Podcast appearances and mentions of jeffrey saks

What is the purpose of forgiveness? How necessary is it to maintain working social order – within the body politic or within the smaller circles of religious community or family? Is forgiveness the work and responsibility of the offender (to seek it) or the offended party (to willfully grant it)? We live with these issues daily, often struggling with them in the messiness and complexity of human relationships, and while we're aware of the halakhic and philosophical writings that circle the topic, how often do we let them penetrate our actual behavior? In a remarkable new essay appearing in TRADITION (Fall 2024), Neti Penstein explores the interplay of halakhic sources in the writings of Maimonides, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and others, and brings her analysis of that wisdom to bear in puzzling out and offering a solution to a particular 50-year-old paradox first presented by the philosopher Aurel Kolnai (1900-1973). Penstein's work reminds us of the Rav's closing remark in “The Halakhic Mind”: “Out of the sources of Halakhah, a new worldview awaits formulation,” and her essay collapses the barrier between halakhic sources and philosophical insights. Read “Forgiveness: A Philosophical Analysis of the Halakhic Sources” TRADITION (Fall 2024). Neti Penstein is a graduate of Princeton University, where she studied philosophy. She is currently completing an MA in Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School and is studying in its Graduate Program in Advanced Talmud Studies. In this episode of the Tradition Podcast she joins TRADITION's editor, Jeffrey Saks, to discuss her work, her assessment of philosophical thinking in today's Modern Orthodox community, and why, if done correctly, there's nothing more practical than philosophical thinking for our actual lived experience.

TRADITION's Summer 2024 issue contained expanded book review coverage including a review by Menachem Kellner of ArtScroll's new anthology of Maimonidean philosophy, Kisvei HaRambam: Writings of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon – The Rambam, translated, annotated, and elucidated by R. Yehuda Meir Keilson. For TraditionOnline Kellner profiled The Guide to the Perplexed: A New Translation, translated and with a commentary by Lenn E. Goodman and Philip I. Lieberman (Stanford University Press), claiming it is destined to become the new standard for all engagement with the Guide in English. Throughout much of his academic career Kellner has been reminding the academic community that Rambam was also a rabbi, drawing profoundly on the rabbinic literature and embodying and promoting halakhic commitment. In the opposite direction, he hopes that more traditional audiences will increase their awareness of Maimonides as a thinker deeply rooted in the Arabic philosophical language and tradition of his day. With critical reservations in place, he draws our attention to these works under review as exemplars of positive movement on these fronts. In this podcast conversation Kellner joins our editor Jeffrey Saks to discuss these books and his reviews, and the two go off on a tangent about how he got into this business in the first place (and the impact of his move to Israel in 1980 had on the shape of his academic interests and desire to communicate his positions to a larger Jewish and general audience outside of the ivory tower). Menachem Kellner is Wolfson Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought at the University of Haifa and founding chair of Shalem College's Department of Philosophy and Jewish Thought.

TRADITION and the Rabbinical Council of America recently hosted R. Mosheh Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion, for a conversation revisiting a classic essay from our archives: R. Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l, “The Ideology of Hesder” (TRADITION, Fall 1981), using it as a lens to explore contemporary issues in Israeli religious and civilian life and society and the particular challenges of the current war. Introduction: R. Menachem Penner, Executive Vice-President, RCA Moderator: R. Jeffrey Saks, Editor, TRADITION Together we considered the complex relationship between yeshiva study and army service embodied by the Hesder movement; how the 40 years since the original essay's publication may have strengthened or weakened its message; what is the ideal role for Religious Zionism to play in Israel's contentious present moment and how we have grown simultaneously closer and further from those on our left and it right; how do we assess trends on the scene such as the rise of the Mekhinot, and the ongoing and current strife surrounding the Haredi military exemption and draft. R. Lichtenstein spoke candidly and personally about the traumas of this year, and the sacrifice of the lives of numerous precious students. Watch a video recording of the event.

In the area of Jewish medical ethics brain death is the topic which just will not die. With the advent of technologies and medical developments since the mid-twentieth century, questions about the halakhic definition of death have gone from the largely theoretical (and philosophical) to painfully practical for physicians, patients, and their families. Perhaps no other rabbinic figure's opinion has factored in quite so significantly on the subject as R. Moshe Feinstein zt”l, the preeminent posek of the last century. However, the contours and applications of R. Feinstein's position have been intensely debated. In a recent piece of research that surfaces some relevant new points of evidence, Dr. Noam Stadlan offers a re-understanding of R. Feinstein's ruling, arguing that he defined death as irreversible apneic coma, without regard for the continued presence of heart function. This has various significant implications for end-of-life care and organ donation. In this episode of the Tradition Podcast, Stadlan joins our editor, Jeffrey Saks, to discuss the article, as well as larger trends in the field of Jewish medical ethics, the partnership that should exist between physicians and medical research on one hand with poskim on the other, and why our readers are perennially interested in the field of medical halakha. Read Noam Stadlan, “Revisiting R. Moshe Feinstein's Definition of Death” (TRADITION, Winter 2024): https://traditiononline.org/revisiting-r-moshe-feinsteins-definition-of-death Noam Stadlan, M.D., is Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL.

Shmuel Yosef Agnon is one of the masters of modern Hebrew fiction, who helped to spark the revival of modern Hebrew literature in Israel and around the world. His work is not only beloved, but also profound, laden with many allusions to the vast canon of traditional Jewish text that shaped his literary imagination: one hears in Agnon's work echoes of the siddur, the Hebrew Bible, and an astonishing array of rabbinic literature. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1966.   Yesterday, Tikvah released a five-part, online video course introducing students to S.Y. Agnon's short stories, novels, and anthologies—​writing that strengthened the Jewish people in those pivotal 20th-century years when the state of Israel was reborn. The course is taught by Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, director of research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem, series editor of the S.Y. Agnon Library at the Toby Press, editor of the journal Tradition, and the founding director of the Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education – ATID. This week, we bring you the audio from the first episode of Rabbi Saks's forthcoming video course on the writings of Shay Agnon. To register for the course, go to tikvahfund.org/agnon.   Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

Listen to an introduction to TRADITION's upcoming Winter 2024 issue, with special content related to the ongoing war in Gaza. Jeffrey Saks observes: The initial shock, horror, and trauma of October 7th have in no way abated and all thoughts remain fixed on the “matzav”—our most abnormal situation. Writing from Israel, our editor considers the challenges for our religious community, the heartening reality of Jewish unity, and some sharp questions it poses for our way forward. Listen to this Audio Editor's Note accompanying the new issue, due to arrive in subscribers' hands and online next week.

