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What is being "Jewish"? What are Jews? What do Jews believe? What do Jews do? What's happening in those mysterious synagogues with all that weird language (it's Hebrew)?
Jew curious?
The thing about being Jewish is, you can't tell us apart by looking (well, not always), we often look the same, dress the same, work and play and eat right alongside our non-Jewish counterparts, and yet, as a teeny tiny minority--only 0.2% of the global population, and 2-3% of the U.S. population--plenty of people have probably never met a Jewish person, or if they did, they didn't even know it.
For as much as we share (and it's probably way more than you think), somehow, moving through the world as a Jew really is different. Everything looks different through a Jewish lens, even for those who aren't particularly religious, the ones who describe themselves as "Jew-ish."
But honestly, none of this is really that mysterious. And, if you're curious or confused, you can always just ask the internet--or, now you can also come here and check in with your new Jewish friend.
So, if you have questions about being Jewish, we're here to introduce, explain, ask alongside, and generally demystify Judaism for Members of the Tribe (Jews) and goyim (non-Jews) alike, exploring and showcasing the infinite ways there are to be Jewish.
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Top 10 Jew-ish Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Jew-ish episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Jew-ish for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Jew-ish episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
11/02/23 • 4 min
Many of us are deeply affected, probably more so than we even know, by the suffering in Israel and Gaza. I didn't release the last episode (though I did have one ready) because it felt bizarre not to address or at least acknowledge the situation, but I was absolutely drained. I was scared for the Hamas hostages, worried about my brother in Israel, terrified for the Palestinians...in short, there was no energy left over and I had nothing to say outside of the small circle of family and few loved ones checking in. This mini-sode is just an acknowledgment, a moment to ask us all to pause, not fill the silence we may be seeing from others with our own assumptions, respect one another's grief and pain, try not to add to the violence rhetorically, emotionally, or otherwise, and be a source of light if and where we can.
May the Source of Peace send peace to all who mourn,
And comfort to all who are bereaved.
May the Source of Strength, who blessed the ones before us,
Help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing.
And let us say, Amen.
MORE:
The Mourner's Kaddish is a very holy prayer, dating back almost 2000 years to the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Mi Sheberach is the traditional prayer said for healing, and to bring to mind those who are suffering, and need divine goodness. Here is Debbie Friedman's rendition of the beautiful and soothing prayer, in the tune I and many others grew up with.
02/08/24 • 36 min
Have you ever wondered if your “quirks” might actually be manifested trauma? Or more like...that they probably ARE? Victoria Dozer was curious about her mom’s pretty typical Jewish-mom-quirk of stashing huge amounts of things, like dishes and toilet paper--stuff that's useful in principle, but that you probably don’t need 20 of--and uncovered that this behavior, inherited and then passed down to Victoria, is a legacy her mom inherited from her Holocaust-survivor father. She nicknamed the habit Holocaust hoarding, and went down a path of exploration; how does the trauma of our elders and ancestors affect our lives each day? And how do we honor them, their struggles and legacies, while working to see it for what it is, and turn towards healing without betraying their suffering? Jews are certainly not the only people who have been targets of genocide throughout their history, and it's so ingrained in Jewish identity that many don't even think about it consciously, but it felt very important to explore how such deeply ingrained existential fear can show up in Jewish life, including in reactions to world events. Victoria's approach in her article for Hey Alma, and our conversation, compassionately recognizes some very Jewish things that might be inherited trauma. She explores accepting the pain of our past without letting it define us, or be an unconscious force shaping our reactions, futures, and the lives of those around us. Victoria is also a planetary scientist, and you will be grateful for her thoughtful perspectives on the weight of generational trauma, hoarding vs environmentalism, and how to greet our own and others’ trauma with loving acceptance, and heal without discarding a legacy we treasure.
GLOSSARY:
M.O.T.: Short for “Member of the Tribe,” a tongue in cheek term Jewish people sometimes use for one another, especially when meeting for the first time, i.e. “Oh hey! Another M.O.T.!”
HSOs: Holocaust Survivor Offspring as referred to in medical literature researching generational trauma.
Eugenics: The misappropriation and inaccurate application of scientific theories such as Darwin’s theory of evolution to justify a belief in the genetic superiority of one race or people over another, ultimately leading to attempts to exterminate entire races and types of people, including the Jews by the Nazis, and mentally ill or otherwise neurodivergent populations in the United States.
Tu BiShvat: See previous episode for a whole TuBishvat lesson!
“Do not destroy”: “bal tashchit” in Hebrew, the principle stems from the idea that the earth belongs to God and careful stewardship of it is therefore our responsibility.
Tikkun Olam: “world repair,” is a concept that all human beings are responsible for one another and the world, and for repairing harm and damage through their actions, big or small.
Find Hey Alma on Instagram!
12/25/24 • 65 min
Content warning below
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
Utterback Middle School was the arts magnet school in Tucson.
IBT is Tucson's legendary gay bar, open since 1985.
Meet Richard Siken
More on Tu Bishvat with Tobin Mitnick.Alcoholics Anonymous today "is not affiliated with any religion," but there's more on its Christian origins in Ken Burns' amazing Prohibition documentary, and many
11/16/23 • 49 min
There’s polarization, and then there’s toxic polarization. We all know what that feels like, especially at this moment around Israel and Palestine. For many of us, the temperature of the rhetoric is so incendiary that even though we might have deep and nuanced feelings, let alone education, experience, or personal ties to the issue, the thought of wading into what seems like a totally polarized conversation feels frightening and pointless. But, we still want to be able to engage in our world, and maybe even dip our toe into conversation with people we believe to be well-intentioned, even if their views might seem extreme or uninformed to us. But how can we do that without turning up the temperature and the volume by adding our voice?
Thankfully, Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin is here to help. Rabbi Schmelkin specializes in navigating toxic polarization and crossing divides. In this episode, she helps us understand what’s happening to people–including ourselves–when we encounter or engage in polarized or potentially polarizing topics, and reminds us that we have choices in how–and if–we engage.
TERMS:
Havdalah: Hebrew for “separation”, the Havdalah service marks the end of Shabbat and the return to the "normal" week.
Rabbinate: The office or function of being a rabbi
Motive misattribution: Assuming that the motivations of others are negative in a situation where we would accept our own motives as perfectly reasonable. This is related to motive asymmetry, where people assume the motives of those on the other side of a conflict are diametrically opposed to ours, creating an intractable conflict.
Musar (or Mussar): A movement to use Jewish ethics, as opposed to rules, to guide behavior and character. Mussar facilitators use these principles to guide challenging conversations.
Sacred Value: A value that is impervious to material incentives to change.
Backfire effect: Digging in on an existing belief in response to information that disproves it.
4-7-8 breathing: a breathing technique to reduce anxiety where one inhales for a count of four, holds the breath for a count of seven, and exhales for a count of eight.
Beginner’s Mind: A mindset that releases any previously existing knowledge or conceptions to allow for maximum curiosity and openness, approaching like a total beginner on the topic.
b'tzelem Elohim: Hebrew for “in the image of God”, it refers to all humans being created in the image of God and therefore being of equal value.
ken y'hi ratzon: Translated as “let it be so”, it literally means “let it be God’s will”
MORE:
One America Movement: https://oneamericamovement.org/
*Quick disclosure: The One America movement is a catalyst partner of Stand Together, which is my employer in my day job. They have no involvement in this podcast, which does not represent them or their interests in any way.
Over Zero: https://www.projectoverzero.org/
Beyond Conflict: https://beyondconflictint.org/
09/21/23 • 41 min
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, followed by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and together with the 10 days of deep contemplation between them, they are known as the Days of Awe, or the High Holy Days–but apparently only in the U.S. Also–spoiler alert!--it’s not the actual “new year” on the Jewish calendar. Or at least not since ancient times...but we’ll get into all that. This episode is here to help, you, me, whoever, understand how to “do” Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, or just a bit more about them. Listen in to learn what to say and not say to your Jewish friends, a short list of sins you should be thinking about, and some of the ways our oddball family approaches the major themes and responsibilities of the season, including repentance, reflection, forgiveness, celebration (or not).
GLOSSARY
Chag Sameach: Translates to “Happy Holiday”, the generic expression to share well-wishes on any holiday.
Talmudic period: Referring to the time between approximately 64-70 and 500-640 CE, beginning with the first Jewish revolt against Roman rule and including the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple that resulted in the exile of the Jews, and the eventual rise of great rabbis such as Akiva and Hillel, whose writings, along with other scholars of this period, were eventually compiled into the Mishnah and Gemara, which, together, comprise the Jewish book of law known as the Talmud. During this period, Hillel also created the lunar Jewish calendar commonly used today.
Yom Hazikaron: Translates to “Day of Remembrance” and is observed in Israel to remember fallen soldiers, in the same way as Memorial Day in the U.S. is.
Yom ha'atzmaut: Israeli Independence Day
Madrichim: Translated as “teachers,” “leaders,” or “guides,” madrichim are generally teenagers trained in Jewish leadership programs.
Sitting Shiva: The practice of mourning death for seven days including customs such as sitting low to the ground and covering mirrors, during which the immediate family of the deceased receives guests to care for and bring them food so they can sit and be present in their grief.
Machzor: A Jewish prayer book arranged in specific liturgical order for the High Holidays.
Shulchan Aruch: The Jewish legal code compiled in the 1500s by Sephardic rabbi Joseph Caro.
Mitzvot: Often translated as “good deeds,” the word actually means “commandments.”
