Rashida Tlaib, freshman Congressmember from Michigan, is back in the news, this time for comments she made on Skullduggery, a Yahoo podcast, last week, speaking about Israel, Palestine, the one-state solution, and her ancestors' roles during the Holocaust. Her comments were blasted, but why? What did she actually say, and what did she mean? Were Tlaib's words taken out of context? Were they purposely false? Misleading? Inexcusably ignorant? Antisemitic? None of the above? All of the above? Tlaib on Skullduggery: https://play.acast.com/s/skullduggery/fromrashidawithlove Tlaib on The Daily: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/podcasts/the-daily/house-democrats-rashida-tlaib.html

This week, Uri and Rivky have a special guest, Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, unusual Orthodox Jewish educator and author of new book, Sin•a•gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought. They talk about what it means to fail and sin in today's world - how should we cope with both our own failure, as individuals, and with leadership and rabbinic failure, as a community? They also dive into the difficulties and failures of Jewish organization and rabbis and ask, what are the goals of Jewish education? Check out Dovid's book: https://www.amazon.com/Sinagogue-Failure-Thought-Perspectives-Post-Rabbinic/dp/1618117963 And you gotta follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DBashIdeas

This week, Uri and Rivky have a special guest - friend of the show (and friend of the hosts), Rachael Fried, deputy executive director for JQY, Jewish Queer Youth, a nonprofit organization supporting and empowering LGBTQ youth in the Jewish community. They start by talking about Daniel and YCT. (For the last time, really! Well, probably not, let's be real.) Then they branch out, talking about what it looks like to be an LGBTQ member of the Modern Orthodox community and ask, will LGBTQ members of our community ever be fully accepted? What would that look like? How can marginalized groups be included? And honestly, what does/should it look like to be frum and gay in today's world? For listeners who want to learn more about JQY, check out JQYouth.org, or email [email protected]

This week, Uri and Rivky start by sharing some of the feedback from last week's episode about Chovevei and Daniel Atwood. Spoiler - some positive, some negative! They then dive into this week's topic: the current standout in the Democratic Party primary, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigeig. There is a lot to talk about when it comes to Mayor Pete, but Rivky and Uri focus specifically on his religion, which he is very vocal about. They ask, is his religion important? Who is the real Christian, Buttigeig or Mike Pence, who he attacks often? Is there a growing "religious left"? And, more globally, it even appropriate for presidential candidates to be speaking about religion in the first place? Read more here: https://www.jta.org/2019/04/12/politics/pete-buttigieg-keeps-calling-mike-pence-a-pharisee-heres-why-that-angers-jews https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/opinion/stacy-abrams-pete-buttigieg.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/02/opinions/buttigieg-and-religion-qa-beck/index.html

Last week, we read that Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a liberal Modern Orthodox rabbinic school in NY, will not be granting ordination to one of its 4th year students, Daniel Atwood, who is gay. The details of this particular case are depressing, confusing, and unclear - which didn't stop many in the community erupting in strong reactions - some firmly behind Rabbi Dov Linzer, the president and Rosh Yeshiva of Chovevei, and some very angry with him, others blaming Daniel, and others strongly supporting him. We don't know all the details about this particular situation - but let's step away from the specifics: what does this say about the larger questions? Do we still see a space for a gay Orthodox religious leader? What would that look like? Where does, or should, Orthodoxy draw the line? Read more about Passover seders: https://forward.com/food/397452/why-are-christians-starting-to-have-passover-seders/ http://www.schechter.edu/the-origins-of-the-seder/ Read more about YCT and Daniel Atwood: https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/liberal-orthodox-yeshiva-says-it-will-not-ordain-gay-student/ https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/fundraiser-for-gay-orthodox-rabbinical-student-raises-3000-in-under-an-hour Fundraiser for Daniel: https://www.facebook.com/donate/409390213192359/

Hope everyone is recovering well from Purim! This week, Uri and Rivky talk about two recent scandals from the past week - the allegations against megadonor, Michael Steinhardt, for sexual harassment, and against the Sackler family, who have begun to face criticism for their alleged role in creating the opioid crisis (as founders of Purdue Pharma, the distributors of OxyContin). They ask, how do we judge Steinhardt and the Sacklers? What is the responsibility of nonprofit organizations, especially Jewish nonprofit organizations, when it comes to donors? Does it matter how slimy they are, or their money is? (Big thanks to listener Arielle for the title suggestion!) Related links: White House press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90G89gK0iD0 Michael Steinhardt: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/nyregion/michael-steinhardt-sexual-harassment.html Sacklers and the opioid crisis: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/health/opioids-purdue-pharma-oklahoma.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/arts/design/sackler-museums-donations-oxycontin.html Music: The Beatles - Money (That's What I Want): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeWjEYhk7Xo

