Orthodox Conundrum

Passionate Moderation in an Age of Extremism: Rabbi Norman Lamm's Message for Today, with Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky (302)

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!  Rabbi Norman Lamm was one of the towering figures of Modern Orthodoxy in the twentieth century: a brilliant rabbi and orator, a major Jewish thinker, and the longtime president and chancellor of Yeshiva University. But perhaps the most important reason to revisit Rabbi Lamm today is not simply to appreciate what he accomplished, but also to ask what he still has to teach us today. My guest this week is Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky, Rabbi Lamm's grandson-in-law and a scholar who has spent years studying his writings and working through his extensive personal archives. And our conversation focuses on an idea that Tzvi argues was central to Rabbi Lamm's worldview: what Rabbi Lamm called "passionate moderation." That phrase can sound almost contradictory. We often associate moderation with compromise, caution, or a reluctance to take a strong stand. Rabbi Lamm meant something very different. His moderation demanded the ability to hold multiple values at once, to recognize complexity without sacrificing conviction, and to combine passionate commitment with intellectual and theological humility. And that approach feels remarkably relevant right now. We discuss Rabbi Lamm's Religious Zionism, his "messianic agnosticism," and how that phrase has been misunderstood; his belief that loving Israel does not mean refusing to criticize it; his warnings about extremism and irresponsible rhetoric; his approach to antisemitism and Jewish pride; and his conviction that strong Jewish leadership sometimes requires saying things that your own community does not want to hear. Underlying all of this is a larger question: What can Rabbi Norman Lamm teach an Orthodox community living in a moment when moderation is often mistaken for weakness, certainty is confused with faith, and complexity can seem almost like a betrayal of principle? Rabbi Lamm believed that it was possible to be passionate without being extreme, confident without being dogmatic, and deeply committed without pretending that every difficult question has a simple answer. Perhaps that vision of passionate moderation is something we need today more than ever. Click here to visit The Lamm Legacy online. Rabbi Sinensky's Reasonable Judaism substack is available here, and his daily WhatsApp on Parashat HaShavua, From the Beginning, is linked here. Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism -  a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting. We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more. All ten episodes of  Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). If your business is interested in advertising to our engaged Orthodox audience, or if you'd like to sponsor an episode in honor of a loved one or simcha, please reach out to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to support meaningful Jewish conversations. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Write to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and the Weaponization of Islamophobia, with Dr. Logan Levkoff (301)

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!  Antisemitism in the United States is getting worse. But perhaps just as disturbing is the growing sense that many people no longer recognize antisemitism when it appears, particularly when it is expressed through the language of anti-Zionism, social justice, or supposedly progressive politics. My guest today, Dr. Logan Levkoff, has experienced this firsthand. After more than two decades teaching sexuality education at the same school, Logan found herself under scrutiny, not because of anything she taught in the classroom, but because some parents discovered that she was an outspoken Zionist. Eventually, she was fired. That experience serves as a starting point for a much broader conversation about what is happening to Jews in America today. We discuss antisemitism on both the political left and right, increased attempts to distinguish between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and whether American Jews themselves bear some responsibility for failing to teach enough about Jewish peoplehood, Jewish history, and Zionism. And we spend significant time discussing a word that has become increasingly prominent in our political discourse: Islamophobia. Hatred or discrimination against Muslims simply because they are Muslim is obviously wrong. But what happens when accusations of Islamophobia are used to shut down legitimate criticism of Islamism, political Islam, or particular ideas and political figures? And why, when Jews raise concerns about antisemitism, is Islamophobia so often invoked alongside it, as though the two phenomena must always be discussed together? This is a conversation about antisemitism, anti-Zionism, the weaponization of the term Islamophobia, and the increasingly difficult challenge of talking honestly about uncomfortable ideas in a world that seems to have lost its appetite for nuance. Next Sunday at 8 PM Israel time, 1 PM Eastern, I'll be hosting a live Ask Me Anything for Orthodox Conundrum Commentary members. And when I say "anything," I really do mean anything. The Orthodox Conundrum, Orthodoxy, Israel, the IDF, Jewish Coffee House, the sale of the Lakers, the Beatles, the new podcast that Talli Rosenbaum and I just put together, Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, what goes on behind the scenes of the podcasts, or pretty much anything else you're curious about. The questions can be about the weightiest issues facing the Jewish world, or about subjects that are considerably less consequential but still worth talking about. You can send your questions in advance to scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com, and you'll also be able to ask questions live during the session. The Q&A is open to all Orthodox Conundrum Commentary members and Patreon supporters. Subscribe at https://scottkahn.substack.com/ today. Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism -  a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting. We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more. All ten episodes of  Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). If your business is interested in advertising to our engaged Orthodox audience, or if you'd like to sponsor an episode in honor of a loved one or simcha, please reach out to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to support meaningful Jewish conversations. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Write to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Loving Israel When Israel Disappoints You: Yossi Klein Halevi on Zionism, Criticism, and Hope (300)

