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  • Do We Still Believe in the Jewish State? – with Michael Koplow

    Do We Still Believe in the Jewish State? – with Michael Koplow
    2026/06/08
    Is Israel losing American Jews, or are American Jews losing sight of Israel? Maybe it’s both. In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Michael Koplow, Chief Policy Officer of Israel Policy Forum, turn to Parshat Sh’lach and the story of the spies in Numbers 13 to explore why many American Jews today feel overwhelmed, disillusioned, or disconnected from Israel. They unpack how fear, moral conflict, and a sense of powerlessness can erode commitment, and they explore what it would take to sustain a meaningful relationship with the Jewish state—and a shared sense of Jewish peoplehood—in this moment. Episode Source Sheet Read Masua Sagiv's "Reclaiming Mamlakhtiyut: The Road to an Inclusive Israeli Identity" from Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    31 分
  • Peace, War, and Torah: What Are We Asking For? – with Yehudah Mirsky

    Peace, War, and Torah: What Are We Asking For? – with Yehudah Mirsky
    2026/05/25
    Please take 5 minutes to fill out the TEXTing IRL survey! What do we mean when we ask for peace, especially in a time of war, rising antisemitism, and deep uncertainty? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Brandeis University professor Yehudah Mirsky explore the meaning of peace in Jewish thought through the priestly blessing in Parashat Naso. Drawing on Torah and contemporary reality, they unpack the difference between “negative” and “positive” peace and the tension between safety, stability, and human flourishing. The result is a more grounded and honest framework for thinking about peace today. Episode Source Sheet Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    29 分
  • Good for America, Good for the Jews? – with Dahlia Lithwick (Re-Release)

    Good for America, Good for the Jews? – with Dahlia Lithwick (Re-Release)
    2026/05/11
    Please take 5 minutes to fill out the TEXTing IRL survey! This episode was originally released on Monday, September 25, 2025. Democracy promises to guarantee freedom and equality for all, yet Jews seem to be increasingly vulnerable in America today. How should Jews respond when they feel democracy is not showing up for them? On this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Slate Senior Editor Dahlia Lithwick turn to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s 1984 letter on voting and Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt’s eulogy for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to probe the relationship between Jews and American democracy, especially in moments when the promise of democracy feels unfulfilled or even threatened. Episode Source Sheet Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    30 分
  • Have We Seen This Before? How Jews Misunderstand the Present Through the Past – with Yehuda Kurtzer

    Have We Seen This Before? How Jews Misunderstand the Present Through the Past – with Yehuda Kurtzer
    2026/04/27
    Please take 5 minutes to fill out the TEXTing IRL survey! It’s Jewish memory season, and this week’s parasha, Parashat Emor, focuses on the Jewish holidays that we celebrate today as a recollection of events in our past. But what happens when Jewish memory starts to feel like destiny, and what does it mean for our sense of agency when history seems inevitable? On this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Hartman Institute President Yehuda Kurtzer examine the power and dangers of historical analogy and the ethical responsibility that comes with reading today’s events through yesterday’s stories. This conversation asks how Jewish memory can inform moral choice without foreclosing it, and how to hold uncertainty without giving up responsibility. Episode Source Sheet Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    30 分
  • Jewish Responses to Poverty: Charity, Loans, and Prevention — with David Rosenn

    Jewish Responses to Poverty: Charity, Loans, and Prevention — with David Rosenn
    2026/04/13
    What does it mean to help someone without taking away their dignity, and is it harder — and holier — to give a loan rather than a gift? On this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain speaks with Rabbi David Rosenn, President and CEO of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, about Jewish ideas of dignity, episodic poverty, and prevention. They interrogate the Torah’s fixation on interest-free lending and why Jewish tradition insists on seeing the whole person in moments of financial crisis. A provocative and important conversation that begs the question: when (and when isn’t) charity the most ethical form of Jewish giving? EPISODE SOURCE SHEET More from this episode: Hebrew Free Loan Society Ogen in Israel Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    30 分
  • We Were Strangers Too: Passover, Immigrants, and Human Rights – with Noah Gottschalk

    We Were Strangers Too: Passover, Immigrants, and Human Rights – with Noah Gottschalk
    2026/03/30
    On Passover, Jews celebrate freedom, but for many this year, the normalization of cruelty toward immigrants in America casts a shadow over that celebration. On this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain speaks with Noah Gottschalk, Chief External Relations Officer at HIAS, about why the Haggadah teaches that the Egyptians first chose cruelty through demonization rather than labor oppression, and what our texts call on us to do in response. Together they explore how fear and dehumanization of immigrants echo ancient patterns and how Jewish values compel us to recognize and defend human dignity today. Episode Source Sheet Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    30 分
  • Vayikra: Living with Sacrifice and Closeness in the Shadow of War — with David Dishon

    Vayikra: Living with Sacrifice and Closeness in the Shadow of War — with David Dishon
    2026/03/16
    When war erupts again and again, how do Israeli families and communities live with constant loss? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Hartman research fellow David Dishon turn to the book of Vayikra and to David’s experience as a bereaved grandparent of a soldier killed in the Israel-Hamas War. Together, they examine how sacrifice shapes grief by transforming loss into enduring presence, and offer a framework for spiritual resilience. Episode Source Sheet Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    30 分
  • The Golden Calf, Institutional Crisis, and the Making of a Mob — with Franklin Foer

    The Golden Calf, Institutional Crisis, and the Making of a Mob — with Franklin Foer
    2026/03/02
    What turns a crowd into a mob, and what does the Torah teach us about moments when communities unravel? In Parashat Ki Tisa, the Israelites form a mob and build the Golden Calf in Moses’s absence. On this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and The Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer unpack how fear, identity, belonging, and fragile institutions shape collective behavior. Drawing on social theory, campus encampments, and the contrasting leadership models of Moses and Aaron, they consider what keeps communities grounded, what pushes them toward rupture, and why those dynamics feel especially urgent today. Episode Source Sheet Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS
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    30 分