The Spy and Psalms
This month our first topic is The Spy, a new show starring Sacha Baron Cohen on Netflix. And our second topic is Psalms, or tehillim. How do we approach this mainstay of women’s prayer?
Further reading
The Spy
The real story behind ‘The Spy,’ Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Netflix series by Josefin Dolsten in JTA
The Spy review – Sacha Baron Cohen goes undercover in middling Mossad drama by Stuart Jeffries in The Guardian
Sacha Baron Cohen Plays It Straight—Too Straight—in The Spy by Willa Paskin in Slate
Netflix’s ‘The Spy’ is the First Time I’ve Seen My Sephardi Culture On Screen by Linda Maleh in Hey Alma
Tehillim
Psalms as the ultimate self-help tool by Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub on MyJewishLearning
Endorsements
Zahava endorses Psalm 121 as set to music by Yosef Karduner, and Madeline L’Engle’s young adult series The Austin Family Chronicles, which include a book called The Moon by Night, after a verse in Psalm 121.
Mimi endorses Schitt’s Creek, When Heroes Fly, the text of Elizabeth Warren’s speech on the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, and the work of Jessica Tamar Deutsch.
Tamar endorses Seder HaAvodah by Ishay Ribo and Origin of Yom Kippur: Not Moses, but a Murder in the Temple? By Elon Gilad in Haaretz, Godland by Lyz Lenz.
Apologies and Golda’s Balcony
This month our first topic is apologies. We’re joined by Miriam Steinberg-Egeth, a Jewish advice columnist in Philadelphia to discuss what makes a good apology? What makes a bad apology? As we approach the High Holidays, how are we reflecting on the public and private apologies we want to make and are seeing around us? For our second segment Zahava and Tamar discuss Golda’s Balcony, a Broadway show that is now making the rounds as a film in the Jewish film festival circuit.
Apologies
Inspiration by Rabbi Luban in Country Yossi
Sorrywatch, a website that rates public apologies
The art and science of apologizing by Jacoba Urist in The Atlantic
6 steps of teshuvah by Rabbi Paul Kipnes
Why Won’t You Apologize by Harriet Lerner
Golda’s Balcony
Broadway’s Too-golden Golda Meir by Warren Bass in the New York Times
Endorsements
Zahava endorses the New York Times obituary of Holocaust survivor Eva Kor and the documentary Forgiving Dr. Mengele, which features her; and the surprising Jewishness of the actors playing Petra and Rafael on Jane the Virgin.
Tamar endorses a poster for classrooms about how to apologize, and a twitter thread by Dr. Eve Tuck about how to lead an effective Q&A.
The Rabbinic Pipeline and Holocaust Comparisons
This month our first topic is the rabbinic pipeline. We’re talking to Rabbi Leora Kling-Perkins about her experiences going through the process to get a job as a pulpit rabbi, and about our own experiences being on the other end of the rabbi search process. For our second segment we’re going to be talking about Holocaust comparisons. When, if ever, can and should we invoke the Holocaust in reflecting on current events?
Holocaust comparisons
Holocaust scholars ask DC museum to stop rejecting border camp comparisons by Kate Sullivan on CNN.com
Why Holocaust Comparisons Matter by Kate Cronin-Furman in Slate
Why Holocaust Analogies are Dangerous by Edna Friedberg, United States Holocaust Memoriam Museum
I’m a Jewish historian. Yes, we should call border detention centers “concentration camps.” By Anna Lind-Guzik in Vox
Stop Wasting Time Arguing About Concentration Camps by Cary Pildis in Tablet
A Crime by Any Name by Adam Serwer in The Atlantic
Why we resist Holocaust analogies — and why it’s time to embrace them by Emil Kerenji in The Washington Post
America’s Concentration Camps? hosted by Shereen Marisol Meraji and Adrian Florido for NPR’s Code Switch podcast
A History of American Concentration Camps with Andrea Pitzer hosted by Chris Hayes for NBC’s Why is This Happening? Podcast
Holocaust survivors are dying, but their stories are more relevant than ever, by Deanna Paul in The Washington Post
Endorsements
Mimi endorses Consumed by Flames: Remembering Life in Shlomo Carlebach’s Israeli Moshav, now engulfed in Flames by Shaul Magid in Tablet Mag, and asks for help finding a copy of the Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel’s Tisch CD, which is available to listen to on Zemirot Database.
