Jewish Quest

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Rabbi Yerach Meiersdorf guides us through the notion of hospitality (hachnasat orchim) as spiritual practice which is so crucial to Abraham's development. 

Rabbi Yerach Meiersdorf is rabbi at Adath Israel in Toronto. He is the author of a book on educating spirituality, and this year is publishing a new book on Hebrew Shamanism, exploring the spiritual and mystical traditions of Judaism in a fresh and insightful way. His teachings combine traditional wisdom with contemporary insights, making Jewish learning accessible, engaging, and transformative.

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Rabbi Alex Matthews explores the relationship between universal faith and a particular covenant. 

Rabbi Alex Matthews has been congregational leader of Ahavas Achim in Newburyport, Massachusetts since 2019. Rabbi Matthews was ordained at Hebrew College in June 2023. He completed the 18 Doors Rukin Rabbinic Fellowship focused on interfaith engagement, as well as the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies Machloket Matters fellowship, focused on working toward and through constructive disagreement.

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This week, Simon speaks with Dr Lisbeth Fried, who asks: "Who wrote the story of Noah and when?"

Dr. Lisbeth S. Fried is Visiting Scholar at the University of Michigan’s Department of Middle East Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from NYU and another in psychology from University of Michigan. Among her many publications are The Priest and the Great King: Temple-Palace Relations in the Persian Empire, Ezra and the Law in History and Tradition, Ezra, a Commentary (Sheffield Academic Press, 2015), Nehemiah: A Commentary (Sheffield Academic Press, 2021), and Ruth a Commentary (Sheffield Academic Press, 2023).

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Professor James Diamond joins Simon as we open our fifth season to discuss the key questions of Bereishit.

Professor James A. Diamond is the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo and former director of the university’s Friedberg Genizah Project. He holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and Medieval Jewish Thought from the University of Toronto, and an LL.M. from New York University’s Law School. He is the author of Maimonides and the Hermeneutics of Concealment, Converts, Heretics and Lepers: Maimonides and the Outsider and, Maimonides and the Shaping of the Jewish Canon.

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In a special interruption of our typical weekly programme, this week's episode is a recording of the 20th Annual Louis Jacobs Memorial Lecture, delivered by Rabbi Danny Nevins at New London Synagogue. Rabbi Danny discusses the question, 'Can Judaism Survive the AI Revolution?' and explores questions of agency, personhood, and halakhic precedent governing our interaction with artificial intelligence.