Identity/Crisis Shalom Hartman Institute

Organized philanthropy has become the most powerful force in American Jewish communal life. As the culture of philanthropy has transformed, so has the allocation of power in the community. In an episode originally released in May 2022, Felicia Herman, Chief Operating Officer of Maimonides Fund, joins Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss how the history of charitable giving has changed since the creation of the State of Israel, shifts in the Jewish institutional landscape with the rise of family foundations, and whether the Federation system retains its power and impact today.

This episode originally aired on May 17th, 2022.

We are all inevitably shaped by the "dusty old books" of the Jewish past: our institutions, ideas and identities are built on the thought and work of our intellectual forbearers, even when we ultimately repudiate their teachings. Host Yehuda Kurtzer is joined by David Ellenson, Chancellor Emeritus of Hebrew Union College and professor emeritus at Brandeis University, to discuss three key figures who were instrumental in the making of American Judaism as we know it today: Abraham Joshua Heschel, Mordecai Kaplan, and Joseph B. Soloveitchik. They examine what these three iconic rabbis stood for, and try to understand how their legacies have shaped American Judaism as we live it.

The Purim story is one in which the Jewish people take responsibility for their own destiny. While the story ends in triumph it also involved a great deal of violence inflicted by the Jews upon their enemies. In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer explores the meaning of the Purim story and its relevance for our present political moment, asking what it would look like take seriously the responsibility that comes with Jewish power and agency.

Mentioned in this episode: After Kibiye, an essay by Yeshayahu Leibowitz (http://www.leibowitz.co.il/leibarticles.asp?id=85)

The Jewish tradition is full of exhortations to look after the vulnerable—to open up our pocketbooks, our hearts and even our homes to those in need—as well as stories of our own vulnerability, when we were dependent on the generosity and heroism of others. What might it look like to take those exhortations, and those stories, seriously? Last week, Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield, Executive Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, wrote an article in Tablet about opening up her home this past year to a family of Ukrainian refugees. She joins Yehuda Kurtzer to explore that experience and what it can tell us about obligation, about dignity, and about the meaning of Jewish history.

How wary should American Jews be of "airing our dirty laundry in public?" Should they resist subjecting other Jews to public scrutiny out of concern that it will lead to caricatures and stereotypes of Jewish communities—or is it our responsibility to bring our concerns to light in the hope that accountability will motivate much-needed societal change? Lani Santo is the CEO of Footsteps, an organization providing educational, vocational, and social support to people who have left or want to leave the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. She joins host Yehuda Kurtzer for a conversation about recent public discourse around Hasidic education and about how we, as Jews, can and ought to hold one another accountable in the public square.

Should religious commitments motivate political activism? How might we show up for abortion rights not only as Americans, but as Jews? Rori Picker Neiss, Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in St. Louis and a Rabbinic Fellow of the David Hartman Center, is a leader in the fight against abortion bans and anti-LGBTQ legislation in Missouri. She joins host Yehuda Kurtzer to discuss the role of religion in shaping our political and moral choices, the place of clergy in social movements, and how faith might build bridges across the aisle.