An almost insidious problem that affects so many kids is being “under the radar”... that is, they’re generally ignored in school, camp, or other social settings by the teachers or group leaders because they’re doing “fine” - and I use that word advisedly. He or she is not the class genius, not the kid who asks questions, not the troublemaker, not the class clown. I’m talking about kids who likely have so much more to offer, but are never given that opportunity when the people who should inspire them don’t give them much attention, because other kids are, so to speak, sucking all the air out of the room.

Sometimes it’s a matter of a teacher’s not knowing that a student has a talent or interest that matters to him - or that the student herself doesn’t know what she’s capable of doing. Maybe this kid is a late bloomer, and a bit of encouragement would help some amazing abilities emerge. Perhaps the child is good at things that are not emphasized in school, like a perfectly normal kid who doesn’t like Gemara, and accordingly is ignored when the natural Gemara learners get the bulk of the teacher’s attention. And some kids feel safe and comfortable without attracting extra attention, and giving them extra attention might be exactly what they don’t want.

No matter what the reason, this is a problem that is difficult to diagnose, but can have long term negative effects. What a shame it is when our children can give so much, but don’t realize it themselves because few people recognize that there’s more to them than meets the eye… yet there always is.

On Saturday night, December 14th, I was honored to host a live podcast panel discussion at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Fair Lawn, NJ to discuss “Children Under the Radar: Strategies for Noticing and Maximizing Varied Strengths and Abilities.” It was sponsored by Larry and Nancy Bravman, and was part of their wonderful Inspired by Ilona Organization. (You can learn more by going to inspiredbyilona.com.) The panel consisted of Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, Dr. Rayzel Yaish, and Howard Blas.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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Is Jewish education too focused upon a rationalist and scientific worldview, such that we sometimes don’t leave enough room for the imagination? I think that this may be true for large segments of the Orthodox world, particularly among the Modern Orthodox population. While we dare not undermine the great advances that our scientific worldview has given humanity, an overemphasis on rationality can also eliminate wonder and mystery from our understanding of the universe - and that can undermine our ability to live a full and even colorful Judaism. This doesn’t mean that we should deny a rationalist approach so much as it implies that we shouldn't narrow Torah and Judaism so that only one approach is considered valid.

Olivia Friedman is an educator who has given significant thought to this issue, and I was pleased to discuss how Jews in general, and teachers in particular, need to help cultivate the imagination in order to help generate a fuller and richer Jewish experience. This doesn’t mean to just pretend; sometimes it means to open ourselves up to the fact that we actually know much less than we think we do. In that vein, Olivia and I talked about the the difference between “happening truth” and “story truth,” the possibility of taking some surprising midrashim literally, how we we can acknowledge the existence of multiple truths without falling into the trap of thinking of truth as relative, what can we learn from the movie “Wicked” about the different types of truth, why teaching midrash from kindergarten through 8th grade is essential to our kids’ Jewish development (and why using only pshat creates serious educational and theological problems), whether we should we establish a hard distinction between pshat and drash, the importance of pointing out that midrash isn’t just fantasy literature, but a serious genre based on very close reading - and yet why it’s time for the creation of more Jewish fantasy literature along the lines of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, the ways that we unfortunately “shrink the world down to the size of our certainties,” and more.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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While the Jewish people, and all people of good will, continue to face deep uncertainty about what’s happening in Israel and around the world - as I record this on Sunday afternoon, we are just beginning to process the end of Assad’s rule in Syria and trying to figure out if it’s a net positive or negative for democratic countries in general and Israel in particular - we all are in some ways looking for sources of resilience. What are the ways that we can move forward and figure out our roles, while trying to internalize a sense of hope, and without ignoring the sometimes harsh reality that surrounds us?

To learn more about potential sources of resilience, I was honored to speak to Rachel Sharansky Danziger. Hers was a very personal presentation, and I was deeply moved by her deep faith and learning, as well as her obvious wisdom. We talked about three key moments on October 7th and what they taught her about how to move forward; the manner in which Torah study and teaching Torah have been spiritual and emotional anchors for her and her students; the possibility of creating our own path to help expand God’s presence in the world, while simultaneously inviting God into partnership with us; the boldness of Chana and her prayer, and the message she has for us today; learning how to accept that even good choices may have negative consequences, and trying to let go of the guilt that accompanies those choices; imagining what the world can still become; and much more.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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"Anything is permitted, as long as it's for a mitzvah." 

Really?

We live in a world where consumerism and materialism are not only dominant themes of everyday life, but also positive values in their own right. It’s disturbing that the Orthodox Jewish community is not at all immune to this influence; in fact, many sub-communities within the Orthodox world revel in materialism to the point that any argument that an overemphasis on materialism is not in line with Torah values would likely be met with stares of incomprehension.

