As a listener of Adventures in Jewish Studies, we hope you'll also listen to the new AJS podcast, Critical Sources. Critical Sources features Jewish studies scholars discussing a source that matters to them, offering a window into how scholars

Yiddish Socialists and the Garment Industry

Feb 12th, 2024 38m 51s

A century ago, Jews were at the center of the American garment industry and at the forefront in the battle for those workers’ rights. In this episode, host Avishay Artsy speaks to Daniel Katz and Caroline Luce about how Yiddish-speaking immigra

Rethinking Holocaust Education

Dec 13th, 2023 33m 7s

A sharp rise in antisemitic incidents has led to increased calls for mandatory Holocaust education. In this episode, host Avishay Artsy speaks with educators Sarah Ellen Zarrow and Jody Spiegel about the use and misuse of Holocaust memory for c

Jews in Colonial America

Oct 24th, 2023 38m 17s

This episode of Adventures in Jewish Studies explores the lives of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews who settled in what are now the states of Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina as far back as the late seventeenth cent

Jewish Pilgrimages

May 31st, 2023 39m 12s

Throughout the world, Jewish diaspora communities set out on pilgrimages to visit holy sites in search of wisdom, healing, and blessings. But these pilgrimage journeys, no matter where or why they take place, are about much more than the physic

The Many Lives of Kabbalah

May 3rd, 2023 27m 58s

Kabbalah, one of Judaism’s most sacred schools of thought, has served as a wellspring of Jewish faith, a portal to mystical knowledge, and a bridge for intercultural and interreligious exchange. In this episode, host Avishay Artsy speaks with g

Do Jews Believe in Magic?

Feb 8th, 2023 46m 4s

While the Talmud famously forbids sorcery, Jewish history is full of examples of what many today might refer to as "magic." In this episode, host Erin Phillips and guest scholars Sara Ronis, Marla Segol, and Michael Swartz take us on a spellbin

The Many Genders of Judaism

Nov 7th, 2022 41m 34s

In this episode, host Erin Phillips and guest scholars Max Strassfeld and S.J. Crasnow explore how gender is constructed in Judaism. They critically examine what many refer to as the "seven genders of the Talmud;" discuss the experiences of tra

Kol Nidre: Yom Kippur's Most Famous Melody

Sep 29th, 2022 26m 38s

Kol Nidre is recited at the beginning of evening Yom Kippur services, and serves as an emotional and dramatic opening to the Day of Atonement. However, over the centuries, this legalistic text has been maligned, ridiculed, banned – and even use

Disability & Inclusion in Judaism

Jul 19th, 2022 33m 21s

In this episode of Adventures in Jewish Studies, we’re looking at the intersection of Jewish studies and disability studies. Guest scholars Julia Watts Belser and nili Broyer, along with host Avishay Artsy, talk about everything from the story

The Future of Kosher Food

May 24th, 2022 40m 11s

Are bugs kosher? What about CBD/THC edibles or Impossible Pork? Can entirely new substances - like lab grown meat - be categorized and certified? How does social justice interact with kosher restrictions? In this episode, join host Erin Ph

Jewish Honor Courts

Mar 9th, 2022 35m 31s

Following World War II, Jewish Honor Courts in Europe and criminal courts in Israel handled accusations of collaboration by Jews who were believed to have assisted the Nazis in some way. These trials were meant to heal communal wounds and rebui

5782: A Shmita Year

Feb 2nd, 2022 21m 28s

We are currently in a sabbath, or shmita year, a biblically-mandated year of rest where fields lay fallow and debts are forgiven. From nearly the beginning, however, shmita has been more of an ideal, rather than a fully-observed year, and any p

Israeli Pop Music

Sep 1st, 2021 44m 24s

The story of Israeli pop music is a story of constant evolution, a reflection of Israel's complex and ever-changing history. From its pre-state origins, to music outside of the mainstream music industry, to its current more cosmopolitan and int

Rethinking Intermarriage

Jul 29th, 2021 19m 25s

For decades, the rate of intermarriage among American Jews has been rising. Among many traditionally-minded Jews and Jewish organizations, the number of Jews marrying outside the faith is cause for concern, calling into question the long-term v

America's First Bat Mitzvah

May 24th, 2021 32m 12s

The first American bat mitzvah took place on March 18, 1922. As the 100th anniversary of this first bat mitzvah nears, guest scholars Carole Balin, Melissa R. Klapper, and Deborah Waxman consider the history of the bat mitzvah and its evolution

The Protocols, Henry Ford, & the International Jew

Mar 11th, 2021 33m 36s

For this episode, we joined forces with Theatre Dybbuk to co-produce a special episode exploring Henry Ford’s publication of The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem, a four volume series containing newspaper articles which were orig

The Jews of Persia

Feb 17th, 2021 30m 50s

If most of what you know about the history of Jews in Persia comes from the Book of Esther, when the wicked Haman (boo!) tried to massacre the Jewish population, you might get the idea that Persia was a place of great danger for Jews. And given

Is There a Jewish Environmental Ethic?

Feb 3rd, 2021 13m 9s

"If you harm the environment, you harm yourself.” This mini-episode of the Adventures in Jewish Studies podcast series asks the question “Is there a Jewish environmental ethic?” Guest scholar Tanhum Yoreh considers the “New Year of the Trees” h

Why American Jews Are Democrats

Oct 26th, 2020 24m 19s

Since the 1930s, around 70% of American Jews have consistently voted Democrat. However, in earlier decades, the Jewish vote was spread widely across the American political spectrum. In this episode, we explore why the overwhelming majority of A

Rethinking Black-Jewish Relations

Sep 8th, 2020 30m 44s

For many people, the narrative about Black-Jewish relations goes something like this: In the 1960s, there was a strong alliance between the two groups, perfectly encapsulated by the image of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Hesc

Camp!

Jul 27th, 2020 30m 27s

Since the 1920s, American Jewish kids have spent many summers at Jewish summer camp. But how and why did sleepaway camp become such a staple of American Jewish life? In this episode we explore the history of American Jewish summer camp and its

The Conversion Episode

Jun 2nd, 2020 26m 36s

On Shavuot, a Jewish holiday celebrating the people of Israel receiving the Torah from God at Mt. Sinai, we the read the Book of Ruth, the story of a Moabite woman, Ruth, who marries an Israelite man and, when he dies, remains loyal to her moth

The History of the Passover Haggadah

Mar 31st, 2020 23m 23s

The Passover Haggadah is among the most popular and fascinating texts in the Jewish liturgy. There's a Haggadah for every for sensibility and persuasion, from those steeped in orthodox tradition to seder celebrants wanting to craft a ritual ref

The World of Jewish Languages

Feb 26th, 2020 29m 6s

This episode of the Adventures in Jewish Studies podcast explores the world of Jewish languages, and features guests Sarah Bunin Benor, Alanna Cooper, and Vitaly Shalem, along with host Jeremy Shere.