Judaism Unbound

Institute for the Next Jewish Future

Listen in as Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman analyze pressing issues for 21st century American Judaism. Mixing their own analysis with interviews of leading thinkers, practitioners, and even "regular Jews," Lex and Rena Yehuda look to push past the bounds of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century.

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32 episodes
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Yesterday · 1 min
Everyday Mystics Trailer
When Moses turned and saw the bush that burned but was not consumed, it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, it was a map. Maybe the bush had always been burning. It just took someone willing to turn, to notice, to say this is sacred ground. Everyday Mystics tells the real stories of people who have had that turning. Small, ordinary moments that cracked open into something larger. Their stories of transformation weave Jewish wisdom bringing forward an old/ new way of understanding mystical expe
Friday · 53 min
Episode 552: Asherah - Shaul Magid, Lila Rimalovski
ASHERAH is a new journal of Jewish liturgy — past, present, and future. Its name comes from an ancient goddess, related to a tree of the same name, and its first issue kicks off with a provocative quotation from Abraham Joshua Heschel: "Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive." Shaul Magid, Asherah's founder, and Lila Rimalovski, one of its co-editors, join Lex Rofeberg and Miriam Terlinchamp for a conversation about weaving tradition and subversion seamlessly together, in artistic and lin
September 9 · 22 min
Shabbat Dinner Party V: Have the Damn Dinner
“When we show up again and again and again in places, we become known. We become known.” - Neil Spears, educator.
September 4 · 23 min
Episode 551: Elul 2026 IV - Nitzavim (Standing at Sinai) - Lex and Wendie
Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash ask what the Torah portion Nitzavim (from Deuteronomy, meaning "standing") can teach us about what it means to gather en masse -- with other Jews on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, or as a broader community beyond just Jews. This Elul episode is the fourth and fi
September 2 · 39 min
Shabbat Dinner Party IV: The Palace in Time
“Bringing people in to Shabbat, it's just an opportunity, and it's a really beautiful thing. Why wouldn't I wanna share that with the people that I care about?” - Jefrrey Yoskowitz, Co-Host, Meet Me At the Deli, and cofounder of Gefilteria.
August 28 · 24 min
Episode 550: Elul 2026 III - God? - Lex and Wendie
Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore questions of who/what God is, and how Elul might be a perfect time to explore questions around divinity. This Elul episode is the third in a series of four that are being released as part of Elul Unbound 2026. -------------------------------------- Look
August 26 · 40 min
Shabbat Dinner Party III: No Bad Jews
“There will come a point in your life where you're confronted with your Judaism and you sort of have to do something about it, and whether it's like the world making you confront it or like maybe it's your own investigatory thing with your family lineage, trying to understand like where you came from, what's going on.” - Hana Mendel
August 21 · 25 min
Episode 549: Elul 2026 II - Shmita's Thurs-Year - Lex and Wendie
Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore what it means to enter a "Thurs-Year" (a "Thursday" of years in the Shmita cycle, as a 5th year out of seven overall). This Elul bonus episode is the second in a series of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2026. ------------------------
August 19 · 39 min
Shabbat Dinner Party II: Is This the Life I Desire?
“And part of that sort of faithful rehabilitation that I practice is centering myself within the practice of Shabbat and sort of having a place to, or a moment or a time during the week to say, ‘Calm the fuck down.’” - H. Alan Scott
August 14 · 27 min
Episode 548: Elul 2026 - Lex and Wendie
Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash kick off this year's Elul Unbound experience. This Elul bonus episode is the first in a series of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2026. -------------------------------------- Energized about Jewish learning and unlearning? Dive into our upcom
August 12 · 32 min
Shabbat Dinner Party I: Shabbat Shalom
“You're experiencing me, I'm experiencing you, and we are exchanging something. To me, that is the beauty, that is the spirit of being alive.” - Comedian Mike Liebenson
August 7 · 41 min
Episode 547: Shabbat Dinner Party
