Wandering Jews: A Travel Podcast That Entertains & Informs

J2 adventures
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Welcome to Wandering Jews, our J2 adventures. podcast! Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Jewish experiential travel as we traverse the globe. Whether it’s the ancient streets of Jerusalem or the historic charm of Toledo, each episode offers a fresh perspective and a deeper connection to the Jewish story. See more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3d ago

    The Gensha Street/Okopowa Cemetery – The “Land of the Living”

    Jews often call a cemetery Beit HaChayim—“The House of Life”—and nowhere does that name resonate more than in Warsaw’s Gensha Street Cemetery. Along its long avenues, where trees and wild growth weave through endless rows of stones, Gensha stands as a powerful testament to the vitality and diversity of Warsaw’s Jewish world before the Shoah. Sprawling and overflowing with stories, the site holds hundreds of thousands of lives—scholars, activists, poets, merchants, and ordinary citizens who shaped a once‑thriving community. Faced with its vastness, we chose in this episode to focus on just a few individuals interred here, each offering a glimpse into that lost, vibrant world. And we leave you with a question: In this immense “Land of the Living,” whom would you choose to remember?   Links for Additional Reading Poland: Archaeologists (Working Under Rabbinical Supervision) Make Extraordinary Discoveries At Warsaw’s Vast Okopowa St. Jewish Cemetery Jewish Heritage Europe (14 October 2020) https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2020/10/14/poland-archaeologist-okopowa/   Okopowa Street Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland The Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art and Material Culture, Hebrew Universtiy – Jerusalem https://cja.huji.ac.il/browser.php?mode=set&id=13787   Warsaw’s Jewish Cemeteries on Folkways (9 May 2024) https://folkways.today/warsaw-jewish-cemeteries/ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min

  2. Jun 1

    When the Earth Shook Europe: Lisbon, the Enlightenment, and the Jewish Question

    In 1755, a massive earthquake, firestorm, and tsunami devastated Lisbon and sent shockwaves through European thought. The catastrophe shattered old religious certainties, ignited debates led by Voltaire and Kant, and reshaped the fate of Iberian Jews and “New Christians” long-bound by the Inquisition. In this episode, we trace how one morning of destruction helped usher in modern ideas of reason, justice, and identity—and how Lisbon’s rebuilding reframed the Jewish story within Europe’s emerging Enlightenment.   Links for Additional Reading   The Earthquake That Changed History – BBC REEL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVLGo_SgRfs   The Jesuit and the Jew -The Lisbon Earthquake in Modern Perspective Revista by Kenneth Maxwell, 30 December 2007 https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/the-jesuit-and-the-jew/   Pombal and the Inquisition in Portugal History Today by Richard Cavendish, 5 May 2001 https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/pombal-and-inquisition-portugal Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    25 min

  3. May 11

    The Frontiers Edge – Eilat and the Southern Arava

    At Israel’s southern tip, where desert horizons stretch without end, Eilat and the Arava tell a story shaped by distance, daring, and the frontier spirit. Here, improvised flags, pioneering kibbutzim, and an ancient date seed reborn all reveal how life at the edge becomes a laboratory for reinvention. Join us as we explore a landscape where imagination meets isolation—and where the desert becomes not an end, but hopefully also a beginning.   Links for Additional Reading   “Lost in Eilat” at Segula, the Jewish History Magazine https://segulamag.com/en/lost-in-eilat/   “My City – Eilat” at the Digital Archive of UCLA https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/z1k716vn   The Arava Insitute for Environmental Studies https://arava.org/ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    19 min

  4. Apr 20

    Under the Crescent Moon: Three Synagogues and Jewish Life of Morocco

    Across Morocco’s historic cities, three synagogues trace a story carried on shifting currents—moments when Jewish life swelled with creative possibility and moments when it retreated behind quiet walls. From the hidden doorway of Ibn Danan to the open‑sky courtyard of Slat al‑Azama to the luminous modern hall of Beth‑El, each synagogue marks a different turn of the tide. Join us at J2 adventures ‘Wandering Jews’ as these sacred spaces reveal how Jewish life in Morocco moves in continual ebb and flow, leaving behind beauty, memory, and a rhythm all its own.   Links for Additional Reading   The Ibn Danan Synagogue, Fez, Morocco ANU, The Museum of the Jewish People https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e23554768/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA/The_Ibn_Danan_Synagogue_Fez_Morocco   Israeli, Moroccan Researchers Excavate Synagogue In Atlas Mountains I24News, 24 December 2021 https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/archeology/1640350989-israeli-moroccan-researchers-excavate-synagogue-in-sahara   Moroccan Jewry at the National Library of Israel https://www.nli.org.il/en/discover/judaism/jewish-communities/jews-in-islamic-countries/moroccan-jews Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min