As we continue to wrestle with the state of anxiety for what comes next at this troubling and traumatic time in Israel and around the Jewish world, we take strength from demonstrations of inspiring resilience and unity in our nation. We hope you've been following the content recently published on TraditionOnline.org responding to current events. In our upcoming Winter issue we hope to deliver some more substantive writing, tentative and initial as it may be, bringing the lens of Orthodox Jewish thought to bear on this war. In the meantime, as we try to make sense of things while navigating the maze we find ourselves in, we thought it would be useful to check in with TRADITION's “elder statesman,” Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, whose wisdom, insights, and opinions cast useful light in the darkness—perhaps even more so as he enters the back end of his 10th decade with all the intellectual rigor readers of our pages have been accustomed to since his first early contribution in 1960. (Read all of R. Feldman's TRADITION articles and columns here.) In this episode R. Feldman chats with our editor Jeffrey Saks about the current Gaza War in light of his memories of the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War; the challenges to Zionism and religious Zionism going forward; and his cautious optimism for a renewed Jewish spirit when the fog clears and we emerge victorious. They also talked about the role of TRADITION as a scholarly journal of ideas at a time such as this. Rabbi Emanuel Feldman served in the rabbinate in Atlanta for over 40 years before making his home in Jerusalem in 1991. He edited TRADITION from 1988 to 2001 and remains a valued counselor to our journal.

On April 23, 2023, TRADITION and the Rabbinical Council of America convened our first TRADITION Today Summit, hosted at Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck, NJ, exploring “Material Success and Its Challenges.” Among the papers presented at the event was a fascinating item co-authored by Avital Chizik-Goldschmidt and Chaim Saiman, “Material Success and the Rise of ‘Modern, Orthodoxy'” – in which a lot rides on the title's enigmatic comma. While the papers from the Summit will be appearing in an upcoming issue of TRADITION, in the hopes that the discussions and debates there will have a greater impact and reach within the broader community, we are rolling out some of the content through our journal's different media arms. In this episode of our podcast, editor Jeffrey Saks (who co-chaired the Summit with Shlomo Zuckier) chats with Saiman about the paper and the unique and curious ways in which the markers of Orthodoxy's material aspirations each respond to the halakhic requirements and religious aspirations of persons who live fully within Orthodoxy and who are invested in its continuity. Chaim Saiman is Professor of Law and Chair in Jewish Law at Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law, and Albert J. Wood Fellow at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania. Watch a video recording of the conversation.

Our editor, Jeffrey Saks, offers this audio version of his Editor's Note introducing TRADITION's special issue on the thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l. In Saks' essay, “We Read the Rav to Know We Are Not Alone in Loneliness” (open access here), he shares his own personal encounter with the Rav's writings at a pivotal moment in his own religious development, and discusses the important role the Rav played in the American Orthodox scene and in the pages of our journal.  Click here to see the contents of the new issue, sample open-access content, and order your copy. 

Here we are, days before the arrival of Passover. If we are not drowning in cleaning products, chances are we're doing the equally important work—perhaps more important work—of reflecting on the Exodus story in advance of Seder night. A highlight of this week's observances is the recounting of the biblical Ten Plagues. In an interesting new book, Dr. Jeremy Brown considers the Eleventh Plague, a kind of catch-all phrase he uses to explore how Jews as a people and Judaism as a religious tradition have encountered and responded to plagues, disease, and pandemics from the Bible right up to our own days of COVID-19. Dr. Jeremy Brown, Director of the Office of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health, is a physician and historian of science and medicine. TRADITION's Winter 2021 issue featured his essay “The Plague Wedding,” which was republished as a chapter in his most recent book, "The Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics from the Bible to COVID-19" (Oxford University Press). The TRADITION Podcast recently caught up with Brown to talk about his work, traditional Jewish responses to plague and disease, and, more generally, his assessment of how Jewish thought and halakhic tradition have responded over time to such occurrences—and how we fared during the most recent pandemic. Jeremy considers the long arc of history and does so through the prisms of theology, halakha, ritual, and folk custom (some admittedly bizarre—including the so-called shvartse khasene or plague wedding, about which he wrote in our pages). He balances this with the insights and wisdom drawn from history, epidemiology, medical science, sociology, and public policy.  The host for this episode is Jeffrey Saks, editor of TRADITION. Watch a video recording of this conversation.

In this episode, we speak to Rav Jeffrey Saks, who shares his Desert Island Torah, looking at the first Rashi and Bereishit, Rav Soloveitchik's "The Lonely Man of Faith" and the writings of the Rambam.

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg is an internationally recognized teacher and lecturer around the English-speaking world and, each week, in multiple settings in Jerusalem, where her unique style of integrating keen readings of the weekly Torah portion with the commentaries of midrash, classical meforshim, Hasidic interpretation, and more, are supplemented by the insights she draws from philosophy, psychoanalytical readings, literature, and culture at large – the “best that's been thought and said,” as it were. Her work has inspired generations of students, and has produced a very rich body of six volumes on biblical books and themes.  TRADITION's Winter 2021 issue featured her essay “On Love, Holiness, and the Other,” and, channeling the work of psychoanalyst Jonathan Lear and R. Aharon Lichtenstein, explored the “command to aspire” as an ethical imperative. That essay has now appeared as part of a larger chapter in her most recent book, The Hidden Order of Intimacy: Reflections on the Book of Leviticus (Schocken). As the Jewish world commences our annual reading of Leviticus this week the TRADITION Podcast spoke with Zornberg about her new book, the unusual way it came about, and the intellectual “atmosphere” she breathes in order to produce works of Torah scholarship that bring together such wide-ranging voices. We also discussed the troubling state of the study of the humanities in the world today and within Jewish learning in particular. The host for this episode is Jeffrey Saks, editor of TRADITION. Watch a video recording of this conversation.

Dr. Tovah Lichtenstein and R. Jeffrey Saks in conversation to mark the 120th birthday of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt"l. Hosted by TRADITION and WebYeshiva.org (12 Adar/March 5, 2023).

Marking the Rav's 120th birthday & upcoming 30th Yahrzeit with two special online conversations. On Sunday, March 5 WebYeshiva and TRADITION marked the 120th birthday of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l and his upcoming 30th Yahrzeit with two special online conversations. The second was: The Rav's Enduring Legacy – Dr. Tovah Lichtenstein in conversation with Rabbi Jeffrey Saks Dr. Tovah Lichtenstein, the daughter of Rabbi Soloveitchik and Dr. Tonya Soloveitchik, taught and practiced social work in Israel where she has lived since 1971. Jeffrey Saks is the founding director of ATID and its WebYeshiva program and editor of TRADITION. For part 1 with Rabbi Chaim Brovender in conversation with Mrs. Mali Brofsky please CLICK HERE.

