Judaism Unbound

Institute for the Next Jewish Future
  • 4.6 (427)
  • JUDAISM
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Listen in as Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg analyze pressing issues for 21st century American Judaism. Mixing their own analysis with interviews of leading thinkers, practitioners, and even "regular Jews," Dan and Lex look to push past the bounds of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. You can support Judaism Unbound at www.JudaismUnbound.com/donate.

  1. 4D AGO

    Episode 509: Embracing Exile - David Kraemer

    David Kraemer is the author of a recent book entitled Embracing Exile: The Case for Jewish Diaspora, and the Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation that uses that book as a springboard into a conversation about diaspora and exile in the Jewish past, present, and future. Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here! Join the Judaism Unbound discord, where you can interact with fellow listeners all around the world, by heading to discord.judaismunbound.com.

    1h 3m

  2. NOV 7

    Episode 508: Door to Door I - A House for a Life

    This week, Judaism Unbound is thrilled to feature the 1st episode of Door to Door: A Pilgrimage Across Generations -- another podcast in Judaism Unbound's family of podcasts! Want to connect with Judaism Unbounders all around the world? Join our Discord server, which we have just opened to any and all Judaism Unbound listeners, all around the world! Just head to Discord.JudaismUnbound.com to join. ---------------------------- Door to Door is a deeply personal, five-part podcast series tracing one Jewish family’s multigenerational pilgrimage from a once-lost home in Wachenbuchen, Germany, to the present-day echoes of inherited memory, trauma, and resilience. Told through archival recordings, family reflections, and emotional returns to ancestral ground, this podcast chronicles the survival of Simon—a Holocaust survivor taken to Buchenwald Concentration Camp during Kristallnacht—and the generations that followed him. It's a story shaped by suffering, but defined by rebuilding, remembrance, and an enduring commitment to legacy. Door to Door invites listeners to witness what it means to reclaim identity from the wreckage—and to carry forward the names, the stories, and the truths nearly erased. If you’ve ever felt the weight of inherited memory, or the pull to understand where you come from — subscribe to Door to Door wherever you get your podcasts. Let this be part of your story, too.

    29 min

  3. OCT 31

    Episode 507: Jewish Music -- Not Just at Synagogue - Basya Schechter

    Basya Schechter -- a songwriter, musician, performing artist, and cantor -- wants to remind everyone that you don't need to be in a synagogue to have powerful experiences with Jewish music. She joins Dan and Lex for a conversation about her evolutions as a musician, her experiences performing in contexts as different as a college dining hall and a sprawling concert venue, and so much more. This episode is the fourth in an ongoing mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes mobilizing Jewish music -- past, present, and future -- as a launching point into conversations about contemporary Jewish life and experience. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

    59 min

  4. OCT 24

    Episode 506: Judaism Unbound's 1st Guest...500 Episodes Later - Benay Lappe

    Benay Lappe, founder and rosh yeshiva of SVARA: a Traditionally Radical Yeshiva, returns to Judaism Unbound! She was our first ever guest on this show, in Episode 3: Exodus, and she's returned many times before -- but this time, she specifically is here to reflect on how American-Jewish life has transformed over the course of the past 10 years, since that first appearance.  Love what you hear? You can listen to Benay Lappe in conversation with our co-host Dan Libenson, in another podcast that's part of the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts! It's called The Oral Talmud -- learn more about it and subscribe here. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

    55 min

  5. OCT 21

    Arthur Waskow: Remembered (2 Judaism Unbound appearances from Arthur Waskow)

    On October 20th, 2025, Arthur Waskow – a revolutionary activist and teacher of Torah – died at the age of 92. He was an inspiration to our work at Judaism Unbound in more ways than we can articulate. Even as our organization was launched when he was already in his 80s, he found so many ways to collaborate with us and offer his unique forms of Torah to our audiences. He presented at 5 consecutive ShavuotLIVE gatherings, frequently moving attendees to tears, welcomed Judaism Unbound as a partner for many of his programs with The Shalom Center, and was twice a guest on this podcast. For those who would feel moved to hear from Arthur’s voice shortly after his passing, we wanted to re-release those two appearances of his on Judaism Unbound. The first is Episode 166, entitled The Freedom Seder, and the second is a bonus episode called Confronting Carbon Pharaohs. Well into his 90s, Arthur Waskow was committed in mind, spirit, and body to the betterment of our world. He reminded us, over and over, that the word Adamah – meaning earth or soil – and the word Adam – meaning earthling, are intertwined, meaning all of us as earthlings are inherently connected to the planet, earth, that we live on. May his memory be for a blessing and a revolution.  ---------------------------------- Donations in honor of Arthur Waskow's life and legacy can be directed to The Shalom Center -- an organization he founded -- via this link.