My guests today, Professor Chaim Saiman and Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt recognized the problem, and wrote an article about it in Tradition Journal entitled, “Materialism and the Rise of ‘modern, Orthodoxy’.” Their research indicated that while Orthodox materialism today is certainly manifest in its classic forms of expensive purchases and vacations, it now also appears in fully religious garb - where almost anything can be classified as “beautifying a mitzvah,” whether it’s an extremely expensive sheitel, a $2500 kippah, a wildly elaborate wedding - or, as we’ll discuss, a million-dollar shtender that once belonged to a rabbinic giant.

Among the issues that we address are the ironic 180 degree change that has taken place in parts of Lakewood and elsewhere, a new materialism associated with religious items and the “mitzvification” of new actions (thereby excusing aspects of materialism because the spending is supposedly for a mitzvah), the internal frum culture of materialism that obviates the need to step outside of that culture in order to indulge, materialism enmeshed with spirituality, whether there is a correlation between materialism, consumerism, and wealth, pressure on the middle and working class in Orthodoxy, in what ways the prosperity gospel has infiltrated Orthodox thinking, how social and print media are fueling aspiration, where materialism comes from and why it’s so difficult to address, why the attempt to impose “takana weddings” failed, when going “over the top” may be justified, and more.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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Every time I speak with Dr. Erica Brown, I come away enriched by her deep thinking and religious and emotional sensitivity. And this conversation, which delves into psychological and theological questions surrounding anxiety, hope, gratitude, and faith, may be our most memorable discussion yet.

The Thanksgiving holiday takes place later this week in the United States; three days later, Erica’s newest book, Morning has Broken: Faith After October 7th, will be released. Those two events, along with the continued fighting in Gaza and Lebanon and on other fronts, were the impetus for what I found to be a deeply moving conversation. We talked about how to deal with despair, finding hope in the midst of tragedy, the idea of faith deposits, how grief and pain are sometimes the price of love, learning how to acknowledge God in good times just as we sometimes question where He is when things are difficult, and the difference between optimism and hope. We also talked about having faith in people as well as God, the ways that Israelis and Jews living outside of Israel often misunderstand each other, the pitfalls of unity and why its absence can lead to anger, and much more. 

I’m so honored that Erica agreed to be a guest on the podcast again, and I am sure that you will find this interview to be emotionally resonant, as I did.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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There was a time not long ago when aggadah - which, broadly speaking, refers to the non-legal passages in the Talmud - was largely ignored; students studying in yeshiva would run through these texts quickly, if at all, using almost all of their mental energy and time thinking through the halachic, or legal passages of the Gemara. 

While that was likely a successful methodology for most Talmud students in the past, we have witnessed in the 20th and 21st centuries a renewed emphasis on aggadah; and given the fact that Talmud study is far more widespread today than it was in the past, along with an obvious thirst for greater spirituality and a deeper connection with God, this can only be considered a very positive development.

At the forefront of the study of aggadah today is my guest, Gila Fine; and she offers a fascinating, compelling, and perhaps controversial view of how we should look at aggadah. Gila said that we may be the first Jews since the days of Chazal who can truly relate to the radical spirit in the aggadah. In her words, “The rabbis were extremely radical… and then, as generally happens, they lose that radical edge; those subversive elements disappear. [Postmodernism] has allowed us to reconnect to a certain radical property of rabbinic storytelling that has gone underappreciated for most of Jewish history.”

We discussed how aggadah is a path to knowledge of God; the way that it gives space for outsiders and people who feel burned by Jewish law; the manner in which it is radical and subversive, and offers a chance for rabbinic self-critique; how aggadah is multivocal, allowing in different ideas and positions rather than one consistent voice, and not necessarily trying to resolve that inherent tension; the way that someone learning Talmud should develop an honest relationship with the text; the difference between the way that God is presented in the Bible versus a much lonelier portrayal in the aggadah; whether aggadah should be regarded as fiction and, if so, whether that undermines its authority; and much more.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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Over the past two weeks, there has been increasing conversation in Israel among the Religious Zionist community about the continued refusal of many ultra-Orthodox Jews to consider enlisting in the Israeli army. Many of us have been discussing this issue for months or years; but it came to a head in the past couple of weeks largely because of the attempt by the Chareidi political parties in the Knesset to enshrine this exemption through legislation. The most recent attempt was the so-called Daycare Bill, which, if passed, would mean that the status of the father would not be taken into account when determining if a couple is eligible for state subsidies for daycare. This might seem like an obscure bill, but it is understood by almost everyone as a backdoor attempt to effectively legalize draft dodging by the Chareidi population by removing one of the financial disincentives to ignoring a draft notice.

The question of Chareidi avoidance of the draft opens up a number of questions about Chareidi political influence on the wider Israeli public. This is obvious in numerous areas, including, most recently, the election of new chief rabbis of the State of Israel. Because the vote for the two chief rabbis is heavily influenced by political factors and by politicians, the Chareidi political parties have a huge influence on who is chief rabbi -  more than any other sector - even though, ironically, their communities are largely unaffected by the rabbinate’s authority.