Shofar: The horn of a kosher animal, often a ram, ceremonially blown on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
More:
Check out the Stoic Coffee Break on your favorite podcast app and listen for Erick Cloward's episode on Jew-ish!
09/07/23 • 45 min
Finally, the basic question: What is being “culturally Jewish”? Getting at the difference between a culture and religion, how identity manifests in modernity and how it came to be this way is heady stuff, and of course, in true Jewish fashion, the answer is: it’s complicated. Thank goodness for my brilliant baby brother, Zeb, who is a professional Jewish educator like my mom, but also a largely secular Jew, like me, and his specialty in and nuanced thinking about modern Western Jewish history. Some light topics up for discussion include: the birth of nation-states, assimilationism, responses to modernity, what “identity” means, and how, lucky us, we came to be part of the "global cabal." Don't worry, there's plenty of snark too, this ain't grad school! Also, love you Mom, sorry in advance! Tons of terminology in this one, so hit the glossary below, and check previous episode notes for more. GLOSSARY:
Rebbe: Largely used by Hasidic Jews, a Yiddish-German term for "rabbi," also referring to a person educated in and who educates, guides or mentors others in Judaism.
Assimilationism: The act or desire to be absorbed culturally and socially into the dominant or majority group.
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).
Ghetto: Likely derived from Italian, in the early 1500s it referred to the area of Venice where the Jews were required by law to live. It is most broadly used in the Jewish to refer to the walled-in parts of cities where Jews were imprisoned under Nazi occupation, often before being sent to death camps.
Humanism: A philosophical approach with a long history, generally centered on placing importance of the human experience, and well-being of humankind over deities or states.
Haskala: A late 18th- and early 19th-century European Jewish intellectual school of thought integrating Judaism and modern European life.
Yiddish: Translated to mean "Jewish" in Yiddish, a German-derived dialect integrating Hebrew and parts of the local language generally considered the language of Askenazic Jewish communities in central and eastern Europe. Yiddishkeit: a Yiddish word describing a quality of "Jewishness."
Ladino: Sometimes called Judeo-Spanish, it has Castilian origins and is considered the language of Sephardic Jews, who originate in Spain and Portugal, but blends broad languages including Arabic or Greek.
Nebbish: Yiddish for a meek, pitiful person.
Freedom Seder: https://religiondispatches.org/take-history-into-your-own-hands-why-i-wrote-the-freedom-seder-and-why-its-still-necessary/
Reform Movement: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/reform-judaism/
Pale of Settlement: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-pale-of-settlement
08/24/23 • 30 min
Robert Markowitz was a nice Jewish boy just trying to do what he thought he was supposed to, building on the legacy of his immigrant grandfather to rise to fulfill his mother’s dream of becoming a lawyer. But, like many of us who do things ultimately for others, he discovered it made him absolutely miserable.
So, he swung the pendulum all the way from being a super-serious lawyer to becoming a literal clown. He says that started a thaw that allowed him to “feel” again, and resurrected his inner child. Despite thinking he “wasn’t that Jewish," he says in the end, it was Jewish themes that interest him, like redemption, or “teshuva,” which means to “return.” His own journey of teshuva allowed Robert to rediscover how to seek and spread joy. He became a children’s musician and then a writer, and has a novel about a lawyer who left lawyering to save his soul, called...."Clown Shoes” of course. What else?
Glossary:
Shyster: often defined simply as meaning an unscrupulous scam artist or unprofessional lawyer, the term is generally used as–and therefore has taken on the meaning of–an antisemitic slur or coded reference to the stereotype of the “greedy Jew.” It’s often also associated with Shakespeare’s deeply anti-Semitic character of Shylock.
Teshuva: Literally meaning “return”, it is often used to mean “redemption” or “repentance,” in the sense of “returning” to the goodness or Godliness innate to us all.
Ner Tamid: Meaning “eternal light,” it is a literal light that is kept lit at all times in front of the ark, where Torah scrolls are kept, and is also a symbol of the eternal presence of God.
Shtetl: Yiddish for “little town,” the term refers to Ashkenazi Jewish enclaves primarily in Russia and Poland, and in fact housed many Gentiles as well as Jews. They were market towns with synagogues, churches and merchants, and were ultimately destroyed when the Holocaust wiped out most of Eastern European Jewry.
