Episode #5: Why is Judaism Called Judaism?
Shoot!
When a student asked about the nature of Judaism - about why it’s called Judaism - the stakes, for her, had suddenly grown very high. The Washington Post had recently published an article with the provocative headline: “” and people began asking: “if other people who aren’t even Jewish are going to tell us about the very nature of Judaism, we should probably know ourselves.” To answer the questions: "Is Judaism an ethnicity?" and "Is Judaism a nationality?" we uncover the roots of why Judaism is called that, and what it means for our understanding of the very nature of Jewishness....
info_outline
Episode #4: What's a Jewish Response to Crisis?
Shoot!
Discussing the events at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, where an armed attacker took four hostages, including the rabbi. We ask: "What's a Jewish response in a moment of crisis," and look at the idea of "Spiritual Pre-hab."
info_outline
Episode #3: Is Judaism a Religion? (Part II)
Shoot!
What happens when a revolutionary Jewish thinker - fed up with his lower status as a Jew in 1700s Prussia - wants people to start thinking about Judaism in a new way?
info_outline
Episode #2: Is Judaism a Religion? (Part I)
Shoot!
Turns out we actually aren’t entirely sure how to define “religion.” And we’re not even sure if Judaism fits the description to begin with. If we’re using the lens of “religion” to understand Judaism, what is the nature of that lens? How does its clarity and focus affect what we’re looking at? Is it magnifying or distorting things? When we use that lens, what are we seeing, and what are we not seeing? And who built that lens? Can we even call Judaism a religion?
info_outline
Episode # 1: The 1,200 Year Old Question
Shoot!
1,200 years ago, one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world asked a question. It was a question that would reverberate through history, and still impact us today. What does this simple act teach us about the role of questions and answers in Judaism, and how Jewish practice works and evolves across space and time?
info_outline
Introducing: Shoot!
Shoot!
A short-form explanatory Jewish podcast, with expansive questions and diverse commentary.
info_outlineWhat happens when a revolutionary Jewish thinker - fed up with his lower status as a Jew in 1700s Prussia - wants people to start thinking about the very essence of Judaism in a new way?
And what happens when a Prussian Christian theologian has a very different idea of what Judaism should look like?
In Part II of this episode, we reach the conclusion of figuring out: can we even call Judaism a religion?
In This Episode, we learn about…
- What on earth is meant by “Judeo-Christian”?
- How being “spiritual” is not only an inner experience in Judaism
- The problem with “kids these days,” not wanting religion (in the 1700s)
- The radical ideas of Jewish individualism that Moses Mendelssohn proposed
- How a German theologian invented “religion”
- How “religion” can be (or was) anti-Jewish
- What Jews Have to Give Up in Exchange for Citizenship
- A Brief Tale of Historical Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations
- How Eastern Europe, North Africa & Central Asia are playing a completely different ball-game
- Today’s Jewish Identities & Geo-Politics
- My own answer to the question - “Is Judaism a Religion?”
- And why does all this matter for how we understand what it means to talk about or be Jewish today?
Lots more details and extras can be found in the show notes, including translations of the Hebrew terms we used in this episode.
Read a transcript of this episode.
Credits
Shoot! is written, hosted, and produced by Jesse Paikin. You can always say hi, share your thoughts, or ask your own question at [email protected]
All audio credits for this episode can be found on our website.
Shoot! is supported in part by a grant from the Hadar Institute.