PODCAST · religion
Orthodox Conundrum
by Scott Kahn
The Orthodox Conundrum is a forum in which we look honestly at the Orthodox Jewish community, identifying what works well and what does not, so that, through an honest accounting, we can find solutions that will be successful. We will examine some of the major issues that affect the Orthodox world, without exaggeration, whitewashing, or pretending that they don't exist. Our hope is that the Orthodox Conundrum will spark wider discussion that will enable Orthodox Judaism to continue moving forward in the areas at which it excels, and to rectify the areas that need improvement.
Episodes
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Honoring Difficult Parents: Boundaries, Guilt, and Kibud Av Va'Em, with Rabbi Larry Rothwachs (307)
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...
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What's the Point of God If God Doesn't Intervene? With Rabbi Yitz Greenberg (306)
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...
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Living in the Sukkah: What Halacha Really Requires, with Rav Chayim Soloveichik (BONUS EPISODE)
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...
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Emphasizing the Good: A Solution or Part of the Problem? A Conversation with Rabbi Judah Mischel (305)
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...
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Does Orthodox Judaism Have a Fear Problem? Rethinking Religious Anxiety Before Rosh Hashanah, with Rabbi Dr. Judah Goldberg (304)
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...
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A New Chareidi Party Challenges the Status Quo: The Draft, Daas Torah, and Israeli Society, with Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein (303)
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…
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Passionate Moderation in an Age of Extremism: Rabbi Norman Lamm's Message for Today, with Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky (302)
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...
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Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and the Weaponization of Islamophobia, with Dr. Logan Levkoff (301)
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…
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Loving Israel When Israel Disappoints You: Yossi Klein Halevi on Zionism, Criticism, and Hope (300)
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…
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Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults, Powered by Intimate Judaism: An Introduction
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…
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Can the Chareidi Story Be Rewritten... Or Is It Too Late? A Conversation With Rabbi Menachem Bombach (299)
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...
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When Torah Becomes Politics: Rav David Stav on Israel's Religious Crisis (298)
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...
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Ascending the Temple Mount, and Finding Meaning During the Three Weeks, with Rabbi Danny Myers (CLASSIC EPISODE)
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…
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What You Really Need to Know About the Three Weeks and the Nine Days, with Rabbi Chayim Soloveichik (297)
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...
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Should Yeshiva Students Serve in the IDF? The Torah Case for Saying Yes, with Rabbi Menachem Copperman (296)
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! Last week on the podcast, Rav…
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The Chareidi Draft Debate: Is Common Ground Possible? with Rav Shaya Karlinsky (295)
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 debate over Chareidi military...
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Why Return to Israel If Judaism Can Thrive Anywhere? Lessons from the First Exile, with Yael Leibowitz (294)
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…
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Intimacy in an Age of Anxiety and Uncertainty: How Chronic Stress Changes Relationships (CO-RELEASE WITH INTIMATE JUDAISM)
Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/! Instead of a regular episode of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast, we're releasing a new episode of Intimate Judaism, which is dropping on that channel today, as well. We...
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Is the Rabbinate Protecting Torah... or Protecting Itself? Rabbi Seth Farber on the Women's Exam Controversy, Power, and the Future of Religious Authority in Israel (293)
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! Three women recently took...
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"Better an Apikores Than an Am Haaretz": Rav Meni Even-Israel on Rav Steinsaltz's Vision (292)
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! Most people know Rav Adin...
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How Do Non-Religious Jews Participate in the Jewish Covenant? Rabbi Dr. Judah Goldberg on Brit Avot and Brit Sinai (291)
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! For many Orthodox Jews,...
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Are Jewish Communities Outside Israel Meant to End? A Conversation with Dr. Malka Simkovich and Rabbanit Atara Eis (290)
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! For generations…
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Why Good Intentions About Aliyah Often Backfire, with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg (289)
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! Why do some of our most...
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What Happened to Religious Zionist Discourse? Power, Morality, and the Language of War (288)
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! I'm joined by Rabbi Zach...
