Podcast appearances and mentions of ruth wisse

Renowned scholar of Yiddish literature and Jewish political thought, Ruth Wisse joins Dr. Charles Asher Small and David Harris for a conversation on the history of antisemitism, Jewish identity, and contemporary ideological challenges in academia.

Josh Novey, local Arizona comedian and Iraq War veteran, on his upcoming appearance at Brad Stine's Laugh While It's Legal Tour in Phoenix. Tickets can be found at 960thepatriot.com! Ruth Wisse's piece in the Wall Street Journal, "Harvard Is an Islamist Outpost." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2024, we convened 42 new conversations, taking up some of the great questions of modern Jewish life, questions of war and peace, of Israel's security and Israel on the global stage, and of Jewish survival and flourishing in the diaspora. This year Mosaic's editor and the podcast's host, Jonathan Silver, spoke with military officials, activists, scholars, reporters, rabbis, theologians, institution builders, students, and in one poignant conversation a father grieving for his son who fell in battle defending Israel and the Jewish people. Because 2024 marks 820 years since the death of the great medieval sage Moses Maimonides, the Tikvah Podcast began the year with a four-part introduction to his work and his legacy. This was also a presidential election year in the United States, and as the fall campaign wound down, and in its immediate aftermath, we examined some of the political questions that would determine the future of American policymaking and the role of the Jewish people in American politics. From large, enduring questions to focused, timely ones, each week we've aimed to sustain the great Jewish conversation in depth. Of course, the most significant Jewish story of 2024 was Israel's military operation to defeat its enemies, secure its borders, and protect the millions of citizens threatened by the ring of fire that Iran had constructed around the Jewish state. Israel's military planners and operations have not been without their mistakes and miscalculations this year—no human enterprise is. But one year ago, in December 2023, it did not seem possible that, by December 2024, the IDF would have crippled Hamas and Hizballah and neutralized much of Syria's arsenal, that the Syrian government would have been defeated and replaced, and that Iran's defensive missile shield would be practically destroyed. As of the day of this recording, the Israeli air force is attacking military sites in Yemen. And all of this without the scale of civilian damage and loss of life that one could reasonably have expected in the Israeli homeland. There are still over 100 hostages in Gaza, a number of Americans among them—we do not forget about them for even a minute. But it must be said that the success of Israeli intelligence and the IDF over the course of the last months is historic. That, in one way or another, has been an ongoing focus in our conversations this past year. As 2024 is coming to an end, we're looking back at a number of clips from the past year. These include conversations with the celebrated author Cynthia Ozick, Rabbi J.J. Schacter, the director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer, the former Harvard professor Ruth Wisse, Rabbi Mark Cohn, the political scientist Yechiel Leiter, Rabbi Shlomo Brody, the journalist and intellectual Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, the former IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus, and the author and journalist Timothy Carney. As we plan 40 or 50 more conversations in 2025, we hope you'll return to our archive and listen to some of the most fascinating conversations that we've already recorded. In order to help us, please consider supporting our work at the Tikvah podcast, and visit Tikvah.org/support to invest in this program and everything that we do at Tikvah.

Anti-Israel campus activism has never been more popular or unpleasant than it is right now. In years past, much of this activism was mixed up with nods to the desire for peace and a two-state solution that would allow for Palestinians to enjoy their own sovereignty alongside a secure Israel. That isn't happening now. It certainly isn't what is meant by the chants, now common at the most prestigious universities in the United States, that call for the globalization of the intifada or that give voice to the delusion that Israel can be unborn. To analyze the protests, the protestors, and their slogans, Ruth Wisse, the scholar of Yiddish and Jewish literature and history, and the author of books including Jews and Power, joins Jonathan Silver. 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.