Prof. Marc B. Shapiro's recent essay “From the Pages of TRADITION: R. Esriel Hildesheimer on Torah Study for Women” (TRADITION, Summer 2022), was the subject of our most recent podcast. Shapiro joined Jeffrey Saks to discuss Hildesheimer's legacy and that of 19th-century German Orthodoxy; the history of women's Torah study; trends in Jewish education; and the intersections of Jewish history and thought. Marc B. Shapiro holds the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Scranton. He is the author of, most recently, Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization), among many other scholarly works. Watch a video recording of this conversation.

With Rosh Hashana around the corner, and the end of the Shemitta year upon us, TRADITION's editor Jeffrey Saks sat down chat with Shlomo Brody about his recent essay “The Curious Case of Prozbul's Disappearance and Resurgence” (open access at https://traditiononline.org/the-curious-case-of-prozbuls-disappearance-and-resurgence). Brody's essay offers a fascinating tour of an episode in the history of halakha: how the rabbinically enacted prozbul document, which helps circumvent the loan forgiveness imposed every seven years at the end of the Shemitta cycle, came about, then fell out of use, and subsequently resurged – taking on new force and meaning in recent Jewish history. This test-case raises interesting questions about how and if halakha adapts and evolves.  Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody was recently appointed the Executive Director of the Halakhic Organ Donor Society.   

"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile,” S. Y. Agnon declared at the 1966 Nobel Prize ceremony. “But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem.” Agnon's act of literary imagination fueled his creative endeavor and is explored in these pages. Jerusalem and the Holy Land (to say nothing of the later State of Israel) are often two-faced in Agnon's Hebrew writing. Depending on which side of the lens one views Eretz Yisrael through, the vision of what can be achieved there appears clearer or more distorted.  These themes wove themselves into the presentations at an international conference convened in 2016 by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in New York City, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Agnon's Nobel Prize. The essays from that conference, collected in Agnon's Tales of the Land of Israel (Pickwick Publications, 2021), explore Zionism's aspirations and shortcomings and the yearning for the Land from afar from S. Y. Agnon's Galician hometown, which served as a symbol of Jewish longing worldwide. Contributing authors: Shulamith Z. Berger, Shalom Carmy, Zafrira Cohen Lidovsky, Steven Gine, Hillel Halkin, Avraham Holtz, Alan Mintz, Jeffrey Saks, Moshe Simkovich, Laura Wiseman, and Wendy Zierler. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile,” S. Y. Agnon declared at the 1966 Nobel Prize ceremony. “But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem.” Agnon's act of literary imagination fueled his creative endeavor and is explored in these pages. Jerusalem and the Holy Land (to say nothing of the later State of Israel) are often two-faced in Agnon's Hebrew writing. Depending on which side of the lens one views Eretz Yisrael through, the vision of what can be achieved there appears clearer or more distorted.  These themes wove themselves into the presentations at an international conference convened in 2016 by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in New York City, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Agnon's Nobel Prize. The essays from that conference, collected in Agnon's Tales of the Land of Israel (Pickwick Publications, 2021), explore Zionism's aspirations and shortcomings and the yearning for the Land from afar from S. Y. Agnon's Galician hometown, which served as a symbol of Jewish longing worldwide. Contributing authors: Shulamith Z. Berger, Shalom Carmy, Zafrira Cohen Lidovsky, Steven Gine, Hillel Halkin, Avraham Holtz, Alan Mintz, Jeffrey Saks, Moshe Simkovich, Laura Wiseman, and Wendy Zierler. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile,” S. Y. Agnon declared at the 1966 Nobel Prize ceremony. “But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem.” Agnon's act of literary imagination fueled his creative endeavor and is explored in these pages. Jerusalem and the Holy Land (to say nothing of the later State of Israel) are often two-faced in Agnon's Hebrew writing. Depending on which side of the lens one views Eretz Yisrael through, the vision of what can be achieved there appears clearer or more distorted.  These themes wove themselves into the presentations at an international conference convened in 2016 by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in New York City, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Agnon's Nobel Prize. The essays from that conference, collected in Agnon's Tales of the Land of Israel (Pickwick Publications, 2021), explore Zionism's aspirations and shortcomings and the yearning for the Land from afar from S. Y. Agnon's Galician hometown, which served as a symbol of Jewish longing worldwide. Contributing authors: Shulamith Z. Berger, Shalom Carmy, Zafrira Cohen Lidovsky, Steven Gine, Hillel Halkin, Avraham Holtz, Alan Mintz, Jeffrey Saks, Moshe Simkovich, Laura Wiseman, and Wendy Zierler. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile,” S. Y. Agnon declared at the 1966 Nobel Prize ceremony. “But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem.” Agnon's act of literary imagination fueled his creative endeavor and is explored in these pages. Jerusalem and the Holy Land (to say nothing of the later State of Israel) are often two-faced in Agnon's Hebrew writing. Depending on which side of the lens one views Eretz Yisrael through, the vision of what can be achieved there appears clearer or more distorted.  These themes wove themselves into the presentations at an international conference convened in 2016 by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in New York City, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Agnon's Nobel Prize. The essays from that conference, collected in Agnon's Tales of the Land of Israel (Pickwick Publications, 2021), explore Zionism's aspirations and shortcomings and the yearning for the Land from afar from S. Y. Agnon's Galician hometown, which served as a symbol of Jewish longing worldwide. Contributing authors: Shulamith Z. Berger, Shalom Carmy, Zafrira Cohen Lidovsky, Steven Gine, Hillel Halkin, Avraham Holtz, Alan Mintz, Jeffrey Saks, Moshe Simkovich, Laura Wiseman, and Wendy Zierler. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile,” S. Y. Agnon declared at the 1966 Nobel Prize ceremony. “But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem.” Agnon's act of literary imagination fueled his creative endeavor and is explored in these pages. Jerusalem and the Holy Land (to say nothing of the later State of Israel) are often two-faced in Agnon's Hebrew writing. Depending on which side of the lens one views Eretz Yisrael through, the vision of what can be achieved there appears clearer or more distorted.  These themes wove themselves into the presentations at an international conference convened in 2016 by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in New York City, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Agnon's Nobel Prize. The essays from that conference, collected in Agnon's Tales of the Land of Israel (Pickwick Publications, 2021), explore Zionism's aspirations and shortcomings and the yearning for the Land from afar from S. Y. Agnon's Galician hometown, which served as a symbol of Jewish longing worldwide. Contributing authors: Shulamith Z. Berger, Shalom Carmy, Zafrira Cohen Lidovsky, Steven Gine, Hillel Halkin, Avraham Holtz, Alan Mintz, Jeffrey Saks, Moshe Simkovich, Laura Wiseman, and Wendy Zierler. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile,” S. Y. Agnon declared at the 1966 Nobel Prize ceremony. “But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem.” Agnon's act of literary imagination fueled his creative endeavor and is explored in these pages. Jerusalem and the Holy Land (to say nothing of the later State of Israel) are often two-faced in Agnon's Hebrew writing. Depending on which side of the lens one views Eretz Yisrael through, the vision of what can be achieved there appears clearer or more distorted.  These themes wove themselves into the presentations at an international conference convened in 2016 by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in New York City, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Agnon's Nobel Prize. The essays from that conference, collected in Agnon's Tales of the Land of Israel (Pickwick Publications, 2021), explore Zionism's aspirations and shortcomings and the yearning for the Land from afar from S. Y. Agnon's Galician hometown, which served as a symbol of Jewish longing worldwide. Contributing authors: Shulamith Z. Berger, Shalom Carmy, Zafrira Cohen Lidovsky, Steven Gine, Hillel Halkin, Avraham Holtz, Alan Mintz, Jeffrey Saks, Moshe Simkovich, Laura Wiseman, and Wendy Zierler. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/israel-studies

