Podcasts about tikvah fund

This episode is sponsored by HOLY CHUTZPAH https://holy-chutzpah.com/ *** It's been three weeks since Israel resumed its ground operations in Gaza—but the mission still feels undefined. Fifty-nine hostages remain in Hamas captivity, and while the IDF maneuvers cautiously on the ground, the sense that we're holding back our full strength lingers. At the same time, Trump is warning of an imminent strike on Iran, raising the specter of regional escalation. Domestically, chaos reigns. The government is in crisis over allegations that senior Netanyahu aides advanced Qatari interests. The Prime Minister's attempt to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has been blocked by the Supreme Court—an unprecedented move that could trigger a constitutional showdown. And just yesterday, a leaked recording of the Shin Bet's head of the Jewish department revealed him boasting about arresting settlers without any evidence. In a moment where everything feels fragile—national unity, legal order, deterrence—we're left asking: where is this all headed? To help us think through these turbulent times, we're joined by Dr. Ronen Shoval—a political philosopher, public intellectual, and longtime activist in Israel's ideological landscape. He's the Dean of the Tikvah Fund and founder of the Argaman Institute for Conservative Thought. He co-founded the influential “Im Tirtzu” movement, has taught at Princeton University, and is the author of Holiness and Society, a groundbreaking new book exploring the political theology of the Bible and its relevance to modern politics. Today, we turn to him to unpack the crisis, the philosophy behind it, and what might come next.

Following a surprise Oval Office announcement by President Trump during Bibi Netanyahu's trip to Washington, the United States has once again restarted negotiations with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. Thanks to Israeli attacks on Iranian air defenses and its proxies, coupled with crippling U.S. sanctions, Iran has never been weaker and America has never had more leverage over the Islamic Republic. However, Iran's nuclear program is also significantly larger and more advanced than it was in 2015 or throughout the first Trump administration. What should Trump demand in a new nuclear deal with Iran? And is the administration's current approach a recipe for success, or are they being played by the Ayatollah? Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Chairman of the Tikvah Fund, and the Chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition. He previously served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor in the administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East for the White House, and as Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela in Donald Trump's first administration. His most recent book is If You Will It: Rebuilding Jewish Peoplehood for the 21st Century (Wicked Son, 2024). Read the transcript here. Subscribe to our Substack here.

It's time to head back to school—but this year, for some Jewish students in North America, school is going to look a little different. Some will be receiving what's known as a "classical" education: a curriculum based on a return to fundamentals, a focus on time-tested great books and a rejection of mandates that emphasize diversity and inclusion. There are plenty of classical schools popping up, including Jewish ones. The Emet Classical Academy in Manhattan is welcoming its first-ever cohort of students this fall, with its founders kickstarting their work earlier than expected due to parents and students feeling unsafe in the public system. Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, the chief education officer of the Tikvah Fund, which operates the school, joins to explain why his team felt compelled to create a new space for Jewish students of all backgrounds. And before that, Rabbi Eric Grossman, head of school at the Akiva School in Montreal, sits down with Avi and Phoebe to talk more broadly about this trend toward classical education in Jewish circles and beyond. To wit: if most of Jewish education is based on the Torah and Mishnah, how much more classical can you get? Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy (@BovyMaltz) Production team: Michael Fraiman (producer), Zachary Kauffman (editor) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to the Bonjour Chai Substack Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Bonjour Chai (Not sure how? Click here)

Jenna Silber Storey was previously assistant professor in politics and international affairs and the executive director of the Tocqueville Program at Furman University. Dr. Storey is also an alumni-in-residence at the University of Chicago (2022-23). She has taught at the University of Chicago; the Buckley Program at Yale University; the Hertog Summer Studies Program in Washington, DC; and the Tikvah Fund in Princeton, New Jersey. Benjamin Storey previously served as Jane Gage Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs and director of the Tocqueville Program at Furman University. He was previously a visiting fellow at the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, as well as the director of a National Endowment for the Humanities “Enduring Questions” course development project. He has also taught at the Hertog Political Studies Program, the Tikvah Fund, and the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program at Yale. "Why We Are Restless," investigates the challenges college students face around finding purpose and direction despite their outward signs of success. Inspired by our observations and teachings within the classroom, the book discusses the concept of modern restlessness, drawing parallels between our experiences with students and the ideas proposed by historical thinkers like Alexis de Tocqueville and Augustine. Visit CCCG: www.constudies.nd.edu *** The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government. Recorded March 30, 2023 at the University of Notre Dame

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu used biblical references in the early days of Israel's armed response to the October 7th massacre, carried out by Hamas. The covenant of Hamas repeatedly uses Islamist rhetoric in its declaration of purpose and intent. But what does scripture and doctrine actually teach about resorting to armed conflict? When is the use of a religious justification legitimate?Aleem Maqbool and guests explore the intersection of religion, politics and international law when it comes to justifying the use of violence or military action in conflict. With Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, a Jewish lawyer and educator who lives in Jerusalem, who is the head of the Haredi division of the Tikvah Fund, a charity dedicated to promoting Jewish thoughts and ideas; Sheikh Dr Usama Hasan, an Islamic scholar and Imam with a background in researching extremism; and Mary-Ellen O'Connell, Professor of Law and International Peace Studies at the Catholic Notre-Dame University in the US, and author of ‘Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors'.With additional contributions from Rabbi Yakov Nagen, author and leader in interfaith dialogue between Judaism and Islam; and Rev Dr Muther Isaac, a Palestinian Lutheran pastor and Dean of Bethlehem Bible College. Producer: Rebecca Maxted Assistant Producer: Peter Everett, Ruth Purser Editors: Tim Pemberton and Dan Tierney

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Mr. Tuvia Gering joins us to discuss China's strategy in the context of the Israel-Hamas war and the Red Sea crisis. He dissects the different views within China and the role China has played in both. He shares that China blames the United States for the war and that the PRC response to the region is informed by China's desire to push back against the Western-led world order. Mr. Gering also discusses the politics behind the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the economic ramifications that have followed. Overall, China's responses to both crises have been high on rhetoric and low on action. Finally, Mr. Gering warns of the possibility of broader escalation in the Middle east and the low likelihood of Chinese willingness to work with the United States.   Tuvia Gering is a nonresident fellow in the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, a researcher at the Diane & Guilford Glazer Foundation Israel-China Policy Center at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), and a Tikvah Fund's Krauthammer fellow based in Jerusalem and specializing in Chinese security and foreign policy. Previously, he was a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) and the Israeli Chinese Media Center. 

