What Now? A JTS Podcast

Check out this new offering from JTS Podcasts: Expanding the Conversation , a podcast that brings the thought-provoking discussions and dynamic scholarship of JTS directly to you. Drawing from live events, lectures, and panel discussions, this podcast goes beyond the moment—offering not only recordings of these programs but also exclusive interviews with speakers, scholars, and thought leaders. Each episode explores the critical issues shaping the Jewish world today, from contemporary cultural moments to enduring questions of Jewish thought, practice, and identity. Whether you’re looking for intellectual engagement, spiritual insight, or a deeper connection to Jewish learning, Expanding the Conversation invites you to join the dialogue. In this promo, we share an interview with Raquel Ukeles, Director of Collections at the National Library of Israel. Listen to JTS's Expanding the Conversation whereever you get your podcasts.

Check out this new series from JTS Podcasts, Exploring Kabbalah . Dr. Eitan Fishbane shares the complext history of Jewish mystical thought from the Torah to Hasidism. Subscribe now: RSS: https://www.spreaker.com/show/3550593/episodes/feed Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exploring-kabbalah/id1739159484 Hosted by: Dr. Eitan Fishbane Produced by Ellie Gettinger Edited by Sarah Brown Cover art: Lee Willet Theme music: “ Yah Notein Binah ” from Seeds of Song Find more JTS Podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/torah/podcasts

Episode 1: Who Were the Rabbis? What led to the emergence of the group of scholars and teachers we call the Rabbis? What motivated them and what did they value? The Rabbis looked to their forebear, Hillel, as an exemplar of religious leadership, and in this episode, we’ll look at three stories they told about Hillel to see what we can learn about the Rabbis’ self-conception. Subscribe now: Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-evolution-of-torah-a-history-of-rabbinic-literature/id1488 RSS: http://www.spreaker.com/show/4136441/episodes/feed Credits: Produced by Rabbi Tim Bernard Cover art: Rabbi Tim Bernard Theme music: Stock media provided by u19_studios / Pond5

In this season finale, Dr. Sarah Wolf, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at JTS, talks with Sara Beth about the impact of inherited tragedies, from her own family’s losses to the destruction of the Temple. And Sara Beth reaches the end of her journey (for now). She shares what she’s learned this season, and discovers the rabbinic wisdom of reframing our suffering by taking our lives’ narratives by the horns. Professor Wolf recently published an academic paper on this topic: “Suffering and Sacrifice: The Hermeneutics of Yisurin in the Babylonian Talmud”, Studies in Late Antiquity, Vol. 3 No. 1, Spring 2019 (56-76) Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Sara Beth talks with Dr. David Fishman, Professor of Jewish History and Director of Project Judaica at JTS, about a tragedy that’s an 11 on a scale of one to 10. Professor Fishman describes the inspiration he’s found in the Vilna ghetto heroes of his recent book, who risked their lives daily to save artifacts from destruction, and who refused to let their tragedy define them. The Book Smugglers by David Fishman: https://www.upne.com/1512600490.html Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

This week’s guest, Rabbi Julia Andelman, Director of Community Engagement at JTS, explains kapparah (atonement) and the ruptures in the cosmic equilibrium created by sin and suffering. She and Sara Beth discuss how these ruptures can be repaired in our post-sacrificial era. (No livestock was harmed in the production of this episode.) Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Sara Beth talks to Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, associate dean of The Rabbinical School, associate director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, and executive director of the Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice, all at JTS! Rabbi Ruskay shares her journey to becoming a leader in the world of Jewish social justice, guided by a monumental loss—and some very tiny tragedies along the way. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at JTS, combs the canon of Jewish wisdom to find the right theological insights—and the right books—for the individual who has suffered a tragedy. And Sara Beth and Professor Kraemer found the first rabbinic motorcycle club. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Dr. Abigail Uhrman, assistant professor of Jewish education in the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at JTS, explains how to have difficult conversations with children (and adults), and why we need to channel our tragedies into change. She also shares her passion for increasing access to Jewish education for all students and families. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Sara Beth talks to Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, Rabbi Judah Nadich Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at JTS, about the power of acknowledging all the parts of ourselves in order to move forward. We also learn what happens when a Catholic priest walks into a rabbi’s hospital room. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Sara Beth talks with Rabbi Mychal Springer, founding director of the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS. Rabbi Springer shares her insights about living with brokenness derived both from her own losses, and from a career of helping others in crisis. And Sara Beth reveals why she’s been avoiding Rabbi Springer for all these years. Rabbi Springer is stepping down from her role at JTS this summer to become Manager of Clinical Pastoral Education at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Sara Beth talks with Dr. Shuly Schwartz, Provost of JTS, Irving Lehrman Research Associate Professor of American Jewish History, and Sala and Walter Schlesinger Dean of the Gershon Kekst Graduate School. Dr. Schwartz shares the mourning and remembering practices, some innovative and some ancient, that have supported her family through even the most wrenching of bereavements. We also learn why Henrietta Szold insisted on saying kaddish herself, in 1916. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

Sara Beth talks to Dr. Benjamin Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages at JTS. Professor Sommer takes us back to Ancient Israel, and explains how Psalms can validate our anger with God, and even help us find support from our community. He also shares how the reference to his work he’s most proud of is the one that ended up in the footnotes to a book about Bruce Springsteen. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .

In this opening episode, host Sara Beth Berman tells her story and speaks with Dr. Alan Mittleman, Aaron Rabinowitz and Simon H. Rifkind Professor of Jewish Philosophy at JTS. Prof. Mittleman shares his own experiences with loss, framing tragedies as taking place in a world that is nevertheless good and that gives us reason for hope. We also learn why giving Professor Mittleman advice is never a good idea. Cover art: Aura Lewis Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions ( www.sessions.blue ). Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social Studies at JTS. Contact us at onlinelearning@jtsa.edu , and find other JTS podcasts at www.jtsa.edu/podcasts .