"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile,” S. Y. Agnon declared at the 1966 Nobel Prize ceremony. “But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem.” Agnon's act of literary imagination fueled his creative endeavor and is explored in these pages. Jerusalem and the Holy Land (to say nothing of the later State of Israel) are often two-faced in Agnon's Hebrew writing. Depending on which side of the lens one views Eretz Yisrael through, the vision of what can be achieved there appears clearer or more distorted.  These themes wove themselves into the presentations at an international conference convened in 2016 by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies in New York City, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Agnon's Nobel Prize. The essays from that conference, collected in Agnon's Tales of the Land of Israel (Pickwick Publications, 2021), explore Zionism's aspirations and shortcomings and the yearning for the Land from afar from S. Y. Agnon's Galician hometown, which served as a symbol of Jewish longing worldwide. Contributing authors: Shulamith Z. Berger, Shalom Carmy, Zafrira Cohen Lidovsky, Steven Gine, Hillel Halkin, Avraham Holtz, Alan Mintz, Jeffrey Saks, Moshe Simkovich, Laura Wiseman, and Wendy Zierler. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/van-leer-institute

In this episode of the TRADITION Podcast we talk with two contributors to our recent “Rabbi Norman Lamm Memorial Volume” about R. Lamm's vision for the American rabbinate. R. Lamm served as a prominent pulpit rabbi for over a quarter-century, first in Springfield, MA, and then at Manhattan's Jewish Center. As Rosh Ha-Yeshiva of Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he presided over the training of multiple generations of young rabbis who went out to have a profound impact in synagogues, schools, and organizational life. Our editor, R. Jeffrey Saks, spoke with R. Menachem Penner and R. Benjamin Samuels about their essays in the memorial volume, which explored R. Lamm's energetic rabbinic leadership and his message and challenge to his rabbinic colleagues and students. Rabbi Menachem Penner is the Max and Marion Grill Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Rabbi Benjamin J. Samuels, Ph.D., has been rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Newton, MA, since 1995 and teaches widely in the Greater Boston Jewish community. Watch a video recording of the conversation: https://youtu.be/2J3Znev0qCc Order your copy of the “Rabbi Norman Lamm Memorial Volume”: https://rabbis.org/product/tradition-norman-lamm-memorial-volume Sound clips in this episode from Rabbi Lamm's Centennial Chag HaSemichah address, “There is a Prophet in Israel” (April 6, 1986), courtesy of the Lamm Heritage Archives: www.yu.edu/about/lamm-heritage

In this episode of the TRADITION Podcast our editor R. Jeffrey Saks speaks with Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel, who teaches Talmud and Halakha at Nishmat and Matan in Jerusalem, is a Yoetzet Halacha, and the Director of Matan's advanced halakha program. Rabbanit Fraenkel's essay in our “Rabbi Norman Lamm Memorial Volume” explores R. Lamm's writing, preaching, and teaching on the role of “Family and Morality in Turbulent Times.” Throughout the 1960s and 70s, from his synagogue pulpit and his perch as a public intellectual, R. Lamm confronted and addressed the array of cultural changes – and counter-cultural forces – that were afoot and threatening a life of sanctity and religious commitment. Her essay assesses the body of his writing on these topics, and demonstrates how groundbreaking he was at the time, and how enduring most of those messages remain over a half-century later. Order your copy of the “Rabbi Norman Lamm Memorial Volume”:  https://rabbis.org/product/tradition-norman-lamm-memorial-volume

In this episode of the TRADITION Podcast our editor R. Jeffrey Saks speaks with Dr. Erica Brown and Prof. Ari Goldman about their contributions to the “Rabbi Norman Lamm Memorial Volume.” They each wrote about aspects of Rabbi Lamm's written record as a self-styled “unrepentant darshan” one of the Jewish 20th century's peerless rhetoricians, who turned the synagogue sermon into an art form and used the power of the pulpit to commutate an array of messages and educate his flock in a most impactful way.  They also shared with us how Rabbi Lamm's teachings helped shape their own religious worldviews and have had profound personal effects on each of them. Order your copy of the “Rabbi Norman Lamm Memorial Volume”:  https://rabbis.org/product/tradition-norman-lamm-memorial-volume Dr. Erica Brown is a well-known author and public speaker and a consulting editor at TRADITION. She is the director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership at George Washington University: www.ericabrown.com Ari Goldman is a professor of journalism at Columbia University, and formerly the long-time religion reporter for the New York Times and author of “The Search for God at Harvard,” among other books: www.arigoldman.com  

Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888-1970) was born in Buczacz, Eastern Galicia (now part of Ukraine). Yiddish was the language of his home, and Hebrew the language of the Bible and the Talmud which he studied formally until the age of nine. His knowledge of German literature came from his mother, and his love of the teachings of Maimonides and the Hassidim came from his father. In 1908 he left for Palestine, where, except for an extended stay in Germany from 1912 to 1924, he lived until his death. Agnon began writing stories when he was quite young. His first major publication, Hakhnasat Kalah (The Bridal Canopy), 1922, re-creates the golden age of Hassidism, and his apocalyptic novel, Oreach Nata Lalun (A Guest for the Night), 1939, depicts the ruin of Galicia after WWI. Much of Agnon’s other writing is set in Palestine. Israel’s early pioneers are portrayed in his epic Temol Shilshom (Only Yesterday), 1945, considered his greatest work, and in the surreal stories of Sefer Hamaasim (The Book of Deeds), 1932. Agnon also published work on the Jewish holy days Yamin Noraim (Days of Awe), 1938, on the giving of the Torah, Atem Reitem (Present at Sinai), 1959, and on the gathering of Hassidic lore, Sifreihem Shel Tzadikim (Books of the Righteous) and Sippurei HaBesht (Stories of the Baal Shem Tov), 1960-1961. Considered one of the greatest Hebrew writers, in 1966, Agnon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the Director of Research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem and served as the Series Editor of The S.Y. Agnon Library at The Toby Press, now complete in 15 volumes. He is the founding director of The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education, in Jerusalem, and its WebYeshiva.org program. Rabbi Saks was recently appointed as Editor of Tradition, the premier journal of Orthodox Jewish thought published in English. After earning his BA, MA, and rabbinic degrees from Yeshiva University, Rabbi Saks moved to Israel and has served on the faculties of several high schools and yeshivot, edited several books, and published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature. Rabbi Saks lives in Efrat with his wife Ilana Goldstein Saks and their four children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888-1970) was born in Buczacz, Eastern Galicia (now part of Ukraine). Yiddish was the language of his home, and Hebrew the language of the Bible and the Talmud which he studied formally until the age of nine. His knowledge of German literature came from his mother, and his love of the teachings of Maimonides and the Hassidim came from his father. In 1908 he left for Palestine, where, except for an extended stay in Germany from 1912 to 1924, he lived until his death. Agnon began writing stories when he was quite young. His first major publication, Hakhnasat Kalah (The Bridal Canopy), 1922, re-creates the golden age of Hassidism, and his apocalyptic novel, Oreach Nata Lalun (A Guest for the Night), 1939, depicts the ruin of Galicia after WWI. Much of Agnon’s other writing is set in Palestine. Israel’s early pioneers are portrayed in his epic Temol Shilshom (Only Yesterday), 1945, considered his greatest work, and in the surreal stories of Sefer Hamaasim (The Book of Deeds), 1932. Agnon also published work on the Jewish holy days Yamin Noraim (Days of Awe), 1938, on the giving of the Torah, Atem Reitem (Present at Sinai), 1959, and on the gathering of Hassidic lore, Sifreihem Shel Tzadikim (Books of the Righteous) and Sippurei HaBesht (Stories of the Baal Shem Tov), 1960-1961. Considered one of the greatest Hebrew writers, in 1966, Agnon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the Director of Research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem and served as the Series Editor of The S.Y. Agnon Library at The Toby Press, now complete in 15 volumes. He is the founding director of The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education, in Jerusalem, and its WebYeshiva.org program. Rabbi Saks was recently appointed as Editor of Tradition, the premier journal of Orthodox Jewish thought published in English. After earning his BA, MA, and rabbinic degrees from Yeshiva University, Rabbi Saks moved to Israel and has served on the faculties of several high schools and yeshivot, edited several books, and published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature. Rabbi Saks lives in Efrat with his wife Ilana Goldstein Saks and their four children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888-1970) was born in Buczacz, Eastern Galicia (now part of Ukraine). Yiddish was the language of his home, and Hebrew the language of the Bible and the Talmud which he studied formally until the age of nine. His knowledge of German literature came from his mother, and his love of the teachings of Maimonides and the Hassidim came from his father. In 1908 he left for Palestine, where, except for an extended stay in Germany from 1912 to 1924, he lived until his death. Agnon began writing stories when he was quite young. His first major publication, Hakhnasat Kalah (The Bridal Canopy), 1922, re-creates the golden age of Hassidism, and his apocalyptic novel, Oreach Nata Lalun (A Guest for the Night), 1939, depicts the ruin of Galicia after WWI. Much of Agnon’s other writing is set in Palestine. Israel’s early pioneers are portrayed in his epic Temol Shilshom (Only Yesterday), 1945, considered his greatest work, and in the surreal stories of Sefer Hamaasim (The Book of Deeds), 1932. Agnon also published work on the Jewish holy days Yamin Noraim (Days of Awe), 1938, on the giving of the Torah, Atem Reitem (Present at Sinai), 1959, and on the gathering of Hassidic lore, Sifreihem Shel Tzadikim (Books of the Righteous) and Sippurei HaBesht (Stories of the Baal Shem Tov), 1960-1961. Considered one of the greatest Hebrew writers, in 1966, Agnon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the Director of Research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem and served as the Series Editor of The S.Y. Agnon Library at The Toby Press, now complete in 15 volumes. He is the founding director of The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education, in Jerusalem, and its WebYeshiva.org program. Rabbi Saks was recently appointed as Editor of Tradition, the premier journal of Orthodox Jewish thought published in English. After earning his BA, MA, and rabbinic degrees from Yeshiva University, Rabbi Saks moved to Israel and has served on the faculties of several high schools and yeshivot, edited several books, and published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature. Rabbi Saks lives in Efrat with his wife Ilana Goldstein Saks and their four children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888-1970) was born in Buczacz, Eastern Galicia (now part of Ukraine). Yiddish was the language of his home, and Hebrew the language of the Bible and the Talmud which he studied formally until the age of nine. His knowledge of German literature came from his mother, and his love of the teachings of Maimonides and the Hassidim came from his father. In 1908 he left for Palestine, where, except for an extended stay in Germany from 1912 to 1924, he lived until his death. Agnon began writing stories when he was quite young. His first major publication, Hakhnasat Kalah (The Bridal Canopy), 1922, re-creates the golden age of Hassidism, and his apocalyptic novel, Oreach Nata Lalun (A Guest for the Night), 1939, depicts the ruin of Galicia after WWI. Much of Agnon’s other writing is set in Palestine. Israel’s early pioneers are portrayed in his epic Temol Shilshom (Only Yesterday), 1945, considered his greatest work, and in the surreal stories of Sefer Hamaasim (The Book of Deeds), 1932. Agnon also published work on the Jewish holy days Yamin Noraim (Days of Awe), 1938, on the giving of the Torah, Atem Reitem (Present at Sinai), 1959, and on the gathering of Hassidic lore, Sifreihem Shel Tzadikim (Books of the Righteous) and Sippurei HaBesht (Stories of the Baal Shem Tov), 1960-1961. Considered one of the greatest Hebrew writers, in 1966, Agnon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the Director of Research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem and served as the Series Editor of The S.Y. Agnon Library at The Toby Press, now complete in 15 volumes. He is the founding director of The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education, in Jerusalem, and its WebYeshiva.org program. Rabbi Saks was recently appointed as Editor of Tradition, the premier journal of Orthodox Jewish thought published in English. After earning his BA, MA, and rabbinic degrees from Yeshiva University, Rabbi Saks moved to Israel and has served on the faculties of several high schools and yeshivot, edited several books, and published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature. Rabbi Saks lives in Efrat with his wife Ilana Goldstein Saks and their four children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, three time graduate of Yeshiva University and Director of ATID – Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions as he speaks with Dr. Stu Halpern, senior advisor to the provost about his connection to Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Nobel Prize Laureate, and what drove Saks to translate many of his works into English. Saks speaks of how Agnon became Israel’s founding novelist because of the profound impact he has had on Hebrew Literature by eloquently covering a wide variety of topics.