This episode was recorded on December 7th, 2023. Amanda Achtman was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta with mountains, cowboys, and entrepreneurs for inspiration. She studied political theory in her hometown. After making a viral political parody video, she moved to Toronto to do a mix of journalism, crowdfunding, and advocacy in defense of Canadians' fundamental freedoms. After that, Amanda went to Poland to study John Paul II and to explore the stories of saints, heroes, and martyrs. Upon returning to Canada, she served as the senior advisor to a member of parliament, working to prevent the expansion of euthanasia to persons living with a disability or mental illness. Amanda recently spent two years in Rome studying the resurrection of the dead throughout Jewish tradition. This year, she is a NextGEN Fellow of Cardus and a Krauthammer Fellow of the Tikvah Fund. Amanda is mainly focused on preventing euthanasia and encouraging hope through her cultural project, Dying to Meet You.   Find more from Amanda: Her website: DyingToMeetYou.com Follow Amanda on X/Twitter: @AmandaAchtman What Amanda's Reading: https://amandaachtman.com/books/ Cardus NextGEN Fellowship: https://www.nextgenfellowship.ca Tikvah Fund's Krauthammer Fellowship: https://tikvahfund.org/krauthammer-fellowship/home/ Canadian Physicians for Life: https://www.physiciansforlife.ca The Hildebrand Project: https://hildebrandproject.org

Michael Lucchese is a Krauthammer fellow at the Tikvah Fund and the founder of Pipe Creek Consulting. Contributor at the Washington Examiner. Biden's self- deterrence empowers America's enemies

Katie is an entrepreneur in the sustainability and agricultural sectors, and an expert in the Gulf countries' society and economy. Her background is in academia, research, venture capital, and unique governance structures. She has spent years being active in different initiatives promoting justice for Palestinians here in the land and in other parts of the Middle East. . Check out our bonus episode on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3Hqv2Mv  Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Yehavit  **** A few important disclaimers: This podcast is created and funded by me privately. I don't belong to any organization, nor does it represent anyone other than myself. Secondly, I don't intend this content to provide a justification or excuse for the actions people interviewed did in their past, but rather to learn from their personal experiences and gain insight as to what the process of transformation looks like. Certain parts of the episode could be triggering for you, and I advise taking into consideration that some of the events discussed are morally and ethically challenging (to say the least). . And lastly: I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I work as the indigenous people of this country, and pay my respects to their elders, past and emerging. **** Thank you Roy Geva for the soundtrack . You can contact me at @yehavit on Instagram (or write to yahavisinthezone@gmail.com if you're not on Instagram) . Stuff we mentioned: . Seeds of Peace: https://www.seedsofpeace.org/  Tikvah Fund: https://tikvahfund.org/  Moshe Dayan Center: https://dayan.org/  The Forum for Regional Thinking: https://www.regthink.org/en/  Dana Global (the company Katie is a co-founder of): https://www.dana-global.com/   ‘Barcheinu Avinu' by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (starting from 02:28): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2MNKn_GkSY 

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.

Dr. Abraham Unger has been the Tikvah Fund's Director of Regional Education since 2021. In that capacity, he has managed the launch and growth of the Millstone Scholars National Honors Program in Jewish Thought for middle school students across the country. This weekly afterschool program in Jewish ideas covers the Biblical through contemporary periods and meets in-person in discussion-driven seminar groups in all regions of the U.S.  Before joining Tikvah, Dr. Unger served for 15 years as Director of Urban Programs at Wagner College, where he received tenure as a professor in Wagner's Department of Government and Politics. He oversaw the Public Policy and Administration major while managing numerous community partnerships. While at Wagner, Dr. Unger was Project Manager of a major U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He received appointments as Senior Fellow at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management and as a Visiting Research Scholar in the Political Science Department at Fordham University. Dr. Unger has developed the Conservatory model of education, in which students start each phase of their education, from middle school through high school and university, with majors and rigorous specialized curricula alongside traditional distribution requirements. This curricular model weaves together theory and practice. Whether students stay with their majors or not as their interests evolve, the self-empowerment they experience as emerging specialists serves them for a lifetime. Dr. Unger is the author of numerous articles and three books examining the structure and implementation of public-private partnerships. Gems:Engage middle school students in serious Jewish thought through the text and great ideas.Deep knowledge and deep immersion in the sources give students strength, confidence, and a connection to their past.The whole world benefits from Jewish values.The teacher encourages discussion between the students.To have real freedom intellectually, one must know methodology and technique.Put in the work with vigor and learn how the text sees itself in its own interpretive principles.Know the material.Once you know the text, it never leaves you.It is empowering to know the text and commentaries.Training students to see the text clearly.There must be something to focus on.Nothing is more empowering than helping students recognize their potential.Don't give up on young people!Allow children to find one thing to focus on and with seriousness.Prioritize your children's Jewish learning.You must love teaching.Jewish life should be rich with thought aParenting On Purpose This course will help you better understand your child and build a deeper connection.Amazon We receive a small commission for any items purchased through my Amazon link.Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

John Minster is the Associate Director of Ideas at the Tikvah Fund. In that role he helps to promote and shape the "big ideas" that Tikvah addresses in all areas of Jewish life, from Mosaic Magazine to the classes of Rabbi Meir Soloveichik.

John Minster is Associate Director of Ideas at the Tikvah Fund, an institution committed to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious and political leaders of Israel. Minster grew up as a Christian in Michigan. But now he lives as an observant Jew in Jerusalem.   This is his story. Saturday to Shabbos is a Tachlis […]

I sit down with John Vervaeke and Jacob Howland to discuss The Symposium, one of the great dialogues of Plato. Professor Jacob Howland is Director of University of Austin, Texas' Intellectual Foundations program. Previously, Howland served as McFarlin Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tulsa and Senior Fellow at the Tikvah Fund. He is the author of five books and one edited book, including two on Plato's Republic as well as studies of Kierkegaard and the Talmud. Howland's articles have appeared in The New Criterion, City Journal, and The Nation, among others. Original video: https://youtu.be/T1nxiLARYAk John Vervaeke: https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke Jacob Howland: https://www.jacobhowland.com/ - Jacob's book, Plato and the Talmud: https://www.amazon.com/Plato-Talmud-Jacob-Howland/dp/1107612691 - John Vervaeke's YouTube series, After Socrates: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuj6q5NP_fXjBzUT1p_qYSCC - Event in Chino, California in May, titled, 'The Quest for a Spiritual Home': https://events.eventzilla.net/e/estuary-chino-2023-2138601197 - Plato's Dialogues, including The Symposium, are included in our The Symbolic World reading list. See here for more: https://thesymbolicworld.com/reading-list ------------------------

We are happy to welcome Harvard University professor and author, Ruth R. Wisse to The Hamilton Review Podcast! In this conversation, Ruth and Dr. Bob talk about her latest book, "Free as a Jew."  Don't miss this wonderful discussion! Ruth R. Wisse is professor emerita of Yiddish literature and Comparative Literature at Harvard University and senior fellow at the Tikvah Fund. Her books include The Modern Jewish Canon: A Journey through Literature and Culture (2000); No Joke: Making Jewish Humor (2013); Jews and Power (2007, 2020); and a memoir Free as a Jew (2021).  She publishes frequently in Mosaic, Wall Street Journal, Commentary, and elsewhere.   How to contact Dr. Bob: Dr. Bob on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChztMVtPCLJkiXvv7H5tpDQ Dr. Bob on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drroberthamilton/ Dr. Bob on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bob.hamilton.

