Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast

Matt Reimer, Jeff Weill, Josh Rose
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Judaism
  • Updated Biweekly

What happens when three friends who are also rabbis get together to discuss Jewish life, religious life, rabbinic life and life life? Rabbis Jeffrey Weill, Matt Reimer and Josh Rose don't know but aim to find out. In the process they'll share their thoughts about pressing issues we all face - in the Jewish community and beyond.

  1. 3d ago

    S2E21 Do Jewish People Do Mitzvahs for the Right Reasons?

    Rabbi Jeffrey is on his annual trip to the Rabbinical Longshoremen convention in Witchita but Rabbis Josh and Matt explore the enduring question of "Why Do A Mitzvzah" and essential question in Jewish life. We explore aligning our intentions with our actions, and explore how to be better Jews.

    30 min

  2. May 28

    S2E20 Is Your Rabbi Using AI? Is That Good (or Bad) for the Jews?

    the three rabbis take on AI and disagree about its merits and dangers.

    40 min

  3. May 6

    S2E19 Strings Attached: The Challenge of Jewish Life in This Moment

    div]:bg-bg-000/50 [&_pre>div]:border-0.5 [&_pre>div]:border-border-400 [&_.ignore-pre-bg>div]:bg-transparent [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8"> _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 standard-markdown"> Three rabbis reunite after a hiatus with no agenda and plenty to say. They wade into the fraught waters of Israel, the war, Yom HaZikaron, and what it means to hold nuance in a community that often demands a party line — then somehow end up in a heated debate about strings in rock music, Charlie Daniels, and whether Phil Spector ruined "The Long and Winding Road." Josh admits he's been hiding from Israel discourse behind his guitar, Jeff cops to being emotionally "buffeted" by the whole thing, and Matt drops the news that he's heading to the pulpit of a major New York synagogue this summer. It's the classic Weird Being Jewish formula: serious stuff, silly detours, and genuine friendship holding it all together.

    34 min

  4. Mar 2

    S2E18 Purim & the Jewish Take on Our World of Chaos

    The three rabbis are at it again, plumming the depths of Purim. This episode was recorded before the attacks on Iran, about which Rabbis Jeffrey, Matt and Josh will likely have something to say in the future.

    34 min

  5. Feb 19

    S2E17 A Jewish Take on Anger

    Rabbis Matt and Josh kick around the idea of anger - which is having its moment in the world, it seems - and what the Jewish tradition has to say about it. Rabbi Jeffrey is out this week on an all-expense-paid trip to Ferrett, Alabama for their regionally famous hat-expo. He will return for the next episode.

    43 min

  6. Feb 4

    S2E16 Every Jew at 22? The Jewish Gun Debate

    In this episode of Weird Being Jewish the three rabbis are at it again. This time, we discuss guns, gun policy, Jewish safety and Jewish culture.  Plus a question that could be applied to  any number of topics in Jewish contemporary life: since classical sources don't mention guns, how should Jewish tradition inform civic norms and democratic policy?

    39 min

  7. Jan 23

    S2E15 Judaism, Borders, and the Stranger

    Rabbis Jeffrey, Matt and Josh confont the complexity of the Jewish tradition and the brutality of the current regime on immigration.

    36 min

  8. Jan 9

    S2e14 Circles of Loss and Jewish Mourning

    In this episode Rabbis Jeffrey, Matt, and Josh reflect together on how grief actually works: unevenly, unpredictably, and often shaped less by moral logic than by story, familiarity, and perceived relationship. Prompted by recent acts of violence and loss, they talk through why certain deaths—especially of public figures who have quietly accompanied us through decades of culture and art—can feel more piercing than other tragedies that are no less horrific. Drawing on Jewish tradition and lived experience, they explore the idea that mourning comes in layers, and that not all losses land on the heart in the same way. As the conversation unfolds, they turn to harder questions about obligation and identity. Is there a responsibility to feelmore when Jews are targeted, or is mourning primarily a communal and ethical act rather than an emotional one? From there, the discussion broadens to Jewish peoplehood, rising antisemitism, and the exhaustion many rabbis feel when public Jewish life becomes dominated by defense and crisis, often at the expense of Torah, teaching, and spiritual depth. They end by naming the tension between particularism and universalism—not as a problem to solve, but as a defining, often uncomfortable feature of Jewish life, and part of what makes being Jewish so complicated, and so weird.

    37 min
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About

What happens when three friends who are also rabbis get together to discuss Jewish life, religious life, rabbinic life and life life? Rabbis Jeffrey Weill, Matt Reimer and Josh Rose don't know but aim to find out. In the process they'll share their thoughts about pressing issues we all face - in the Jewish community and beyond.

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