Orthodox Conundrum

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Israel's latest election has raised fundamental questions about the future of Religious Zionism. But the real issues go far beyond electoral politics: What should a Jewish state look like? How should religious values influence government policy? What does Religious Zionism envision for the Palestinians, and how should it confront violence committed in the name of settling the land? And what happens when religious ideals collide with political realities?

In this wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversation, marked by serious disagreements and mutual respect, Rabbi Rafi Eis, Dr. Sarah Evron, and Daniel Goldman join me to explore the future of Religious Zionism, including the relationship between religion and state, the future of Judea and Samaria, the Chareidi draft, the growing role of religious women in the IDF, and the moral responsibilities of a Jewish army at war.

The three panelists disagree profoundly on some issues and find surprising common ground on others. Together, they confront questions that matter not only to Israelis, but to anyone who cares about the relationship between Judaism, Zionism, democracy, and the future of the Jewish people.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Hundreds of thousands of Jews live in Yehudah v'Shomron, and the overwhelming majority are law-abiding people who simply want to build their lives in the Land of Israel. But a small minority have engaged in acts of violence against innocent Palestinians, including attacks on olive harvesters, destruction of property, and random violence. And while the perpetrators may be relatively few, the silence of too many religious and communal leaders in the face of these actions raises troubling questions about moral responsibility, religious leadership, and the values we claim to uphold.

What does the Torah demand of Jews who believe that this land is rightfully ours? What happens when rabbis appear to provide halachic justification for robbery, or when religious leaders hesitate to condemn the perpetrators? And does speaking publicly about these incidents undermine the settlement movement, or is silence ultimately more dangerous?

Rabbi David Stav, chairman of Tzohar and a leading Religious Zionist rabbi, joins me for a candid and challenging conversation about Jewish violence in Yehudah v'Shomron, the responsibilities that come with Jewish power, and the moral obligations of those who believe deeply in the Jewish right to the Land of Israel.

Rav Stav is an unapologetic supporter of Jewish settlement in Yehudah v'Shomron. But he makes a striking argument: precisely because he believes that God gave us this land, he believes that our continued presence here depends upon our moral behavior toward those who live alongside us.

It's a conversation about Religious Zionism, the moral demands of the Torah, the responsibilities of rabbinic leadership, and what it truly means to deserve the Land of Israel.

Listen to the new Naaseh weekly podcast!

Each week, host Ari Levisohn, joined by Rav Jeremy Tibbetts or Lazar Berman, starts with a close reading of the Parsha and asks what happens when we try to actually live it - not only in our own lives, but in the communities we create - and the kind of society we're trying to build. Because Torah isn't only meant to describe a better world. It's meant to help us build one. The latest episode of Naaseh is out now. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts , or YouTube.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

What if we've been fundamentally misunderstanding antisemitism? What if the problem isn't simply that people hate Jews, but that powerful individuals and movements have spent centuries convincing people that Jews are responsible for destroying everything they hold dear?

Dr. Dara Horn, acclaimed author of People Love Dead Jews and The Final Solution to the Jewish Question, joins me for a wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversation about Jewish identity, antisemitism, Zionism, and the extraordinary persistence of Jewish civilization. We explore why Jews don't fit neatly into modern categories of religion, ethnicity, or nationality; why antisemitism thrives even among people who believe they're standing up for justice; and why defending ourselves against outrageous accusations may actually reinforce the very lies we're trying to refute.

We also discuss the remarkable connection between Jewish monotheism and resistance to tyranny, the troubling ways Holocaust education can erase the very Jewish civilization the Nazis sought to destroy, and the importance of teaching Jews and non-Jews alike a fuller, more confident account of Jewish history.

Most importantly, Dara offers a different way of thinking about the challenges confronting the Jewish people today: one that replaces defensiveness with curiosity, exposes the manipulation behind antisemitic accusations, and insists that the Jewish story is not merely one of persecution and survival, but of courage, continuity, and an enduring commitment to truth.

Listen to the new Naaseh weekly podcast!

