The Study

Sarah Hurwitz, former senior speechwriter for President Obama, head writer for First Lady Michele Obama, head speech writer for Hilary Clinton’s 2008 campaign and acclaimed author of Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There) joins Raviv and Rabbi Jess to discuss structure in speechwriting, the kind of Judaism they hope to practice, and how to transform study into action.

Dr. Kimberleigh Jordan, Associate Director of Educational Design at Wabash Center for Teaching & Learning in Theology and Religion shares a history of Spirituals,  and discusses with Rabbi Jess and Raviv how music can be an act of personal and political resistance, and how two cultures—Black Americans and The Jewish people—are inextricably tied. 

Shai Held, Rabbi, President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at Hadar Institute in New York City and author of Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence joins Rabbi Jessica Minnen and Raviv to talk through Parshat Pinchas, a fairly complicated portion. We'll come to understand how to interpret problematic texts in Torah, the connection between idolatry and our bodies, and Abraham Joshua Heschel's take on it all. 

Rabbi Matt and Raviv spend one last episode together, discussing a Maimonides quote that holds a theory of the creation of the universe, the difference between cults and religion, how portions of Torah might have been written to make us laugh, and a whole lot more.

Simon Shimshon Rubin, Director at the International Laboratory for the Study of Loss, Bereavement and Human Resilience, author of Working with the Bereaved: Multiple Lenses on Loss and Mourning  and Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at University of Haifa School of Psychological Sciences joins Raviv and Rabbi Matt to discuss the psychological effects of losing those we love, Jewish practices that ritualize mourning, and he'll share some wisdom from Torah that’s been useful in his work.

Rabbi Elie Spitz, author of Healing from Despair: Choosing Wholeness in a Broken World and Does the Soul Survive? A Jewish Journey to Belief in Afterlife, Past Lives & Living with Purpose has spent his career meditating, speaking, and writing about the afterlife. Raviv and Rabbi Matt talk with Rabbi Spitz about some of the many takes on jewish beliefs about life after death, notions of the soul, and even reincarnation.

Jonathan Zasloff, Professor of Law at University of California Los Angeles, joins Raviv and Rabbi Matt to unpack how Moses' negotiations with God informs the power we have to challenge laws and the tactics by which we might do so most effectively.

Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society and author of The Cloudspotter’s Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds  joins Raviv and Rabbi Matt to discuss the nature of clouds, their relationship to ancient biblical texts, and why we project our own narratives onto them.

Check out The Cloud Appreciation Society at https://cloudappreciationsociety.org/

Washington State Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis joins Rabbi Matt and Raviv to discuss justice, community, and the resources needed to enact mercy. Justice Montoya-Lewis is the first Native American to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court, and the second Native American to serve on a state supreme court nationwide. She previously served as Chief Judge for the Lummi, Nooksack, and Upper Skagit tribes, giving her a holistic understanding of social and legal issues affecting Native Americans and indigenous peoples. Justice Montoya-Lewis will also share her thoughts on some of the key differences between serving on indigenous versus state/federal courts, and in doing so will thoughtfully critique aspects of the contemporary judicial system in relation to this parsha's tension between justice and mercy. 

Katya Gibel Mevorach, Professor of Anthropology and American Studies at Grinnell College in Iowa and author of Black, Jewish and Interracial: It's Not the Color of Your Skin but the Race of Your Kin, and Other Myths of Identity joins Raviv and Rabbi Matt to discuss the creation of the census, its historical context and implications, and how the ways in which we talk about identity can be both helpful and harmful.