Nearly two years after October 7 and more than 700 days of war, many Jews enter this High Holiday season with trepidation, facing what feels like an increasingly hostile world. In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and OLAM CEO Dyonna Ginsburg turn to Rav Kook’s “Fourfold Song” to explore how Jews can navigate competing commitments of caring for their own communities and for the wider world.

We are grateful to Micah Philanthropies and to the Walder Charitable Fund for their generous support of TEXTing.

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Over a quarter of American Jews identifty as Republican, and nearly a third voted for Donald Trump in 2024. Whether this is an expression of their conservative values, their concern for Israel, or some combination of the two, Jews on the right now face a dilemma with the Trump administration and its trespasses on democracy.

In the fourth episode of this special series of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Mark Gottlieb, Chief Education Officer at Tikvah, look to Talmudic and other sources on navigating the tension of conflicting commandments to unpack immigration reform, antisemitism, and the cognitive dissonance Jewish conservatives are experiencing during Trump’s second term.

We are grateful to the Walder Charitable Fund and Micah Philanthropies for their generous support of TEXTing.

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Faced with rising antisemitism and anti-Zionism, many Jews are confronting difficult choices when they find themselves outside of Jewish spaces: conceal their identity, or risk harassment, and in some cases, violence.

In this episode, Elana Stein Hain and Daniel Held, Chief Program Officer at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, turn to the Talmud to grapple with Jewish identity and Jewish pride in a hostile environment. How can we engage with moral complexity as proud Jews, and how do we model this for our children?

We are grateful to the Walder Charitable Fund and Micah Philanthropies for their generous support of TEXTing.

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How do we respond with gratitude toward someone whose values and policies we otherwise oppose?

In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain is joined by civic educator and Hartman research fellow Tamara Mann Tweel to explore what Jewish tradition can teach us about uncomfortable gratitude, the cognitive dissonance created when someone we find morally troubling takes an action we support, and how we can respond when deliverance comes from a flawed source.

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How can we stay true to our Jewish commitments while remaining active in

In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain sits down with Jacob Feinspan, Executive Director of Jews United for Justice, to explore the complex dilemmas raised by the increased normalization of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Drawing on Maimonides' teachings about friendship, they tackle the nature of coalitions, navigating discomfort and acknowledging red lines, and how to foster relationships when we disagree.

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As we recall the miraculous story of the Maccabean victory this year, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war highlights challenging questions of national and individual identity. How do we see ourselves in relation to our enemy in times of conflict?

In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes study a text from Bereshit Rabbah about how we compare ourselves to our enemies and discuss how those comparisons influence who we are and who we imagine ourselves to be in war.

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In a world that is so connected through technology, we are inundated with highly curated images of other peoples’ seemingly perfect lives. Many of us feel jealous of these imagined realities. In this episode, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky discuss a text from Deuteronomy Rabbah 9:9 to help us understand where jealousy comes from and how to manage it.

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In times of heartache, how do we find room for gratitude? In this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Christine Hayes study a text from Tractate Brachot, Chapter 9, about divergent blessings for times of joy and times of sorrow and discuss how gratitude can help us through dark times.

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As Americans race to the polls to make their voices heard, uncertainty about the future hangs in the air. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Leora Batnitzky examine three musings from Pirkei Avot on the function of government, and discuss election anxieties, the purpose of governing bodies, and the importance of voting in this crucial election.

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In times of great tragedy, joy can feel out of place, or even inappropriate. However, when tragedy becomes a consistent part of our lives, we must learn to survive and continue to live through it. On this episode of TEXTing, Elana Stein Hain and Yonah Hain explore a text from Tosefta Sotah and discuss how to muster joy when tragedy seems to have no end.

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