Each week, host Ari Levisohn, joined by Rav Jeremy Tibbetts or Lazar Berman, starts with a close reading of the Parsha and asks what happens when we try to actually live it - not only in our own lives, but in the communities we create - and the kind of society we're trying to build. Because Torah isn't only meant to describe a better world. It's meant to help us build one. The latest episode of Naaseh is out now. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts , or YouTube.

Click here to order Dara Horn's book The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living. Also learn about Dara's new educational initiative, The Tell Institute, by clicking here.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

What happens when honoring your parents comes at a significant emotional cost? When a parent is constantly critical, makes you feel guilty, interferes with your marriage, or refuses to respect your independence, what does the Torah actually require of you? Are you obligated to obey your parents, even when their demands seem unreasonable? Can you establish boundaries without violating kibbud av va'em? And how do you distinguish between the genuine obligations of honoring your parents and the expectations they may impose upon you?

In this episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, a longtime congregational rabbi and licensed clinical social worker, joins me for an important and nuanced conversation about difficult parental relationships. We explore the difference between ordinary parental imperfections and genuinely unhealthy patterns, the proper meaning of boundaries, the sometimes overwhelming power of guilt, and the tension between loyalty to parents and responsibility to one's spouse and children.

We also examine what halacha actually demands, what it doesn't, and how rabbis and therapists can work together to help people navigate these painful situations.

At the heart of our conversation is a question that is deeply personal: How do we honor our parents without surrendering our independence, our emotional health, or the other relationships that matter most?

Listen to the new Naaseh weekly podcast!

Each week, host Ari Levisohn, joined by Rav Jeremy Tibbetts or Lazar Berman, starts with a close reading of the Parsha and asks what happens when we try to actually live it - not only in our own lives, but in the communities we create - and the kind of society we're trying to build. Because Torah isn't only meant to describe a better world. It's meant to help us build one. The Bereishit episode of Naaseh is out now. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts , or YouTube.

Rabbi Rothwachs is the founder of StepAhead Counseling (https://stepaheadcounseling.com/), where he specializes in couples therapy, family relationships, and parental support, integrating evidence-based therapeutic approaches with his extensive experience in rabbinic and pastoral leadership.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

What's the point of God if God doesn't intervene?

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg has spent more than sixty years wrestling with the meaning of faith after the Holocaust, and one of his central claims is that God increasingly expects human beings to take responsibility for the world rather than waiting for divine intervention. But if that's true, what role does God actually play? And what does it mean for covenant, religious obligation, and prayer?

In this conversation, we discuss Rabbi Greenberg's understanding of Judaism as a religion that demands that we "choose life"; why he has significantly revised his famous idea of the "voluntary covenant"; why he believes God's increasing hiddenness represents not divine absence, but a more mature stage in the relationship between God and humanity; and what all of this means for the relationship between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews.

We also discuss one of his more controversial claims: that Christianity may itself be part of God's plan for bringing the biblical message to humanity. And finally, I ask what prayer means in a world where God increasingly leaves the work to us. When we ask God to heal, to provide justice, or to repair what is broken, are we asking God to act, or are we accepting responsibility to act on God's behalf?

This is a wide-ranging conversation about God, Torah, the Holocaust, religious pluralism, Christianity, human responsibility, and what faith means in a world where God may not intervene in the ways that we expect.

Listen to the new Naaseh weekly podcast!

Each week, host Ari Levisohn, joined by Rav Jeremy Tibbetts or Lazar Berman, starts with a close reading of the Parsha and asks what happens when we try to actually live it - not only in our own lives, but in the communities we create - and the kind of society we're trying to build. Because Torah isn't only meant to describe a better world. It's meant to help us build one. The Bereishit episode of Naaseh is out now. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts , or YouTube. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg just released his new two volume set of classic essays, Life Against Death. Listeners to Orthodox Conundrum in the United States and Canada will receive a 40% discount, and a 50% discount for bulk purchases of ten or more copies of the set. Just go to http://jps.org, and include the discount code 6AF26 for a regular purchase, and discount code 6LIFE2V50 for orders of ten copies or more.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