    1h 14m

  6. OCT 20

    Bonus Episode: Xai Judaism, How Unbound Are You? - Xava, Lex, Rena Yehuda, and Michael

    Should we be reviving the Nazirite vow, a practice that is typically seen as "ancient," "outdated," or "antiquated?" Might it have liberatory potential for Judaism and the world? Xava De Cordova and Michael Sokolovsky of Xai, How are You? join Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman of Judaism Unbound for a crossover episode about Nazirite philosophy, rabbinic agendas, the Kol Nidrei declaration, and the metaphysical importance of vows!  ----------------------------------- Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming courses in the UnYeshiva, beginning in mid-late October. Amazing learning opportunities are available for registration exploring the book of Jubilees, Jewish Exile and Liberation, the Talmud, and Antisemitism Unbound! Financial aid is available via this link. ----------------------------------- More about Xai, How are You?:  Queer Jews Michael Sokolovsky and Rabbi Xava De Cordova play with the multi-millennial dialectic that is the Talmud. Join them as they throw drash, seek prophetic insight and uncover the rabbinic smuttiness inherent in the system. You can subscribe to Xai How are You via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any of your other favorite podcast apps, so go give them a listen!  For a previous combo episode of Judaism Unbound and Xai How are You, see Episode 269: Shabbetai Zevi -- Permitting the Forbidden.

    59 min

  7. OCT 17

    Episode 505: Jewish Music -- What's "Mi-Sinai?" - Mark Kligman

    Frequently you might hear someone claim that a particular Jewish melody is "mi-Sinai" (literally: "from Mount Sinai," implying "dating back to when Moses received the 10 commandments at Mount Sinai")? Mark Kligman, an ethnomusicologist who directs The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, joins Dan and Lex to explore what this term illustrates. In doing so, they explore why "Jewish music" is such a challenging word to define -- along with what Jewish music does for people's lives. This episode is the third in an ongoing mini-series of Judaism Unbound episodes mobilizing Jewish music -- past, present, and future -- as a launching point into conversations about contemporary Jewish life and experience. Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming courses in the UnYeshiva, beginning in mid-late October. Amazing learning opportunities are available for registration exploring the book of Jubilees, Jewish Exile and Liberation, the Talmud, and Antisemitism Unbound! Financial aid is available via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

    57 min

  8. OCT 14 · BONUS

    Bonus Episode: Aderaba -- Jewish Studies on the Contrary ("What's Bad about Being in the Image of God?")

    We’re thrilled to offer a bonus episode here on our feed, where we shout out an awesome new podcast created by friends of Judaism Unbound. It's called Aderaba: Jewish Studies on the Contrary and it’s co-hosted by Rafe Neis – a past teacher in Judaism Unbound’s UnYeshiva – and Gilah Kletenik. We’re featuring their second episode, entitled What’s Bad about Being in the Image of God, which connects to the mini-course that Rafe taught with us, entitled Untangling Tselem Elohim (the image of God). ------------------------------------------------------ Aderaba: Jewish Studies on the Contrary Description: Join Rafe Neis and Gilah Kletenik as they explore big questions through a diverse range of Jewish texts, ideas, and cultures. The conversations are sometimes clarifying but always contrarian. Come for their uncommon insights, stay for their critical takes on the fields of Rabbinics, Classics, History, Philosophy, Critical Theory, and more! Episode 2: What's Bad About Being in the Image of God? Description: Hosts Gilah Kletenik and Rafe Neis discuss the multifaceted and often contradictory Jewish notion that humans are created in the image of God. They explore the historical context of this idea in ancient near Eastern cultures and its interpretation through Jewish and Christian philosophical traditions. The hosts delve into the dark side of this notion, including its use in exclusionary ideologies, the hierarchies it inducts, and its potential pitfalls. They also debate whether alternative theological frameworks better address contemporary issues like climate change, ultimately suggesting a nuanced approach that balances the ideal of human dignity with a broader ecological responsibility. You can subscribe to Aderaba via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else podcasts are found. ------------------------------------------------------- Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our up upcoming courses in the UnYeshiva. Amazing learning opportunities are available for registration exploring the book of Jubilees, Jewish Exile and Liberation, the Talmud, and Antisemitism Unbound! Financial aid is available via this link.

    46 min
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4.6
out of 5
427 Ratings

About

Listen in as Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg analyze pressing issues for 21st century American Judaism. Mixing their own analysis with interviews of leading thinkers, practitioners, and even "regular Jews," Dan and Lex look to push past the bounds of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. You can support Judaism Unbound at www.JudaismUnbound.com/donate.

Information

  • Creator
    Institute for the Next Jewish Future
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2025
  • Episodes
    643
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Judaism Unbound

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