For this Yom Kippur, we read a section of S. Y. Agnon's Twofold translated by Jeffrey Saks. Text: Twofold, by S. Y. Agnon, trans. Jeffrey Saks, in The Outcast and Other Tales. Toby Press, 2017

Shmuel Yosef Agnon was one of the giants of modern Hebrew literature. His short stories, novels, and anthologies reflected and shaped the national spirit of the Jewish people in an age that witnessed the rise of Zionism, the founding of Israel, and the horror of the Holocaust. In 1966, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first—and to this day the only—Hebrew writer to receive the honor. In this podcast, Tikvah’s Alan Rubenstein is joined by Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, one of the world’s most renowned scholars of Agnon, to discuss his life, work, and legacy. Rabbi Saks, the founding director of ATID, recently completed his work assembling the S.Y. Agnon Library—a collection of over a dozen English translations of Agnon’s writings—for the Toby Press. Rubenstein and Saks use two essays to frame their discussion: "S. Y. Agnon—The Last Hebrew Classic?" by Gershom Scholem (later published in Commentary as "Reflections on S.Y. Agnon") and "Agnon’s Shaking Bridge and the Theology of Culture" by Rabbi Saks. They discuss the differences between Agnon’s real life and his literary persona, the distinct features that make him such a unique Jewish writer, and the perils of reading Agnon both in Hebrew and in translation. Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble as well as “Baruch Habah,” performed by the choir of Congregation Shearith Israel.

In honor of the beginning of Passover this weekend, this week's episode features an excerpt from S.Y. Agnon’s story, “The Home,” which appears in Herbert Levine and Reena Spicehandler’s English translation in Jeffrey Saks’ series on Agnon, the only Hebrew-language writer to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Text: “The Home,” by S. Y. Agnon, translated by Herbert Levine and Reena Spicehandler, in The Outcast and Other Tales. Ed. and annotated by Jeffrey Saks. Toby Press, 2017.

Jews ushered in 8 days of Passover with the Seder on Monday night. The holiday has often been misunderstood throughout the non-Jewish world. On this episode, host Marcela Sulak reads excerpts from S.Y. Agnon's story The Tale of Little Rabbi Gadiel, a bizarre account of Jewish blood libel occurring around Passover. The story is translated by Evelyn Abel and is from the Agnon collection Forevermore & Other Stories, edited by Jeffrey Saks. Here is an excerpt from The Tale of Little Rabbi Gadiel: "One day several of the wickedest men of the nations of the world who were envious of Rabbi Gadiel's father came together and said: 'How long will this Jew usurp us and rob us of our livelihood? The time has come to remove him from this world.' One said to the other.' But for fear of the authorities we would swallow him alive.' And one stood and said 'These Jews' Passover is approaching; come let us take a corpse and put it in this Jew's house and say, 'One of ours he killed, for his Matzot he killed, to bake him in blood he killed,' and we will go and call the judges of the town and the elders of the community, and they will arrest him with iron chains and lead him out to be executed, and we will have our revenge on him, and moreover we will have his wealth and divide it amongst ourselves. " Text: "The Tale of Little Rabbi Gadiel," by S.Y Agnon, translated by Evelyn Abel, Forevermore & Other Stories. Edited by Jeffrey Saks. The Toby Press, 2016. Music: Itzhak Perlman - Nigun Leonid Kogan - Nigun

On this episode, Marcela reads from a collection of S.Y. Agnon's work including folk stories and midrashic tales. It's called Forevermore & Other Stories, and is edited and annotated by Jeffrey Saks, and illustrated by Yosl Bergner. There is an area in Jerusalem known by the Arabic name Abu Tor, meaning "father of the ox." Here is an excerpt from the story "The Father of the Ox" about the origins of Abu Tor: "Once upon a time there was an old man in Jerusalem. An old, old man he was, yet as innocent as a child. Now this old man had neither child nor wife, but he had a little house and he had a field and he had an ox. This ox had ample strength and a tender heart. He felt sorry for his owner and used to serve him like a slave serves his master. He would plough his field for him and fetch him up water from the spring; and when it was necessary the old man would hang a basket with money round his neck and would tell him, go to the market and fetch me my food. And the old man wanted for nothing with him. I can only hope that we, too, may never lack for anything either rin this world or the world to come. And the neighbors used to call the old man Abu-Tor, or Father of the Ox, all because of the ox he had." Text: Forevermore & Other Stories. Sy. Y. Agnon. Edited and Annotated by Jeffrey Saks. Illustrated by Yosl Bergner. Toby Press, 2016 Music: Naseer Shamma - The Moon Fades