What does it actually mean to make the sukkah our home for seven days? In this special bonus Sukkot episode, I speak once again with Rav Chayim Soloveichik, this time about the practical halachot of sitting in the sukkah: when to say leishev basukkah, which foods require eating in the sukkah, working and sleeping in the sukkah, dealing with heat, rain, and other discomforts, traveling on Chol HaMoed, and much more. Along the way, Rav Chayim explains why the goal isn't simply to determine when we're technically obligated to be in the sukkah, but to embrace one of the most unusual and beautiful mitzvot of the year.

Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism - a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting.

We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more.

All ten episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

As Yom Kippur approaches, we naturally think about what's wrong: our failures, our mistakes, and the ways that we, and the Jewish community as a whole, need to change. Rabbi Judah Mischel challenges us to pay attention to something else as well: the nekudah tovah, the point of goodness in ourselves, in other people, and in the Jewish people. He argues that focusing on what's going right, magnifying it, and building upon it can be a far more effective path toward growth than constantly emphasizing what's wrong.

I find that idea deeply inspiring. But I also struggle with it.

Because sometimes things really are wrong. Sometimes people are hurt. Sometimes communities develop unhealthy patterns that desperately need to change. And if we become so determined to emphasize the good that we hesitate to call out the bad, are we encouraging growth, or are we actually becoming part of the problem?

In this pre-Yom Kippur conversation, Rabbi Judah Mischel and I wrestle with these questions while also discussing the extraordinarily difficult, and extraordinarily hopeful, moment in Jewish history in which we are living. We talk about optimism and realism, judging people favorably, confronting wrongdoing, criticizing communities without condemning them, and how we can work toward meaningful change without losing sight of the tremendous good that already exists.

As we approach Yom Kippur, perhaps the challenge is not to choose between seeing the good and confronting the bad, but to figure out how to do both in a way that actually makes us, and the Jewish community, better.

Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism - a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting.

We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more.

All ten episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Fear can be a powerful religious motivator. It can push us to repent, reinforce commitment to halakha, and help communities maintain standards from one generation to the next. But what happens when fear becomes part of the culture of Orthodox Judaism itself?

As Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur approach, Scott speaks with Rabbi Dr. Judah Goldberg about the anxiety that often accompanies the Yamim Noraim, and about what that anxiety may reveal about Orthodox life throughout the year. They discuss the hidden messages we transmit through education, the role of charismatic religious authority and Daas Torah, whether our fear of losing religious commitment causes us to rely too heavily on fear itself, and what it would mean to build a religious culture grounded instead in love, trust, awe, and a secure relationship with God.

But there is a genuine risk on the other side as well: if we deemphasize fear and stress God's unconditional love, might commitment to halakha suffer?

This is a conversation about much more than how to feel differently on Rosh Hashanah. It's about what motivates Orthodox Jews, what kind of relationship with God our communities are trying to create, and what we might gain, or lose, if we choose trust over fear.

Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism - a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting.

We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more.

All ten episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

The Chareidi draft issue has become one of the most contentious questions in Israeli society, and the established Chareidi political parties have largely presented a united front: protecting the existing system and opposing efforts to draft Chareidi men into the IDF.

But a newly formed Chareidi political party, HaTzibbur HaChareidi, is offering a very different approach.

Its platform says that those who genuinely devote themselves full time to Torah study should be protected and allowed to continue learning, while those who don't should serve the country in some capacity. But the party's challenge to the Chareidi status quo goes well beyond the draft. It argues that many working Chareidim, Chareidim who have served in the army, and those who want greater participation in Israeli society are no longer adequately represented by the existing Chareidi political establishment.

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein is supporting HaTzibbur HaChareidi, and in today's conversation we discuss what this new party stands for and whether it has a realistic chance of changing Chareidi politics. We talk about the draft, who should qualify as a full-time Torah learner, whether yeshiva attendance should be monitored, Chareidi service in the IDF, Daas Torah, government funding, and the relationship between Chareidi society and the State of Israel.