This week Andrew and Beth speak with Eric Cohen, author and founder of The Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education where we discuss the importance of classical education for the Jewish community, the differences between classical and progressive schooling and the relationship between classical education and academic rigor. Cohen shares some of the initiatives of his new organization, including partnerships to train Jewish classical teachers and launching a Jewish version of Teach for America. He also talks about his collaborative experiences working with organizations and individuals affiliated with the Christian classical school community. Eric Cohen is the Executive Director of the Tikvah Fund and remains editor-at-large of the New Atlantis, serves as the publisher of the Jewish Review of Books and Mosaic, and serves on the board of directors of several prominent organizations. His writing have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Commentary, The New Republic, and First Things. He is the author of In the Shadow of Progress: Being Human in the Age of Technology (2008) and co-editor of The Future is Now: America Confronts the New Genetics (2002). He was previously managing editor of the Public Interest and served as a senior consultant to the President's Council on Bioethics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no shortage of headlines pointing to another powerful corporation run amok or the consumer base being manipulated. These types of issues have cast a significant shadow on the legitimacy and purpose of business, even the possibility of a good or moral business. This lecture from James Otteson aims to present how a renewed vision of the interconnectedness of morality and prosperity is key to building and sustaining a properly functioning society. Honorable and life-giving business may actually be integral to creating social institutions that produce meaningful value.James Otteson earned his bachelor of arts degree from the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame in 1990. After completing his undergraduate degree, he attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, earning an M.A. in philosophy in 1992. He then joined the philosophy department at the University of Chicago, receiving a Ph.D. in 1997.He has held visiting scholar positions at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center, then located at Bowling Green State University; at the Centre for the Study of Scottish Philosophy, then located at the University of Aberdeen; at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities at the University of Edinburgh; in the economics and philosophy departments at the University of Missouri-St. Louis; and in the government department at Georgetown University. He has also taught in the economics department at New York University.Otteson lectures widely on Adam Smith, classical liberalism, political economy, business ethics, and related issues, including for The Fund for American Studies, the Adam Smith Society, the Acton Institute, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Tikvah Fund.Subscribe to our podcastsRegister Now for Business Matters 2023Apply Now for Acton University 2023 (Early Bird Pricing) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins in a few days. Kol Nidrei, is one of the most misunderstood parts of the Jewish high holidays -- and of the entirety of Jewish liturgy -- according to Rabbi Meir Soloveichik. He laid this out in a recent thought-provoking piece in The Wall Street Journal, which you can access here: https://tinyurl.com/44e4z7z8 Rabbi Soloveichik is the senior rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan, the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. He is also director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. He has a must-listen daily podcast called Bible 365, which you can access through the Tikvah Fund. He is prolific – he writes a monthly column in Commentary magazine, and his writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Mosaic, the Jewish Review of Books, and many other outlets. You can keep up with all of his work at meirsoloveichik.com

Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin serves as the president of the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and is also a resident research fellow at the Tikvah Fund has a wide ranging conversation on Judaism and Markets. How does religion in general speak to the market economy? Does Judaism's covenantal self-understanding foster a unique perspective? Where do the […]

Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin serves as the president of the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and is also a resident research fellow at the Tikvah Fund has a wide ranging conversation on Judaism and Markets.How does religion in general speak to the market economy? Does Judaism's covenantal self-understanding foster a unique perspective? Where do the perspectives of Christianity and Islam overlap with Judaism and how do they differ? What is the historical contribution of the Jewish community to economic dynamism? How does this relate to anti-Jewish attitudes and prejudice?What are contemporary attitudes toward the market in the United States and the larger Jewish world?Subscribe to our podcastsJewish Coalition for Religious LibertyAre American Jews Shifting Their Political Affiliation?Race and Covenant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shas spiritual leader, Rabbi Shalom Cohen, died Sunday night at the age of 91 at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem, where he had been hospitalized this past week.    Rabbi Cohen, a native of Jerusalem, served for many years as the principal of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, which is considered to be the flagship yeshiva in the Sephardic-Haredi community.  Rabbi Cohen was appointed president of Shas's Council of Torah Sages after Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's death eight years ago. Cohen was in and out of the hospital over the past year, and had been hospitalized in recent weeks for a leg infection. His condition deteriorated in recent days.    Massive crowds of mourners from all over the country attended  the funeral on Monday afternoon in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer is the head of the Haredi Israel division at the Tikvah Fund. KAN's Mark Weiss spoke with  him about the legacy of Rabbi Shalom Cohen. (Photo: Aharon Krohn/Flash90)            See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Jews around the world will begin reading from the Book of Deuteronomy each Shabbat. Sefer Devarim, as it is known in Hebrew, is a remarkable work; consisting almost entirely of an address Moses delivered to the Israelites in his final weeks of life, it touches on history, politics, prophecy, and much more. Two years ago, Jonathan Silver sat down with Israeli thinker and scholar Micah Goodman to uncover meaning of Moses's final speech. As we begin again this last book of the Torah, we are pleased to rebroadcast that conversation. -- The book of Deuteronomy, which Jews around the globe read in synagogue in the period leading up to the High Holy Days, consists primarily of Moses's final oration to the people of Israel. With the nation on the cusp of conquering Canaan and establishing its own sovereign government, the prophet presents Israel with a set of laws and regulations surrounding power and kingship—what some scholars call the “Mosaic Constitution.” In his best-selling Hebrew book, ha-N'um ha-Aharon shel Moshe (Moses's Last Speech), the Israeli writer and philosopher Micah Goodman offers a thought-provoking and original interpretation of Deuteronomy, presenting profound insights about the Torah's revolutionary political teachings. Though the book has not yet been translated into English, Dr. Goodman recently taught an eight-episode online course for the Tikvah Fund on “Deuteronomy: The Last Speech of Moses,” in which he explores and expands upon the themes and ideas of his earlier work. In this podcast, he speaks with Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver about Deuteronomy's laws regarding the monarchy and what political and philosophical wisdom they hold for us today. If you enjoy this podcast, you can enroll in Dr. Goodman's free Tikvah online course at Courses.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.