Please click on this link to contribute whatever you can to keep this podcast on the air: https://thechesedfund.com/yeshivaofnewarkpodcast/keeping-the-ark-afloat With downloads approaching the million mark-and an archival library numbering in the thousands, the Yeshiva of Newark Podcast has been striving to continuously upgrade our content, and professionalize our audio sound, along with altering approaches in light of much appreciated listener feedback.  A niche has been carved out that resonates with many on the wide spectrum of Observant Jews.  This explains why we continually rank high in independent on-line lists of top Yeshiva podcasts.  This proud edifice is in real danger of toppling and disappearing. We need the help of our listeners to continue to record and edit, and to promote a product that has been a balm and instructive to so many.  Just 36 dollars, a minimum donation, from a thousand of you out there will keep us afloat as a New Ark of straight, intelligent, and humorous discussion, lectures, debate and inquiry - while the destructive waters of ignorance and politics crash around us. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Ruth Wisse is one of the great modern scholars of Yiddish literature. A distinguished career at McGill and Harvard Universities has now led to her current engagement with Tikvah, a Jewish-conservative think tank and educational outfit. Professor Wisse has authored many books, and written widely on political affairs in addition to her native areas of scholarly expertise. Her extensive ouvre can be reviewed here: https://harvard.academia.edu/RuthRWisse --------------------- ABOUT THIS PODCAST Jews You Should Know introduces the broader community to interesting and inspiring Jewish men and women making a difference in our world. Some are already famous, some not yet so. But each is a Jew You Should Know. The host, Rabbi Ari Koretzky, is Executive Director of MEOR Maryland (www.meormd.org), a premier Jewish outreach and educational organization. MEOR operates nationally on twenty campuses and in Manhattan; visit the national website at www.meor.org. Please visit www.JewsYouShouldKnow.com, follow us on Twitter @JewsUShouldKnow or on Facebook. Have feedback for the show, or suggestions for future guests? E-mail us at JewsYouShouldKnow@gmail.com. A special thank you to Jacob Rupp of the Lift Your Legacy podcast for his invaluable production assistance. This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate

ABOUT THIS EPISODE Ruth Wisse is one of the great modern scholars of Yiddish literature. A distinguished career at McGill and Harvard Universities has now led to her current engagement with Tikvah, a Jewish-conservative think tank and educational outfit. Professor Wisse has authored many books, and written widely on political affairs in addition to her native areas of scholarly expertise. Her extensive ouvre can be reviewed here: https://harvard.academia.edu/RuthRWisse --------------------- ABOUT THIS PODCAST Jews You Should Know introduces the broader community to interesting and inspiring Jewish men and women making a difference in our world. Some are already famous, some not yet so. But each is a Jew You Should Know. The host, Rabbi Ari Koretzky, is Executive Director of MEOR Maryland (www.meormd.org), a premier Jewish outreach and educational organization. MEOR operates nationally on twenty campuses and in Manhattan; visit the national website at www.meor.org. Please visit www.JewsYouShouldKnow.com, follow us on Twitter @JewsUShouldKnow or on Facebook. Have feedback for the show, or suggestions for future guests? E-mail us at JewsYouShouldKnow@gmail.com. A special thank you to Jacob Rupp of the Lift Your Legacy podcast for his invaluable production assistance.

The Jerusalem Post Podcast with Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Sarah Ben-Nun. Hosts Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Sarah Ben-Nun discuss the seemingly-never ending ICJ hearings, the nuances and complications of the West Bank, many a Broadway musicals, the continued horrific revelations of Hamas's brutality, and is Wikipedia a reliable source? They are then joined by esteemed Yiddish-literature scholar Prof. Ruth Wisse to hear about the expansiveness and wonder of Yiddish, how it followed Jewish life, and how its writers captured trauma and responded to it, in poignant relevance to today's events.

Today's Remnant features the overdue first appearance of AEI senior fellow Danielle Pletka, who joins the program to discuss the ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. What does the future hold for both countries? Why has antisemitism become so prevalent? How's Benjamin Netanyahu doing? And does the U.N. have any reason to exist? Show Notes: - Danielle's page at AEI - Danielle's podcast, What the Hell Is Going On? - Ruth Wisse on the explosion of antisemitism - Mike Gallagher on TikTok's propaganda - Danielle: “Iran Is the Problem” - Fred Kagan: “If the West Cuts Aid to Ukraine, Russia Will Win. If the West Leans In, Ukraine Can Win.” -Video version Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are Charlottesvilles happening every day in America. This time, they're everywhere, driven by an explosion of antisemitism. And these Charlottesvilles are happening at Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford among other elite havens of academe. This is not the alt-right, fringe antisemitism of years past. The modern version has taken on the flavor of the leftist […]