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Can We Still Believe in God Today? The Problem with How We Talk About Faith, with Rav Simi Lerner (287)
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! When people talk about...
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What Is a Seruv? Understanding Get Refusal and the Jewish Divorce Process (286)
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! Today's episode deals…
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The Most Commonly Asked Questions About Hilchot Pesach, with Rav Chayim Soloveichik (Orthodox Conundrum Classic)
As Jewish people across the globe prepare for Pesach, we're pleased to re-release this classic episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, originally published in March, 2023. More than any other Jewish holiday, Pesach is associated with questions. That's obviously true for the Seder, but it's also true...
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Ways to Make the Seder Matter: Being Your Authentic Self (Crossover episode with Stream of Dreamearly)
This week's episode is a little different. Instead of our usual format, I'm sharing a conversation where I'm the guest on Alana Gelnick's excellent Stream of Dreamearly podcast, in an episode entitled Ways to Make the Seder Matter: Being Your Authentic Self. As we prepare for Pesach, this...
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One People, Two Realities: Israeli and American Jews in Tension (285)
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! In the wake of war, many...
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How Would Pharaoh Read the Haggadah? with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (284)
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! What if the story we tell...
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Anxiety Isn't the Enemy: A Jewish Way to Live - and Thrive - With Uncertainty, with Dr. David Rosmarin (283)
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! Over the past few years,...
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How Should a Religious Community Respond to Its Own Extremists? With Rabbi Yitzchak Blau (282)
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! When disturbing stories...
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Super Bowl Ads Under the Microscope: A Torah Look at America's Biggest Commercial Break, with Rabbi Uri Cohen (281)
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! Let me begin with a...
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Beyond Religious and Secular: A New Jewish Spirituality, with Rabbi Kenny Brander (280)
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! Since October 7th,...
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When We Get It Wrong: Orthodox Communities and the Nechemya Weberman Case (279)
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! This episode of Orthodox...
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No Rewind Button: Why "It Never Happened Before" Isn't Enough, with Rabbi Yakov Horowitz and Rabbanit Dr. Yardaena Osband (278)
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 week in Jerusalem…
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Does the Torah Demand Independent Thought? Rabbi Aryeh Klapper on Gedolim, Authority and Halacha (277)
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! One of the most difficult...
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The Dating Process: An Honest Conversation for Those Dating and Their Parents, with Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg (276)
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! One of the most common...
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Turning Criminals Into Heroes: Rabbi Jeremy Wieder on Rubashkin, Pollard, and Moral Clarity (275)
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 additional bonus content! There's a recurring pattern in parts of…
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A Person is a Subject, not an Object: New Traditional Perspectives on Tzniut, with Bracha Poliakoff and Rabbi Anthony Manning (CLASSIC EPISODE)
Enjoy this classic episode from May, 2023. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Tzniut is triggering. That became clear when the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast released episode 145 entitled, "The Challenges of Teaching Tzniut & the Challenges of Being Tzanua, with Shayna Goldberg." That...
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When Non-Jews Define Judaism for Jews: Alyza Lewin on Reclaiming Jewish Peoplehood in an Age of Intimidation (274)
There is a fundamental mistake that many people still make about Jews: they see Judaism exclusively as a faith, so they assume Jewish needs are basically religious accommodations, kosher food, holiday absences, maybe a space to pray. But my guest today, attorney Alyza Lewin, argues that if that's...
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Jewish Particularism or Cultural Engagement: A Chanukah Debate, with Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein and Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum (273)
To what degree should we assimilate non Jewish thought and culture into our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual lives? And to what degree does that question affect the way that we celebrate Chanukah? Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch expressed this tension directly when he wrote the following words:...
