Orthodox Conundrum

Turning Criminals Into Heroes: Rabbi Jeremy Wieder on Rubashkin, Pollard, and Moral Clarity (275)

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and paid subscribers get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with additional bonus content! There's a recurring pattern in parts of the Orthodox world - one that has always troubled me, but in recent years has become impossible to ignore. We take individuals who have committed serious wrongdoing, sometimes admitted it in court, sometimes even served jail time, and we nevertheless elevate them to the status of heroes - not necessarily despite their criminal behavior, but in some ways almost because of it. Just a couple of weeks ago, Mishpacha magazine ran a glowing feature calling Sholom Rubashkin "the emunah and bitachon rebbe of the entire Jewish world," as though the only relevant fact of his story is his early release from prison. But as the record makes clear, including extensive evidence presented at trial, Rubashkin was involved in significant fraud, money laundering, and the exploitation of undocumented workers. Was his sentence excessive and unfair? Absolutely. Was there government overreach? No question. But that's not the same thing as innocence, and certainly not a basis for turning someone into a moral authority. Let me be clear: many of us have done things that we're not proud of, and that we wish we had done differently. The fact that Rubashkin went to jail is not the issue, so much as the fact that despite the real evidence, much of the Orthodox world treats him as if he were an innocent man who did nothing wrong, rather than an example of someone who was both perpetrator and victim. If he presented himself as an example of a baal teshuva, I would have no complaint. I would be pleased and fully supportive if we looked at him as someone who committed crimes, but has repented and is now living an honest life. And if he acknowledged his conviction as just and also complained about government overreach, he would be in the right. But that's not what's happening - and the consequences for the Orthodox self-image and behavior are serious. And this is not just a Haredi phenomenon. In the Modern Orthodox world, Jonathan Pollard has long been held up as a heroic defender of Israel. But as Rabbi Jeremy Wieder points out in our conversation, Pollard betrayed the country of which he was a citizen, took large sums of money for his actions, and passed along intelligence, the scope of which none of us fully know. The fact that the U.S. government mishandled his sentencing - which is terrible - does not magically transform espionage into idealism. So why do we do this? Why does our community repeatedly turn criminals into role models—sometimes even into teachers of faith and morality? What psychological, sociological, and ideological needs are we trying to satisfy? And more importantly: what message are we sending to our children when we confuse suffering with righteousness, and denial with integrity? In today's episode, Rabbi Jeremy Wieder helps us unpack all of this. We discuss Rubashkin, Pollard, Aryeh Deri, the role of media and influencers, the dangers of denial and victimhood narratives, and the guardrails communities should adopt so that real role models—not the loudest, or the most dramatic, or the most persecuted—become the people we admire. It's an honest and necessary conversation about integrity, responsibility, and choosing heroes who actually reflect Torah values. We're excited to announce that we at Jewish Coffee House are continuing to expand the conversation by bringing you—our listeners—into the mix. Introducing JCH Q&A, an exciting new podcast where listener-submitted questions are answered in a thoughtful, honest, and engaging way. We plan to dive deep into your pressing hashkafic, political, and philosophical questions. We will address the ideas that matter, the issues that challange us, and the topics that spark real curiosity. To submit a question for our first episode, you must be a member of the JCH Podcast WhatsApp Community. (Join here.) No question is off limits, and all submissions will remain anonymous. We're looking forward to answering your questions on our first episode! 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). 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. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com  

A Person is a Subject, not an Object: New Traditional Perspectives on Tzniut, with Bracha Poliakoff and Rabbi Anthony Manning (CLASSIC EPISODE)