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #148 ~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio "Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die; and then dies having never really lived." —Dalai Lama Most Sunday mornings at around nine or 10 o'clock you will find me in my living room having just returned from walking my boys, Norman and Oscar, settling in with a pot of black tea, a warm croissant from a local bakery and the Sunday newspapers. Such simple pleasures bring me a priceless amount of happiness, and I look forward to this weekly ritual as I tuck into bed each Saturday night. The recent trending term hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) in the lifestyle publishing industry springs from the happiest country in the world as found by extensive research compiled by the United Nations World Happiness Report. Simply defined, incorporating hygge into your way of living is a choice to encourage the enjoyment of life's simple pleasures. There are a multitude of books focused exactly on how to welcome a hygge lifestyle into your life out on the market at the moment (and these are just a sampling released in the past 12 months). Just take a look below: ~The Little Book of Hygge ~The Cozy Life ~The Year of Living Danishly ~How to Hygge ~Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well ~The Nordic Theory of Everything ~Hygge: 25 Secrets from the Danish Art of Happiness, Getting Cozy and Living Well Needless to say, the attention to a way of life that welcomes in the simplicity and everyday savoring of pleasures and reminds of the gifts a welcoming sanctuary can bring into our everyday lives is something that tickles me immensely. Many TSLL readers have pointed out the similarities between hygge and living simply luxuriously, and after reading two books on the subject, I certainly have to agree. So how exactly do they overlap? How are they similar? Let's take a look: 1. Savoring quality in each arena of life: food (a decadent hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream) relationships, the people you spend time with everyday experiences a small but welcoming home 2. Cultivating a sanctuary to relax, unwind and rejuvenate 3. Light a candle or two or three 4. Cultivating trust in those you love, in the communities you live and work in 5. Building a life that enables you to feel free, thus realizing you have more control over your level of happiness than you may have once assumed. In other words, you truly can become the CEO of your own life while building and being a partner in your community, home and work place. 6. A strong, respectful support system "meaningful, positive social relationships" 7. Practice gratitude, let go of want 8. Build and cultivate strong, healthy, loving relationships The quality of one's happiness increases with improved relationships, not surprisingly when we make more money. "America has gotten richer, a lot richer, over the past fifty years, but we've not gotten happier." —Jeffrey Saks author of the United Nations World Happiness Report 9. Become a lover of books  Discover the pleasure reading can bring when a wide open afternoon, evening or 30 minutes anywhere in your day arises. Pick up a book, snuggle up and dive in to discover something new. Keep the television off, put your cell phone away and get lost, letting go of time. 10. Become a regular visitor of nature "Whether you are sitting by a river in Sweden or in a vineyard in France, or just in your garden or nearby park, being surrounded by nature enables you to bring your guard down and adds a certain simplicity." Meik Wiking 11. Choose to be fully present Put away the technology, allow your mind to be in the here and now and look around you. Savor the sun, savor the company, savor the flavor of the food. Savor the amazing life you have the fortune to be living. 12. Cultivate calm  13. Savor simple rituals 14. Let go of competiveness The mindset of a market economy versus a social-democratic economy is at once significant and worth contemplating. Often, based on where we live and the culture we are raised in when we see our success based on how others fare as well: in a market economy, it is more likely to be an independent mindset, and in a social-democratic economy, it is more of a collective success one seeks. Ultimately, we only have control over ourselves, but to ignore how our behavior and decisions effect others is to ignore the power of emotional intelligence in our lives. When we consider others in our decision making, it is a means of paying it forward, of cultivating more wellness, kindness and positive behavior that builds each other up rather than tears one another down. 15. Seek internal approval rather than external Refrain from needing to wear labels or purchase more or larger homes, cars, shoes, clothing, etc. A mindset set on fine-tuning one's outer appearance is a person who has not found peace within. When you do have peace within, the external becomes far less important and the once temporary highs are substituted with permanent peace. The primary, underlying similarity that is at the core of living well, living simply luxuriously and thereby incorporating a hygge approach to life is to truly appreciate and savor the life we've each been given now. To drink the marrow from life so to speak every single day. It need not be excessive, expensive or grand. The true pleasures are actually quite simple. It is the moments of sitting next to those you love, letting go of time and letting go of worry knowing you are living well, you're living wisely and you haven't been pulled off track by the marketing masses that merely want your money when superficially they promise you more happiness. They are wrong, you are right when you choose to live in such a way that focuses on your well-being. And well-being cannot be purchased, it must be consciously cultivated, tended to and patiently fine-tuned. ~What Does a Simply Luxurious Life Look & Feel Like? Petit Plaisir: ~My Master Recipes; 165 Recipes to Inspire Confidence int eh Kitchen by Patricia Wells Download the Episode

"This is the chronicle of the city of Buczacz, which I have written in my pain and anguish so that our descendants should know that our city was full of Torah, wisdom, love, piety, life, grace, kindness, and charity." So begins Shai Agnon's epic story cycle entitled A City in Its Fullness - a literary memorial to the city of his birth, now called Buchach in Western Ukraine. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Agnon's receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature (Agnon is the only Hebrew language writer ever to receive the prize), and in honor of the upcoming Jewish fast of Tisha b’Av, host Marcela Sulak reads from a story in this cycle called "Pisces." It's about a householder called Fishl Karp, a portly man who loves food and gets distracted on his way to the synagogue one morning: "He met a fisherman with his net coming from the Strypa. He was stooped under the weight of the net, and the net was shaking itself and its bearer. Fishl looked and saw a fish quivering there in the net. In all his days, Fishl had never seen such a large fish. When his eyes settled down after seeing the new sight, his soul began to quiver with desire to enjoy a meal made from the fish. So great was his appetite that he didn’t ask how such a stupendous fish had found its way into the waters that do not produce large fish. What did Fishl say when he saw the fish? He said, 'The Leviathan knows that Fishl Karp loves large fish and sent him what he loves.'" Hear more about Agnon's life and work in our previous podcast "Only Yesterday." Text: "Pisces." Translated by Jeffrey M. Green in A City in Its Fullness by S. Y. Agnon. Edited by Alan Mintz and Jeffrey Saks. Toby Press, 2016. Music: The Chicago Klezmer Ensemble - Doyna And Sirba Populara; Sweet Home Bukovina; Mazltov; A Hora Mit Tsibeles

Shai Agnon is the only Hebrew-language writer to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Agnon being awarded the prize, Toby Press has been releasing Agnon's work in English translation. Today, host Marcela Sulak reads from Agnon's introduction to the "Book of the State," one of his little-known political satires. "... The State is a metaphysical concept rendered into something physical which feigns meta-physicality. When you attempt to approach it as a meta-physical entity it slips back into physicality; if one considers it in physical terms it suddenly reverts into meta-physicality." In this introduction, we see the role Agnon envisioned for himself as someone standing at the crossroads - a traditional figure between eastern European traditional Orthodoxy and modern Israeli life. Text: "Introduction," translated by Sara Daniel, in The Orange Peel and Other Satires. S. Y. Agnon. With annotations and a foreword by Jeffrey Saks. Toby Press, 2015. Music: Avishai Cohen Trio - Dreaming; Beyond; Variations in G Minor

R. Jeffrey Saks discusses a new book "Faith Without Fear: Unresolved Issues in Modern Orthodoxy" (Valentine-Mitchell) with the author, Rabbi Dr. Michael Harris of The Hampstead Synagogue in London. Recorded at the UK Limmud Conference.

Recorded amid the tumult of the UK Limmud Conference, R. Jeffrey Saks chats with Prof. Deborah Lipstadt about her books ​"​The Eichmann Trial​"​ and ​"​History on Trial​"​, her views on holocaust education in contemporary Day School​s, and our need to stand up for the truth as she did in her victorious libel suit (soon to be a major motion picture).

R. Jeffrey Saks discusses a new book "Faith Without Fear: Unresolved Issues in Modern Orthodoxy" (Valentine-Mitchell) with the author, Rabbi Dr. Michael Harris of The Hampstead Synagogue in London. Recorded at the UK Limmud Conference.