The Labor party, which was at the forefront of developing the fledgling state of Israel after its establishment, led Israel for many decades according to socialist principles. Even though Israel is now 74 years old, conservative political and economic principles are still hardly found in Israel's politics. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Amiad Cohen the Director-General of the Israel Tikvah Fund about the state of Israel's conservative political development. The Tikvah Fund is politically Zionist, economically free-market oriented, culturally traditional, and theologically open-minded.

The Biden administration has announced that the President will take his first trip to the Middle East as president. His first stop will be in Israel to meet with Israeli leaders and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, before heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The U.S.-Saudi relationship began nearly eight decades ago between FDR and King Ibn Saud. With varying degrees of tumult, the relationship has survived – and sometimes thrived – through 14 U.S. presidencies. Has all that now changed? Has there been a sense in Riyadh – and across the Middle East – that the U.S. (through recent Democratic and Republican administrations) is downgrading its focus in the Middle East. Is there a risk that China gradually replaces the U.S. as the most important geopolitical partner of Saudi Arabia? And will Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords? And, could President Biden engineer it and win the Nobel Peace Prize? Former Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer served as Israel's chief envoy to the U.S. from 2013 to 2021 – working with three U.S. administrations. He was one of Prime Minister Netanyahu's closest advisers and played a key role in what led to the U.S. relocation of our embassy to Jerusalem, U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, implementation of the maximum pressure campaign against Iran, and the historic breakthrough that led to the Abraham Accords. He's a graduate of the Wharton School and completed a degree at Oxford. Ambassador Dermer and I had this conversation a few days ago at the Jewish Leadership Conference (https://www.jewishleadershipconference.org/), which is sponsored by The Tikvah Fund (https://tikvahfund.org/).

Since its first issue twelve years ago, the Jewish Review of Books, a beautifully designed quarterly that was founded and supported by the Tikvah Fund, has produced now 49 issues of high-level Jewish discourse. Much of that success can be attributed to its founding editor, Abraham Socher, the Oberlin College professor emeritus of Jewish studies.  On this week's podcast, Socher joins Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver to discuss his educational formation, his intellectual preoccupations, and his new book of essays, Liberal and Illiberal Arts: Essays (Mostly Jewish), which contains meditations on Jewish texts and Jewish communal affairs, portraits of life at Oberlin, and examinations of the religious and literary traditions of the West.  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.

וכל בית ישראל יבכו את השריפה אשר שרף ה נשארנו יתומים בלי אב   נפל עטרת ראש של כלל ישראל נזר ישראל ותפארתו נשיא אלקים וצדיק הגאון הגדול עניו וחסיד שר התורה שולט כמלך בכל ספרות ישראל שקוע בים שני תלמודים ושט בכל חדרי התורה נגלה ונסתר בבלי ירושלמי ספרא ספרי תוספתא  זוהר וכתבי ארי'זל כל רז לא אניס ליה תל תלפיות שהכל פנו איליו פועל ישועות לאלפים ורבבות בסגולת הלימוד הרחיב את יריעות ארייתא בספריו שהתקבלו תו'ם כחלקים בלתי נפרדים מענפי עץ חיים סמל התמדה מפורסם בכל העולם בידיעותיו  מופת דורנו הרב הענק מורינו בנן של קדושים חתניה דבי נשיאה תלמיד וחניך אריות הדור שעברו בוצינא קדישא פטיש החזק רב שמריהו יוסף חיים בן רב יעקב ישראל קניבסקי זצוק'ל As the whole Jewish world mourned In the midst of the Shiva of our collective father The Yeshiva of Newark  and  The Issur Ben Tzvi Hirsch Tshuvos and Poskim Shiur In conjunction with Yeshiva Ner Boruch - Passaic Torah Institute And The Illinois Center for Jewish Studies presented Divrei Haaracha and Hesped Of the Gadol HaDor The unquestioned greatest Torah scholar of our time Rav Chaim Kaniyevski  Ztvk'l The presenters were Dayan Yehoshua Pfeffer Shlita Rabbi of Kehillat Ohr Chadash in Ramot Head of  the Charedi division of Israel's Tikvah Fund,  Editor in Chief of the Tzarich Iyun journal. Talmid of Rav Moshe Shapiro Ztvk”l Rav Asher Arieli and Rav Asher Weiss And one of the brightest erudite Talmedei Chachamim teaching in North America Rabbi Kalman Worch Shlita Acclaimed translator of the Bnei Yissaschar Director of the Illinois Center of Jewish Studies  and  One of New Jersey's Premier Marbitzei Torah Renowned for his clarity and matching fervor  Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim Associate Rosh Yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch Please bring honor to the Neshama of this great Tzadik  and scholar extraordinaire by circulating this program This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