Zahava endorses Mayyim Hayyim’s Seven Kavanot for Mikveh Preparation
Tamar endorses I Hate Everyone by Naomi Danis, and “Legend has it that the Statue of Liberty is a giant golem, frozen by the Maharal as she held a havdallah candle as high as she wanted her husband to be tall.” from Halakhot you’ve never heard of because they’re false
Women Erased and the Long Shadow of Megadonors
This month on the podcast, we talk to Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll of Chochmat Nashim about the erasure of women in many Jewish publications, a worsening trend. Then, in our second segment, we discuss the influence of megadonors on the Jewish world in the wake of Michael Steinhardt’s #metoo scandal.
Endorsements:
Mimi endorses Uprooted: A Jewish Communal Response to Fertility Journeys, and the videos of Bim Bam, which you can read more about here.
Tamar endorses The Kitchen Haggadah Game 2016 version 3.0 and Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story.
Zahava endorses the Danish TV show Borgen, and this recipe for Unstuffed Cabbage:
- Ingredients:
- 2 medium heads cabbage
- Sauce:
- 46 oz can can tomato juice
- 1 small can tomato sauce
- Ketchup
- 1 can water
- 1 c brown sugar
- 1/4 c lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- raisins (I like golden)
- Meatballs:
- 2 lb ground beef
- 1 1/2 c cooked white rice
- salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
- 2 eggs
- 2 onions, grated
- Cut the cabbage into large shreds and rinse well. (You can just quarter the cabbage if you’re lazier and your crowd will eat large pieces of cabbage.) Combine meatball ingredients and roll into balls. Put sauce ingredients (except raisins) into a large pot. Put cabbage in, followed by meatballs. Cook for 1.5-2 hours, stirring periodically. 1/2 an hour before you’re done, add raisins. Enjoy!
Gender and Jewish burial, and the ticking clock of Jewish life
This month on the podcast we’re talking about Jewish burial and tahara, and how that intersects with questions about gender with Emily Fishman. For our second segment, we’re talking about timebound commandments and how they stress us out.
Further readings
Jewish burial
Taharah & Gender by Emily Fishman (EmFish) in the Jewish Journal
Mimi endorses Michael Solomonov’s 5-Minute Hummus With Quick Tehina Sauce in the Forward, Carmelized Onion and Poppy Seed Hamantaschen in the New York Times, and hamantaschen earrings from Modern Tribe. Zahava recommends International Women’s Talmud Day on May 19th, 2019, and The Kominsky Method on Netflix. Tamar endorses Belonging by Nora Krug, and
This month on the podcast Zahava is back from maternity leave, and we’re talking about what it means to “look Jewish” from Jewish noses to Jewish hair and more. For our second segment we’re talking about being burnt out in your Jewish life. Looking Jewish Your Straight Hair Doesn’t Equal Strength by Esther Breger in the New Republic Jewish burnout Zahava recommends A Jewish Ceremony for Newborn Girls: The Torah’s Covenant Affirmed by Sharon R. Siegel Mimi endorses Bamidbar Wilderness Therapy Tamar endorses Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck .
Looking Jewish, and Jewish Burnout
Further readings
The Myth of the Jewish Nose by Sharrona Pearl in Tablet
What is Jewish Hair? by Leah Berkenwald in Jewish Women, Amplified
Hebrew Mamita by Vanessa Hidary
How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen in BuzzFeed
What is burnout? by the vlogbrothers
How Elie Wiesel Helped Bring Back My Faith in Christianity by Kadee Wirick Smedley in Wisdom Daily
Is Burnout Inevitable? by Lynne M. BaabEndorsements
Shtisel and gender in life cycle events
This month on the podcast Rabbi Annie Lewis is joining us to talk about the Israeli TV show Shtisel, which is now available on Netflix, and making decisions about gender for Jewish baby namings and bar/bat/
Further readings
Shtisel
“Shtisel” — A Charming Look at Jerusalem’s Ultra-Orthodox by Harvey Blume in arts fuse
Gender and Jewish life cycle events
Prayer for Making First Decisions About Gender for a Child by Rabbi David Dunn Bauer on
Endorsements
Mimi endorses
My Heart Awoke – Ani Yeshena – Nevei Kodesh, Song of Songs Kirtan on YouTube
A bat mitzvah girl debuts a new way for blind Jews to participate in an ancient tradition by Michelle Boorstein in the Washington Post
Annie recommends Nipple Confusion by Aly Halpert & Friends
Tara Brach by Tara Brach podcast
Tamar endorses Rabbi Annie Lewis’s speech at the Philadelphia Women’s March
Call Your Girlfriend episode on the Women’s March
Uncovering by Jonathan Friedan
Chanukkah Books and the Forward’s Sexiest Jewish Intellectuals
This month on the podcast Yael Kalman is joining us to talk about Chanukkah books for kids. For our second topic, we’re discussing the Forward’s list of “Sexiest Jewish intellectuals Alive (and one Dead).” Plus, endorsements, and a special round of endorsements in honor of Zahava, who couldn’t join us for the recording this week.