There are Charlottesvilles happening every day in America. This time, they're everywhere, driven by an explosion of antisemitism. And these Charlottesvilles are happening at Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford among other elite havens of academe. This is not the alt-right, fringe antisemitism of years past. The modern version has taken on the flavor of the leftist elite: it equates Zionism with racism; it coalesces the extreme aspects of BLM, feminism, and other groups against a common enemy; it is pro-nothing and entirely anti. The Nazi movement had its roots in professors, Nobel Prize winners – this too, is finding roots in elitist bodies who can intellectualize their way around the pernicious evil of the Hamas attacks. The only way to stand up to a culture of hate? Intolerance of it, and imposing consequences on those who profess it. Ruth Wisse is the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Comparative Literature Emerita at Harvard University. She immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1940 and is a preeminent scholar of Yiddish and American culture, literature, and politics. She is the author of several books, including her memoir Free as a Jew. Download the transcript here.

J.J. and Dr. Ruth Wisse unpack the world or modern Yiddish literature from its beginnings with Rav Nachman of Breslov through Chaim Grade and the contemporary state of Yiddish studies. Ruth R. Wisse is professor emerita of Yiddish literature and Comparative Literature at Harvard University and senior fellow at the Tikvah Fund. Her books on literature include The Modern Jewish Canon: A Journey through Literature and Culture (2000); No Joke: Making Jewish Humor (2013); A Little Love in Big Manhattan: Two Yiddish Poets (1988); The Schlemiel as Modern Hero (1971). On politics, Jews and Power (2007, 2020); If I am Not for Myself: The Liberal Betrayal of the Jews (1992), and a memoir Free as a Jew (2021). She publishes frequently in Mosaic, the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, and elsewhere.

In this episode, Eli examines the difference between what Israel's leaders must do to survive and what Ukraine needs from the civilized world. He also talks with Harvard University emeritus professor of Yiddish literature, Ruth Wisse about her extraordinary essay in Commentary from May 2022 about the rise of Ukraine's Jewish president. https://www.commentary.org/articles/ruth-wisse/zelensky-jewish-hero/   Questions? Comments? Email us at Eli@nebulouspodcasts.com

Ruth Wisse, woman of letters, translator of the new edition of Chaim Grade's "The Quarrel" from Yiddish

In this week's episode, an Israeli government minister, the 45th President of the United States, and the contemporary American Jewish man, all go under the Three Jews' microscope. You'll hear the most understated criticism ever of the Second Intifada, and wildly differing views on Joshua Cohen's novel The Netanyahus. You'll also learn why Gabi and Paul don't discuss Donald Trump when they want to meet for a friendly drink. Finally, a sneak peek into what Gabi's been up to in Budapest. Follow (and argue with) us on Twitter - @3Jews4Opinions @abesilbe @Brahmski @pauldgross Articles referred to can be found here: Only Abbas Got Kahana Right What History Teaches Us About January 6th American Jewry's Stunted Sons Woman in Dark Times: Free as a Jew is a Memoir for Our Polarized Age (Gabi's 2021 review of Ruth Wisse's memoir)

Host: Larry Bernstein. Guests are Rory MacFarquhar and Ruth Wisse.

By reading literature, one can experience what it's like to be, say, a king, or a soldier, or a mother, or a stranger, or a tyrant, or for that matter a slave, not to mention far more. What of modern Jewish literature? How did its story-tellers speak not only to individual readers, but also to a nation—a nation which until recently was dispersed through many lands and spoke to itself in many languages? How did fiction become one of the primary ways that modern Jewish culture was created and conveyed? And how have the greatest Jewish writers confronted the Jewish people's enduring dilemmas? Those are some of the questions that Ruth Wisse, professor emerita at Harvard, Mosaic columnist, and senior distinguished fellow at the Tikvah Fund, asks of herself and her students in her courses on Jewish literature. And they animate her new podcast series "The Stories Jews Tell." On this week's podcast, in conversation with Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver, she orients listeners to the questions of Jewish literature. 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.

