Podcast
The Stories Jews Tell
Professor Ruth Wisse explores the wit and wisdom of the greatest stories in the modern Jewish literary canon.
Unlock the most serious Jewish, Zionist, and American thinking.
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Professor Ruth Wisse explores the wit and wisdom of the greatest stories in the modern Jewish literary canon.
Podcast • Episode 13
How the State of Israel became a robust democracy, an economic powerhouse, and a true home for the Jewish people.
Course Lesson
In her first lecture, Professor Wisse provides a brief overview of the first generation of the New York Intellectuals: their emergence, goals, and cultural context. In particular, she probes the work...
Podcast
A daily 15-minute podcast guiding listeners through the entire Hebrew Bible in one year, with insightful commentary and analysis.
Course Lesson
Rabbi Soloveichik compares Herman Wouk's return to Jewish observance during World War II alongside Moritz Daniel Oppenheim's choice to paint scenes of Jewish religious life at the height of his artist...
Podcast • Episode 411
Judge Solomson's journey shows how deep Orthodox commitment and public service can coexist, enriching American democracy in a secular age.
Podcast • Episode 410
Explore Eli Cohen's legacy as Israel's master spy and the recent revelations from Syria's secret files, reshaping history decades later.
Podcast • Episode 144
A founding father invoked a mitzvah to challenge British trade restrictions, highlighting the intersection of faith and politics in revolutionary America.
Course Lesson
Poetry dominated early Yiddish literature in America, and Jacob Glatstein was perhaps the country's greatest Yiddish poet. In this episode, Professor Wisse examines Glatstein's foreboding, realist, bu...
Course Lesson
In this episode, Dr. Doran compares and contrasts the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, placing a special focus on the military dimensions of each conflict. How is it that Israel, which won such a r...
Course Lesson
In his final lecture, Rabbi Schacter asks: why did the most highly regarded rabbis of the 20th century oppose a special fast day for the Holocaust, and instead favor subsuming it under the Ninth of Av...
Course Lesson
In our first lecture, Rabbi Schacter discusses the foundational question of this course: how can a person remember an event that he never experienced? He goes on to discuss the difference between indi...
Course Lesson
In this episode, Professor Goodman analyzes the conflict between Saul and David as well as David's early reign as king. By trying to get kill David and protect his power, Saul begins to lose his grip,...
Course Lesson
Towards the end of 2 Samuel, David prevents a national plague. In this episode, Professor Goodman explains how this story, along with the tale of the Binding of Isaac, illuminates the meaning and the...
Course Lesson
In this episode, Professor Goodman analyzes the rise of Saul. Before he was made king, Saul was shy; he didn't want power. But by the end of his reign, he was willing to do almost anything to keep his...
Course Lesson
Upon Lincoln's assassination, the abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher compared Lincoln to the greatest Israelite in history: Moses. In this final lecture, we will examine what Moses meant to American hist...
Podcast • Episode 10
Abraham Sutzkever's poem explores post-war survival, offering an unexpected answer to the enduring question of who will remain.
Podcast • Episode 277
Rabbi Soloveichik explores the relevance of the Second Temple's obstruction, referencing the Cyrus Cylinder and Darius' palace bricks.
Podcast • Episode 1
Rabbi Nahman's tale highlights the pragmatic benefits of religious faith, showcasing the Simple Man's wisdom over the Clever Man's complexity.
Podcast • Episode 160
Explore the Espinoza case's impact on religious liberty, legal doctrines, and its significance for all Americans with expert insights from top legal minds.
Podcast • Episode 150
Senator Lieberman discusses Zionism's role in American Jewish identity and the challenges to bipartisan support for Israel amid rising progressivism.
Podcast • Episode 137
Rabbi Avi Weiss exposes the AMIA bombing cover-up, reflecting on his confrontations with Argentina's leaders and the quest for justice.
Course Lesson
In his first lecture, Dr. Hazony explains why it is vital in our day to discuss the issue of nationalism and outlines the biblical roots of the national idea.
Podcast • Episode 52
Yuval Levin explores shared errors in Left and Right ideologies, using Exodus to redefine freedom's path with Jonathan Silver.
Podcast • Episode 271
The rule against eating an offering before its blood is placed on the altar symbolizes the unity of body and soul.
Podcast • Episode 270
The ban on offering the Passover sacrifice at private altars embodies how much Judaism values community.
Podcast • Episode 269
The story of a wealthy Alexandrian Jew sheds light on a seemingly superfluous commandment.
Podcast • Episode 268
The prohibition against necromancy is part of the Hebrew Bible's larger rejection of the pagan perspective.
Podcast • Episode 428
How Genesis gave rise to modern secularism
Podcast • Episode 94
Modernity continues to emerge with the writings of Montaigne and Shakespeare.
Podcast • Episode 267
An exchange between the kings of Israel and Judah reveals the dangers of false prophecy.
Podcast • Episode 93
The study of Kabbalah—Jewish mysticism—will play an outsized role in shaping not only Western thought but even modern science.
Podcast • Episode 266
The prohibition against pagan prophecy serves as a rejection of the Greeks' concept of tragedy.
Monthly Essay
The post-October 7 explosion of hostility challenges decades of Jewish communal strategy.
Podcast • Episode 265
The prohibition of invoking false gods provides surprising insight for the translation of a famous biblical verse.
Podcast • Episode 264
The order of the blasts of the shofar teaches a valuable lesson about Jewish hope.
Podcast • Episode 263
Why does the oral law connect the sh'ma with the purity of the kohanim?
Podcast • Episode 262
Only those who are pure may eat from Temple sacrifices, but on festivals like Sukkot, all pilgrims are assumed to be pure.
Response
Committed to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Podcast • Episode 92
The amount of bloodshed that took place following the Protestant Reformation is staggering.
Podcast • Episode 261
A prohibition related to war speaks to the spirit of Jewish courage.
Podcast • Episode 260
An early act of brotherhood by Aaron explains why we are commanded to honor the kohanim.
Response
Committed to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Podcast • Episode 259
What is the difference between confessing one's sins and repenting for them?
Micah Goodman unpacks one of the Hebrew Bible’s most unsettling books, and its provocative answers to life’s most vexing questions.
Podcast • Episode 258
A verse in Leviticus serves as a reminder to read between the lines of the mitzvot.
Essay
On Yom Kippur, we ask how to live a meaningful life. A poem by Robert Frost offers a striking answer.
Essay
The history of German Jews can be traced through their relationship with the country's meat-centric cuisine.
Podcast • Episode 257
A verse in Leviticus reveals Egypt and Abraham's contrasting views on immortality.
Response
Committed to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