הכתר נעלם....  וכל בית ישראל יבכו את השריפה נשארנו יתומים בלי אב נפל עטרת ראש של כלל ישראל נזר ישראל ותפארתוהגאון הגדול עילוי שבעילוים דיין הדן לאמיתו של תורה עניו וחסיד בקי בכל חדרי התורה נגלה ונסתר בבלי ירושלמי ספרא ספרי תוספתא  זוהר וכתבי ארי'זל שולט כמלך בכל ספרות ישראל כל רז לא אניס ליה סמל התמדה לאלפי תלמידים מפורסם בכל העולם בידיעותיו דורנו מופת מוקיר לומדים מכל המחנות גאון אמיתי מורנו רב שלמה יהודה יהונתן פישר זצוק'ל ראש ישיבת איתרי אב בית דין לרבנות הראשית מח'ס בית ישי נפטר לישיבה של מעלה י'ד כסלו The Yeshiva of Newark and  The Issur Ben Tzvi Hirsch Tshuvos and Poskim Shiur joined in the mourning throughout the Torah world    of the death on the fourteenth of Kislev of one of the greatest Torah scholars of our time Rav Shlomo Fischer  Ztvk'l We dedicated ourselves to being  מקים בית מדרש על קברו We were honored to present Dayan YehoshuaPfeffer Shlita Rabbi of Kehillat Ohr Chadash in Ramot who offered divrei Hesped and Haaracha using  ideas and birurim culled from the brilliant works and articles he published along with sharing aspects of his stellar character that brought us a sense of this Giant's accomplishments and sketched his holy path of life Rav Pfeffer isHead of  the Charedi division of Israel's Tikvah Fund,  Editor in Chief of the Tzarich Iyun journal. and a Talmid of Rav Moshe Shapiro Ztvk”l as well as of Rav Asher Arieli and Rav Asher Weiss This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.With great subtlety,Rabbi Gottlieb uses the denouement of the Biblical narrative of this first class revolution,as an important response to the discord and anger that pervades our present time.Much more than a summary of a long ago struggle,and how it was put down by the ultimate authorities,Gottlieb's retelling and sketching of structure plus context serves as a heady rebuke to both sides in America's current combat zone.Basing his premise on the words of Fyodor Dostoevsky,Gottlieb invokes the novelist Gregory Wolfe who wrote in his 2014 book,Beauty Will Save the World: Recovering the Human in an Ideological Age“Whereas I once believed that the decadence of the West would only be turned around through politics and intellectual dialectics,I am now convinced that authentic renewal can only emerge out of the imaginative visions of the artist and the mystic . . . it involves the conviction that politics and rhetoric are not autonomous forces but shaped by the prepolitical roots of culture: myth, metaphor, and spiritual experience as recorded by the artist and the saint.”Gottlieb tempers his message with the directives put forth by the director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the editor ofNational Affairs Yuval Levin in his recent book,A Time To Build to consistently provide arguments to our youth that are not rejected as hollow sloganeering to preserve power.The Yeshiva of Newark @IDT is proud to partner with Rabbi Gottlieb in sharing his insightsand thoughtsto as wide an audience as possible .We thank the Tikvah Fund for use of this materialPlease visithttp://tikvahfund.orgto discover the richness of the programs and educational opportunitiesoffered by that institution as well as scintillating lectures and interviewsPlease leaveusa review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.The Yeshiva of Newark @IDT is proud to partner with Rabbi Gottlieb in sharing his insightsand thoughtsto as wide an audience as possible .We thank the Tikvah Fund for use of this materialPlease visithttp://tikvahfund.orgto discover the richness of the programs and educational opportunitiesoffered by that institution as well as scintillating lectures and interviewsPlease leaveusa review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.Rabbi Gottlieb poses a courageous question as to the efficacy and relevance of the Yovel laws which on the surface seem counter intuitive,and leads to a disincentive for private property.Making use of ideas expressed by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein Zt"l in regards to the status of Shmitah,in a world where the Heter Mechirah is so prevalent,Gottlieb offers an explanation of the Jubilee that serves as a reexamination of our over industrialized society.He anchors his Drush with perspectives culled from the American poet, essayist, social commentator Allen Tate and the Pulitzer-prize winning American historian Herbert Agarthat manage to intertwine an idealization of the distinctly American concept of Freedom with a hopefulvision of our Messianic future.The Yeshiva of Newark @IDT is proud to partner with Rabbi Gottlieb in sharing his insightsand thoughtsto as wide an audience as possible .We thank the Tikvah Fund for use of this materialPlease visithttp://tikvahfund.orgto discover the richness of the programs and educational opportunitiesoffered by that institution as well as scintillating lectures and interviewsPlease leaveusa review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.Jewish scholars through the ages have attached multiple aspects of significance to the command to Count the days of theOmer.Rabbi Gottlieb ventures into this well-trodden domain armed with some important ideas of religious philosophers and emerges with a message desperately needed to extract us from the stultifying malaise brought on by the Corona confinement.Beginning with an idea presented by Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik in 1945,that the salient difference between a slave and a freeman is how each one perceives time,he elaborates: a slave's lack of self-worth andinvolvement in the purpose of his labors perforce generates an emptiness in theEved's consciousness, the simple articulation of a count towards a goal, indicates that this "Hebrew" is actually an actor and author of his own life.Soloveitchik forcefully states that thisMitzvahwas the key spark that began the metamorphosis of a tribe into a nation with a purpose.In the novel historical analysis of Lord Jonathan Sacks some sixty years later, Gottlieb traces a direct line to the broadening of Soloveitchik's ideas.Rabbi Sacks suggests that, at the dawn of the Renaissance, the element that caused the West to leapfrog over the scientifically superior Chinese East was the incorporation of the Jewish sense of history and truth as part of a narrative, seeing God and humanity as unbound by the heaviness of nature that had been the focus in the Orient.Sacks goes further in suggesting that the American revolution's success in bringing deep societal change over its French and Russian counterparts was due in large part to the Founding Fathers seeing "Truth" as a story that was flexible and dynamic, moving through surprising middle stages towards a glorious ending pulled by rational human decisions but not subject to the rigidity of a philosophical system.The thinkers of Paris and Saint Petersburg conversely enmeshed themselves in a system that was soulless yet inexorable, with the resulting horrors of guillotine and gulag rising in the Revolution's wake.Rabbi Gottlieb reveals the great debt Sacks' points owe to the Scottish moral philosopherAlasdair MacIntyre, in particular to his 1981 influential work,After Virtue,which cogently charges each thinking person to seek the moral dimension of their lives and unflinchingly ask, "What story am I a part of?"Gottlieb concludes his talk, quoting the German American political philosopherErich Vögelin, explaining why the mass Revelation of God to mankind, what we celebrate as Shavuos, occurred in a desert, devoid of the noise and bustle of society, paralleling our enforced solitude in the Pandemic, as the best venue for sensing the Divine Word.The Yeshiva of Newark @IDT is proud to partner with Rabbi Gottlieb in sharing his insightsand thoughtsto as wide an audience as possible .We thank the Tikvah Fund for use of this materialPlease visithttp://tikvahfund.orgto discover the richness of the programs and educational opportunitiesoffered by that institution as well as scintillating lectures and interviewsPlease leaveusa review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.As theseParshiosintroduce the concepts ofChukimandMishpatim, specifically as they relate to the laws that govern sexual behavior, Rabbi Gottlieb presents a cogent examination of the traditional terminology ofChokandMishpatand how they have been understood over the centuries.Beginning with salient passages in the Talmud, Rabbi Gottlieb examines the definitions offered bySaadia Gaonas well as the nuanced usage made by theRambamin his commentary to theMishnaand inMishneh Torah.Rejecting the archaic translations that still hang cumbersomely around these crucial terms, Gottlieb looks to the definitions used by the Talmud, especially the phraseדין הוא שיכתבas being open to two competing interpretations.While acknowledging