More on the Jewish lawyer trope and other “positive stereotypes”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVO6lErmy84&ab_channel=KatzCenterforAdvancedJudaicStudies
https://jeffreykass.medium.com/jews-are-the-best-lawyers-50d33738249e
https://www.heyalma.com/rapping-jewish-lawyers-history/
https://www.jta.org/2019/02/19/ideas/an-idiots-guide-to-anti-semitic-tropes-2
More on the term “antisemitic” and “anti-Semitic”:
https://www.adl.org/spelling-antisemitism-vs-anti-semitism
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/anti-semitism-or-antisemitism
08/10/23 • 30 min
Judaism takes a very different view of sex than much of mainstream culture in the U.S. Mischaracterization or misunderstanding of some of these differences may have evolved into some of the many anti-Semitic stereotypes (including conflicting ones...goes to show the solid reasoning behind stereotypes), but the general discourse among modern American Jews at least is, overall, pretty sex-positive. My views of sex were always a bit different, a bit more nuanced, perhaps, from my peers, so I went to the source: my mother. She’s a pretty unusual sort in her own right, and has diligently passed along some of our rule-bending values and family traditions I didn’t even know about. We’ll learn how her parents talked to her about sex in the ‘60s, her youth as a “flower child,” and how that informed her dealing with my own and my siblings' high school hijinks. Join me and my little old Jewish mother for some laughter and insight, and maybe even a fresh perspective of how sex, love, and responsibility for one another are a perfectly natural—and often wonderful—part of life.
GLOSSARY:
Kibbutznik: A resident of a kibbutz, a type of communal agricultural settlement founded in Israel at the beginning of the 20th century where members shared income, meals, housing, duties and decision-making responsibilities. Kibbutzim (the plural of kibbutz) have changed a lot since the first one was founded in 1909; there are only about 250 today with about 125,000 members, and individuals and families often have personal income and property.
John Birch Society: A far-right anti-communist group founded in 1958 by businessman Robert Welch, named after an American Baptist missionary and Army officer who was killed by the Red Army in China in 1945.
Tonsure: a hairstyle where a priest or monk’s scalp is shaved bare on top,
Other sources:
06/29/23 • 44 min
Who knew there was such a thing? Well, Laurel Lehman discovered it along her conversion journey when, in college, her pastor told her there was a "well-trodden path" through the Episcopal Church to Judaism. And that's where she ended up. Apparently even though Bible study was never her thing, the intense pedantry we embrace and employ in our Torah study discussions really rang her bell. And so, while following an obsessive need to understand whether or not there was an “h” at the end of a transliterated Hebrew word, Laurel discovered her nascent Jewish soul. Laurel, welcome home.
Some of the names you heard in this episode include Rabbi Aaron Miller and Rabbi Eliana Fischel, whose rabbinical duties at Washington Hebrew Congregation include teaching adult education classes such as the 12 Jewish Questions Laurel mentions in the episode.
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish rabbi and philosopher, deported from Germany by the Nazis in 1938, whose writings about Jewish spirituality, work on interfaith dialogue, and active presence in the American Civil Rights Movement made him well-known and respected among leaders across faiths during his lifetime.
GLOSSARY:
Tsuris: Yiddish for aggravation or distress.
Pedantic: to be annoyingly concerned with minor details, formal rules, or correcting small errors, especially as a way to show off knowledge.
Minion: A group of 10 people, the minimum amount of Jewish adults (traditionally men) that is required to say certain prayers that must be said communally.
Challah: the braided egg bread especially traditional to Ashkenazi (of Central or Eastern European descent) Jews and eaten on holidays, especially Shabbat, the Hebrew word for "sabbath."
Tzedakah: often translated as “charity,” the word actually means “justice.” While “doing tzedakah” may involve giving money or time to charities, it’s based on the idea that everyone is entitled to certain things in life, like enough food to eat, shelter and dignity, and helping to provide those things is not charitable, it’s balancing the scales of justice.
Mitzvah: often translated as “good deed,” the word actually means “commandment,” but has expanded to impart the idea that doing good deeds or "doing the right thing" is not a favor; it’s not optional, it is required.
G’mar Chatimah Tovah: (also spelled “g’mar chatima tova”) the greeting said at Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) meaning “a good final sealing” to wish someone a good year and being sealed in the Book of Life.
Kabbalah: A form of Jewish mysticism that became widespread in Provence and Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries and can involve searching for secret knowledge and hidden meaning in texts.
Tikkun Olam: meaning “world repair,” is a concept that all human beings are responsible for one another and the world, and for repairing harm and damage through their actions, big or small.
Hanukkiah: the 9-branched candelabra used to celebrate Hanukkah
https://reformjudaism.org/
08/22/24 • 52 min
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.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Jew-ish have?
Jew-ish currently has 24 episodes available.
What topics does Jew-ish cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality, Jewish, Podcasts, Religion, Philosophy, Judaism, Israel and Christian.
What is the most popular episode on Jew-ish?
The episode title 'A Plea for Peace and Compassion' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Jew-ish?
The average episode length on Jew-ish is 41 minutes.
How often are episodes of Jew-ish released?
Episodes of Jew-ish are typically released every 14 days, 3 hours.
When was the first episode of Jew-ish?
The first episode of Jew-ish was released on May 30, 2023.
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