Torah and Politics: The Jewish-American Right - with Mark Gottlieb
Over a quarter of American Jews identifty as Republican, and nearly a third voted for Donald Trump in 2024. Whether this is an expression of their conservative values, their concern for Israel, or some combination of the two, Jews on the right now face a dilemma with the Trump administration and its trespasses on democracy.
In the fourth episode of this special series of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Mark Gottlieb, Chief Education Officer at Tikvah, look to Talmudic and other sources on navigating the tension of conflicting commandments to unpack immigration reform, antisemitism, and the cognitive dissonance Jewish conservatives are experiencing during Trump’s second term.
We are grateful to the Walder Charitable Fund and Micah Philanthropies for their generous support of TEXTing.
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Guilt by Identification: Jewish Pride in a Hostile Environment – with Daniel Held
Faced with rising antisemitism and anti-Zionism, many Jews are confronting difficult choices when they find themselves outside of Jewish spaces: conceal their identity, or risk harassment, and in some cases, violence.
In this episode, Elana Stein Hain and Daniel Held, Chief Program Officer at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, turn to the Talmud to grapple with Jewish identity and Jewish pride in a hostile environment. How can we engage with moral complexity as proud Jews, and how do we model this for our children?
We are grateful to the Walder Charitable Fund and Micah Philanthropies for their generous support of TEXTing.
Episode Source Sheet
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Uncomfortable Gratitude: Deliverance from a Flawed Source – with Tamara Mann Tweel
How do we respond with gratitude toward someone whose values and policies we otherwise oppose?
In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain is joined by civic educator and Hartman research fellow Tamara Mann Tweel to explore what Jewish tradition can teach us about uncomfortable gratitude, the cognitive dissonance created when someone we find morally troubling takes an action we support, and how we can respond when deliverance comes from a flawed source.
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Allyship at the Edge: Navigating Difference – with Jacob Feinspan
How can we stay true to our Jewish commitments while remaining active in
movements that don’t always want us there?
In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain sits down with Jacob Feinspan, Executive Director of Jews United for Justice, to explore the complex dilemmas raised by the increased normalization of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Drawing on Maimonides' teachings about friendship, they tackle the nature of coalitions, navigating discomfort and acknowledging red lines, and how to foster relationships when we disagree.
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Know Thy Enemy
As we recall the miraculous story of the Maccabean victory this year, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war highlights challenging questions of national and individual identity. How do we see ourselves in relation to our enemy in times of conflict?
In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes study a text from Bereshit Rabbah about how we compare ourselves to our enemies and discuss how those comparisons influence who we are and who we imagine ourselves to be in war.
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In this special series, TEXTing: IRL – Ideas for Real Life, Elana Stein Hain explores how classic and modern Jewish texts can help us wrestle with the big dilemmas of our time.
Sitting down with guests who are accomplished practitioners in their fields, Elana explores how Jewish wisdom can guide us to act with integrity in the face of complex questions about allyship, gratitude toward flawed leaders, and navigating political relationships.
TEXTing: IRL — Ideas for Real Life: accessible, relevant, and deeply Jewish.
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