Talking in Shul

Intelligent Jewish Conversations


Talking In Shul Ep. 95: The Book of V

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This month we’re joined by Rabbi Shani (pronounced Shah-Knee) 

Rosenbaum also in Somerville, MA. Shani is a teacher of Talmud and Halakhah at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Newton, Mass. Welcome, Shani! 

This month we’re talking about The Book of V. by Anna Solomon. 

NYT review by Jennifer Haigh: “The Book of V.” is a meditation on female power and powerlessness, the stories told about women and the ones we tell about and to ourselves.

Other Book of Esther retellings that Tamar recommends:
Good for the Jews by Debra Spark

The Gilded Chamber by Rebecca Kohn

Queen Vashti’s Comfy Pants by Leah Rachel Berkowitz

Endorsements:

Zahava endorses the poem “Heavy,” by Mary Oliver

Mimi endorses 

Shani endorses Dirshuni (English edition here, Hebrew here and free on Sefaria here)

The Party Upstairs by Lee Conell

Tamar endorses A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall
Unapologetic: The Third Narrative Podcast
Yedid Nefesh haggadah by Rabbi Joshua Cahan

Talking In Shul Ep. 94: The Tunnels Under 770

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Hello! and welcome to Talking in Shul, a roundtable podcast. I’m your host, Tamar Fox, and I’ve got Zahava Stadler joining us from Toronto. Hi Zahava! And Mimi Lewis is joining us from Somerville, MA. Hi Mimi! And this month we’re joined by Hannah Lebovits, Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington. Hannah is joining us from Dallas, TX. Welcome Hannah!

This month we’re talking about the tunnels under 770, Chabad headquarters, and how headlines about this story have helped and hurt.

A few different takes on the story:

So why were those yeshiva students digging a tunnel at Chabad headquarters by By Beth Harpaz Louis Keene in the Forward

The controversial tunnel at Chabad’s Brooklyn headquarters, explained by Luke Tress in JTA

Endorsements:

Zahava endorses the Noctis Magicae trilogy by Jewish Torontonian Sylvia Izzo Hunter

Mimi endorses sponsoring kiddush and calling it a birthday party and Rancho Gordo beans as Chanukkah gifts.

Hannah endorses giving warm socks to unhoused people in your community.

Tamar endorses In Memoriam by Alice Winn, and learning more about Siegfried Sassoon.

Talking In Shul Ep. 93: Deep Dive into Jewish Poetry

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This month we’re joined by special guest, Hila Ratzabi. Hila has joined us in the past to discuss Etty Hillesum. Hila is a poet, writer, and editor whose book of poems, There Are Still Woods was published by June Road Press in September 2022, and won a 2023 gold Nautilus Award and was a finalist for a National Indie Excellence Award. 

This month we’re talking about Jewish poetry. 

Poetry

Louise Gluck (obituary & JTA obituary)

1. Memoir

2. A Fable

3. “Abishag

4. “A Fantasy” 

Linda Pastan (obituary)

1. The Cossacks

2. “A Short History of Judaic Thought in the Twentieth Century”

3. “Mosaic”

Alicia Ostriker–not dead!

1. The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog

2. “What is Needed After Food” 

Endorsements

Mimi endorses Mike Birbiglia’s special “The Old Man and the Pool” on Netflix 

Zahava endorses the PJ Library podcast Afternoons with Mimi, which is here on Spotify and here on Apple Podcasts
Hila endorses: 

WTF MUSE – pro-human anti-robot gifts for the writer in your life

From Darkness to Light: Poetry in Celebration of Hanukkah, Dec. 14th, 8:30pm EST

June Road Press Winter Solstice Poetry Celebration, Dec. 19th, 8:00pm ESTTamar endorses stick um candle adhesive, and Poetry Thursdays.

Talking In Shul Ep. 92: Little Bird

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This month we’re talking about the television show Little Bird, available on PBS, and CBC. Created by Jennifer Podemski and Hannah Moscovitch with the participation of Jeremy Podeswa as an executive producer, the series centres on a First Nations woman who was adopted into a Jewish family during the Sixties Scoop, as she attempts to reconnect with her birth family and heritage.

