Identity/Crisis

Why is the show called Identity/Crisis? How do you handle post-October 7 ruptures across the Jewish community? What’s your bagel order? 

For this special listener mailbag episode, Yehuda Kurtzer takes a seat on the other side of the conversation as colleague Annie Beyer-Chafets guest hosts. They tackle questions submitted by listeners and Yehuda reflects on nearly 300 episodes. He shares what he's learned along the way and what continues to give him hope about Jewish life. It's an inside look at the questions, values, and commitments that shape Identity/Crisis. 

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At a time of rising political fear and social distrust, how can kindness become more than a private virtue?

For this special episode, recorded live in San Francisco last month, Yehuda Kurtzer delivered the Hartman Institute’s inaugural Dan Rubin Memorial Lecture. He argues that Jewish tradition elevates acts of loving-kindness from a personal ethic to a foundation for building a healthy society. Drawing on rabbinic texts, the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr., and modern democratic thought, he explores whether kindness can function as a genuine political value rather than merely a form of civility. What would it mean to practice moral courage, resist fear, and build communities capable of sustaining both disagreement and democracy?

As debates over Israel reshape Jewish communal life, who gets

Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with John Ruskay, executive vice president

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. 

In an age of rising hate speech, can liberalism protect the Jews? 

Yehuda Kurtzer and historian James Loeffler explore why antisemitism has remained a persistent feature of American life, even during periods when Jews appeared more secure and accepted than ever before. Drawing on Loeffler's new book, Exceptional Hatred: Antisemitism and the Fight over Free Speech in Modern America, they trace the history of antisemitism in the U.S. and consider its latest manifestations on college campuses, in politics, and across public life.  What can this history teach us about the strengths, limits, and responsibilities of American democracy today? 

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.  

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Join us for the ordination ceremony of the first graduates of Rabbanut North America.

With Israel's elections just weeks away, what

In this episode, the third installment of our Israel/Today mini-series, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Israeli journalist Tamar Ish-Shalom. They examine Benjamin Netanyahu's enduring political strength despite mounting public criticism, Israel’s international isolation, and unresolved questions of accountability following October 7. Together, they explore the forces shaping voter behavior, the growing influence of fear and conspiracy thinking, and the competing visions for Israeli society

We want your questions and comments for our upcoming listener

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. 

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Vote in the Signal Listener’s Choice Awards for our podcast mini-series Thoughts and Prayers by October 15!

Register to learn with Tal Becker and Abigail Pogrebin on October 27 in New York City.

Three years after October 7, what are Israel’s possibilities for healing, renewal, and a different future? 

In this episode, the second of our mini-series Israel/Today, Yehuda Kurtzer and journalist Yossi Klein Halevi reflect on how trauma, memory, and fear have reshaped Israeli society and Jewish identity. They examine the competing stories emerging from October 7, the tensions between power and victimhood, and the moral challenges facing Israel as it approaches a pivotal election. Along the way, they consider what a renewed Zionist vision might look like and how October 7 may ultimately be remembered by future generations. 

We want your questions and comments for our upcoming listener mailbag episode. 

Send voice memos and emails to [email protected] 

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.  
JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS  

Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: 

Register for Jewish Storytelling at a Time of Extremism with Yossi Klein Halevi and Yardena Schwartz. 

What does the rise in settler violence in the West Bank reveal about the future of Israel?

In this episode, the first of our mini-series Israel/Today, Yehuda

Stay tuned for the rest of Israel/Today: a mini-series from Identity/Crisis on the high stakes of Israel’s historic election, the choices facing Israel’s citizens, and the potential consequences for the Jewish diaspora.

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. 

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Are religious liberty and liberal democracy a natural match or are they destined to be in conflict?

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about religious liberty, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with legal scholar Michael Avi Helfand to discuss current cases affecting Jewish religious freedoms. In Grand v. University Heights the Court will consider whether local officials can stop an Orthodox Jew from hosting a minyan in his home. And, in a case from Colorado, religious schools contend that accepting public funds for universal Pre-K should not require them to surrender their religious autonomy. Together, they explore the growing tension between freedom of religion and fears of

 You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. 

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What does it mean to plant seeds for a future you may never see?

Following the death of Gloria Steinem, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Judith Rosenbaum, educator, historian, and CEO of the Jewish Women's Archive, to reflect on Steinem’s legacy, the power of feminism, and the long arc of social change. Together, they explore how Jewish women helped shape the feminist movement, how feminism transformed Jewish life, and why movements must balance urgency with patience. As a new generation inherits this work, they talk about what it takes to sustain

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. 

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Learn about the scholars and the work of our Kogod Research Center.

What might happen if, instead of demanding certainty, we allowed ourselves to "pretend" belief and see where the journey leads?

Ahead of the High Holidays, Yehuda Kurtzer welcomes Rabbi Noa Kushner, founder of The Kitchen, a synagogue and institute in San Francisco, and the author of Pretend That You Believe: How To Enter Religion, to explore what faith means in a skeptical age. Through a conversation about holiness, awe, humility, and religious imagination, they challenge the consumer mindset that often influences contemporary

You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more.