Recorded amid the tumult of the UK Limmud Conference, R. Jeffrey Saks chats with Prof. Deborah Lipstadt about her books ​"​The Eichmann Trial​"​ and ​"​History on Trial​"​, her views on holocaust education in contemporary Day School​s, and our need to stand up for the truth as she did in her victorious libel suit (soon to be a major motion picture).

Vayigash 5776 - Od Avinu Chai? - Guest shiur with R. Jeffrey Saks

As we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, host Marcela Sulak reads an extract from a story about the mitzvah of the etrog, by Israeli Nobel laureate S.Y. Agnon. It starts with the narrator making a trip to the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim to purchase his own etrog: "I pushed my way into the shop of a seller of old books, who abandons book selling during the month or so before Sukkot in order to sell etrogs. The shop was full of customers, aside from the usual scholars and the types that crowd about wherever crowds are gathered. A beautiful scent arose from the etrogs and hadasim, which masked the smell of old books, most of which had come from the apartments of poor folk, forced to sell off their libraries to buy Sabbath provisions or to marry off their daughters." During his trip the narrator is plunged into a world of over-eager sellers, beleaguered customers, and, most importantly, old rabbinical tales about etrogs. Text:“The Etrog,” by S. Y. Agnon. Translated by Jeffrey Saks. Forthcoming in Forevermore: Stories of the Old World and the New, edited by Jeffrey Saks, the Toby Press in 2016. Music:Shirei Sukkot - Yerushalayim (Shloshet HaRegalim)Shirei Sukkot - LaSukkah SheliAvihu Medina - Melech BaSukkah

Featuring: An insiders look into "From Foe to Friend and other stories: by S.Y. Agnon" with Shay Charka and Jeffrey Saks. Next, Stuart Gourdji, Program Coordinator at YACHAD, discusses YACHAD Gifts. Then Broadway Producer Elie Landau schmoozes with Miriam about the loss of the legendary Joan Rivers and her lasting impact on the world of comedy. Finally, Miriam will redo her ice bucket challenge with an assist from Elie and will hopefully get it right this time...

Teshuva 5774 - The Creative Teshuva of Love - Guest shiur with R. Jeffrey Saks

R. Jeffrey Saks meets with poetess Courtney Druz about her new book of poetry "The Light and the Light" and discusses with her the role of poetry in Jewish life and education. To learn more about Courtney's books and writing visit www.CourtneyDruz.com.

R. Jeffrey Saks meets with poetess Courtney Druz about her new book of poetry "The Light and the Light" and discusses with her the role of poetry in Jewish life and education. To learn more about Courtney's books and writing visit www.CourtneyDruz.com.

Steve Savitsky of OU Radio talks with R. Jeffrey Saks, one of the editors of "To Mourn a Child: Jewish Responses to Neonatal and Childhood Death." In this collection from OU Press Rabbi Saks and Dr. Joel B. Wolowelsky have assembled an anthology of personal accounts written by parents and other family members who experienced this devastating loss. In addition, there are essays by rabbis and healthcare professionals and selections from traditional Jewish sources.

Steve Savitsky of OU Radio talks with R. Jeffrey Saks, one of the editors of "To Mourn a Child: Jewish Responses to Neonatal and Childhood Death." In this collection from OU Press Rabbi Saks and Dr. Joel B. Wolowelsky have assembled an anthology of personal accounts written by parents and other family members who experienced this devastating loss. In addition, there are essays by rabbis and healthcare professionals and selections from traditional Jewish sources.

R. Jeffrey Saks talks with R. Gidon Rothstein about his new book "We're Missing the Point: What's Wrong with the Orthodox Jewish Community and How to Fix It" (OU Press).

R. Jeffrey Saks talks with R. Gidon Rothstein about his new book "We're Missing the Point: What's Wrong with the Orthodox Jewish Community and How to Fix It" (OU Press).

Jeffrey Saks talks with Yoel Finkelman about his new book "Strictly Kosher Reading"

Jeffrey Saks talks with Yoel Finkelman about his new book "Strictly Kosher Reading"

Jeffrey Saks an Reuven Ziegler discuss 4 new books by and about the Roshei Yeshiva of Har Etzion - Rav Yehuda Amital zt"l and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein shlit"a.

Jeffrey Saks an Reuven Ziegler discuss 4 new books by and about the Roshei Yeshiva of Har Etzion - Rav Yehuda Amital zt"l and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein shlit"a.

Jeffrey Saks talks with William Kolbrener about his new book "Open Minded Torah" (Continuum Press). Visit www.OpenMindedTorah.com to learn more about the book.

Jeffrey Saks talks with William Kolbrener about his new book "Open Minded Torah" (Continuum Press). Visit www.OpenMindedTorah.com to learn more about the book.

Jeffrey Saks and Yoel Finkelman discuss the findings of the National Study of Yoth and Religion in this installment of ATID's Jewish Educator's Bookclub Podcast.

Jeffrey Saks and Yoel Finkelman discuss the findings of the National Study of Yoth and Religion in this installment of ATID's Jewish Educator's Bookclub Podcast.

Jeffrey Saks discusses the new English edition of Rabbi Soloveitchik's "And From There You Shall Seek" (Uvikkashtem miSham) with Rabbi Reuven Ziegler of the Toras HoRav Foundation.

Jeffrey Saks discusses the new English edition of Rabbi Soloveitchik's "And From There You Shall Seek" (Uvikkashtem miSham) with Rabbi Reuven Ziegler of the Toras HoRav Foundation.

Jeffrey Saks and Yoel Finkelman discuss research into Christian education - and if it can shed light on our work in Jewish education.

Jeffrey Saks and Yoel Finkelman discuss research into Christian education - and if it can shed light on our work in Jewish education.

A special election day podcast with Rabbis Chaim Brovender, Yitzchak Blau, and Jeffrey Saks discussing Torah, politics, democracy and kingship - a special panel for election day.

ATID's R. Jeffrey Saks discusses "Siach MiLev HaMevukhah" with editor and author Dr. Daniel Marom.

ATID's R. Jeffrey Saks discusses "Siach MiLev HaMevukhah" with editor and author Dr. Daniel Marom.

ATID's R. Jeffrey Saks talks with R. Elyakim Krumbein about his book "Musar for Moderns".

ATID's R. Jeffrey Saks talks with R. Elyakim Krumbein about his book "Musar for Moderns".

ATID's R. Jeffrey Saks discusses YCT's Tanakh Companion with Dr. Yael Ziegler and R. Daniel Wolf.

ATID's R. Jeffrey Saks discusses YCT's Tanakh Companion with Dr. Yael Ziegler and R. Daniel Wolf.