Twice Blest: Exploring Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible

By Yeshiva University Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought

What's Twice Blest: Exploring Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible about?

Welcome to Twice Blest, a podcast exploring Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible from the Yeshiva University Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. Hosted by Dr. Shaina Trapedo, Twice Blest brings you conversations with faith leaders, scholars, and writers that bridge the wisdom of Judaic and classical texts so we can live more informed and fulfilling intellectual and spiritual lives on an individual and communal level.

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Twice Blest: Exploring Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible episodes:

02.21.2022
"Remember me": Ghosts and the Afterlife in Hamlet and Rabbinic and Medieval Jewish Literature — With Dr. Susan Weissman
BONUS EPISODE: Shakespeare’s Hamlet opens with a seemingly straightforward question: “Who’s there?” Who’s there, indeed. The appearance of the ghost of his murdered father prompts Hamlet– and the play’s 16th-century audience– to grapple with a series of philosophical and theological questions...
09.20.2021
“I will better the instruction”: Sufferance and Vengeance in The Merchant of Venice and Jewish Thought — With Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock as a cruel and vengeful Jew in the early 16th century gave rise to some of the most enduring racial stereotypes. He also gave Shylock depth and sympathetic qualities. In one of the most stirring speeches...
08.31.2021
"That foul defacer of God’s handiwork": Bodies in the Hebrew Bible and Richard III — With Dr. Jeffrey R. Wilson
If, as we’re told in the Hebrew Bible, "God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good" (Genesis 1:31), how are we to understand physical imperfection? As "mistakes" by the divine? Manifestations of malfeasance? Or misinterpretations...
08.24.2021
“The sin upon my head”: The Hebrew Bible in Shakespeare’s Henry V — With Professor Paul Cantor
Does religion dictate politics or does politics dictate religion? Is success achieved through strategy or spirituality? Should the king bear moral responsibility for his soldiers’ behavior in battle? Shakespeare shot to fame in the 1590s by tackling the critical questions...
08.17.2021
“The prop that doth sustain my house”: Jewish Women, Widowers, and Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice — With Dr. Chaya Sima Koenigsberg
Few literary characters have loomed as large and felt as "real" as Shakespeare’s Shylock. Though, as early 20th-century British Jewish historian Cecil Roth reminds us, he is a "sheer figment of Shakespeare’s imagination." Or was he? In this episode, Dr....
08.11.2021
“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends”: Hamlet and Torah Tradition — With Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman
What is the relationship between values and action? How does one move forward when “time is out of joint”? In this episode, Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman draws from his experiences as an educator, father, and academic leader...
08.11.2021
“Speak what we feel”: Biblical Blessings and Beyond in Shakespeare’s King Lear — With Professor Julia Reinhard Lupton
What are blessings? Prayers? Protections? A performative act? In this episode, Professor Julia Reinhard Lupton, Shakespeare scholar and co-director of the UCI Shakespeare Center, rethinks the love gambit that opens King Lear as a battle of biblical prooftexts and tracks...
08.11.2021
“His deputy anointed in His sight”: Kingship in Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible — With Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik
How has the Hebrew Bible impacted the intellectual development of the West? How might a deeper understanding of Saul and David’s biblical narrative help us read Shakespeare’s meditations on the nature of kingship? In this episode, Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik,...
08.02.2021
Introducing Twice Blest From the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought of Yeshiva University
Welcome to Twice Blest, a podcast from the Yeshiva University Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. Hosted by Dr. Shaina Trapedo, Twice Blest brings you conversations with faith leaders, scholars, and writers that bridge the wisdom of Judaic and...

What's Twice Blest: Exploring Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Twice Blest: Exploring Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible episodes:

"Remember me": Ghosts and the Afterlife in Hamlet and Rabbinic and Medieval Jewish Literature — With Dr. Susan Weissman

“I will better the instruction”: Sufferance and Vengeance in The Merchant of Venice and Jewish Thought — With Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner

"That foul defacer of God’s handiwork": Bodies in the Hebrew Bible and Richard III — With Dr. Jeffrey R. Wilson

“The sin upon my head”: The Hebrew Bible in Shakespeare’s Henry V — With Professor Paul Cantor

“The prop that doth sustain my house”: Jewish Women, Widowers, and Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice — With Dr. Chaya Sima Koenigsberg

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends”: Hamlet and Torah Tradition — With Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman

“Speak what we feel”: Biblical Blessings and Beyond in Shakespeare’s King Lear — With Professor Julia Reinhard Lupton

“His deputy anointed in His sight”: Kingship in Shakespeare and the Hebrew Bible — With Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik

Introducing Twice Blest From the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought of Yeshiva University