PODCAST · religion
Martini Judaism
by Religion News Service
For those who want to be shaken and stirred. Join one of American Judaism’s most prolific thought leaders and his special guests as they talk about the current state of Judaism, American culture, politics, religion, and spirituality.
Episodes
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Dara Horn Has A Final Solution To The Jewish Question
What is the most important story in Judaism? You might think that it is the Exodus from Egypt. Or, even, perhaps, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Nope. The most important story in Judaism is not in the Torah -- though, if it were, it would be somewhere towards the beginning of this week's...
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What Does It Mean To Be Made In God's Image?
For years I believed that the phrase "made in the image of God" had become a pious slogan Jews slap on almost every issue -- a phrase in danger of becoming a cliche. In an article in Commentary, and in my book Tikkun Ha'Am/Repairing Our People: Israel and the Crisis of Liberal Judaism, I asked…
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Is Antisemitism an “Exceptional Hatred?”
In 1977, a man named Frank Collin announced that he planned to march his fellow neo-Nazis through Skokie, Illinois, a Chicago suburb where roughly one in ten residents had survived the death camps. Chicago had already blocked him from marching there, and his history of violence and property…
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The Truth About "Jewish Lightning"
Rabbi Jeff Marx has written a new book, Jewish Firebugs: Arson and Antisemitism from the Civil War to World War I, and he does something almost nobody has tried before. He tells the story behind the charge that Jews deliberately set fires in order to collect insurance money – “Jewish lightning.”…
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The Intellectual Roots of Feminism’s Antisemitism
It turns out that every corner of progressive culture has a price of admission, and Jews are finding it progressively more difficult to pick up that tab. Add feminism to the list. That's the case Kara Jesella makes in her new book, "Feminist Antisemitism: An Intellectual History," which I…
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Is It Time To Retire the Term ‘Zionism’?
View Zionism from one angle, and it is Theodor Herzl, seeking to rescue the Jews of Europe. From another, it is seeking to resurrect Jewish culture. From another, it is a spiritual connection to the Land; from yet another, a socialist utopia. The images change, depending on where you are, and…
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How Do We Confront the Hatred in Rock Music?
Author and musician Daniel Rachel has written a new, disturbing and quite overdue book, "This Ain’t Rock ‘n’ Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich." And I interviewed him about it for my podcast. The book documents something that has been hiding in plain sight for more than 60 years.…
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Europe’s Stained Glass Is Stained With Antisemitism
I have done my share of traveling in Europe, and when I am there, I visit cathedrals. Most are majestic, and they are filled with Christian art that would take a decent docent a decade to unpack for me. I have never been to Brussels, though I would like to visit. And when I am there, I expect to...
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The Lesson Southern Jews Knew First
When I reflect on my rabbinical career, I realize I have spent nearly a third of it south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Yes, that includes about 10 years in South Florida — and lest you see South Florida as a mere extension of Long Island, when I moved to Miami in 1981, it still had traces of an old...
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How To Love Israel, Even When It Is Hard
I was talking recently with a young man about his social life. He described an evening that did not sound like the stuff of romantic legend. The dinner seemed to be going well. The wine flowed, as did the conversation -- with just enough spark to suggest possibility. He leaned into the moment,...
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Why Judy Blume Matters
I had weird reading habits when I was a kid. For one thing, no one ever told me that there were certain books that boys should read, and certain books that girls should read, and that there was a mechitza (a barrier in a traditional synagogue that separates the sexes) between the two of them.…
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Whom Does Your God Love? A Jewish Case for the Stranger. With Shai Held
What does the Torah actually say about immigrants — and what does it demand of us? Rabbi Jeff Salkin sits down with one of the Jewish world's leading theologians, Rabbi Shai Held, to explore the Bible's most repeated commandment: love the ger — the stranger, the sojourner, the immigrant. Held...