Further reading:

In PBS Series ‘Little Bird,’ a Jewish Woman Uncovers Her Traumatic Indigenous Past” by Shira Li Bartov on JTA

New Series Tells Story of Sixties Scoop Survivor Learning About Her Past” by Louise BigEagle on CBC News

Endorsements

Zahava recommends the show Little Mosque on the Prairie

Tamar recommends the show Reservation Dogs on hulu, and Torn Apart by Dorothy Roberts

Talking In Shul Ep. 91: Jewish Joy

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This month we’re doing kind of an unusual episode. Given how hard things have been for everyone since the events of October 7th, and the ongoing war in Gaza, we wanted to talk about things that are bringing us some Jewish joy. 

Mimi’s Jewish joy

My daughter entering shul shouting “Amen!” 

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld 

“Singing Through Fear,” a Spotify playlist from Hadar’s Rising Song Institute. 

Zahava’s Jewish joy

The website Pulling At Threads, a project by Annabel Gottfried Cohen that looks at “forgotten rituals of Eastern European Jewish women”

The Articles of Interest podcast (and stay tuned for a future episode on modesty, including an interview with Zahava

For Heaven’s Sake: Israel at War (a podcast from the Sholom Hartman Institute)

Calming views of the world at https://www.window-swap.com/

Tamar’s Jewish joy

Double Mitzvah by Erica Dequaya (email tamar.fox@gmail.com if you’d like to read this story)

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee

The Postcard by Anne Berest

Love Syndrome episode of Israel Story

Til Kingdom Come documentary

Babka, bagels, and making Jewish foodCouples therapy, all seasons but especially the most recent season

Talking In Shul Ep. 90: Talking About Kiddush

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Hello! and welcome to Talking in Shul, a roundtable podcast. I’m your host, Tamar Fox, and I’ve got Zahava Stadler joining us from Toronto. Hi Zahava! Mimi Lewis is taking a break this month, but we’re thrilled to welcome past and future guest Yael Kalman, who is joining us from Minneapolis. Hi Yael!

This month we’re talking about Kiddush. Not the blessing you saw before drinking wine, but the experience you have at a religious event on Shabbat. I personally have learned that I have super strong feelings about kiddush, both the food and the social experience, and I’m excited to unpack them together.   

So let’s start with the evolution of kiddush. What do you remember about kiddush when you were a kid? And what do you expect from kiddush now?

  • Kiddush as the central social element of shul
  • Kiddush as community service (ie isn’t it fundamentally there for people who might not make kiddush at home?)
  • Kiddush as personal celebration 
  • Kiddush clubs
  • Good and bad kiddush food
  • Alcohol at shul generally
  • kiddush as social marker/status signifier (for personal celebrations and also as signifier of communal wealth)
  • Kiddush evolution over Covid 
  • Kiddush evolution over time (ie from herring & crackers to new norms)
  • Meat kiddush 
  • Kids’ experience of kiddush 
  • Kiddush as a time to help those who need physical help
  • Kiddush – challenging for introverts 
  • Kiddush as reflection of social values (eg food waste, composting, listing allergens)

Endorsements

Yael endorses having a weekly scheduled family/social business meeting to plan Shabbat meals and other social plans. 

Zahava endorses The Immortal Mel Brooks” in The Atlantic and the Gatecrashers podcast from Tablet.

Tamar endorses the Yenta podcast and the comedy of Raye Schiller

Thanks for listening, and thanks to Jordan Daniel Mills for editing our show! If you have a minute, please leave a review for us on Apple podcasts or let us know what you’d like us to discuss on a future episode. You can leave a comment on a post on our facebook page (search for Jewish Public Media) or on our website–jpmedia.co, choose Talking in Shul from the list of podcasts. You can also donate to jewish Public Media at jpmedia.co, which is a great way to support our show and ensure that we’re able to bring you new episodes. 

See you next month!

Talking In Shul Ep. 89: Passover Favorites

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This month we’re talking about Passover, talking about our favorite rituals, texts, foods, and more. 

Passover favorites

Ritual

Mimi: Hallel (when it happens!) and washing each others hands

Zahava: Reciting the entire Hagaddah out loud, in unison, with my family

Tamar: Making pickles the night before the holiday begins


Text

Tamar: Letter to My Old Master by Jourdan Anderson, Praise the Contrary and its Defenders by Sue Swartz

Zahava- Rabbi S.R. Hirsch’s commentary on Exodus 1 (selections), which you can find in Zahava’s custom Hagaddah for this year on p. 13

Mimi- “And It Came to Pass at Midnight” and an explanation of miracles performed at midnight which I happened to randomly find online here.  

Food 

Tamar – Passover Cookie Cake from Molly Yeh 

Zahava- Apple Matzah Kugel (and you can find the almond cookie recipe we mentioned in our show notes from a very old episode)

Mimi – Yeminite Charoset and deviled eggs

Wildcard

Zahava- Using the Omer to revive a neglected resolution or daily practice

Mimi- Step outside at some point in your seder!

Tamar- Pouring wine from the ten plagues into the toilet, and everyone pouring some wine from their cup into Elijah’s cup to symbolize how we all have to contribute to the redemption

Endorsements

Mimi endorses “The Passover Seder: What to Expect” from BimBam 

Zahava endorses “Watching my Friend Pretend Her Heart Isn’t Breaking,” a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Tamar endorses – Being Heumann by Judy Heumann, Crip Camp featuring Judy Heumann, Drunk History – Judith Heumann’s Fight for Disability Rights (feat. Ali Stroker)

Talking In Shul Ep. 88: Jewish Influencers

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This month we’re talking about Jewish influencers. What/how are the influencing us, and what trends do we see and like or dislike?

“Influencer” can feel like a very shallow field–one that’s obsessed with trends and how things look to attract likes, views, followers. So what happens when influencers are speaking from a Jewish space?

Raizy Fried

Rosh Hashana Tablescape 

The Power of Femininity

Mommy Burnout

Raizy Fried’s New “INSPIRED LIVING” Platform Takes the Jewish World by Storm, with Much Needed Torah Based Girl Talk in Digital Journal

Bohemian Balabusta

3 Tips for Getting to Know Yourself

Yaffa Palti

Is TYH the New LOL

Connect Better as a Wife and Mother

Non Jewish Nanny

Tznius posing

Jewish board games

Moses and Zippora

A Jewish Approach to Anxiety

GRWM Shopping with a wig

Orthodox Jewish woman’s livestream goes viral after man exposes himself by Noa Rosen in the Jerusalem Post

Endorsements

Mimi endorses the app SongShift for shifting music from Spotify to Apple Music (or vice versa!).

Zahava endorses “Monuments to the Unthinkable” by Clint Smith in the Atlantic and the illustrated version of What a Wonderful World, by Tim Hopgood.

Tamar endorses Shabbos Yerushalayim by Yerachmiel Begun and the Miami Boys Choir

Talking In Shul Ep. 87: Good Shabbat Programming for Kids

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This month we’re talking about how we prioritize kid services and programming versus our own communal needs. What is our ideal, and what we have we seen that didn’t work for us.

Endorsements

Mimi endorses Kapelya, an album of women singing Hasidic melodies soon to be released by the artist RAZA, watching the Klimovitcher Nigun recording on YouTube, and Yerba Buena: A Novel by Nina LaCour.

Zahava endorses Growing Each Day by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski and Orthodox Jews and “Tikkun Olam” by Rav Moshe Taragin in the Jerusalem PostTamar endorses the Hanukkah Erotica Book Club podcast, and the book Search by Michelle Huneven.

Talking In Shul Ep. 86: Jewish at Work

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This month we’re talking about being Jewish at work. 

How do we explain and present ourselves as Jews at a Jewish workplace, or a non-Jewish workplace?

1 in 4 hiring managers say they’re less likely to hire Jewish applicants by Kathryn Moody in HR Dive

Zahava’s short twitter thread about a work conversation after the Tree of Life shooting.

Endorsements

Mimi endorses There Are Lots of Jews in Hollywood. Let a Rabbi Explain Why by Jay Michaelson and Shir L’Shabbat by Debbie Brukman

Zahava endorses Lady Justice by Dahlia Lithwick

Tamar endorses Promised Land by Rose Lerner, and the Personal Emergency and Tough Times Guide and the Patient on Hulu.