Rabbi Adlerstein describes the party's vision as a "new old Yiddishkeit." The question is whether that vision can offer a genuine alternative to the Chareidi political status quo.

Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism - a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting.

We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more.

All ten episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Rabbi Norman Lamm was one of the towering figures of Modern Orthodoxy in the twentieth century: a brilliant rabbi and orator, a major Jewish thinker, and the longtime president and chancellor of Yeshiva University. But perhaps the most important reason to revisit Rabbi Lamm today is not simply to appreciate what he accomplished, but also to ask what he still has to teach us today.

My guest this week is Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky, Rabbi Lamm's grandson-in-law and a scholar who has spent years studying his writings and working through his extensive personal archives. And our conversation focuses on an idea that Tzvi argues was central to Rabbi Lamm's worldview: what Rabbi Lamm called "passionate moderation."

That phrase can sound almost contradictory. We often associate moderation with compromise, caution, or a reluctance to take a strong stand. Rabbi Lamm meant something very different. His moderation demanded the ability to hold multiple values at once, to recognize complexity without sacrificing conviction, and to combine passionate commitment with intellectual and theological humility.

And that approach feels remarkably relevant right now.

We discuss Rabbi Lamm's Religious Zionism, his "messianic agnosticism," and how that phrase has been misunderstood; his belief that loving Israel does not mean refusing to criticize it; his warnings about extremism and irresponsible rhetoric; his approach to antisemitism and Jewish pride; and his conviction that strong Jewish leadership sometimes requires saying things that your own community does not want to hear.

Underlying all of this is a larger question: What can Rabbi Norman Lamm teach an Orthodox community living in a moment when moderation is often mistaken for weakness, certainty is confused with faith, and complexity can seem almost like a betrayal of principle?

Rabbi Lamm believed that it was possible to be passionate without being extreme, confident without being dogmatic, and deeply committed without pretending that every difficult question has a simple answer. Perhaps that vision of passionate moderation is something we need today more than ever.

Click here to visit The Lamm Legacy online. Rabbi Sinensky's Reasonable Judaism substack is available here, and his daily WhatsApp on Parashat HaShavua, From the Beginning, is linked here.

Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism - a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting.

We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more.

All ten episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Antisemitism in the United States is getting worse. But perhaps just as disturbing is the growing sense that many people no longer recognize antisemitism when it appears, particularly when it is expressed through the language of anti-Zionism, social justice, or supposedly progressive politics.

My guest today, Dr. Logan Levkoff, has experienced this firsthand. After more than two decades teaching sexuality education at the same school, Logan found herself under scrutiny, not because of anything she taught in the classroom, but because some parents discovered that she was an outspoken Zionist. Eventually, she was fired.

That experience serves as a starting point for a much broader conversation about what is happening to Jews in America today. We discuss antisemitism on both the political left and right, increased attempts to distinguish between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and whether American Jews themselves bear some responsibility for failing to teach enough about Jewish peoplehood, Jewish history, and Zionism.

And we spend significant time discussing a word that has become increasingly prominent in our political discourse: Islamophobia. Hatred or discrimination against Muslims simply because they are Muslim is obviously wrong. But what happens when accusations of Islamophobia are used to shut down legitimate criticism of Islamism, political Islam, or particular ideas and political figures? And why, when Jews raise concerns about antisemitism, is Islamophobia so often invoked alongside it, as though the two phenomena must always be discussed together?

This is a conversation about antisemitism, anti-Zionism, the weaponization of the term Islamophobia, and the increasingly difficult challenge of talking honestly about uncomfortable ideas in a world that seems to have lost its appetite for nuance.

Next Sunday at 8 PM Israel time, 1 PM Eastern, I'll be hosting a live Ask Me Anything for Orthodox Conundrum Commentary members. And when I say "anything," I really do mean anything. The Orthodox Conundrum, Orthodoxy, Israel, the IDF, Jewish Coffee House, the sale of the Lakers, the Beatles, the new podcast that Talli Rosenbaum and I just put together, Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, what goes on behind the scenes of the podcasts, or pretty much anything else you're curious about. The questions can be about the weightiest issues facing the Jewish world, or about subjects that are considerably less consequential but still worth talking about.