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Why a War With Iran Means Confronting Radical Evil
On Purim, Jews read Esther — a story of survival in the face of annihilation. This episode connects that ancient warning to today’s confrontation with Iran. Is this war, self-defense, or tragic necessity? We explore Amalek, radical evil, human rights, and what it means to hold both the sword and...
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How American Jewish immigrants invented childhood
Michael Kimmel’s Playmakers reveals how Jewish immigrants built America’s toy industry—and reshaped modern childhood. From teddy bears to superheroes, they turned outsider grit into imagination, comfort, and cultural revolution. This isn’t just toy history; it’s a story of identity, reinvention,...
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Being a Rabbi in the Midst of an Earthquake + Elan Babchuck
As the ground shifts beneath our feet, where is our faith? For your consideration: Rabbi Elan Babchuck. He is the founding director of Glean Network, an incubator for faith-rooted innovation; the executive vice president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL); Fellow…
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Jews and Hats: A Thousand-Year-Old Love Story
When did Jews start covering their heads? Certainly not in the Bible. The practice emerged during rabbinic times, and not everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Reform Judaism's Wide Open Doors + Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Why Do Jewish? Love, Obligation, and the Courage to Show Up Imagine a familiar conversation in any household across the world. “Do we have to go to the school concert tonight?”There’s no law. No statute. No external requirement. And yet—you go. Why? Because love creates obligation. Not the other...
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Antisemitism Is as American as Apple Pie + Pamela Nadell
Historian Pamela Nadell joins us to confront an unsettling truth: antisemitism didn’t come to America—it was born here. In her powerful new book, Antisemitism: An American Tradition, Nadell traces how hatred of Jews took root in the New World, evolved with the nation itself, and continues to…
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How do you go from hatred to hope? + Arno Michaelis
The Days of Awe are upon us. They always hit me with a familiar, bracing urgency: Look at your life. Consider your words, your choices. Where have you failed? Whom have you harmed? What will it take to begin again? If we’re honest, most of us spend these days trying to clean up the usual messes:...
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The book every Jew should read before the High Holy Days
Former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz on faith, identity, and resilience. What happens when a White House insider turns her attention to Jewish wisdom, identity, and survival in a turbulent age? Rabbi Jeff Salkin sits down with Sarah Hurwitz—former speechwriter for President Obama and First…
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The Scopes "monkey" trial has not adjourned
What if everything you think you know about the Scopes “Monkey Trial” is—well, a little off? Jeff Salkin sits down with Doug Mishkin—lawyer, singer-songwriter, and amateur Scopes trial historian—for a deep dive into Inherit the Wind, the 1960 Hollywood classic that shaped generations of…
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'Have you changed your mind about President Trump?'
The late Arthur Hertzberg was one of American Judaism’s greatest rabbis and intellectual leaders. But he did not start out that way. More than 70 years ago, he was a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. One of his teachers was Mordecai Kaplan, one of American…
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Why Southern Judaism Matters - with Shari Rabin
As we mark Jewish Heritage Month, how do we embrace the heritage of Southern Jews? Ask Shari Rabin, one of the rising stars of Jewish studies in America. She is associate professor of Jewish studies, religion, and history and chair of Jewish studies at Oberlin College. This...
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When Did October 7 Really Begin? A Conversation With Yardena Schwartz
Trigger warning: this episode contains references to sexual violence. October 7 reminds Jews of what happened in Hebron on August 24, 1929. In her book "Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict," Yardena writes: On that morning, 3,000 Muslim men...
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Why Pope Francis mattered for the Jews
Why does the death of the Pope touch me, as a Jew? I cannot think of a Pope who had the depth of relationships with the Jewish community as this Pope had enjoyed. As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he had a close working relationship with the Argentinian Jewish community. His response to the 1994...
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The cafeteria approach to religion isn't only for Catholics
I was talking with a Roman Catholic-raised friend who no longer practices the religion of his youth. At a certain point in the conversation, he snorted about "cafeteria Catholics," which sardonically describes those who adhere to parts of Catholic teachings or practice certain rituals, but…
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Vanessa Hidary is a "bad Jew." That's OK with her.