that the formulations of thinkers as important as Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Rabbi David Novak as equatingMishpatwith completely organic Natural Law has been useful for reading the Torah system against the backdrop of a more universal lens, Gottlieb recognizes that the approach of seeingMishpatimas Divine Directives, whose logical hooks lend themselves to become chains of utilitarian limits on a society through common consensus, is likely more of a piece with what the term Biblically implies.In our post-modern time both traditional approaches toMishpatimandChukimare in danger of being rejected by theZeitgeist, which could render the categories obsolete, Gottlieb suggests.He therefore puts forth a nuanced idea championed by Rabbi Menachem Schrader that these categories are fluid, and one generation'sMishpatcan become another'sChokand vice versa.Rabbi Gottlieb finds a strong traditional precedent for Schrader's idea in the words of the Piasecne Rebbe inChovas HaTalmidim, where he describes how the emotional and intellectual comfort withMishpat, can be channeled through deep fervor into anyChok, giving the Jew who submits to the complex detail of ceremonial or sacrificial law the overlay of a child wanting to kiss his heavenly Father on the mouth.The Yeshiva of Newark @IDT is proud to partner with Rabbi Gottlieb in sharing his insightsand thoughtsto as wide an audience as possible .We thank the Tikvah Fund for use of this materialPlease visithttp://tikvahfund.orgto discover the richness of the programs and educational opportunitiesoffered by that institution as well as scintillating lectures and interviewsPlease leaveusa review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.Rabbi Gottlieb in this episode bravely tackles one of the most perplexing areas of the Torah,the purity laws surrounding childbirth,and the Tummah that adheres to the Metzora.Drawing from a perspective developed by Samson Rafael Hirsch and articulated with nuance for a new era by Norman Lamm in his modern classic,Hedge of Roses,Rabbi Gottlieb deftly explains the various types of Tummah as rooted in the diminution of the life force which consequently places a damper on the potential of sanctity .He then moves beyond Taamei HaMitzvah into the ideas of the celebrated essayist Mary Eberstadt,fleshed out in her work How the West Really Lost God.In it she proffers the thesis that the undermining of the family in Western culture has in turn helped power the religious decline of modernity.The life affirming approach of Hirsch/Lamm serves in Eberstadt's view not as mere apologia,rather as a clarion call to commune with something larger and marvelous.In this tense period with death hovering,Rabbi Gottlieb extolls the innate historical particularly Jewish values that see in family forming and strengthening a transcendental path that can help us emerge even stronger from crisis.The Yeshiva of Newark @IDT is proud to partner with Rabbi Gottlieb in sharing his insightsand thoughtsto as wide an audience as possible .We thank the Tikvah Fund for use of this materialPlease visithttp://tikvahfund.orgto discover the richness of the programs and educational opportunitiesoffered by that institution as well as scintillating lectures and interviewsPlease leaveusa review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.In this eye-openingaccount,Rabbi Gottlieb brings the listener into his dynamic intellectual world in tackling what has troubled theologians and students of religion for centuries, i.e.,the centrality of animal sacrifice in law and study,and the significance of the Book of Leviticus.With dazzling erudition,the Rabbi culls substantively from Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman,displays his uncanny familiarity with the oeuvre of C.S. Lewis and with his use of the thoughtdrawnfromThe Body of Faith,Gottlieb makes the case for the centrality of Jewish philosopher Michael Wyschogrod's place in any authentic discussion on how we may approach the Torah in all it's incredible mystery.The Yeshiva of Newark @IDT is proud to partner with Rabbi Gottlieb in sharing his insightsand thoughtsto as wide an audience as possible .We thank the Tikvah Fund for use of this materialPlease visithttp://tikvahfund.orgto discover the richness of the programs and educational opportunitiesoffered by that institution as well as scintillating lectures and interviewsPlease leave us a review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is Senior Director of the Tikvah Fund and founding Dean of the Tikvah and Maimonides Scholars at Yale University. Prior to joining Tikvah, Rabbi Gottlieb served as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Principal of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.His writing has appeared inFirst Things,Public Discourse,the University Bookman,the Algemeiner,andthe Jewish Review of Books. Rabbi Gottlieb is a member of the Orthodox Forum Steering Committee and serves on the Editorial Committee ofTradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.The Rabbi joins Rabbi Kivelevitz to discuss leadership training education,how candidates are vetted and eventually selected,and what constitutes the main focus of the seminars and lectures the fellows attend.Rabbi Gottlieb sees the personal interview as a primary factor, over thegradesand reports from the student's teachers, as well astheessays the applicants submit.He illustrates how hobbies and interests are in many ways an indicator of thethoughtleader that Tikvah is eager to engage.Rabbi Gottlieb distinguishes between the program geared for studentswhoare moderately affiliated with the traditional Jewish community(Maimonides Scholars)and the program serving products of predominantly (but not exclusively)Orthodox day schools(Tikvah Scholars).The Rabbis discuss the balance between general literacy and skills in reading and parsing Jewish texts,and the importance of staffing the leadership seminars with passionate,gifted instructors.Rabbi Gotttlieb describes the incredible effectresulting fromthe hiring of persons like the eminent American philosopher and political economist Professor James R. Otteson,who not only opened the Tikvah students'eyes to the important theories that form the basis of classical liberal political order,he illustrated how this technically underdetermined dynamic is at play in Klal Yisroel's innate understanding of who the Gadolei HaDor are.When questioned by Rabbi Kivelevitz as to why Tikvah has not attempted to cull their young potential from completely Charedi schools,where the boys(and, separately, young women)have the advantage of strong text proficiency and analysis,Rabbi Gottlieb pointed to Tikvah's role in Eretz Yisroel in catering programs and Torah journals to the Charedi world,and its discovery andcultivationof Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer,a student of Rav Asher Weiss, who now serves as head of Tikvah's Haredi Israel division.Rabbi Gottlieb speaks about Tikvah's connections toR'Aharon Kotler,the CEO of Bais Medrash Gevohah,but admits that there is more work to be done in reaching those special Talmidim in the Chasidish and Litvisha yeshivos,who could perhaps through the exposure to greater Western thought take their place as an accepted Gadol ready to tackle the formidable challenges that lay ahead for our people.Listen for the championing of some of the ideas of Pope John Paul II concerning the dignity of the human person,and the significance of Theology in applying and advocating for religious concepts in a modern world.There is also a casual reference to Mark Twain,and an oblique shadow of Phillip Roth.Please leave us a review or email us atravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Peter Berkowitz is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a leading scholar of political philosophy and American politics. He serves as dean of students for the Hertog Political Studies Program and The Public Interest Fellowship, and teaches for the Tikvah Fund. In recent years, criticism of liberal democracy for its alleged hostility to tradition, family, and community has been gaining strength. In this Conversation, Berkowitz addresses such critiques, reflects on classical liberalism, and considers why liberal democracy deserves to be defended. Kristol and Berkowitz discuss thinkers within the liberal tradition including John Locke, Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, and Alexis de Tocqueville. As Berkowitz makes clear, these thinkers understood that liberalism—like all regimes—has drawbacks. Yet these great thinkers also provide the intellectual resources for defending liberalism. This is a must-see Conversation at a time of growing uncertainty about the core principles of the modern West.

