In this episode of Adventures in Jewish Studies, we're looking at the intersection of Jewish studies and disability studies. Guest scholars Julia Watts Belser and nili Broyer, along with host Avishay Artsy, talk about everything from the story of Moses to the founding of the Jewish state through a disability lens. They also consider current efforts to make Jewish life more inclusive of people with disabilities of all kinds.

Following World War II, Jewish Honor Courts in Europe and criminal courts in Israel handled accusations of collaboration by Jews who were believed to have assisted the Nazis in some way. These trials were meant to heal communal wounds and rebuild trust, meting out social punishments. In this episode, guest scholars Dan Porat and Laura Jockusch discuss these honor courts, which until recently have been mainly a footnote in history.

We are currently in a sabbath, or shmita year, a biblically-mandated year of rest where fields lay fallow and debts are forgiven. From nearly the beginning, however, shmita has been more of an ideal, rather than a fully-observed year, and any practice was limited to Israel. In this episode, guest scholars Adrienne Krone and Hava Tirosh-Samuelson consider the shmita's history and how this aspirational practice is being reinterpreted for the modern era with an emphasis on Jewish environmental consciousness across the diaspora.

The story of Israeli pop music is a story of constant evolution, a reflection of Israel's complex and ever-changing history. From its pre-state origins, to music outside of the mainstream music industry, to its current more cosmopolitan and international feel, in this episode guest scholars Uri Dorchin and Daniel Stein Kokin look at the songs and music that have emerged from Israel across the decades.

For decades, the rate of intermarriage among American Jews has been rising. Among many traditionally-minded Jews and Jewish organizations, the number of Jews marrying outside the faith is cause for concern, calling into question the long-term viability of American Jewry. However, according to the recent Pew Research Center "Jewish Americans in 2020" study, nearly 50% of the children of interfaith couples identify as Jews. In this episode, host Jeremy Shere and guest scholar Keren R. McGinity explore different ways of thinking about intermarriage and its implications for the future of American Jewry.

The first American bat mitzvah took place on March 18, 1922. As the 100th anniversary of this first bat mitzvah nears, guest scholars Carole Balin, Melissa R. Klapper, and Deborah Waxman consider the history of the bat mitzvah and its evolution over time. They also explore how the bat mitzvah helped pave the way for greater inclusion of women in public Jewish ritual and practice, and helped shape American Jewish life.

For this episode, we joined forces with Theatre Dybbuk to co-produce a special episode exploring Henry Ford's publication of The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem, a four volume series containing newspaper articles which were originally published from 1920-1922. These writings were based on – and included elements of – the notorious, fraudulent text "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

Guest scholars Pamela Nadell and Lisa Leff examine the ways in which The International Jew intersected with historical antisemitism and the political forces of the time, and how its legacy is still having an impact today.

If most of what you know about the history of Jews in Persia comes from the Book of Esther, when the wicked Haman (boo!) tried to massacre the Jewish population, you might get the idea that Persia was a place of great danger for Jews. And given the modern Iranian government's vehement anti-Israel rhetoric and support of Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terrorist groups that regularly attack the Jewish State, you might conclude that Jews and Persians are and always have been mortal enemies.

But the truth is more complex! In this episode guest scholars Lior Sternfeld and Galeet Dardashti explore the rich history of Jews in Persia from its ancient roots to the present day, helping bring to light to the ways in which Jewish and Iranian life and culture have been and remain so deeply intertwined.

"If you harm the environment, you harm yourself."

This mini-episode of the Adventures in Jewish Studies podcast series asks the question "Is there a Jewish environmental ethic?" Guest scholar Tanhum Yoreh considers the "New Year of the Trees" holiday Tu Bishvat, and the concept of "bal taschit," which prohibits wastefulness and destruction, with regard to Jewish environmentalism and ethics.