You can send your questions in advance to scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com, and you'll also be able to ask questions live during the session.

The Q&A is open to all Orthodox Conundrum Commentary members and Patreon supporters. Subscribe at https://scottkahn.substack.com/ today.

Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism - a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting.

We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more.

All ten episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

For many Jews who care deeply about Israel, the past few years have created a painful tension. We know that Israel is routinely judged unfairly, that much of the criticism directed against it ignores the extraordinary circumstances it faces, that many charges leveled against Israel are absolutely false and libelous, and that some of its loudest critics are interested not in changing Israel, but in delegitimizing it altogether. Context matters, and Israel cannot be judged honestly without taking that context seriously.

At the same time, loving Israel does not require us to pretend that Israel always gets everything right, or that every criticism is necessarily unfair. So how do we hold those truths together? How do we defend Israel against accusations that are false or distorted, while remaining willing to confront genuine failures when they occur? And how do we acknowledge disappointment without allowing that disappointment to undermine our commitment to Zionism itself?

Yossi Klein Halevi has spent a lifetime thinking about Israel, Zionism, Jewish identity, and the divisions within Israeli society. In this conversation, we discuss that difficult balancing act, the crisis some Diaspora Jews are experiencing in their relationship with Israel, the changing face of Religious Zionism, and whether a deeply divided Israel can recover a shared sense of purpose and a compelling vision for its future.

Talli Rosenbaum and I have just released Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, powered by Intimate Judaism - a new ten-part podcast series designed to give young Jewish adults the kind of honest, thoughtful and Torah-based guidance about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy that too many of them simply aren't getting.

We talk about emotional intimacy and vulnerability, dating and physical boundaries, attraction and sexual desire, anatomy and sexual response, consent and communication, pornography, love and marriage, niddah and building intimacy within marriage, some of the difficult questions surrounding sexual orientation and Torah, and more.

All ten episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults are available now; just click here to get it on Spotify or Apple.

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.

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Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Many Jewish young adults reach their wedding night with almost no real guidance on intimacy and sexuality. Rabbi Scott Kahn and sex and relationship therapist Talli Rosenbaum open the series by explaining why these conversations need to start years before the chuppah, and what's ahead in the next nine episodes.

The remaining nine episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults will drop this Saturday night, August 8th. Subscribe today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts.

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.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Rabbi Dov Landau, who, along with Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, is considered one of the two main rabbinic voices that guide the Degel HaTorah party, was seen on a video about a week ago saying the following:

"There are wicked people, including those who wear knitted kippot. I am talking about those with knitted kippot who force people to go [to the army]. I would ask them, according to their position - though they have no position, rather according to their foolishness - if the state sends people, soldiers, for the sake of the country's honor, and they kill people, is that also permissible? That is literal murder. Therefore, they are inciting murder - that is what they are doing. They are making wars not for the sake of saving people, just for the honor of the state."

His remarks were so incendiary that even Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned these words - and immediately, Degel HaTorah released a statement defending the words of the rabbi. As quoted by the Jerusalem Post, the party said, "The words of the great Torah scholars are the holy of holies of the people of Israel, and we live by them. Those who do not live the world of the Torah and do not understand the depth of their words, it is better not to rush to interpret them, and certainly not to attack them. Beware of their burning embers."

For people outside of the Chareidi world, and certainly for some within it as well, episodes like this - offensive and hurtful statements that are false, followed by a requisite political demand that the words of certain leading rabbis not be questioned - are reasons that some have given up on the possibility of real change coming from within the Chareidi world. Whether it's regarding army service or integration into the workplace, many people are despairing.

Rabbi Menachem Bombach is different. He grew up in the Chassidic community of Meah Shearim and still identifies with that community, even as he is working from inside to effect real change in the Chareidi world.

