by drowning” prayer: Unetanah Tokef

Ancient History of Jews in Israel: there is some evidence of up to 5000 years of the people who became Jews in Israel (Mission of Israel to the UN in Geneva, Israel Museum), but 3000 is a more generally accepted number than the one I say in the show. More here, and here.

For a deeper understanding, there is no better source than my beloved stepdad, William G. Dever, widely considered the world's foremost Biblical archaeologist (I am biased but this is true). H

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Growing up Conservative Jewish in Ohio, Rabbi Cantor Judy Greenfeld turned away from her family traditions after her beloved father was murdered. Judaism became an unbearably painful reminder of her loss, and she became a "seeker" of other spiritual pathways as she tried to outrun her mourning. She explored, Buddhism, dance, holistic medicine, and psychology. Eventually, she found her way through dreams and mysticism back to Judaism, embracing traditions like Kabbalah, back to the religion and community she was born into, and discovered she had never really left.

In her books, she uses her unique interpretations and experiences to make Jewish traditions accessible for anyone, offering practices and prayers to make the day to day business of living just a little bit easier for everyone.

GLOSSARY:
Zionism: A political movement founded by Theodor Herzl in the 1890s to create a Jewish homeland, based in an assimilationist philosophy and cemented by antisemitic incidents like the Dreyfus affair (the false accusation and imprisonment of a French Jewish military officer that came to symbolize Jews' supposed disloyalty).

Tzitzit: The dangling fringe of the Jewish prayer shawl, called a tallit.

Ma tovu: Traditionally said in morning prayers or, for Ashkenazic Jews, upon entering the synagogue, the first lines of the prayer for which it is named mean: "How good are your tents O Jacob, your dwellings O Israel."

Sitting Shiva: From the Hebrew word for seven, sheva, the tradition of mourning for seven days including customs like sitting low to the ground and covering mirrors, bringing the family of the deceased food, and sitting with them, in silence if they want.

La dor va dor: Meaning "from generation to generation," also translated as "forever."

Philological study: Text study using grammar, style and language to analyze meaning and origin.

Pardes: An acronym (Heb. פַּרְדֵ״ס) usually associated with Kabbalah that denotes a specific type of critical text interpretation

Kabbalah: A form of Jewish mysticism that became widespread in Provence and Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Gematria: A numerology system using the numbers which are assigned to Hebrew letters (Hebrew letters are also used as numbers)

LINKS ETC: On the idea of prayer replacing “sacrifice”: It is thought that after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE and expulsion of the Jews from Israel that without a central place to make animal sacrifices, the disparate surviving Jewish communities came to see prayer as the new form of sacrifice and "work" (avodah in Hebrew) acceptable to God.

Jonathan Sacks
Connie Kaplan
Modeh Ani

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We all know "in the beginning, there was darkness," right? The first line of the first book of the Old Testament (AKA the Torah). But did you know, there was also “chaos and void”? And then, of course, God created everything. So we're told.

Inspired by the places where "creation" began, Rabbi Adina Allen has made a life and a practice of understanding how all creation and creativity–whether art, new understandings, or life itself–comes from darkness, chaos and void, and how these acts of creation heal us.

In her book, "The Place Of All Possibility," Rabbi Allen blends creativity, Torah study, and the open studio art therapy approach she learned at her mother's Open Studio Project to offer a practical guide to inspired creative practice.

But, like this show, the book is not for people of a single tradition or faith, it’s to demystify for and offer to all of us how curiosity, wonder, joy, creativity and healing are accessible, and challenge us to see that when we wrestle with darkness, ideas we already hold, or texts, or artwork, or family or the divisiveness and polarization of a moment, we can find something new in them, and in ourselves, and maybe even start to heal.

GLOSSARY

Shechinah: Also transliterated "Shekhinah," Hebrew for "dwelling" or "settling." Is generally used to refer to the presence of God, and in Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, connotes the divine feminine attributes of God.

Chevrutah: From the Hebrew for "friendship," it is also used to refer to a group who studies together.

Beit Midrash: From "beit" or "bet" in Hebrew meaning "house" and "drash" meaning "inquiry" or "study", the phrase refers to a designated area for the group study of Torah, AKA "study hall."

B’reisheet: Meaning “in the beginning,” it is the first word in the Torah, and starts the first of the Five Books, also called Genesis.

Tohu va'vohu: A Hebrew phrase appearing in the second verse of Genesis, meaning "chaos and void," or "formless and void."

The Shema: Named for the first word, which means “listen,” or “hear,” this is the central prayer in Judaism and is generally translated: “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”

Yisrael: Hebrew for “Israel,” the name given to Jacob after wrestling with an angel and being left with a permanent limp, translates literally as “One who Struggles with God.”

Talmud: The central book of law in Judaism comprising the Mishnah and Gemarah, containing centuries of rabbinic opinions.

MORE:

Jewish Studio Project

The Sabbath (Shabbat) Bride

Viktor Frankl: The Holocaust survivor and author is perhaps best known for "Man's Search for Meaning," but is also a philosopher and founder of the logotheraphy school of psychology.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

From the Jewish book of law known as the Mishnah Sanhedrin, one passage famously equates saving a life with saving the world: “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole

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It’s been six months since Hamas attacked Israel, killing nearly 1200 people, kidnapping around 250, and triggering Israel’s devastating war on Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders say more than 100 journalists, and more than 200 aid workers according to the UN, have also been killed, including seven World Central Kitchen workers.