  5. Mar 30

    Ketef Hinnom – Treasures Worth More Than Gold

    Journey with us to Ketef Hinnom, where a restless teenager, a collapsed tomb, and two tiny silver scrolls opened a window onto the oldest biblical text ever found—and a Jerusalem far more complex than skeptics imagined. This archaeological thriller reveals how memory, mystery, and the human need for blessing converge in a burial cave that bridges ancient faith and modern identity. Join as we uncover a story that proves some words - and some blessings - can survive.   Links for Additional Readings:   “In Memoriam: Prof. Gabriel Barkay, Dean of Biblical Archaeology (1944–2026)” – Armstrong Institute https://armstronginstitute.org/1410-in-memoriam-prof-gabriel-barkay-dean-of-biblical-archaeology-1944-ndash-2026   “The Ketef Hinnom Scrolls: Earliest Biblical Text Ever Discovered!” – Armstrong Institute https://armstronginstitute.org/1123-the-ketef-hinnom-scrolls-earliest-biblical-text-ever-discovered   “Priestly Benediction on Amulets,” Israel Museum https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/198069-0 Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    31 min

  6. Mar 9

    Berlin’s Museum Island – A Dream of Home and the Cracks in the Walls

    Step onto Berlin’s Museum Island, where the Enlightenment dreamed of a universal home for human creativity—and where Jews helped shape that vision with boldness, generosity, and imagination. Yet amid its temples of art and reason, the island also reveals the cracks: the shadows of exclusion, erasure, and the breaking of the very ideals it sought to enshrine. Join J2 Adventures’ Wandering Jews as we explore a place that inspires the human spirit, even as it exposes the profound limits of the Enlightenment’s promise.   Links for Additional Readings: The James-Simon-Galerie – Official Overview (Museumsinsel Berlin) https://www.museumsinsel-berlin.de/en/buildings/james-simon-galerie/   Haskalah / Jewish Enlightenment – Jewish Museum Berlin https://www.jmberlin.de/en/topic-haskalah-enlightenment   “James Simon: Art Collector & Owner of the Nefertiti Bust” – The Collector https://www.thecollector.com/james-simon-a-generous-patron-of-the-arts-and-modest-social-benefactor/ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min

  7. Feb 16

    Don Quixote: An Honorary Member of the Tribe?

    Our journey begins in Madrid’s Plaza de España, standing before the weathered bronze figures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza as Miguel de Cervantes watches from above. We explore why this "Impossible Dreamer" became a profound symbol for the Jewish experience, from the 19th-century Yiddish schlemiel to the "Prince of Dreams" in modern Israeli pop. From the shadow of the Expulsion to the stages of Broadway, we trace the knight’s journey and the "messianic yearning" that makes this 400-year-old character feel like a member of the Tribe.   Links for Additional Reading The Secret Jewish History of Don Quixote by Benjamin Ivry (The Forward, 17 February 2014) Why You Should Read ‘Don Quixote’? by Ilan Stevens (Ted Ed, 18 October 2018) Don Quixote: An Honorary Wandering Jews – A Spotify Playlist Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min

  8. Jan 26

    Architecture of Aspirations: The Jewish and Democratic Heart of Jerusalem

    Discover how the Israeli Supreme Court’s design serves as a "physical articulation" of the state’s democratic architecture and the values it aspires to uphold. From the "square" of human law to the "circle" of timeless justice, we explore a building rooted in Jerusalem stone yet open to the future. Join us as we discuss how this landmark translates the ancient command "Justice, justice shall you pursue" into a modern judicial shield for all inhabitants.   Links for Additional Reading The Israel Supreme Court – A Virtual Tour Jewish or Democratic? Israel’s Former Top Judge Reflects on Values, Aharon Barak, My Jewish Learning The Israel Religious Action Center The Israel Democracy Institute Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
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Welcome to Wandering Jews, our J2 adventures. podcast! Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Jewish experiential travel as we traverse the globe. Whether it’s the ancient streets of Jerusalem or the historic charm of Toledo, each episode offers a fresh perspective and a deeper connection to the Jewish story. See more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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