By reading literature, one can experience what it's like to be, say, a king, or a soldier, or a mother, or a stranger, or a tyrant, or for that matter a slave, not to mention far more. What of modern Jewish literature? How did its story-tellers speak not only to individual readers, but also to […]

Two stories this week, the first about a chassid of the Alter Rebbe and how his wife shows him how to serve Hashem with joy and the second about my chevruta and the power of the mikvah. Also available at https://soundcloud.com/barak-hullman/joy-is-the-key-to-receiving-all-of-the-blessings. To become a part of this project please go to https://www.patreon.com/barakhullman. Hear all of the stories at https://hasidicstory.com. Go here to hear the interview with Ruth Wisse: https://soundcloud.com/jewishpeopleideas/ruth-wisse or https://jewishpeopleideas.com. Find my books on Amazon by going to https://bit.ly/barakhullman.

Ruth Wisse is the recently retired Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, currently a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Tikvah Fund. Ruth is known for what she calls “moral self-confidence.” Ruth was top on my list of guests from the start and it took time and patience to get her on the podcast. She recently released a new memoir, Free as a Jew. I had a remote conversation with Ruth where we discussed the role of the Holocaust in Jewish identity, why some Jews are anti-Zionist, how to combat Palestinian propaganda, American Jews, Israeli Jews, Jews and Power, the Iran deal, Yiddish writers and Chabad on campus. Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jewishpeopleideas/ruth-wisse. To hear all of the episodes go to https://soundcloud.com/jewishpeopleideas or https://jewishpeopleideas.com/ Also, please check out my other podcast, The Chassidic Story Project, where I share a new chassidic story every week, available at https://hasidicstory.com. To support this project, please go to https://www.patreon.com/barakhullman. Find my books on Amazon by going to https://bit.ly/barakhullman.

In this first episode of season 2, Dinesh reviews the Supreme Court's hearing on Biden's vaccine mandates and predicts how SCOTUS will rule. Dinesh asks how, a generation after a civil rights movement to remove race as the basis of policy, we now see the Biden administration using race as the basis of providing healthcare. Dinesh reveals how the author of the 1619 Project is ignorant of basic facts about American history. Literary scholar Ruth Wisse comes back on the podcast to talk about two giants of literature, Saul Bellow and Isaac Bashevis Singer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Unorthodox, we're diving deeper into the cream cheese shortage.  Our first guest is Dorothy Kalins, cookbook writer and former editor in chief of Saveur magazine. Liel talks to her about her new book, “The Kitchen Whisperers: Cooking with the Wisdom of Our Friends.” Then Liel sits down with retired Harvard professor Ruth Wisse, whose new memoir is “Free Like a Jew: A Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation.”  Our 300th episode is coming up this month, and we want you to be part of it. Has Unorthodox meant something to you, or played a part in your Jewish journey? Has a particular interview made you think, or a special episode stuck with you? Share your Unorthodox story by recording a voice memo on your phone and emailing it to unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leaving a voicemail at our listener line: (914) 570-4869. Remember to tell us who you are and where you're calling from.  New York-area listeners, travel back in time to 1970s NYC's haute kosher Chinese restaurant, Moshe Peking, for a prix-fixe dinner to remember on December 25, 2021. Chef Eric Huang of Pecking House reimagines the iconic Moshe Peking menu with a 5-course feast of short ribs, duck dumplings, sesame noodles, and more, all under OU supervision at Wall Street Grill. Get your ticket at bit.ly/moshepeking. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation at bit.ly/givetounorthodox. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube channel! Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies at bit.ly/unorthoshirt. Want to book us for a live show? Email producer Josh Kross at jkross@tabletmag.com. Check out all of Tablet's podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts. Sponsors:  AJWS supports activism in 18 countries around the world, and when you donate to AJWS this holiday season, your gift will be matched to make double the impact. Give today at AJWS.org/unorthodox.  Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards recognize 15 extraordinary Jewish teenagers with $36,000 toward their initiatives. Learn more and apply or nominate a teen at dillerteenawards.org/unorthodox.  Rothys makes stylish and sustainable shoes and accessories. Get $20 off your first  purchase at rothys.com/UNORTHODOX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ruth Wisse is the author of the new book, Free as a Jew: A Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation. Its Canadian debut coincided with Jewish Book Month, hosted by the Jewish Public Library in Montreal. But the timing wasn't a coincidence. Wisse, 85, has spent decades as a professor of Yiddish at Harvard, and pioneered the Jewish Studies graduate program at McGill. These days, her unabashed opinions, often conservative, target left-leaning Jews and what she believes is an over-emphasis on mourning the Holocaust, rather than celebrating Israel. Wisse joins the show to discuss these topics and more in an expansive interview. What we talked about: Watch Wisse's book launch on YouTube Find her book on simonandschuster.com Read "McGill celebrates 50 years of Jewish studies" at thecjn.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

