Podcast
Orthodox Conundrum
Hosted by Scott Kahn · EN
The Orthodox Conundrum is a forum in which we look honestly at the Orthodox Jewish community, identifying what works well and what does not, so that, through an honest accounting, we can find solutions that will be successful. We will examine some of the major issues that affect the Orthodox world, without exaggeration, whitewashing, or pretending that they don't exist. Our hope is that the Orthodox Conundrum will spark wider discussion that will enable Orthodox Judaism to continue moving forward in the areas at which it excels, and to rectify the areas that need improvement.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
"Better an Apikores Than an Am Haaretz": Rav Meni Even-Israel on Rav Steinsaltz's Vision (292)
May 2501:05:36Tap to summarizeCheck 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 early access and additional bonus content! Most people know Rav Adin Steinsaltz as the scholar who transformed access to the Talmud. But beneath the translations, commentaries, and publishing projects was a much larger, richer, and more complicated vision of Judaism itself. In this episode, I speak with Rav Meni Even-Israel, Rav Steinsaltz's son and the director of the Steinsaltz Center, about the worldview that animated his father's life and work. Rav Steinsaltz believed Torah should produce intellectually serious, spiritually alive, deeply curious human beings who were unafraid of complexity, unafraid of difficult questions, and unafraid of the broader world. He resisted a Judaism that was narrow, insulated, or intellectually fragile. At the same time, he was deeply committed to tradition, profoundly shaped by Chassidut, and fiercely loyal to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. That creates a fascinating tension running through this conversation. How did someone so intellectually independent accept the authority of a rebbe? How did he reconcile Rambam-style rationalism with deep immersion in mysticism? Why did he believe broad knowledge and curiosity were religious necessities rather than spiritual threats? And what happens to a Torah revolution when the revolutionary himself is gone? One especially revealing part of our discussion centers on Rav Meni's own battle with cancer as a teenager, and the way Rav Steinsaltz navigated medical expertise alongside the guidance of the Rebbe. The story captures something essential about him: he was neither blindly submissive nor dismissively skeptical; instead, he attempted to hold together scientific judgment, spiritual intuition, and religious trust without compromising or undermining any one of them. We also discuss Rav Steinsaltz's belief that Judaism should never become boxed in or one-dimensional, but should instead cultivate curiosity, intellectual depth, spirituality, and genuine personal ownership of Torah. 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
Transcribe →
How Do Non-Religious Jews Participate in the Jewish Covenant? Rabbi Dr. Judah Goldberg on Brit Avot and Brit Sinai (291)
May 1801:18:16Tap to summarizeCheck 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 early access and additional bonus content! For many Orthodox Jews, Judaism is ultimately defined by Torah and halakha. We received the Torah at Har Sinai, and from that moment onward, Jewish life became a life of mitzvot, obligation, and commandedness. But what about everything that came before Sinai? What about the covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov? What about Jewish peoplehood, responsibility for other Jews, the Land of Israel, ethical mission, and the sense of belonging to a shared Jewish destiny? And perhaps most provocatively: what does all of this mean for the way religious Jews relate to nonreligious Jews today? In this episode, Rabbi Dr. Judah Goldberg argues that Brit Sinai did not erase Brit Avot. The covenant of Torah stands at the center of Judaism, but it exists alongside an earlier covenant that still shapes Jewish life and Jewish obligation. Drawing on Rav Soloveitchik and Rabbi Walter Wurzburger, Dr. Goldberg explains why covenantal responsibility cannot be reduced entirely to halakhic categories, and why Jewish destiny, Jewish nationhood, and commitment to the Jewish people possess real significance even beyond formal observance. That raises difficult and controversial questions. Can secular Zionism contain authentic religious value? Is there spiritual significance in Jewish solidarity even outside full halakhic commitment? And if covenantal values exist alongside halakha, how do we prevent Judaism from becoming untethered from Torah itself? As Shavuot approaches, this conversation explores how Torah, covenant, peoplehood, and Jewish destiny intersect, and what that might mean for the relationship between religious and nonreligious Jews in the modern Jewish world. To listen to Dr. Goldberg's series, Before Sinai: Jewish Values and Jewish Law, click here. 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
Transcribe →
Are Jewish Communities Outside Israel Meant to End? A Conversation with Dr. Malka Simkovich and Rabbanit Atara Eis (290)
May 1201:13:51Tap to summarizeCheck 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 early access and additional bonus content! For generations, religious Jews prayed for a return to Zion. Today, for the first time in nearly two thousand years, there is a sovereign Jewish state, most Jews may soon live there, and millions of Jews around the world have the practical ability to move there if they choose. That reality raises profound questions that previous generations could barely imagine. What does it mean to be a fully realized Jewish community outside the land of Israel in an age of Jewish sovereignty? Is Jewish life in the diaspora inherently incomplete, or can it possess its own enduring religious integrity? Does affirming the centrality of Israel require seeing Jewish communities abroad as temporary, marginal, or even destined to disappear? Or is there a way to embrace a deep Zionism without negating the legitimacy of Jewish life outside Israel? Perhaps all of the above can be true: diaspora communities may be seen as temporary without losing their religious legitimacy. These questions have become increasingly urgent since October 7th, as Jews around the world have wrestled with issues of solidarity, responsibility, sacrifice, destiny, and identity. They also touch on larger questions about messianism, exile, religious authenticity, and the relationship between ideals and lived reality. To explore these issues, I'm joined by two thoughtful and deeply committed Zionist thinkers who approach these questions from different perspectives: Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich, Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Publication Society and author of Letters From Home: The Creation of Diaspora in Jewish Antiquity, and Rabbanit Atara Eis, Dean of Nishmat and a leading educator in the Religious Zionist world. This is a conversation about Israel, the diaspora, and the future of the Jewish people - but also about how Orthodoxy speaks about aspiration, belonging, sacrifice, and the tensions that serious religious life sometimes demands. 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
Transcribe →