Lex, Rena Yehuda and Miriam introduce Shabbat Dinner Party, the new podcast and discuss themes such as the anxiety of being "Jewish enough," the tension between tradition and innovation, the idea that Judaism has always evolved, and how authentic Jewish practice can be both deeply personal and connected to a broader community. Ultimately, they argue that Shabbat is not about achieving a single "correct" form but about cultivating intentional practices that balance recognizable tradition with cre
July 31 · 1 hr
Episode 546: Worlds to Come - Lexi Kohanski
Lexi Kohanski is a trans Jewish writer and educator, who recently created a Jewish TTRPG (table-top role-playing game) called Worlds to Come: The Hebrew Role-Playing Game. She is also a brand-new member of Judaism Unbound's staff team (our Education Content & Design Specialist)! Lexi joins Lex (confusing, we know!) and Rena Yehuda in this episode for a podcast diving into the power of Jewish play, the magic of weaving worlds through language. And, for the first time ever, Judaism Unbound itself
July 29 · 2 min
Shabbat Dinner Party Trailer
Shabbat Dinner Party is an audio exploration through a Shabbat dinner from setting the intention, to making the dinner, to the dinner conversation — all with audio. Each week over five episodes, Kate Mishkin talks to people we wish were at the real Shabbat dinner table with us because they think carefully about what to put on the table and help us to understand how this ancient tradition remains relevant and necessary today. If you're looking to slow down and be more intentional in a fast-paced
July 24 · 24 min
Episode 545: Shabbat Unbound III - Ana B'Koach
Welcome to Shabbat Unbound, the world's longest Friday night Sabbath service, stretching over eight episodes. Instead of rushing through all the Friday night Shabbat prayers in one sitting, like we might in a classical synagogue environment, we're taking our time diving deep into one prayer each episode through song study and sacred conversation. It's the most original and traditional way to engage in the transition into Shabbat, taking each prayer as its own world with its own Torah to teach u
July 22 · 21 min
Episode VII: Woven Back Together Again
Rest to Return is a podcast for a restless world. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is your host. This series is rooted in Shabbat, an ancient Jewish practice that teaches us how to belong to time. Here, rest is a sacred rhythm woven into who we are. We continue by gathering around a single question: Who do we become when we rest?
July 17 · 52 min
Episode 544: Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av) 2026 II - Andrue Kahn, Dania Rajendra
Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av) is an annual observance on the Jewish calendar, often understood as the saddest day of the year. It commemorates many different destructions and catastrophes throughout Jewish history, including (but not limited to) the destruction of the first and second temple in Jerusalem, thousands of years ago. Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman are joined by Andy Kahn, a rabbi and executive director of the American Council for Judaism, and Dania Rajendra, a community organizer a
July 15 · 23 min
Rest to Return VI: Making Time Sacred
Rest to Return is a podcast for a restless world. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is your host. This series is rooted in Shabbat, an ancient Jewish practice that teaches us how to belong to time. Here, rest is a sacred rhythm woven into who we are. We continue by gathering around a single question: What makes time sacred?
July 10 · 47 min
Episode 543: Tisha B'Av (The 9th of Av) 2026 - Lex and Rena Yehuda
Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman discuss the history, shadow-sides, and positive possibilities for observing the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’av (the 9th of Av) — understood by many to be the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. What is Tisha B'Av? How has it been observed -- and, often, not-observed -- in American-Jewish communities? How can it help us consider the flow of the Jewish calendar as a whole? This episode is a first in a two-part mini-series exploring the past, present, and future of
July 8 · 26 min
Rest to Return V: A Season for Everything
Rest to Return is a podcast for a restless world. Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife is your host. This series is rooted in Shabbat, an ancient Jewish practice that teaches us how to belong to time. Here, rest is a sacred rhythm woven into who we are. We continue by gathering around a single question: What is sacred time?

Showing 1–20 of 32 episodes