In our conversation, Rabbi Bombach explains why meaningful change within the Chareidi world must begin with empathy rather than condemnation, even as he insists that the current trajectory is unsustainable for both Israeli society and the Chareidi community itself. We discuss the challenge of changing deeply ingrained narratives, the responsibility of rabbinic and political leadership, the opportunities and obstacles facing Chareidim who seek greater integration into Israeli society, and why he believes education is the key to preserving the best of the Chareidi world while preparing future generations to contribute more fully to the State of Israel. We also consider what those of us outside the Chareidi community can do to encourage change without deepening the divisions that already exist.

It's an important and timely conversation that touches on some of the most important issues facing the Jewish world today.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

The relationship between Torah and the State of Israel has always been complicated. Israel is the Jewish state, but what exactly does that mean? Should Torah shape public policy? Should religious values be advanced through legislation? Should the government strengthen religious institutions, or does political power inevitably come at a spiritual cost?

These questions are not theoretical. Over the past week, they became front-page news.

Over the course of just a few days, the Knesset passed a Basic Law declaring Torah study to be a fundamental value of the State of Israel. It approved legislation restoring and even expanding the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly over kashrut certification. It passed a law temporarily preventing the arrest of yeshiva students who have not reported for military service. At the same time, the Bnei Brak municipality officially sanctioned two gender-separated public streets. Each of these developments raises its own questions. Taken together, however, they point to something much larger: What kind of Jewish state are we trying to build?

To discuss these issues, I invited Rabbi David Stav back onto the podcast. Rabbi Stav has spent decades thinking about the relationship between halacha, the Chief Rabbinate, Israeli democracy, and the role of religion in the public sphere. He was also a candidate for Chief Rabbi, giving him a unique perspective on these questions.

Our conversation ranges widely. We discuss the new Basic Law and why Rabbi Stav believes it is not a victory for Torah but, rather, a misuse of Torah. We talk about military service and whether Torah learning can exempt someone from sharing the burden of national defense. We examine the renewed centralization of kashrut under the Chief Rabbinate, the proper relationship between religion and state, whether Israel should legislate religious observance at all, and why Rabbi Stav believes that coercion often weakens rather than strengthens Judaism.

Finally, we consider the future. At a time when many Religious Zionists feel politically homeless, can Torah once again become the inheritance of the entire Jewish people rather than the possession of any single political camp? And if so, what would it take to get there?

This is a timely conversation, but I believe its importance extends far beyond this week's headlines. It addresses some of the most fundamental questions about the future of Torah, the future of Israel, and the future of the relationship between them.

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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

This episode was originally recorded before October 7, 2023. At the time, I opened by reflecting on how many of us found it difficult to connect to the mourning of the Three Weeks while living in a strong, vibrant State of Israel. Today, after everything our nation has endured, those words sound very different. We no longer need help understanding national tragedy or longing for redemption.

Even so, I believe this conversation is worth revisiting. The question of ascending Har HaBayit remains one of the most important and controversial issues in the religious Zionist world, particularly during the Three Weeks.

In this episode, Rabbi Danny Myers argues that ascending Har HaBayit is not only halachically permissible but may even be a mitzvah, perhaps even an obligation. Although, as I note both in the episode and in a new introduction, I continue to follow the mainstream halachic position against ascending, Rabbi Myers presents his case thoughtfully, seriously, and with an unmistakable love of Torah, Eretz Yisrael, and the Jewish people.

Whether or not you agree with his conclusions, I think you'll find this to be an engaging and thought-provoking discussion.

To read my article "Walking on the Temple Mount: Why Don't I Do It?" 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

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ - and members get this and other episodes of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast ad-free and with early access and additional bonus content!

Every year, as the Three Weeks begin, the same questions come up. Can I listen to music? Go to a baseball game? Buy new clothes? Shave? Go to movies? Travel?

The answers may surprise you.