My friend, Vanessa Hidary. Vanessa Hidary is a cool person. She is a spoken word artist, an educator, and an advocate. She is a trail-blazer. Her work has had a profound impact on both the Jewish community and beyond. Recently, the ADL honored her as a "Hero Against Hate." Vanessa embodies the...
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Do Jews have dual loyalty?
What do Batman and Superman have to do with Jewish identity? Other than the fact that their creators were Jews: Batman by Bob Kane, and Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster? It is more than that. It is about having multiple identities. About a decade ago, I interviewed for a rabbinical...
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When are we allowed to yell at God?
"If God lived in our neighborhood, we'd throw stones through His [sic] windows." I do not know who originally said that, though I think that the original was in Yiddish. But, it's true. And, if you were to ask me whether Jewish worship has a "design flaw," I would say that this is it: almost...
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Bishop Budde was speaking Hebrew
Remember the 10th commandment? "Thou shalt not covet"? This past week, many preachers violated that commandment. They were coveting the sermon Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivered at the National Cathedral during a service the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration, in which she pleaded...
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Amy Spitalnick: How Dangerous is Christian Nationalism?
It happened exactly four years ago. I am speaking of January 6, 2021 -- the attack on the US Capitol Building by supporters of Donald Trump – claiming that President Biden had stolen the election. It was, to quote Bill Kristol, our national day of shame. It was, to borrow FDR’s iconic phrase, a…
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Remembering David Ellenson
Last week, we observed the first yahrzeit (anniversary of a death) of Dr. David Ellenson -- past president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, past provost of that institution, a professor at that institution for a generation – a teacher, a theologian, a historian of Jewish…
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Are Jews God-phobic? With Arnold Eisen
If you encounter someone who wants to talk about God, odds are that person isn't Jewish. Why? I am talking to a friend of mine about his experience on various dating sites. He tells me that from time to time, he will come across a profile that seems promising. And then, right there in the first...
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The Election and the Jews
Rabbi Jeff Salkin sits down with Rabbi Jonah Pesner, one of American Judaism's most prominent voices and the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Together, they dive into the deeply rooted relationship between Judaism, politics, and social justice, exploring why so many Jews...
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Remembering the late Alex Dancyg, a hostage from Warsaw
On Tuesday, July 16, I and a group of rabbis traveled south from Jerusalem — to the Gaza envelope. There, we visited the places that Hamas had ravaged on Oct. 7, 2023. We visited the site of the Nova music festival, where we said kaddish for the young victims. We visited Kibbutz Nir Oz. We walked...
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A Reform Jewish woman and an Orthodox rabbi talk Torah: Abigail Pogrebin & Rabbi Dov Linzer
Two of my favorite people — Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer — who have just written a new book, "It Takes Two To Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses," with a foreword by Mayim Bialik. This is a book about each Torah...
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It's More Than L'chaim: Judaism Is a Celebration of Life. With Rabbi Irving Greenberg
First, this modern Orthodox rabbi was one of the first rabbis to really touch my life and to engage me in what my Protestant colleagues would call “formation.” Rabbi Yitz Greenberg was a congregational rabbi in Riverdale, NY; the founder of the Jewish studies program at City College of New York;...
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When the reverend became a rabbi
We need to take the spiritual journey of Ana Levy-Lyons with the gravity it deserves. Truth be told: There is a shortage of rabbinical students. Jews need rabbis. Levy-Lyons obviously has the human, intellectual and spiritual skills for it. I look forward to welcoming her as a Jew, and certainly…
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A new Jewish denomination: Josh Shapiro-ism
Jews have been living on an emotional roller coaster. In recent weeks, we experienced a welcome "high." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was under serious consideration for vice president on the Democratic ticket. Then, in recent days, for many Jews, a "low" when Josh Shapiro was passed over in…
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Could the White House become a Jewish home?