Further reading
Chanukkah books
Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric A. Kimmel and Trina Schart Hyman
The Odd Potato: A Chanukah Story by Eileen Bluestone Sherman
A Hanukkiyah for Dina by Floreva Cohen
One Candle by Eve Bunting
Hanukkah in Alaska by Barbara Brown
Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein by Amanda Peet and Amanda Troyer
The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Hanukkah Money by Sholem Aleichem
Judah Who Always Said “No!”: A Hanukkah Story by Harriet K. Feder
Judah Maccabee Goes to the Doctor by Ann D. Koffsky
Lights: A Fable About Hanukah
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah from Mayim Bialik
Hot Jewish Intellectuals
The Forward’s 2018 Sexiest Jewish Intellectual Alive (And One Dead) Awards by Jenny Singer in the Forward
Announcing The Forward’s Sexiest Jewish Intellectual Award by Jenny Singer in the Forward
The Insanely Fascinating History of Hanukkah Light by David Zvi Kalman in the Forward
Endorsements
Yael endorses the Instant Pot, and the Kosher Instant Pot facebook group. She also recommends watching family videos on Thanksgiving, and the Louis Lewandowksi arrangement of Maoz Tzur (YouTube).
Mimi recommends Can We Talk About This Betsy Johnson Dreidel Purse by Molly Tolsky in alma, and Why Is Most Hanukkah Shit So Ugly: A Round Table By Daci Platt, Hannah Orlansky & Lindi Spalatin in alma. Molly also endorses the Ask the Rabbi plugin for Alexa. Mimi also endorses Zahava’s appearance on the Vox podcast The Impact, in an episode about education funding in Vermont.
Tamar endorses On ‘Bureka Tuesdays,’ They Make Pastries the Way Their Grandmothers Did by Joan Nathan in the New York Times. She also endorses the children’s book Vanilla on His Forehead and Strawberry on His Nose by Meir Shalev (YouTube). And the song Tutim by Hanan Ben Ari.
HIAS, Synagogue security, and Observance
This month on the podcast we’re talking with Rebecca Kirzner the HIAS Campaigns Director of Community Engagement, about the work HIAS does and how it has been dealing with the wake of the shooting at Tree of Life synagogue. We also talked about how synagogues can and should deal with security, and about the play Observance, by Elyssa Nicole Trust.
Further reading
HIAS
HIAS, the Jewish Agency Criticized by the Shooting Suspect, Has a History of Aiding Refugees by Miriam Jordan in the New York Times
A tiny Jewish congregation grapples with security issue by Erika Meitner on CNN.com
Community Safety Pledge from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
After the Tree of Life Attack, Synagogues Seek Balance Between Safety and Openness by Nicole Javorsky on CityLab
Notes From the Field: After a Shul Shooting, Keeping Our Multiracial Jewish Community Safe by Ilana Kaufman in eJewishPhilanthropy
MaNishtana’s facebook post about making Jews of Color feel safe on “Show up for Shabbat”
‘When This Happens, You Get a Wake-up Call’: U.S. Jews Turn to Firearms Training After Pittsburgh Shooting from Reuters in Haaretz
Observance
OBSERVANCE Comes to FringeNYC in Broadway World
‘Observance’: A Touching, Relevant Play About Modern Judaism by Alan Zeitlin in the algemeiner
A ‘Baal Teshuvah’ Takes the Stage by Gabriella Geselowitz in Tablet
Endorsements
Mimi recommends the Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh, and the magazines she reads there: Moment and Lilith. She also recommends the song We Rise by Batya Levine.
Zahava recommends Dahlia Lithwick’s interview with Becca Heller of the International Refugee Assistance Project on the one-year anniversary of the 2016 election (begins at 1:07:00), and the song Besorot Tovot, by Hanan Ben-Ari.
Tamar endorses the song Shnei Meshugaim by Omer Adam, and the poem Poem Without an End by Yehuda Amichai.