In this episode, Dinesh traces how the defund the police movement has now, provoked by sober reality, given way to move to re-fund the police. Dinesh reacts to Tucker Carlson's one-on-one with Kyle Rittenhouse. Dinesh explores the latest evidence of how the Biden family sold out America's interests to the Chinese. Harvard literary scholar Ruth Wisse joins Dinesh to talk about the "woke" contagion at America's leading university.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Dinesh examines the Rittenhouse verdict in its widest significance, drawing out its implications for Antifa, the demonization of Trump supporters, and gun rights.  Dinesh explains why "originalism" is an inadequate judicial philosophy for the Right, and why rejecting it hardly makes us "unprincipled."  Dinesh tabulates how many lives have been saved by restricting abortion over these past few months in Texas. Dinesh calls for Merrick Garland's resignation for lying about the Biden DOJ targeting parents as domestic terrorists. Dinesh talks about Harvard scholar Ruth Wisse's new memoir about fighting woke culture in academia . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Ruth Wisse is the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University emeritus. She is a noted scholar of Yiddish literature and of Jewish history and culture.00:00 - Intro18:34 - Interview Begins Connect with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Website: https://rabbiefremgoldberg.org/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/efrem.goldbergTwitter: http://twitter.com/rabbigoldbergRabbi Efrem Goldberg is the Senior Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS), a rapidly-growing congregation of over 800 families and over 1,000 children in Boca Raton, Florida. BRS is the largest Orthodox Synagogue in the Southeast United States. Rabbi Goldberg's warm and welcoming personality has helped attract people of diverse backgrounds and ages to feel part of the BRS community, reinforcing the BRS credo of 'Valuing Diversity and Celebrating Unity. Rabbi Philip Moskowitz serves as Associate Rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS). His warm personality and dynamic, positive spirit make people of all backgrounds and ages feel a part of the BRS community. Rabbi Moskowitz officiates at life cycle events, provides pastoral counseling, and serves as halachic advisor and close confidante to hundreds of members. Beyond the engaging and relevant Shabbat morning sermons, delivered to multiple, diverse minyanim, and the numerous regular classes and shiurim in the Shul, Rabbi Moskowitz regularly teaches Torah in private homes, local day schools, and the community at large. Rabbi Josh Broide is the Director of the Deborah & Larry D. Silver Center for Jewish Engagement (CJE), a Division of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. He is also the Founder and Director of the Boca Raton Jewish Experience (BRJE), a rapidly growing outreach and engagement program in Boca Raton, Florida. In addition he also works as the Outreach Rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS), one of the largest Modern Orthodox Synagogues in North America.

Ruth Wisse shares her fascinating life story which she's compiled in her new book, "Free As A Jew: A Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation." (Encore Presentation) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruth Wisse, a conservative and former professor at Harvard, continues sharing her fascinating life story which she's compiled in her new book, "Free As A Jew." (Encore Presentation) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruth Wisse shares her fascinating life story which she's compiled in her new book, "Free As A Jew: A Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruth Wisse, a conservative and former professor at Harvard, continues sharing her fascinating life story which she's compiled in her new book, "Free As A Jew." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bret Stephens interviews Professor Ruth Wisse about her contribution to SAPIR's second issue, The Allure of Powerlessness.

