In honour of Pride and in our final session before the Summer break, we look at LGBT+ life and law in Judaism
In a follow up to last week's episode, we review laws of marriage (Kiddushin), explore some aspects of sexuality in Jewish practice (Onah, Niddah), and consider the laws of divorce (Gittin)
We look at Jewish laws, custom and practices around dating, engagement, sex and marriage
In our 40th episode (!) we deal with the thorny questions of the Messiah (who it is and why) and Messianism
A rapid-fire tour of the Jewish conceptions of death, dying, burial and mourning.
A brief and incomplete survey of modern Israel, from the first Zionist Congress (1897) until the 39th, coming up later this year.
A slightly out-of-the-box look at the magic of the number 7 – from the Menorah to the Omer to Shemittah, Shabbat and more, join us to explore this most sacred of numerals.
All things Pesach: what it is, how we observe it, its history, procedures, practices and frustrations. From Kitniyot to the Haggadah, from Ḥaroset to Ḥazeret
Following up on our last session, we look at the project of Jewish theology and the personalities of Jewish theologians from the Renaissance period until today
We consider the discipline of Jewish theology and philosophy and look at several of the main thinkers in this tradition, from Philo to Maimonides
In our last episode for this High Holy Day series (and our last of both 5784 and 2024), we explore Yom Kippur.
A look at the symbols, customs, laws, and practices of Rosh haShanah - from why its in Tishrei to why the Rabbis hate Tashlich.
The first of our three part series on the Yamim Nora'im. We look at the concept of Teshuvah, how to do it, and how it connects to the main prayers, symbols, and ideas of Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur
A very brief and very rapid look at 2000+ years of antisemitism, anti-Judaism and antizionism
A whirlwind look at some of the ethical and halakhic issues surrounding sex and gender – from egalitarianism, to LGBT+ identities, Gittin, Shutafut, Niddah and Milah.
Join us on a sloppy and slightly sarcastic 'Tour de Siddur' - all about prayer. Does prayer exist? Do we do it in Judaism? Is it obligatory? Why is the siddur so chonky?!
We refer to the JPS Commentator's Bible (an English Mikra'ot Gedolot), a sample excerpt of which can be found here.
Join us for a tour of the Who, What, Where, When and Why of the Zohar
This week we look at the cycle of creativity and consolidation, the development of Halakhah, and the two major codes - Rambam's Mishneh Torah and R' Yosef Karo's Shulḥan Arukh.