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content! For many Jews who care deeply about Israel, the past few years have created a painful tension. We know that Israel is routinely judged unfairly, that much of the criticism directed against it ignores the extraordinary circumstances it faces, that many charges leveled against Israel are absolutely false and libelous, and that some of its loudest critics are interested not in changing Israel, but in delegitimizing it altogether. Context matters, and Israel cannot be judged honestly without taking that context seriously. At the same time, loving Israel does not require us to pretend that Israel always gets everything right, or that every criticism is necessarily unfair. So how do we hold those truths together? How do we defend Israel against accusations that are false or distorted, while remaining willing to confront genuine failures when they occur? And how do we acknowledge disappointment without allowing that disappointment to undermine our commitment to Zionism itself? Yossi Klein Halevi has spent a lifetime thinking about Israel, Zionism, Jewish identity, and the divisions within Israeli society. In this conversation, we discuss that difficult balancing act, the crisis some Diaspora Jews are experiencing in their relationship with Israel, the changing face of Religious Zionism, and whether a deeply divided Israel can recover a shared sense of purpose and a compelling vision for its future. Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism -  a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting. We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more. All ten episodes of  Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). If your business is interested in advertising to our engaged Orthodox audience, or if you'd like to sponsor an episode in honor of a loved one or simcha, please reach out to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to support meaningful Jewish conversations. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Write to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com  

Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, Powered by Intimate Judaism: An Introduction

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content! Many Jewish young adults reach their wedding night with almost no real guidance on intimacy and sexuality. Rabbi Scott Kahn and sex and relationship therapist Talli Rosenbaum open the series by explaining why these conversations need to start years before the chuppah, and what's ahead in the next nine episodes. The remaining nine episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults will drop this Saturday night, August 8th. Subscribe today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). If your business is interested in advertising to our engaged Orthodox audience, or if you'd like to sponsor an episode in honor of a loved one or simcha, please reach out to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to support meaningful Jewish conversations. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Write to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to learn all about creating your own podcast.

Can the Chareidi Story Be Rewritten... Or Is It Too Late? A Conversation With Rabbi Menachem Bombach (299)

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content! Rabbi Dov Landau, who, along with Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, is considered one of the two main rabbinic voices that guide the Degel HaTorah party, was seen on a video about a week ago saying the following: "There are wicked people, including those who wear knitted kippot. I am talking about those with knitted kippot who force people to go [to the army]. I would ask them, according to their position - though they have no position, rather according to their foolishness -  if the state sends people, soldiers, for the sake of the country's honor, and they kill people, is that also permissible? That is literal murder. Therefore, they are inciting murder - that is what they are doing. They are making wars not for the sake of saving people, just for the honor of the state." His remarks were so incendiary that even Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned these words - and immediately, Degel HaTorah released a statement defending the words of the rabbi. As quoted by the Jerusalem Post, the party said, "The words of the great Torah scholars are the holy of holies of the people of Israel, and we live by them. Those who do not live the world of the Torah and do not understand the depth of their words, it is better not to rush to interpret them, and certainly not to attack them. Beware of their burning embers." For people outside of the Chareidi world, and certainly for some within it as well, episodes like this - offensive and hurtful statements that are false, followed by a requisite political demand that the words of certain leading rabbis not be questioned - are reasons that some have given up on the possibility of real change coming from within the Chareidi world. Whether it's regarding army service or integration into the workplace, many people are despairing. Rabbi Menachem Bombach is different. He grew up in the Chassidic community of Meah Shearim and still identifies with that community, even as he is working from inside to effect real change in the Chareidi world.  In our conversation, Rabbi Bombach explains why meaningful change within the Chareidi world must begin with empathy rather than condemnation, even as he insists that the current trajectory is unsustainable for both Israeli society and the Chareidi community itself. We discuss the challenge of changing deeply ingrained narratives, the responsibility of rabbinic and political leadership, the opportunities and obstacles facing Chareidim who seek greater integration into Israeli society, and why he believes education is the key to preserving the best of the Chareidi world while preparing future generations to contribute more fully to the State of Israel. We also consider what those of us outside the Chareidi community can do to encourage change without deepening the divisions that already exist. It's an important and timely conversation that touches on some of the most important issues facing the Jewish world today. Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108). If your business is interested in advertising to our engaged Orthodox audience, or if you'd like to sponsor an episode in honor of a loved one or simcha, please reach out to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to support meaningful Jewish conversations. Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse. Write to aliza@jewishcoffeehouse.com to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com