Enjoy this classic episode from May, 2023. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Tzniut is triggering. That became clear when the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast released episode 145 entitled, "The Challenges of Teaching Tzniut & the Challenges of Being Tzanua, with Shayna Goldberg." That episode, in which Scott asked Shayna to focus on issues related to tzniut (modesty) and clothing, addressed some of the most pressing concerns, and the conversation generated quite a bit of discussion. Today's conversation is again about tzniut, this time about tzniut as a whole, and from the perspectives of Bracha Poliakoff and Rabbi Anthony Manning, the authors of a very well-received new book entitled, Reclaiming Dignity: A Guide to Tzniut for Men and Women.  In this wide-ranging discussion, Scott spoke with his guests about some of the same issues discussed in the earlier podcast as well as some that are quite different. Among the topics are how to define tzniut, what has gone wrong in education for tzniut that so many people are turned off by the very word and the trauma some experience when it comes to tzniut, how to legitimize different approaches, the problem of weaponizing modesty in order to delegitimize others, how much of tzniut is subjective, the confusing of the terms tzniut and erva and the consequent problems, whether obsessing about modesty leads to oversexualization of women, the judgmentalism that seems to be part and parcel of typical thinking about tzniut, and much more. Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. We're excited to announce that we at Jewish Coffee House are continuing to expand the conversation by bringing you—our listeners—into the mix. Introducing JCH Q&A, an exciting new podcast where listener-submitted questions are answered in a thoughtful, honest, and engaging way. We plan to dive deep into your pressing hashkafic, political, and philosophical questions. We will address the ideas that matter, the issues that challange us, and the topics that spark real curiosity. To submit a question for our first episode, you must be a member of the JCH Podcast WhatsApp Community. (Join here.) No question is off limits, and all submissions will remain anonymous. We're looking forward to answering your questions on our first episode! 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). 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. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

When Non-Jews Define Judaism for Jews: Alyza Lewin on Reclaiming Jewish Peoplehood in an Age of Intimidation (274)

There is a fundamental mistake that many people still make about Jews: they see Judaism exclusively as a faith, so they assume Jewish needs are basically religious accommodations, kosher food, holiday absences, maybe a space to pray. But my guest today, attorney Alyza Lewin, argues that if that's your starting point, you completely misunderstand the nature of Judaism, and what Jews are experiencing across the world. Because what we are watching on campuses, on Bondi Beach, and in the international vilification of Israel is the vilification and targeting of Jews as a people, on the basis of peoplehood, ancestral heritage, and our connection to the Land of Israel  - even though those who do so may not publicly acknowledge that this is their philosophy of Judaism. And that itself is part of the problem: people who are not Jewish who think that they can decide the definition of Judaism and Jewishness. This is a process that is happening now, but its antisemitic roots go back 800 years. That is part of why the chants and the intimidation land the way they do, and why the world's inability to even recognize the nature of the attack has left so many Jews feeling isolated. Strangely enough, Alyza argues that despite the pain, there is a silver lining: namely, the reinvigoration of Jewish identity, and faith in God, among many of those who, until October 7th, gave very little thought to their Jewish heritage. So in this conversation, we address a series of very practical questions, rather than dealing with antisemitism in the abstract. We ask how, in a society with broad legal protections for free speech, we should deal with the huge grey zone where speech has consequences the law may not address. How do we distinguish good faith political debate from the vilification of Jews, especially when universities watched this for years and still misread it as a normal dialogue? What should Jewish students do when activists demand that they shed Jewish peoplehood and connection to Israel in order to be accepted, and why does Alyza insist the answer is not to take the bait, but to say clearly: you have no right to tell me what it means to be Jewish? Should we retire the term Zionism, or reclaim it? And crucially, we also tackle one of the most emotionally charged pairings in today's discourse: antisemitism and Islamophobia, and how that framing often shapes, and sometimes distorts, the conversation in the public square. Ultimately, we are dealing with reinvigoration of Jewish peoplehood. Because if we do not name Jewish peoplehood clearly, we will keep losing the argument before it even begins. Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. We're excited to announce that we at Jewish Coffee House are continuing to expand the conversation by bringing you—our listeners—into the mix. Introducing JCH Q&A, an exciting new podcast where listener-submitted questions are answered in a thoughtful, honest, and engaging way. We plan to dive deep into your pressing hashkafic, political, and philosophical questions. We will address the ideas that matter, the issues that challange us, and the topics that spark real curiosity. To submit a question for our first episode, you must be a member of the JCH Podcast WhatsApp Community. (Join here.) No question is off limits, and all submissions will remain anonymous. We're looking forward to answering your questions on our first episode! 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). 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. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com  

Jewish Particularism or Cultural Engagement: A Chanukah Debate, with Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein and Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum (273)

To what degree should we assimilate non Jewish thought and culture into our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual lives? And to what degree does that question affect the way that we celebrate Chanukah? Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch expressed this tension directly when he wrote the following words: Chanukah represents the clash of two doctrines, two views, two civilizations, capable of molding opinions, training and educating those who until this very day compete for the mastery of the world. Hellenism and Judaism: These are the two forces whose effect upon the nations mark the historical development of mankind, and which surfaced in Judea for the first time in the days of Mattathias. Hellenism and Judaism: when examined in depth they are the two leading forces which today again are struggling for mastery in the Jewish world. Today I'm honored to host two talmidei chachamim who identify as Hirschians: Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein and Rabbi Raphael Zarum - and despite their shared reverence for the thought of Rav Hirsch, they approach this question, and their understanding of Chanukah, in very different ways. Rabbi Adlerstein leans into Chanukah as a celebration of Jewish individuality, the need for contrast and clarity. Only when we have a crystal clear awareness of the differences between Torah culture and Hellenic culture can we safely draw from the outside without losing ourselves. Chanukah, he says, is an expression of Jewish difference. Rabbi Zarum, in contrast, sees Chanukah quite differently. He believes that Chanukah highlights overlap as well as contrast. He points to the fact that we light candles at twilight right outside our homes - on the boundary between day and night, between our homes and the outside world - as emblematic of the challenge of going close to another culture without losing our own sense of self. He captures it by saying that we should assimilate it and not be assimilated by it. And then we move this discussion into a direction especially relevant to 2025, because engagement with culture today often refers to something very different from the best of Western thought. It is less Milton and more Netflix, which raises the stakes of this entire debate. So even if we agree that engaging with Western culture is a net positive, how much should we allow ourselves to be enriched by the low culture of movie ns and popular music rather than by the high culture of philosophy and classic literature?  While they bring very different perspectives, what makes this conversation such a pleasure is the tone. It is warm, lively, and respectful, even when the disagreement is sharp. Make sure to listen to the new Chanukah episode of the Tehillim Unveiled Podcast with Ari Levisohn and Rav Jeremy Tibbetts by clicking here.  Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. We're excited to announce that we at Jewish Coffee House are continuing to expand the conversation by bringing you—our listeners—into the mix. Introducing JCH Q&A, an exciting new podcast where listener-submitted questions are answered in a thoughtful, honest, and engaging way. We plan to dive deep into your pressing hashkafic, political, and philosophical questions. We will address the ideas that matter, the issues that challange us, and the topics that spark real curiosity. To submit a question for our first episode, you must be a member of the JCH Podcast WhatsApp Community. (Join here.) No question is off limits, and all submissions will remain anonymous. We're looking forward to answering your questions on our first episode! 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). 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. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com  

A $10,000 Bottle of Scotch: Alcohol Abuse, Conspicuous Consumption, and Orthodox Life Today, with Rabbi Jonathan Muskat and Rachel Tuchman (272)

A tragic drunk driving case in Lakewood has pushed an uncomfortable question to the surface. What happens when "Toameha," kiddush clubs and casual drinking culture quietly normalize alcohol misuse in our homes and shuls, especially for the teenagers who are watching us... and what happens when that same culture is surrounded by designer logos, luxury Shabbat tables and endless talk about hotels and vacations? In this episode, I speak with Rabbi Jonathan Muskat and mental health counselor Rachel Tuchman about the growing Toameha phenomenon, problem drinking that does not always look like classic alcoholism, and conspicuous indulgence in luxury in the Orthodox world. Together we explore what all of this is teaching our children about Torah values, tzniut and success, and how parents, educators and communities can begin to change the conversation without pretending that any of us are immune. Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/. We're excited to announce that we at Jewish Coffee House are continuing to expand the conversation by bringing you—our listeners—into the mix. Introducing JCH Q&A, an exciting new podcast where listener-submitted questions are answered in a thoughtful, honest, and engaging way. We plan to dive deep into your pressing hashkafic, political, and philosophical questions. We will address the ideas that matter, the issues that challange us, and the topics that spark real curiosity. To submit a question for our first episode, you must be a member of the JCH Podcast WhatsApp Community. (Join here.) No question is off limits, and all submissions will remain anonymous. We're looking forward to answering your questions on our first episode! 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). 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. Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com