More than forty years ago, as I prepared to ascend the pulpit for my first High Holy Days sermon as a rabbi, one of the elders of my congregation, dear old Arthur Leibowitz, pulled me aside. “Rabbi,” he said to me, “Preach the Dickens at ’em.” I said to him: “OK, Arthur. Just please don’t have…
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The 39th-Generation Rabbi Who Is Reinventing Judaism: Amichai Lau Lavie
“I am running away to join the circus.” It was 2004, and my synagogue in Atlanta had welcomed Amichai Lau-Lavie as a guest speaker. Amichai had been the founder of Storahtellers, a ritual theater company, which was an innovative approach to presenting Torah in synagogue. He had come to our...
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Is the Eclipse Good For the Jews?
I am experiencing serious FOMO. I am totally bummed that I am going to be out of the range on Monday to watch the solar eclipse. So, let's talk about Judaism and eclipses. Are there eclipses in the Bible? Most likely. It is possible that the plague of darkness during the Exodus from Egypt was a...
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God loves you. Deal with it.
What are the three little words that rabbis almost never, ever, say to their congregations. Hold on, because I am about to say them. God loves you. That is the topic of Rabbi Shai Held's new book, "Judaism Is About Love,"` which is also the topic of today's "Martini Judaism" podcast. Wait a…
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A new poetry, post-Oct. 7
A very intelligent young person once asked me: “When did the Bible stop?” “What do you mean?” I responded. “I mean,” she said, “when did they decide that the Bible was finished? Why can’t we simply add on to it? Why can’t it be like a loose-leaf notebook, where you put things in and take them out...
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We need a post-October 7 Talmud: a conversation with Liel Leibovitz
It is November 10, 1938. It’s in a small city in Germany. It is the night after Kristalnacht, the night of broken glass that ushered in the mass roundups and the killings that would become the Holocaust, what we call the Shoah in Hebrew. There are a group of men shoved together in a cell. They…
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Converts are Jewish. Period.
The other day, I was talking to someone about a friend of mine who had converted to Judaism, a.k.a., joined the Jewish people. My conversation partner stopped me in my tracks. "I don't believe in that," he said. "You can't convert to Judaism. You can't just join the Jewish people. You either are...
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Is the university good for the Jews? With Mark Oppenheimer
Did you ever think, in your wildest imagination, that the events of October 7 would lead to an all out culture war that would involve every sector of American intellectual and academic life? Me neither. And yet, here we are -- with the result that many American Jews are now questioning the role…
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Are American Jews in crisis? A conversation with Professor Jonathan Sarna
“Don’t know much about history…” Those were the immortal words of Sam Cooke. It happens to be true. Many of us don’t know much about history. Just think of the way that we use the word. Someone gets fired from a job, and what do we say? “She’s history.” But, I love history, especially American...
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Why Israel matters: A conversation about the National Library of Israel with Rachel Ukeles
No one ever asks, "Why should India exist?" Or Albania. Or the United States. Or any country in the world. Except for one country: Israel. So, let me make this simple — and overly simplistic. Why does Israel exist? Here are my two R's of Israel. To rescue Jews who are persecuted. To save Jews…
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A Jewish rock star reflects on Oct. 7 + Peter Himmelman
Do you know what it’s like to fall in love? I don’t mean falling in love with a romantic partner. I am talking about the moment of falling in love with a performer — because you know that person gets it and gets you and understands you. That is what happened to me back in 1991, when a friend of...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
For those who want to be shaken and stirred.
Join one of American Judaism’s most prolific thought leaders and his special guests as they talk about the current state of Judaism, American culture, politics, religion, and spirituality.
HOSTED BY
Religion News Service
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How many episodes does Martini Judaism have?
Martini Judaism currently has 75 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Martini Judaism about?
For those who want to be shaken and stirred. Join one of American Judaism’s most prolific thought leaders and his special guests as they talk about the current state of Judaism, American culture, politics, religion, and spirituality.
How often does Martini Judaism release new episodes?
Martini Judaism has 75 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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Martini Judaism is created and hosted by Religion News Service.
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