Podcast
Chutzpod!
Hosted by Chutzpod! · EN
Chutzpod! is a frank and wide-ranging conversation on how to build a good life, using real-life quandaries and millennia-old Jewish wisdom. Each week, Rabbi Shira Stutman and journalist Hanna Rosin bring a Jewish lens to life's toughest questions, asked by our listeners: Do I offer forgiveness to a friend who refuses to apologize? Am I right to be annoyed at all the service dogs on the plane with me? How do we work to heal this broken world? It's a podcast for people of all or no faiths; Hebrew school truants and proud yeshiva graduates; those who want to be inspired but don't want to schlep to synagogue; basically, anyone trying to live a meaningful life during these trying times. One part advice column, one part reflection on what Judaism teaches on how to build a good life, using real-life stories and ancient wisdom.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
A Whole Lotta Leviticus: Our Traditional (Untraditional) Torah Study for Season 7
Apr 2200:39:28Tap to summarizeIn our Season 7 finale, Hanna again poses as a yeshiva bocher. Shira takes her through a very special double Torah portion: Achrei Mot-Kedoshim Leviticus 16:1–20:27. She talks about why Leviticus is such a grab bag of rules and laws with seemingly no real narrative order, some of the more controversial laws on sex, homosexuality and female impurity and how to view this part of the Torah as a guide to holiness in daily life, especially in a contemporary world that is often too cruel. Read Achrei Mot-KedoshimSupport Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →Ol' Dirty Money
Apr 1500:37:34Tap to summarizeWhat does Judaism say about accepting “dirty” money? A listener has been watching the online debate about how her alma mater should handle money from a prominent donor associated with Jeffery Epstein. She asks how does Jewish tradition handle this moral predicament? And at what point are institutions complicit spiritually and ethically when they accept tainted funds?Rabbi Shira and Hanna talk about when tzedakah becomes murky and how to be accountable morally and practically. Listen to Responsa Radio’s “Can Nonprofits Accept Money from Crooks?”Read about accepting and using stolen moneyRead about using a stolen lulavRead Rabbi Sharon Brous’ sermon on the stolen beamSupport Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →Bubbemeises
Apr 800:37:36Tap to summarizeIs covering your mirrors during shiva a superstition or Jewish law? What about breaking the glass at a wedding? Tashlich? Rabbi Shira and Hanna discuss the ideas of Jewish luck and bad luck and where they fit into law and tradition. And they welcome a VERY special guest – Hanna’s mother Miriam. Her sister has had a string of bad accidents and she wants to know if changing her mezuzah will ward off future health scares. Read more on Jewish superstitionsMezuzah 101Check your mezuzah Support Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →Practically Kosher
Apr 100:45:57Tap to summarizeIs it Kosher to question Kashrut?A listener writes, “Why do Jews have Kosher rules? And how would you suggest a previously unobservant Jew approach Kashrut, if at all?”Rabbi Shira admits that teaching the laws of kashrut is one of the hardest things she has to do as a rabbi. She does her best to make sense of it all and gives her best pitch for a mindfulness-based Jewish eating practice.FAQ about Kosher lawsRead more about keeping Kosher in a non-Kosher worldRead Maimonides' commentary on the laws of KashrutGrow and BeholdSupport Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →A Sober Seder
Mar 2500:32:12Tap to summarizeWine is central to Jewish ritual, but what if drinking isn’t safe for you? A listener in recovery dreads what used to be his favorite holiday, Passover. He writes that he dreads all the wine talk and dreads having to explain why he's opting out. He asks, "Can I skip the Seder this year?"Rabbi Shira and Hanna are joined by Rabbi Sue Reinhold of the Torah of Recovery to explore why wine matters, how Judaism understands both joy and danger in drinking, the stigma around addiction in Jewish communities and practical ways to participate, or not.Contact Rabbi Sue ReinholdStudy Torah of RecoveryFind a SederRead about addiction in the TorahRead about free will in the Torah, Free Will, by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Support Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →Can’t We Just Have a Happy Passover?
Mar 1800:41:06Tap to summarizeWith the world feeling particularly heavy, Rabbi Shira and Hanna wonder if, in addition to moments of anger and resistance, they can find a way to bring joy into this year’s Passover Seder. They’re joined by Rav Jericho Vincent, the founding rabbi of Temple of the Stranger, a growing mystical Jewish community in Brooklyn, NY. Listen to Jericho’s podcast Survival Guide for a Spiritual WildernessRead Jericho’s substackRead Jericho’s scholarship on the Torah of MiriamWatch Debbie Friedman's "Miriam's Song" arranged/produced by Daniel Raijman Support Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →Hey A**hole
Mar 1100:43:17Tap to summarizeAfter a listener misgenders someone at synagogue, a torrent of feelings, recriminations and emails ensue, leading one congregant to email another with the subject “Hey Asshole.”Rabbi Shira and Hanna welcome Rabbi Lily Solochek of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London, whose work focuses on creating inclusive Jewish communities, especially for queer and trans people and families. Visit The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in LondonLearn more about Rabbi Lily SolochekRead about Joseph's ornamented coat Read about Sarah as a tumtumSupport Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →Is Vanity Fair?
Mar 400:38:07Tap to summarizeIs Botox kosher?What about filler, extensions or hair dye? Can a good Jew be too vain? And does Judaism value beauty? A listener reaches out for help when her two daughters are horrified to discover their feminist mom has a secret desire for luxurious lashes. Rabbi Shira and Hanna help her navigate personal vanity, Jewish values and 21st century parenting. And they reveal their own insecurities and zoom primping rituals. Read more about Joseph & beauty in the TorahRead more about hospitality, vanity and beautySupport Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →The Psychedelic Experience...on Purim
Feb 2500:40:33Tap to summarizeWe’re back for Season 7!Purim is a time to reveal the hidden, unmask your shadow self and, perhaps, get super sloshed. But a listener wonders about having a psychedelic experience on Purim.Rabbi Shira and Hanna get advice from Rabbi Zac Kamenetz, the founder of Shefa, an organization working to integrate safe and supported psychedelic use into the Jewish spiritual tradition.Learn more about ShefaRead about the shadow selfSupport Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →Coming Soon...Chutzpod Season 7!
Jan 2800:01:00Tap to summarizeChutzpod is coming back with new episodes and new real-life questions February 25th!Rabbi Shira and Hanna will talk about using psychedelics on Purim, whether it’s ok to be vain and how synagogues can be more inclusive to trans members. Subscribe to automatically get all new episodes. And submit your own questions to be featured on an episode!Support Chutzpod!Submit a questionContact Chutzpod!Subscribe to ChutzstackFollow Hanna on InstagramFollow Shira on InstagramFollow Shira on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on FacebookFollow Chutzpod on Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Transcribe →