Are we living at the end of modernity? Is the liberation of the individual that has characterized the modern age giving way to identity politics, ethno-nationalism, and other forces that call into question liberalism's optimism about the individual? According to the late Professor Peter Lawler, it is this realization of individualism's limits that characterizes our “postmodern” age. His “Conservative Postmodernism, Postmodern Conservatism,” published in the 2008 in the Intercollegiate Review, puts forward a conservative, postmodern vision that stands in stark contrast to the relativistic and liberationist philosophy that typically travels under the postmodern banner. In this podcast, the Tikvah Fund's Alan Rubenstein—a former colleague of Lawler's—sits down with Professor Daniel Mark to discuss Lawler's innovative essay. They explore the virtues and vices of individualism, Lawler's critiques of our individualistic age, and whether Judaism can shed light on his arguments and the struggles of our postmodern era. 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 Ich Grolle Nicht, by Ron Meixsell and Wahneta Meixsell. This podcast was recorded in front of a live audience at the University of Chicago. Daniel Mark is a member of the Tikvah Fund's high school summer program faculty. Click here to learn more about our programs.

The establishment of the State of Israel is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern era. Never before had a people dispersed throughout the world, deprived of sovereignty for millennia, returned to its ancient homeland to build a thriving country. Who were the leaders and thinkers that helped craft a modern Jewish nationalism for a people so long deprived of self-determination? What moved them? What were their political teachings and key disagreements? The Tikvah Fund invites you to join Dr. Micah Goodman, Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and CEO and Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Ein Prat, for a three-part exploration of the writings, legacies, and debates of Zionism's early thinkers. We will study the teachings of Theodor Herzl, Micha Josef Berdichevsky, Ahad Ha'am, Isaac Jacob Reines, Abraham Isaac Kook, and other representatives of modern Jewish nationalist thought. In doing so, Dr. Goodman will help us see how the founding disagreements within Secular Zionism, Religious Zionism, and Ultra-Orthodoxy can shed light on the spirit of Jewish nationalism and the internal conflicts Israel still faces today. These lectures were originally delivered at one of the Tikvah Fund's educational programs for undergraduates. Click here to learn more about our educational programs. In this lecture, Dr. Goodman takes us on a journey from 18th-century Lithuania to the modern state of Israel as he explores the haredi response to Zionism and the challenges of modernity.

The establishment of the State of Israel is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern era. Never before had a people dispersed throughout the world, deprived of sovereignty for millennia, returned to its ancient homeland to build a thriving country. Who were the leaders and thinkers that helped craft a modern Jewish nationalism for a people so long deprived of self-determination? What moved them? What were their political teachings and key disagreements? The Tikvah Fund invites you to join Dr. Micah Goodman, Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and CEO and Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Ein Prat, for a three-part exploration of the writings, legacies, and debates of Zionism's early thinkers. We will study the teachings of Theodor Herzl, Micha Josef Berdichevsky, Ahad Ha'am, Isaac Jacob Reines, Abraham Isaac Kook, and other representatives of modern Jewish nationalist thought. In doing so, Dr. Goodman will help us see how the founding disagreements within Secular Zionism, Religious Zionism, and Ultra-Orthodoxy can shed light on the spirit of Jewish nationalism and the internal conflicts Israel still faces today. These lectures were originally delivered at one of the Tikvah Fund's educational programs for undergraduates. Click here to learn more about our educational programs. In this episode, Dr. Micah Goodman explores the philosophies of Rabbi Isaac Jacob Reines and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook in order to trace the key disagreements within religious Zionism from the dawn of the Zionist movement until the present day.

The establishment of the State of Israel is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern era. Never before had a people dispersed throughout the world, deprived of sovereignty for millennia, returned to its ancient homeland to build a thriving country. Who were the leaders and thinkers that helped craft a modern Jewish nationalism for a people so long deprived of self-determination? What moved them? What were their political teachings and key disagreements? The Tikvah Fund invites you to join Dr. Micah Goodman, Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and CEO and Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Ein Prat, for a three-part exploration of the writings, legacies, and debates of Zionism's early thinkers. We will study the teachings of Theodor Herzl, Micha Josef Berdichevsky, Ahad Ha'am, Isaac Jacob Reines, Abraham Isaac Kook, and other representatives of modern Jewish nationalist thought. In doing so, Dr. Goodman will help us see how the founding disagreements within Secular Zionism, Religious Zionism, and Ultra-Orthodoxy can shed light on the spirit of Jewish nationalism and the internal conflicts Israel still faces today. These lectures were originally delivered at one of the Tikvah Fund's educational programs for undergraduates. Click here to learn more about our educational programs. In his first lecture, Dr. Micah Goodman explores the founding disagreements of secular Zionism by focusing on the relationship between Zionism and Jewish tradition in the thought of Ahad Ha'am and Micha Josef Berdichvky.

Why don't Jews like the Christians who like them? That's the question James Q. Wilson, one of the America's most influential political scientists, posed in the pages of City Journal in 2008. Evangelical Christians are, by and large, enthusiastic supporters of Israel, and their goodwill extends beyond sympathy for the Jewish state. American Evangelicals even harbor affection for the Jewish people themselves. Yet, these positive attitudes go largely unreciprocated by the American Jewish community, which continues to view conservative Christians with suspicion. In this podcast, Jonathan Silver sits down with Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin, a chaplain with the New Jersey Army National Guard and a Resident Fellow at the Tikvah Fund to discuss Wilson's essay. Silver and Rocklin explore the theological and sociological reasons behind Evangelical support for Israel as well as the nature of the historical memory that keeps many Jews wary of this Christian support. The two also touch on the hostility of mainline Christian churches toward Israel, American Jews' habit of viewing enemies as allies, and the future of American Jewish politics. 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 Ich Grolle Nicht, by Ron Meixsell and Wahneta Meixsell.