This episode was recorded before a lot of things happened: Sen. Chuck Schumer’s speech on the Senate floor, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s response, Biden and Bibi’s phone call, the Al Shifa hospital raid and the IDF pulling troops out of Khan Younis, to name a few. So, while these items aren't in the episode because they hadn’t happened yet, the larger conversation about what faces us as people committed to a safe and sustainable future for Palestinians, Israelis, and Jews the world over has not become less relevant. This conversation was held and is being published in the spirit of not just trying to keep the light of hope alive, but to look some of the obstacles before us in the face; concepts, pain and trauma through which any future solution must pass.

In the meantime, we try to fight the sense of helpless horror with what little we can do from a distance while trying to make sense of the pain and stay in touch with our humanity with conversations like this one. Find Part 1 here.

Donate to World Central Kitchen here. UN Crisis Relief here. Help the International Rescue Committee here. Find more on Vivian Silva, Women Wage Peace, Israeli societal resilience, Progressive Labor Zionism and

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It's Purim! So when Baby Brother Zev and his girlfriend Osnat came down to DC to peep some cherry blossoms, I made them come to tell you all what is Purim, the super-fun Jewish dress-up party where we celebrate a narrow escape from mass murder and eat cookies named for the bad guy's hat. Or ears. Or pockets apparently. Depends who you ask.

Get to the bottom of what the heck Hamantaschen are supposed to be, what is the story of Esther, what to wear for Purim, how they do it in Israel, and who really said "Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History." (It was Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich) Also featured: the Israeli tradition of Michloach Manot, why Esther is not in the Torah, and whether Esther and Mordecai are really from the Enuma Elish.

GLOSSARY:

Chag Purim Sameach: Happy Purim! “Chag” means holiday, “sameach” means happy, and Purim is the name of the holiday

Tanach (also spelled Tanakh): the name of the full Hebrew bible, is an acronym for the Torah (the Five Books of Moses), the Nevi’im (the Prophets) and the Ketuvim (the Writings, also known as the Hagiographa)

Abba: Hebrew for Dad, it’s what Zeb and I call his dad, my stepdad.

Megillah/megillot (plural): meaning scrolls, it refers to the five scrolls included in the Ketuvim, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther

Adloyada: to drink until you can’t tell the difference, also the name of the big Carnivalesque parades in Israel.

Mitzvah: means “commandment”, it often also refers to “good deeds” in general but means a thing you should do.

Vashti: The first wife of King Achashverosh (aka Ahasuerus) whose banishment or execution for refusing to dance nude in front of his friends clears the way for Esther to marry the king.

MORE:

https://www.exploringjudaism.org/holidays/purim/esther/16-facts-about-purim-and-the-book-of-esther/

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-book-of-esther/

Jews not bowing when it constitutes some form of worship: https://torah.org/torah-portion/mikra-5772-purim/

Sushan Purim: https://reformjudaism.org/what-shushan-purim

Bonus: Origins of Halloween, from Throughline and Moses, as seen on South Park

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An American, a Canadian and an Israeli Jewish educator walk into a….well a discussion. About the Israel-Hamas war, the state of Gaza and state of mind of Israelis, no less. So, this conversation is really no joke. Huge thanks to Yair Alon, Adam Levi and Zev Dever for this sometimes hard, always thoughtful, and very nuanced and compassionate conversation, and the healing and shared understanding they are working to reach.

You may remember my baby brother Zev from Season 1, when he taught us about how much of modern Western Judaism formed into what we see in places like the U.S. today. He's recently back from Israel, and he and his colleagues Adam and Yair squeezed in a late night podcast recording with me while in D.C. on a listening and discussion tour for their NGO Hechalutz, exploring what American Jewish communities are experiencing in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack. They bring us clear-eyed assessments of what Israelis and American Jews alike are experiencing, and how those might create challenges or hopes for a peaceful resolution to the war. Listen in to hear what Israel was like in the immediate aftermath of October 7, how Israelis are feeling now, and the implications of coping--or not--with the destruction of some of their most basic concepts of safety and security.

This was a long conversation, and cutting too much would have damaged the depth of the discussion, so we've divided it into 2 parts. Please be sure to come back for part 2, where we'll get a deep dive into the huge differences in the discourse for American and Israeli Jews, and hear about the individual, and yet sadly universal, experiences of these three on October 7, and how they personally are working to process all that has happened and all that remains to be faced.

GLOSSARY:

Kibbutz: traditionally agrarian, these communal living settlements now take various forms around an "intentional", voluntary social contract.

Aaliya: from the Hebrew word meaning "to rise" or "to go up", this is the term for becoming a citizen of Israel. "Olim" is the plural noun for people who have done this, like Zev.

Diaspora: a general term for peoples living outside their homeland. Generically often refers to Jews living outside Israel.

Habonim D'ror:

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Ezra Klein Show: She polled Gazans on Oct. 6. Here's what she found.

Effects of the war on Israeli and Palestinian economies.

Hostage families protest the Israeli government

Israel's far right on resettling Gaza

Learn about the Rise of the Israeli Right and Hamas from one of the very best in the biz, NPR's Throughline.

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