Blessings, Curses, and Allies: Who’s Really on Our Side? – with Rori Picker Neiss

With antisemitism and anti-Zionism on the rise, are Jews alone in today’s world, or is that belief a powerful myth actively shaping Jewish identity and relationships for the worse? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Rabba Rori Picker Neiss, Senior Vice President of Jewish Council for Public Affairs, read Parashat Balak to explore how questions of power, fear, and vulnerability shape Jewish relationships. Drawing on biblical text, Talmudic insight, and contemporary Jewish experience, they probe how narratives about allies and enemies are formed, how they can mislead, and what it takes to stay invested in relationships, even when partners tell us what we don’t want to hear and when engagement may carry real risk.   Episode Source Sheet Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more.  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS