The Jewish Story Season 6

Interlude – Greek Wisdom and Cultural Sovereignty

Here is my annual Hanukkah class in honor of my father, Charles Feuer/Betzalel ben Avraham ob’m. As the end of the Hasmonean kingdom that was established after the Hanukkah war, the Sages decreed “cursed by the man who teaches his son Greek wisdom.” This talk explores what that wisdom might be, how to hold it off and why doing so is central to our national struggle for cultural sovereignty.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Episode 9 - Boundary Issues Part V

Uzi Dayan was national security advisor to both Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon, helping them navigate the stormy waters of the Camp David summit, the Oslo war and Operation Defensive Shield. Through it all, he labored to build his vision of a separation wall on a solid political foundation.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Episode 8: Boundary Issues Part IV

Though the first intifada paved the way for the wall, the second – known as the Oslo War – brought it into being. This episode makes a bridge between these two conflicts, tracing the arc from suppression to separation and asks the question -why not sovereignty?

The Jewish Story Season 6

Episode 7 - Boundary Issues Part III

Violence often has an arc, and in this episode we trace how the intifada progresses together with the Israeli policies of suppression and separation. Along the way we outline the birth of the Hamas terror organization and end on a childhood note from yours truly.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Interlude - On Violence

In this episode we take a break from tracking the evolution of Israel’s separation wall to consider the deeper issues of violence on which it is built. Rav Yehuda Hakohen of the Vision Movement joins me for a conversation about Max Nordau, Zev Jabotinsky and Frantz Fanon. Along the way we consider issues of decolonization, settlement and the hope for a new Jewish consciousness that might soon emerge.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Episode 6: Boundary Issues Part II - The Intifada

When the intifada erupted it caught the Israeli army and leadership unprepared. Part two of the series exploring the evolution of the separation barrier explores Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s “iron-fist” policy response as part of arc of government decisions that move from suppression to separation – all in avoidance of sovereignty.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Episode 5: Boundary Issues Part I

Almost two thousand years ago the Sages determined that Am Yisrael was bound in exile by an oath not to go up to the land “like a wall.” Now two millennia later there is a wall built by the Israeli government running through the heart of our biblical homeland. Here is the introductory episode to a new series that aims to break down the evolution of Israel’s security wall.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Interlude: The Sukkot Interlude

The Zohar calls the Sukkah “the shade of faith.” Here are some impromptu thoughts from me to you as I sit in the shade of my sukkah – inspired by these holy days, but relevant all year round.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Episode 4: Electoral Dysfunction Part III

Here is the final installment in the series detailing the evolution of Israel’s electoral system. It brings us almost all the way to the present, touching on topics like the Oslo Accord, electoral reform and Israel’s Supreme Court along the way. If you want to have a better understanding of our current electoral dysfunction, then tune in now.

The Jewish Story Season 6

Interlude: Interview with Rabbi Aharon Ariel Lavi

Here is an interview with Rabbi Aharon Ariel Lavi, of Hakhel: The Jewish Intentional Communities Incubator in the Diaspora, an expert on the biblical sabbatical year – shemitta. This is our first taste of a “future vision” for the Jewish people, as well as some stirring thoughts for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.