This week, Uri and Rivky dive into discussion about the college cheating admissions scandal. They ask, cheating is bad, but how does it compare to legacy, affirmation action, tutoring, coaching, and a long, long list of ways we boost students? Links: Woman who got football scholarship for a men's team: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/sport/missouri-female-football-player-scholarship-spt-trnd/index.html College Admissions Scandal: https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2019/03/13/college-cheating-scandal-felicity-huffman-lori-laughlin-kaye-pkg-vpx.cnn NYT Snowplow Parents: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/16/style/snowplow-parenting-scandal.html Music: Talking Heads - Life During Wartime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLwZvg46jms

This week, Uri and Rivky discuss feedback about Ilhan Omar and antisemitism/islamaphobia. Then they dive into their main topic: the US Women's "institutionalized gender discrimination" lawsuit, fighting for better pay and better treatment. They ask, what's the basis for this lawsuit? Are they facing discrimination based on their gender? And what other issues might come into play here? As usual, Rivky begs Uri to be a fellow sports fan, because she's getting lonely over here. Related content: Jeanine Pirro Controversy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OW20SEcvlU Linda Sarsour on Sharia: https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/598327052727615488?lang=en https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/719301817771892737?lang=en https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/116922589967949824?lang=en https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/534073703588700160 US Women's Soccer Law Suit: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/sports/sports-gender-disparity.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/sports/women-sports-equality.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZlWtu1HZnE Could Serena Williams beat a top ranked male player?: https://www.businessinsider.com/roger-federer-vs-serena-williams-who-would-win-2018-3 Music: Rod MacDonald - Freedom Of Religion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOB33VdY5Jk Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO23WBji_Z0 Gatorade commercial Michael Jordan vs Mia Hamm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGQAb0Pw5i8

This week, Uri and Rivky break down the term "out of town," based on a tach-head listener email - Hi, Aaron! Next, they ask about Michael Cohen's testimony last week, and his teshuvah - real? Contrived? (And, is the red bendel amazing??) And, in their main topic, they discuss Representative Ilhan Omar and the controversies surrounding her anti-Israel (antisemitic?) comments. How bad are these statements? Is the reaction to her and her statements appropriate? Is latent Islamophobia responsible for some of her reaction? They also can't let the episode go without touching on Otzma Yehudit, internal Young Israel politics, and whether Bibi will escape unscathed. Related links: Michael Cohen Opening Statement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9PuSd7EhVE Forward Article: https://forward.com/opinion/419730/if-you-called-out-the-womens-march-over-farrakhan-you-better-call-out/ Ilhan Omar's twitter: https://twitter.com/IlhanMN Omar's speech about "dual loyalty": http://jewishinsider.com/15799/reps-omar-and-tlaib-anti-semitism-charges-shut-down-criticism-of-israel/ Ilhan Omar poster in WV: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/02/699699805/sign-linking-muslim-congresswoman-ilhan-omar-to-9-11-sparks-outrage-in-west-virg NCYI comments on Otzma Yehudit and Bibi: https://www.timesofisrael.com/young-israel-head-says-defense-of-netanyahu-did-not-speak-for-all-its-synagogues/ Music: Joey Vine - The Out of Towner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGAHU7jy4Vg One Republic - Apologize https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rKUT6zugJ0

Welcome back! First, Uri and Rivky break down some great feedback they got about last week's episode about kashrut. (Bottom line, which they should have said last week: trust your own decision-making process to make kashrut decisions!) Then, Uri and Rivky discuss the depressing story of Jussie Smollett. They ask, what does this mean for our society and community, and the narratives we build around these incidents? How does this story impact the way we think of "victimhood"? And what exactly are hate crimes, anyway? Links: Chicago Police Briefing On Jussie Smollett Arrest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8syC9FDuDN4 Music: Uncle Moishy - Kosher Medley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BHhRTjv_sU