Adventures in Jewish Studies Podcast

In this episode, join guest scholars Jenna Weissman Joselit, Deborah Dash Moore, and Deborah Waxman, as they explore Reconstructionist Judaism. They chart the rise of the movement, what sets it apart from other theological branches, and how it has influenced the wider American Jewish landscape; then look at where Reconstructionism stands today within a community divided over Israel's and Zionism's role in American Jewish identity.

Think you know everything about Jewish matchmaking from Fiddler on the Roof? Think again! While the beloved musical frames arranged marriage as "tradition" and romantic love as its modern antidote, scholars argue the reality was far more nuanced — and in some ways, exactly the reverse of what the show depicts.

In this episode, guest scholars Naomi Seidman, Elisheva Carlebach, Shulamit Magnus, and Ayala Fader, along with host Jeremy Shere, discuss the history of Jewish matchmaking and matrimony from the early modern period to the present day. Together, they explore how marriage functioned as an economic institution in Ashkenazi Jewish communities, who the matchmakers really were, and the role love played in the process, along with a look at matchmaking in contemporary Hasidic communities, where many of the old traditions live on.

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, this episode explores the roles that Jews played in the American Revolution and the new world of opportunity that opened for them afterward. From merchants who financed and supplied the Patriot cause to the first Jew killed in the American Revolutionary War, guest scholars Jonathan Sarna, Michael Hoberman, and Abby Meyer, along with host Jeremy Shere, explore the lives of colonial Jewish communities.

In this episode, scholars and translators discuss Yiddish popular fiction known as "shund," serialized in Yiddish newspapers around the turn of the 20th century, and consider the gap between this popular, commercial literature and literary fiction. Guest scholars include Jessica Kirzane, Eddy Portnoy, Mikhl Yashinsky, and Saul Noam Zaritt with host Avishay Artsy.

Guest scholar James Loeffler looks at the different forms of anti-Zionism and its overlapping relationship with antisemitism, and considers how the past can remind us that it is possible to have a principled and logical critique against Zionism.

Guest scholar Pamela Nadell talks about antisemitism in America. She looks at how the definition of antisemitism has changed over time, how antisemitism has been always threaded throughout the American Jewish experience, and how this current moment is an explosion of something that had been lying fairly dormant.

Guest scholar Sara Lipton discusses antisemitism in medieval Europe. From the Nazis in the 20th century to current alt-right movements, many of history's and modernity's most prominent antisemitic groups have drawn on beliefs and motifs that first emerged during the Middle Ages. But conspiracies and caricatures didn't emerge overnight – they were a product of centuries-long shifts in political and religious dynamics.

Guest scholar Magda Teter discusses structural antisemitism, or the laws, policies, institutional practices and entrenched norms which single out Jews and discriminate against them. These restrictive practices, which date back to Roman times, have served to remind Jews of their place in society and in religious structures.

Jewish food is no longer confined to what you'd find on a deli menu. Bourekas, shakshuka, adafina, jachnun, and harira have claimed their place on the Jewish dining table right alongside blintzes, cholent, kugel, borscht, and matzoh ball soup.

Join guest scholars Ari Ariel, Hélène Jawhara Piñer, and Noam Sienna, along with host Avishay Artsy as they explore the diverse world of Sephardic Jewish food, where recipes can tell us about immigration, assimilation, memory, identity, the Jewish past and potential futures, and so much more.

Every year on Purim, Jews around the world stage shpiels, or plays, that not only feature people in costumes, but cross-dressing as well. These Purim events have allowed Jews to participate in drag throughout history, and have opened the door for other traditions like cross-casting in theater.

In this episode, we'll hear from scholars Golan Moskowitz and Naomi Seidman, former drag queen Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, and host Erin Phillips about Jewish historical examples of drag, Jewish contributions to the art and culture of drag, and how Jews have used drag to explore trauma, identity, and belonging.

The Jewish life cycle includes rituals and customs to mark major rites of passage – birth, coming of age, marriage and parenthood. Likewise, there are traditions of how to navigate death and mourning, including how to care for the deceased and comfort the living, which is where we find Jewish burial societies.

In this episode, guest scholars Cornelia Aust, Samuel Heilman, and Howard Lupovitch, along with host Avishay Artsy, look at the history of Jewish burial societies, how they have served their communities, and how they continue to evolve today.

In this episode, host Erin Phillips and guest scholars Zachary Baker, Philip Keisman, and Devin E. Naar discuss four Jewish newspapers from across the 19th and 20th centuries. Every detail in their pages provides clues about Jewish life in a particular time and place - from the advertisements in their margins, to letters to the editor, to even the news articles they chose to excerpt from other publications, these newspapers provide scholars with a valuable window into a historical, geographical, and linguistic cross-section of Jewish history.

The quest for a homeland, to journey from bondage and persecution, has been inherent to Jewish history for as long as it's been told. In this episode, join scholars Laura Almagor and Adam Rovner and guest host Devan Schwartz in exploring the Jewish Territorialist Movement. We'll travel back in time and across the globe to explore proposed alternative homelands for the Jewish people – and what these projects teach us about Jewish history and culture to this very day.

In this episode, host Avishay Artsy and guest scholars Noah Feldman, Susannah Heschel, and Shaul Magid consider what makes someone Jewish by asking three questions: What are the Jews exactly? What do Jews believe, and how central is religion to Jewish identity? Where does the Jewish state fit into Jewish identity?

The yarmulke has become an almost universal symbol of Judaism; however, Jews around the world cover their heads and hair in many different ways, including hats, wigs, and scarves. This custom isn't Jewish law, but was developed over centuries as a community norm that continues on in a variety of ways today.

In this episode, guest scholars Eric Silverman and Amy K. Milligan discuss the history and practice of head and hair covering – and what the practices reveal about Jewish experiences of gender, assimilation, and antisemitism.

Images of the styles discussed in this episode are available at http://associationforjewishstudies.org/headcoverings.

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 seek evidence, ask questions, and interpret the past and present.

Host Avinoam Patt asks five different scholars to discuss a source—a poem, a speech, an object—that's been on their mind since the October 7 massacre in southern Israel and in the months of war following it. How did they think about it before October 7, and what has it meant to them since?

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 immigrants fused class and culture to empower generations of garment workers.

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 combating antisemitism.

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 century. These early settlers, who came escaping religious persecution and seeking trade opportunities, reflect how entwined Jews have been in shaping American history. Guest scholars Shari Rabin and Toni Pitock, along with host Erin Phillips, discuss what we know about these early Jewish settlers, why information is limited, and how researchers are working to learn more.

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 physical destination. In this episode, host Erin Phillips and guest scholars Adane Zawdu-Gebyanesh, Chris Silver, and Alexandra Mandelbaum take us on three Jewish pilgrimages as they explore the social and spiritual functions of Jewish pilgrimages and discover common elements that tie all kinds of Jewish pilgrims together.