What does it mean to reclaim the Jewish story in an era of shame, assimilation, and contested narratives? On this episode of Identity/Crisis, host Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with author Sarah Hurwitz about her new book, As a Jew, her journey from superficial Jewish identity to deeper engagement with Jewish tradition, and why knowledge and countercultural courage may be key to Jewish continuity today.

Learn more about the Hartman Teen Fellowship HERE.

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Who gets to decide someone’s Jewish status, and what happens when that status comes into conflict with someone’s identity? This week on Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Christine Hayes, Sterling Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Yale and Hartman Senior Fellow for a provocative conversation about intermarriage, Jewish adjacency, and the boundaries of community and belonging.

Check out Yehuda’s substack HERE

Learn more about Hartman’s Hevruta Gap-Year Program HERE

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This episode was originally released on April 1, 2025

The future of American Judaism is uncertain, some even might say at risk. In this special episode, recorded live at the Jewish Funders Network Conference in Nashville, Yehuda Kurtzer, Franklin Foer, and Sarah Hurwitz engage in a dynamic discussion about what ails American Judaism, why we fear change, and what we want to strengthen and preserve for the future. 

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This week, Identity/Crisis is excited to share Hartman’s newest podcast, Future Tense, where rising Jewish leaders drive conversations with scholars from the Shalom Hartman Institute on the most pressing issues facing their generation.  

What kind of Jewish future do we want to build – and how do we build something that will last? On this episode of Future Tense, hosts Anna Weiss, Sami Jinich, and Yadid Orlow reflect on their upbringings and share their visions for Jewish life. Together with Yehuda Kurtzer, they explore how values are transmitted and imagine different versions of the Jewish future that they want to create.

Learn more about Future Tense here.

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What happens to the credibility and power of scholarship when practitioners abandon careful methodology in favor of rhetorical certainty?

In this special episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer explores the intellectual and ethical responsibilities of scholarship in the face of the Gaza war and asks: how can we confront a horror and feel it deeply, yet stop short of giving that horror a name?

You can read Barry Wimpfheimer's Sources article HERE

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What can Jewish summer camps teach us about building stronger, more inclusive Jewish communities? On this episode of Identity/Crisis, guest host and editor of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas, Claire Sufrin, sits down with Adina Frydman, CEO of Young Judaea Global, to explore how Jewish camps create spaces where North American and Israeli campers live, learn, and wrestle with complex identities together. Together they discuss bridging cultural divides, navigating political tensions, and fostering belonging while holding space for difference.

Find the digital version of the summer 2025 issue of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas HERE

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What does it mean to be “okay” when your community is not? What is the role of an educator in times of moral emergency? And how can we resist turning loyalty into a litmus test for empathy?

In this far-reaching and emotionally charged conversation recorded live in Jerusalem, Yehuda Kurtzer and Donniel Hartman reflect on what it means to lead the Hartman Institute in a moment of profound trauma.

For the latest issue of our award-winning winning journal Sources, click HERE

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Who should we trust when the truth is unknowable? On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz for a candid conversation about journalistic integrity, media bias, and the urgent need for honest storytelling in a time of global confusion.

Listen to our new podcast, Future Tense, HERE

Listen to a new special season of TEXTing: IRL HERE

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What does it mean to build a culture of argument that strengthens rather than weakens us?

As Jews around the world mark the somber weeks between the 17 Tammuz and Tisha B’Av — a period our tradition links to the breakdown of social trust and the dangers of baseless hatred — Identity/Crisis turns to what it means to disagree constructively. Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with former Israeli ambassador and author Daniel Taub to explore his new book and the deep Jewish roots of better arguments.

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Does the Jewish community think big enough? Is the Jewish philanthropic market fair? Is Jewish innovation still innovative? In this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Aaron Katler, CEO of UpStart, to explore the emotional stakes of Jewish leadership post-October 7 and whether the Jewish community still knows how to take risks and dream big.

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