Join America's Roundtable co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy for a conversation with Bradley Wine, Global Co-Chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Litigation Department who also serves as Chair of the firm’s Israel practice. In January 2019, Brad was re-appointed by the President of the United States to a five-year term on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing body of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Our conversation focuses on the significance of advancing Holocaust education in America, addressing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) targeting the sovereign state of Israel, and the resurgence of anti-Semitism and Holocaust revisionism in America and Europe. We also discuss the successful Abraham Accords and how the normalization of relations with Israel and member states of the Arab League have unleashed a new era of economic opportunities and regional stability. https://ileaderssummit.org/services/americas-roundtable-radio/ https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 Twitter: @ileaderssummit @NatashaSrdoc America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America’s Roundtable radio program - a strategic initiative of International Leaders Summit, focuses on America’s economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. America’s Roundtable is aired by Lanser Broadcasting Corporation - at 96.5 FM and 98.9 FM, covering Michigan’s major market, and through podcast on Apple Podcasts and other key online platforms.

There's a great Seinfeld episode where a friend of Jerry's decided to convert to Judaism strictly for the humor.  I totally get that. I'm not Jewish, but I have had a fascination with the brilliance of their wit since I was a kid watching stand-up comedians on Ed Sullivan.  You'll hear me say in Episode #1 how Jewish humor appreciation was a must have if a relationship with a woman was to go anywhere. That's not hyberbole.So when I found out that Ruth Wisse had written a book called "NO Joke: Making Jewish Humor," I had to track her down and get her on Common Threads.  I did. Now enjoy.

In November of 1945, the American Jewish Committee established a new, independent magazine of Jewish ideas, with the goal of explaining America to the Jews and the Jews to the America. This month, Commentary marks 75 years of publishing about everything from culture, politics, and history to foreign affairs, Israel, and Jewish thought. During that time, it has proven to be one of America’s most influential journals of public affairs and central fora for great Jewish debates. The late Irving Kristol is said to have called it the most important Jewish magazine in history. He was probably right. In the history of American Jewish letters, Commentary is responsible for bringing Philip Roth, Bernard Malamud, and Cynthia Ozick to the attention of the reading public. During the Cold War, the magazine fought against the then-reigning foreign-policy paradigms of both the Republican and Democratic parties. Not one, but two separate Commentary essays helped secure their authors’—Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jean Kirkpatrick—appointments as United Nations Ambassadors. And in the field of Jewish and Zionist ideas thought, the magazine has over the years published such leading Jewish scholars as Gershom Scholem, Emil Fackenheim, Leon Kass, and Ruth Wisse. Commentary was for many years edited by the legendary Norman Podhoretz, who was followed by Neal Kozodoy (now Mosaic’s editor-at-large); it is now led by John Podhoretz, the guest of this podcast. In this conversation with Mosaic Editor Jonathan Silver—inspired by the magazine’s 75th anniversary issue—Podhoretz looks back at his own history with Commentary, reflects on the work of an editor, recalls how Commentary shaped American Jewish history, and articulates why Commentary still matters three-quarters of a century after its birth. 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.

During this year of lockdowns, shuttered businesses, and working from home, people have made time for many new habits and hobbies, from baking bread to reorganizing closets. In this podcast, Jewish literary and political scholar Ruth Wisse, one of our era’s great masters of Jewish letters, offers her own suggestion for how to spend at least some of that time: reading the greatest works of modern Jewish literature. Those works to her are: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (Sign up for Professor Wisse's free online course on the novel here.) Tevye the Dairyman by Sholem Aleichem (Sign up for Professor Wisse's free online course on the stories here.) In the Heart of the Seas by S.Y. Agnon The Wall by John Hersey My War with Hersh Rasseyner by Chaim Grade In this episode, Wisse explains what drew her to her choices and why, even with just a few months left in the year, we all ought to pick up one of these books and start reading. 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. This podcast was recorded over Zoom as part of a virtual seminar series for Israel gap-year students on “The Jewish Political Condition.”

Dr. Ruth Wisse joined Dany and Marc to discuss the upcoming election and the Democratic Party’s turn toward socialism. The post https://www.aei.org/multimedia/wth-is-at-stake-in-the-2020-election-lessons-from-history-on-the-danger-of-going-from-bad-to-worse/ (WTH is at stake in the 2020 election? Lessons from history on the danger of going from bad to worse) appeared first on https://www.aei.org (American Enterprise Institute - AEI).