In this episode, Rabbi Chayim Soloveichik joins me for a practical discussion of both the meaning and the laws of the Three Weeks and the Nine Days. We begin by exploring the ideas that underlie this period of mourning before turning to the practical halachot, clarifying what is actually prohibited, what isn't, and where different customs exist. Whether you've always wondered about a particular practice or simply want to make sure you're observing these days correctly, this conversation offers a clear, thoughtful, and accessible guide to one of the most significant periods on the Jewish calendar.

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

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Last week on the podcast, Rav Shaya Karlinsky presented the case for broad draft deferments for full-time yeshiva students. This week, we continue that conversation by hearing a very different perspective.

My guest is Rav Menachem Copperman, who argues that military service is not merely a civic responsibility or a practical necessity - although it is certainly those, as well. He believes it is a religious obligation rooted in halachah, Jewish morality, and the Torah's demand that we take responsibility for one another.

In our conversation, we discuss whether Torah study can ever justify exemptions from military service, whether the IDF has done enough to accommodate religious soldiers, the relationship between Torah learning and national responsibility, the meaning of leadership and religious authority in this debate, and what both the Religious Zionist and Haredi communities can learn from one another.

Whether you agree with Rav Copperman or not, he presents a thoughtful, passionate, and deeply Torah-based vision of why he believes more yeshiva students should serve. As with last week's episode, my goal is not to tell you what to think, but to help you better understand one of the most consequential debates facing Israeli society and the Jewish world today.

As always, I hope this conversation challenges you to think more deeply and more carefully about an issue that affects us all.

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.

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The debate over Chareidi military service has become one of the most contentious issues in Israel today. It touches questions of national responsibility, Torah study, religious freedom, political power, social cohesion, and the very nature of the Jewish state. Since October 7, those questions have only become more urgent - and they are at the forefront of the current crisis in both Israeli government and society.

In this episode, I speak with Rav Shaya Karlinsky about how we can resolve the current impasse between much of the Chareidi community and the rest of Israeli society. We talked about the relationship between the Chareidi community and the IDF, the role of full-time Torah study in Israeli society, and what a workable long-term solution might look like. Rav Karlinsky argues that full-time Torah learners should continue receiving deferments, that Chareidim who are not learning full time should serve, and that the state must create and maintain frameworks that genuinely accommodate Chareidi religious commitments.

I suspect many listeners will agree with some of what Rav Karlinsky says and disagree with other parts. I certainly do. But regardless of where one stands, I believe that serious conversations require us to listen carefully to views that challenge our own, and I hope this discussion contributes to that effort.

Among other topics, we discuss whether Israel can maintain a world-class Torah community while meeting its military needs, why distrust has become such a central obstacle in this debate, the future of Chareidi service in both the army and sherut leumi, and what a healthier relationship between different sectors of Israeli society might look like.

This is not a debate. It is an attempt to understand a perspective that is often discussed, frequently criticized, and rarely heard in its fullest form.

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

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 early access and additional bonus content!

Last month on the Orthodox Conundrum, I spoke with several guests about the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. We discussed questions of aliyah, Jewish peoplehood, covenant, sovereignty, and the role of Diaspora communities in an era when most Jews may soon live in the State of Israel.

Today, I'd like to revisit that broader conversation from a very different perspective with my guest, Tanakh educator Yael Leibowitz. Rather than beginning with today's headlines or contemporary debates, she takes us back to the destruction of the First Temple, the Babylonian exile, and the return to Israel. Her argument is that many of the questions we are wrestling with today first emerged more than 2,500 years ago.

How could Judaism survive outside the Land of Israel? Why return if Jewish life could flourish elsewhere? What responsibilities do Jews in the Land and Jews outside the Land owe one another? And what does it mean for a people to maintain both a homeland and a Diaspora at the same time?

Drawing on the books of Yirmiyahu, Yehezkel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and others, Yael shows how exile transformed Jewish life and identity, while also explaining why the Land of Israel remained central to the Jewish story. This is not a conversation about contemporary politics. It is an exploration of the origins of one of the most important debates in Jewish life, and why that debate remains so relevant today.

For more of Yael's writing visit: http://yaelleibowitz.com.

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