S2E5 What (and Where) is Conservative Judaism, Anyway?
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
Release Date: 04/01/2025
S2E11 Do You Want Hope or Honesty from Your Rabbi?
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
Just before this past the High Holidays, Rabbis Matt, Jeff Weill, and Josh Rose wrestled with a blunt dilemma: when the world feels bleak, what belongs on the bimah—unvarnished realism, performative uplift, or a hard-won mix of both? They talk about shielding kids from despair, writing sermons that don’t lie, and whether prayers for captives can honestly say “speedily” years in. Along the way they parse the difference between timeless petitions (peace, redemption) and policy-laden hopes, and ask what prayer means if God isn’t a vending machine. From machzor-as-cycle to...
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S2E10 Are Jewish People "A People"?
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
Rabbi Josh Rose and Rabbi Jeffrey Weill open with quick banter about The Clash—correcting a claim that Allen Ginsberg wrote broadly for Combat Rock (it was a spoken-word feature on “Ghetto Defendant”)—then pivot to their real topic: Jewish peoplehood. They trade personal moments that made peoplehood feel tangible: a wild wedding hora, a teenage son’s ecstatic trip to Israel, and the fantasy of a synchronized, worldwide Shema. Both admit strong, visceral bonds to other Jews, yet note how personality, humor, music, and shared culture can sometimes trump tribal ties in day-to-day...
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S2E9 The "Weirdness" of Jewish Identity at This Moment
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
A freewheeling conversation about the weirdness of Jewish life: why Jewishness can feel both beautiful and isolating, how contemporary politics (especially around Israel) strain communal leadership and personal identity, and what the future might hold for Jewish knowledge and belonging. Honest, funny, and sometimes painful — friends trying to think out loud together. The sound is a little uneven today - Rabbi Josh was calling in from a remote undisclosed location in Southern Oregon. We've done our best to make things sound ok.
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S2E8 Which Music Brings us to God?
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
The three (rabbinic) musketeers talk about music, religion and whether and which music should be part of Jewish prayer. Metal? Hip Hop? Traditional? Tune in to find out
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S2E7 Do Rabbis Believe that Judaism is "True"?
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
It might surprise you to know that many Rabbis struggle with some of the Big Questions about the very fundamentals of Jewish religion. One of those - maybe the Biggest - is, "Is Judaism true?" The three rabbis take the question head-on, and gives their perspective. This is Part I of a to-be-continued exploration of The Truth. Enjoy.
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S2E6 Yom HaShoah: What Does it Mean Today?
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
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S2E5 What (and Where) is Conservative Judaism, Anyway?
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
Rabbis Jeffrey and Josh explore the current state of Conservative Judaism. Rabbi Matt is out this week but will be back for the next episode. Jeffrey and Josh are both Reform Jewish rabbis who took the leap into Conservative Jewish congregations. The two of them discuss the simiilarities and differences between Reform and Conservative Judaism and reflect on the current state of the Conservative Jewish movement. Along the way they reflect on the meaning of Jewish law and ritual and its significance in contemporary Jewish life and where things might be headed *Note: The audio...
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S2E4 Death Words! Jewish Phrases Connected to Death and Dying
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
Her Memory for Blessing? Peace Upon Him? Blessed is the True Judge? We explore what these distinctly Jewish phrases mean and whether we should use them at all. A delightful conversation about death in this joint episode of Weird Being Jewish and Unveiling Death.
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Gaza, Trump and the Jews
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
The three Jewish amigos sit down and try to make sense of what Judaism and Jewish values have to say about Trump's Gaza "plan." We discuss the political angle but as usual also turn to Jewish teachings and Jewish tradition to see if we can get insight into what's on the mind of so many Jewish Americans right now.
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What’s the Rabbi Wearing?? And Other Pressing Questions
Weird Being Jewish: Three Rabbis Walk Into a Podcast
WBJ Rabbis Reimer, Rose and Weill discuss the expectation that rabbis must act, talk, and, yes, dress like rabbis. Must we? It can feel oppressive at times, but it may also serve an important purpose. That’s what we are kicking around in this episode of Weird Being Jewish.
info_outlineRabbis Jeffrey and Josh explore the current state of Conservative Judaism. Rabbi Matt is out this week but will be back for the next episode. Jeffrey and Josh are both Reform Jewish rabbis who took the leap into Conservative Jewish congregations. The two of them discuss the simiilarities and differences between Reform and Conservative Judaism and reflect on the current state of the Conservative Jewish movement. Along the way they reflect on the meaning of Jewish law and ritual and its significance in contemporary Jewish life and where things might be headed
*Note: The audio of Rabbi Josh's voice is terrible in the first part of the conversation. Our apologies!