Dr. Ruth Wisse joined Dany and Marc to discuss the upcoming election and the Democratic Party’s turn toward socialism. The post WTH is at stake in the 2020 election? Lessons from history on the danger of going from bad to worse appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Since 2015, the Israeli writer and translator Hillel Halkin has published a series of ten essays in Mosaic on the seminal Hebrew writers of the 19th and early-20th centuries. They dealt with everyone from Bialik to Agnon, Rahel to Ahad Ha’am. Those essays have now been brought together in Halkin’s newly published book, The Lady of Hebrew and Her Lovers of Zion. The act of writing such a book is an act of cultural preservation, safeguarding the literature, poetry, and essays through which the Jewish people sought to understand themselves as a modern nation in the modern world. In this podcast, Halkin joins one of his longtime interlocutors, Professor Ruth Wisse, for a wide-ranging discussion about Israel, aliyah, tradition, religion, cultural fidelity, and, of course, Halkin’s new book. This conversation is but a snapshot of a long-running conversation between these two giants of modern Jewish letters. 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. This podcast was recorded over Zoom at a digital event co-sponsored by Beit Avi Chai and Mosaic.

Professor Ruth Wisse, distinguished academic and author of"Jews and Power"

Born in 1915 to a traditional Jewish family recently arrived from Russia, Saul Bellow was raised in Chicago and soon became “part of a circle of brainy Jewish teenagers who read and debated weighty books and learned much more from each other than from their formal schooling.” Early in life, Bellow decided to become a writer “and worked at it so hard and so successfully that by the time of his death in 2005 he had become America’s most decorated novelist.” So writes Ruth Wisse in her October 2019 Mosaic essay, “What Saul Bellow Saw.” The piece is far more than a biography of Bellow or a catalogue of his accomplishments. It is a thoughtful reflection on his profound insights about social order, the human condition, the Jew’s place in America, and much more. Unlike a philosopher or social scientist, Bellow offers these reflections in the form of the novel. And in this podcast, Professor Wisse and Jonathan Silver discuss some of those novels and give us a brief but enlightening glimpse into the mind of Saul Bellow—the thinker. 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.

There is probably no character in Jewish fiction more well known than Tevye the Dairyman. Fiddler on the Roof is one of the best known and most widely performed musicals of all time, and the film adaptation is the quintessential portrayal of shtetl life in American cinema. But long before he sang his way into the hearts of theatergoers around the globe, Tevye was the protagonist of the great Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem’s most important short stories. At turns comedic, tragic, and wise, Tevye was the character in whom Sholem Aleichem poured the most of himself, and it was Tevye to whom he turned when he felt the urge to comment on the great issues facing the Jews of his day. Tikvah Distinguished Senior Fellow Ruth Wisse has been teaching the tales of Tevye the Dairyman for decades, and she recently released a free online course that brings her lifetime of learning to computer screens everywhere. This week, we are rebroadcasting a conversation between Professor Wisse and Tikvah Executive Director Eric Cohen that takes a close look at the second story in the Tevye series, “Tevye Blows a Small Fortune.” They explore the character and values of Tevye and ask what this country Jew can teach us about rootedness, tradition, and faith. If you enjoy this podcast, you can enroll in Professor Wisse’s free online course on Tevye the Dairyman at Tevye.TikvahFund.org. 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.

John J. Miller is joined by Ruth Wisse of Harvard University to discuss Sholem Aleichem's 'Tevye the Dairyman.'

Cui bono? Who benefits? Who benefits when Jews are turned into scapegoats for the ills of the world? Who stands to gain from turning the Jews into the source of all a society’s pathologies? Who comes out ahead when politics are organized against that ever-present outsider—the Jew? These kinds of questions—questions about the political functions of anti-Semitism—are, regrettably, rarely asked by those who seek to understand the phenomenon. Often, anti-Semitism is understood as but one prejudice among many, another irrational hatred that infects the human heart. But to view anti-Semitism in this way, argues Professor Ruth Wisse, is to misunderstand its true nature as a ruthlessly effective political movement. In “The Functions of Anti-Semitism,” published in National Affairs in the fall of 2017, Professor Wisse analyzes the many uses of Jew-hatred and makes the case for studying anti-Semitism using the tools of political science. In this podcast, Professor Wisse joins Jonathan Silver to explore her essay in greater depth. They examine the history of modern anti-Semitism from its genesis in 19th-century Germany to its manifestations in the Muslim world and contemporary college campuses. Wisse and Silver demonstrate, through a methodical look at the nature and functions of anti-Semitism, that if one wants to understand this most persistent of hatreds, one must look for its roots not in the Jew, but in the anti-Semite. 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.