Israel is an exceptional nation, and this is certainly true when it comes to the Israeli military. Tested by war, heroic in its self-defense, Israel is leading the way in developing the most advanced weapons technologies and re-imagining the new realities of the modern battlefield in an ever-changing Middle East. In an important new book—The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower— Jerusalem Post Editor Yaakov Katz tells this story from the front lines of Israeli military innovation and with the analytical eye of a master journalist. He brings us into the fascinating world of Israeli weapons development—from drones to satellites, missile defense systems to cyber warfare—and he looks beyond the technology to consider what Israel's edge means for its larger geopolitical strategy. On February 6, 2017, Mr. Katz joined an exclusive audience at the Tikvah Fund for a fascinating exploration of how Israel became a military superpower, and what this means for the future of the Jewish state. He also discussed some of the major developments in current Israeli politics and world affairs, offering his insight as one of Israel's veteran journalists and keenest analysts.

As recently as the Cold War, the center-right and the center-left overcame their differences on other issues to oppose the enemies of the open society. In a lecture to alumni and guests of the Tikvah Fund, Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson argues that the center is failing to hold and that illiberalism's many forms are on the rise. Both right and left have been submerged under populist spasms. The right lured in by the coarse, idea-free spectacle of Donald Trump; the left embracing the Western self-loathing typified by Jeremy Corbyn. Radical Islam, the European migrant crisis, and the rise of Putin's Russia all threaten the West. Are conservatives up to the task? And what is the role of the Jews in all this? Johnson argues that Israel is uniquely central to the fate of the West, both as the frontier of its fights and as a symbol of what the West still stands for—or what, to its shame, it may yet abandon. William Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard offers some thoughts on Johnson's lecture at its conclusion. Then the two take questions. The discussion was filmed in Jerusalem on June 2, 2016.

In this podcast, the Tikvah Fund's Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ruth Wisse, joins Eric Cohen to discuss her 2015 Mosaic essay, “Anti-Semitism Goes to School.” Drawing on her experiences at Harvard University and elsewhere, Wisse argues that there has been a resurgence of anti-Semitism on campus, often centered on attempts to delegitimize the Jewish state and assail what Israel represents. Despite ideological pressure on campus to stifle bigotry, Jews are the “one licensed exception … the only campus minority against whom hostility is condoned.” Wisse and Cohen examine what the new campus anti-Semitism means for American Jews, the future of the America-Israel relationship, and the choices that face pro-Israel young people attending American colleges.

As part of the Tikvah Fund and Hertog Foundation's Advanced Institute, “Is Israel Alone?,”Roger Hertog sat down with syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer to revisit Dr. Krauthammer's legendary article for the fiftieth anniversary of Israeli independence. Published in The Weekly Standard, “At Last, Zion,” described the achievement of Israel's founders within the full scope of Jewish history, arguing that the Jews had traded the vulnerabilities of Diaspora life—assimilation and discrimination—for new vulnerabilities, namely that the security threats arrayed against the new nation state risked a new kind of extermination. Though much has changed in the nearly two decades since Dr. Krauthammer's essay, Israel still faces extraordinary security risks. Its demise would constitute the greatest tragedy yet in Jewish history. In this conversation, Dr. Krauthammer surveys Israel's many threats, from Iran's nuclear program to the European embrace of BDS. With his characteristic wit, Dr. Krauthammer analyzes the strategic choices for the United States, Israel, and the American Jewish community. In particular, Dr. Krauthammer devotes much of the discussion to the unique forces in the politics of American Judaism: Jewish leftism, pro-Israel evangelicals, charges of dual loyalty, intermarriage, and the like. The discussion ends on a theological note, as Dr. Krauthammer reflects on the moral obligations of Zionism and on his own theology of trembling doubt. The conversation was recorded before a small group of Americans and Israelis on December 18, 2015.

Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter has forged a long and dedicated career both as a pulpit rabbi and as a leading academic scholar of Jewish history. How does he negotiate situations in which love of Torah and tradition appear to be in tension with modern sensibilities or historical truth? What motivates his own spiritual practice? In a moving conversation with students in the Tikvah Summer Fellowship for College Students and moderated by the Tikvah Fund's Senior Director Mark Gottlieb, Rabbi Schacter works through these questions, and also shares how his own Jewish upbringing formed who he is today. This event was recorded July 21, 2015 at the Tikvah Center in New York City.

Through his leadership of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, Rabbi David Stav has been at the forefront of debates over the relationship between religion and state in Israel, pushing for reforms in the State's handling of marriage, conversion, and kashrut. Why is Tzohar focused on these issues? And how does he think about government's role in religious life? Rabbi Stav discussed his vision for Tzohar and the relationship between religion and the public square with the Tikvah Fund's Rabbi Mark Gottlieb during the 2015 Tikvah Summer Fellowship. In this wide-ranging conversation, Rabbi Stav explains how pivotal events in his life and in Israel's history, from the euphoria of victory after the Six-Day War to the horror of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, have shaped his mission of trying to bridge the secular-religious divide. The event was recorded on July 6, 2015 at the Tikvah Center in New York City.

The Tikvah Fund once again had the privilege of learning from prize-winning novelist Dara Horn at our recent week-long seminar Jewish Thought, Jewish Literature, Jewish Politics. After leading university students in a stimulating study of love, sexuality, and family guided by readings from the Book of Genesis, S.Y. Agnon, and Sholem Aleichem, Horn opened up about her own life and literary career. Over the course of the lively conversation, moderated by the Tikvah Fund's Senior Director Mark Gottlieb, she described being raised in a household that resembled “a creative collective,” how mentor Ruth Wisse inspired her to think deeply about the moral force of Yiddish literature, and how historical and theological themes intertwine in her fiction. The always-entertaining Horn also shared with the group a memorable account of her family's singularly elaborate Passover Seder. The event took place August 6th, 2015 at the Tikvah Center in New York City.   

Weekly Standard editor William Kristol spoke with Israeli alumni of Tikvah Fund programs in Jerusalem last month about his life in the arena of American politics. The first half of the conversation was largely autobiographical. He talks about his upbringing—including his Jewish upbringing—as the child of Irving Kristol, “the godfather of neoconservatism,” and the legendary historian Gertrude Himmelfarb. How did he go from being a professor of political philosophy to the vice president's chief of staff? What did he learn from his time in government? The second half of the event gave Kristol a chance to assess the astounding crises and contentious debates in America and the world. What will happen with the new Republican Congress? What can be done about the economic stress facing the American middle class? What kind of problem is immigration? How will the Obama administration's foreign policy be remembered? And what does this all mean for Israel?  The event was recorded on December 15, 2014 and was moderated by Ran Baratz.

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.