There are many other areas where Chareidi political influence is affecting the rest of Israeli society, including kashrut, personal status, marriage and divorce, and conversion. As Rabbi David Stav, the founder of Tzohar, says, the problem is not Chareidi influence; the problem is Chareidim determining the law of the land, while not being bound or affected by the consequences of those laws. This is a serious issue for Jews no matter where they reside - and I was honored to speak to Rabbi Stav about the current situation, and what needs to change.

PLUS: A personal editorial comment about the recent election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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With the United States presidential election only hours away, I wanted to offer a supporter of each major presidential candidate the opportunity to explain why Jews in general, and Orthodox Jews in particular, would be better off supporting either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris for president. To that end, I invited two politically involved Orthodox rabbis, Rabbi Pesach Wolicki and Rabbi Benjamin Kelsen, to explain why you should give your vote to their candidate. 

This is not a debate; I spoke to both of my guests separately, and tried to give each of them a fair chance to make the best case that they could. This resulted in two informative and entertaining conversations. Whether you already have a preferred candidate or not, I think that these interviews will help you better understand what voters on both sides are thinking.

Rabbi Pesach Wolicki is a political commentator, podcaster, and a leading voice in the field of Jewish-Christian Relations. His columns appear regularly in the Jerusalem Post and Israel365news.com. His writings have also appeared in Newsweek, Times of Israel, and many other publications. He appears on many Christian and politically conservative shows such as American Family Radio's Middle East Report, Securing America with Frank Gaffney, the Josh Hammer show, and others. Most notably, he is a frequent guest on the Steve Bannon's Warroom, even cohosting an episode with Bannon.

Rabbi Benjamin G. Kelsen is an Orthodox Rabbi and practicing attorney. Rabbi Kelsen attended Cardozo School of Law and received ordination to be a rabbi and rabbinical judge from Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). Rabbi Kelsen is involved with various Jewish communal projects and advocates on behalf of the community and Israel with the Federal and State governments. Rabbi Kelsen is frequently in communication with the White House, State Department, and other departments and agencies as well as various parts of the Israeli government. His articles have appeared in the Times of Israel and other blogs and publications.

Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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Today I’m talking about something that I’ve spoken about before, repeatedly, both on this podcast and on my Substack, Orthodox Conundrum Commentary: the problem of a large number of Chareidi, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, who receive army exemptions, usually (though not always) because they’re learning in yeshivot.

Why am I talking about this again? Haven't we dealt with this issue too many times already?

No. There's more to say, and there's good reason to say it.

I think that this issue represents, in a real way, the test - the Akeidat Yitzchak - of our time... and some people are simply failing this test. This is the most important issue in Orthodoxy today; so we need to talk about it extensively, and establish clear and irrefutable arguments. I hope that this podcast will contribute to that ongoing need, and that you will share it widely so that this message will be heard by those who need to hear it.

Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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As we complete our seventh season of the Orthodox Conundrum, we're pleased to present a classic episode from three years ago, in which Professor Joshua Berman of Bar Ilan University discusses academic Bible study, Biblical criticism, and Orthodox Judaism. It was a very interesting episode, which raised crucial questions that Orthodox Jews need to confront, as well as suggestions of how we should do so effectively. Because we soon complete the annual cycle of Torah readings and begin again in less than two weeks with parashat Bereshit, this is an excellent opportunity to revisit this crucial issue. 

Some of the most serious challenges to traditional Orthodox faith come from academic approaches to the Bible, including what is generally termed Biblical criticism. The Rambam formulated thirteen principles of faith; his eighth principle is succinctly (though inexactly) summarized in the well known Ani Maamin, which reads: I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah found currently in our possession is that which was given to Moshe our teacher. And while this is far from a perfect summary of the actual words of the Rambam, it’s close enough to give anyone who has familiarity with both lower and higher Biblical criticism pause.

How should a religious Jew relate to academic study of theTorah and the challenges it presents? Are we forced to live with the questions, or are there compelling approaches which defend the traditional view while also being acceptable in the academy? Should a person stay away from these questions, or is the search for truth paramount, even as it may be dangerous? To answer these and other questions, Scott spoke with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman, Professor of Tanach at Bar Ilan University.

Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

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"Today marks one year since one of the worst days of all of our lives, October 7th. I actually was unsure of how to record an appropriate episode; what, exactly, could I add to the conversation? What is there to say that hasn’t yet been said? And how can I relate it to the season in which we find ourselves, right in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?"

Fortunately, Scott was joined by the outstanding rav of his shul in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Rav Chayim Soloveichik, who provided insights and guidance as to how to think about this first anniversary of October 7th - even though, he acknowledges, October 7th never really ended. Rav Chayim discussed what he has learned from the events of the past year, the ways in which our liturgy during the Ten Days of Repentance is more relatable than ever before, approaches to divine providence and miracles (as well as their apparent absence), how to foster unity in the Jewish people, why the obvious importance of Torah study does not exempt the Chareidi world from serving in the Israeli army, whether there is hope for peace in the future, and more.

Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/.

Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast.

Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com