Speaker: Dr. Ruth Wisse Affiliation: Harvard University Title: "How Do We Put an End to Antisemitism: No, Really. How Do We?" Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT Date: August 23, 2010 Description: As part of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA) / International Association for the Study of Global Antisemitism (IASA) "Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity" Conference (August 23-25, 2010), Dr. Ruth Wisse discusses the phenomenon of antisemitism and whether it is possible to put this genocidal hatred to an end.

Speaker: Dr. Ruth Wisse Affiliation: Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University Title: "Why Antisemitism Succeeds" Convener: Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT Date: April 12, 2007 Description: Dr. Ruth Wisse examines the phenomenon of antisemitism and why it succeeds.

Highlights: previously aired: Yoely Lebowitz (interview); Moshe Hollender (z"l) (Kiddush for Purim); Sholem Beinfeld (discusses Ruth Wisse's book No Joke: Making Jewish Humor) Air date: March 4, 2015

Ruth Wisse is Research Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature at Harvard and a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Tikvah Fund. In this conversation, Kristol and Wisse discuss the politics of anti-Semitism, why Israel is under attack in our universities, and the study of Yiddish literature. Wisse explains the nature of modern anti-Semitism and why it is best understood as a political phenomenon. She also reflects on a lifetime of teaching Yiddish literature, and discusses why we should read its great works.

Ruth Wisse is Research Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature at Harvard and a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Tikvah Fund. In this conversation, Kristol and Wisse discuss the politics of anti-Semitism, why Israel is under attack in our universities, and the study of Yiddish literature. Wisse explains the nature of modern anti-Semitism and why it is best understood as a political phenomenon. She also reflects on a lifetime of teaching Yiddish literature, and discusses why we should read its great works.

Ruth Wisse is Research Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature at Harvard and a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Tikvah Fund. In this conversation, Kristol and Wisse discuss the politics of anti-Semitism, why Israel is under attack in our universities, and the study of Yiddish literature. Wisse explains the nature of modern anti-Semitism and why it is best understood as a political phenomenon. She also reflects on a lifetime of teaching Yiddish literature, and discusses why we should read its great works.

The grandfather of Yiddish literature, and one of the founders of “modern” Jewish literature, Mendele Mocher Sforim. He "wanted to be useful to his people rather than gain literary laurels,” and his satirical, critical stories got him chased from town. Text: Of Bygone Days - translated by Rayomond P. Scheindlin. In A Shtetle and Other Yiddish Novellas” ed. Ruth Wisse. Wayne State University Press, 1986. Music: Avraimi der Marvicher, performed by Chava AlbersteinDi Goldene Pave by Ana Margolin, performed by The Klezmatics & Chava Alberstein

What are the three words a woman never wants to hear when she’s making love? Honey, I’m home. Whether their circumstances are happy or fraught, Jews have been pointing out the humor in their predicaments since the biblical era, when Sarah the matriarch saw the fact that she’d bear a child at her advanced age as a cruel joke. But it was only since the Enlightenment that, as a people, the Jews became known as a witty lot—reveling in word play, contradiction, and self-deprecation. Yiddish scholar Ruth Wisse loves a good punchline (and, with her grandmotherly comportment, has perfected the straight-man delivery) but rejects the idea that Jewish humor is a uniform thing and, furthermore, that it’s something of which to be proud. In No Joke: Making Jewish Humor, Wisse considers the variations of humor from Heinrich Heine to YouTube. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruth Wisse delivers her lecture entitled Getting Serious about Jewish Humor recorded at Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Toronto, in November, 2004.

Ruth Wisse delivers her lecture entitled Getting Serious about Jewish Humor recorded at Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Toronto, in November, 2004.