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A $10,000 Bottle of Scotch: Alcohol Abuse, Conspicuous Consumption, and Orthodox Life Today, with Rabbi Jonathan Muskat and Rachel Tuchman (272)
A tragic drunk driving case in Lakewood has pushed an uncomfortable question to the surface. What happens when "Toameha," kiddush clubs and casual drinking culture quietly normalize alcohol misuse in our homes and shuls, especially for the teenagers who are watching us... and what happens when…
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Chosen Vs. Unchosen Vs. Rejected: The Idea of a Chosen People in an Antisemitic World, with Rabbanit Yael Leibowitz (271)
In the past two years many Jews have felt as if the world they thought they knew simply disappeared. Western democracies, universities, and social justice spaces that once seemed welcoming - or at least somewhat neutral - have turned openly hostile toward Israel and the Jewish people. At the…
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Painful Questions and Unconditional Love: Orthodox Parents and Their LGBTQ Children, Part Two - with Rabbi Menachem Penner and Rabbi Yakov Horowitz (270)
Back in August, I released a conversation with Rabbi Yakov Horowitz about Orthodox parents whose children come out as LGBTQ. The feedback to that episode was intense. Some listeners wrote that they finally felt seen. Others said that they were deeply uncomfortable. Quite a few parents asked what...
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Hostility, Confusion, and Ideological Pressure: Outreach in a Changing World, with Rabbi Mark Wildes (269)
Zohran Mamdani - a politician who openly rejects Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, yet insists that this has nothing to do with antisemitism - is now the mayor-elect of New York City. He points to a small number of Jewish supporters as evidence, while promoting a worldview in which…
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Mamdani, Fuentes, Tucker, and Mainstreaming Antisemitism: Jonathan Greenblatt on the Growing Threat from the Left and the Right (268)
In recent weeks we have watched something many of us hoped we would not see in the United States: openly anti-Zionist and even openly antisemitic voices moving from the margins into the mainstream. Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York raises the chilling possibility that hostility to Israel is…
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Charedi, Dati Leumi, Modern Orthodox, Traditional, Secular: Is Jewish Unity Even Possible? A Conversation with Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon (267)
Is Jewish unity even possible? In this urgent episode Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon faces the hardest questions raised by the draft crisis and by the widening gaps between Charedi, Dati Leumi, Modern Orthodox, Traditional, and Secular Jews. He explains why unity is not a slogan but a practical necessity…
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The World is a Beautiful Place... and We Need to Earn It: Talking About The Morning After with Dr. Erica Brown (266)
What does the morning after really look like... when the dawn reveals not only light, but rubble and work? In this deeply personal conversation, Scott and Dr. Erica Brown ask how we craft a vision of where we're going when optimism feels naïve, unity is fragile, and joy and grief insist on…
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Seven Facets of Healing: Rabbi Leo Dee's Blueprint for Jewish Resilience (265)
This episode is dedicated to the complete recovery of יהונתן איתן בן בת שבע ברכה. How do we move from private anguish to collective strength? In this deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation, Rabbi Leo Dee shares the story of the day his wife and two daughters were murdered, and the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Orthodox Conundrum is a forum in which we look honestly at the Orthodox Jewish community, identifying what works well and what does not, so that, through an honest accounting, we can find solutions that will be successful. We will examine some of the major issues that affect the Orthodox world, without exaggeration, whitewashing, or pretending that they don't exist. Our hope is that the Orthodox Conundrum will spark wider discussion that will enable Orthodox Judaism to continue moving forward in the areas at which it excels, and to rectify the areas that need improvement.
HOSTED BY
Scott Kahn
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Orthodox Conundrum have?
Orthodox Conundrum currently has 342 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Orthodox Conundrum about?
The Orthodox Conundrum is a forum in which we look honestly at the Orthodox Jewish community, identifying what works well and what does not, so that, through an honest accounting, we can find solutions that will be successful. We will examine some of the major issues that affect the Orthodox world,...
How often does Orthodox Conundrum release new episodes?
Orthodox Conundrum publishes regularly with 342 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Orthodox Conundrum?
You can listen to Orthodox Conundrum on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Orthodox Conundrum?
Orthodox Conundrum is created and hosted by Scott Kahn.
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