by Scott Kahn
The Orthodox Conundrum is a forum in which we look honestly at the Orthodox Jewish community, identifying what works well and what does not, so that, through an honest accounting, we can find solutions that will be successful. We will examine some of the major issues that affect the Orthodox world, without exaggeration, whitewashing, or pretending that they don’t exist. Our hope is that the Orthodox Conundrum will spark wider discussion that will enable Orthodox Judaism to continue moving forward in the areas at which it excels, and to rectify the areas that need improvement.
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July 1, 2024
<p dir="ltr">When you learn Torah, do you consider yourself to be in dialogue with Chazal? </p> <p dir="ltr">According to Scott's guest, Simi Peters, a key element of learning midrash aggadah is being able to become participants in a conversation that began thousands of years ago and continues today. But in order to do so, we need to become students of midrash: learning how to approach it, understanding both the methodologies Chazal used and why they conveyed their messages in that way, and adopting effective methods in order to interpret midrashim in a manner that enables us to truly engage with the text, so that we accurately interpret the messages that our Sages are trying to transmit.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong id= "docs-internal-guid-28da3fcf-7fff-a6b4-53dc-ec1c353d4231"></strong>Scott and Simi talked about the definition of midrash and the importance of studying midrashim, why Chazal composed midrashim in the manner that they did, whether Chazal intended for midrashim to be taken literally and to be representative of, so to speak, “what actually happened,” the difference between pshat and drash and parshanut and darshanut, how our Sages understood Biblical language, the different methods Chazal use in midrashim, and more. Additionally, Simi offered methodologies that we can use in order to understand midrashim, and she gave some examples of midrashim and what to look for in order to interpret them properly.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to <a href= "https://scottkahn.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://scottkahn.substack.com/</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">For Zev Brenner's interview with Scott on Talkline Radio go to <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/live/M0l_0XA68bQ?feature=shared" target= "_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.youtube.com/live/M0l_0XA68bQ?feature=shared</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108</a>).</p> <p dir="ltr">Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out <a href= "https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/</a> for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit <a href= "https://www.jchpodcasts.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.jchpodcasts.com/</a> to learn all about creating your own podcast.</p> <p dir="ltr">Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com</p>
June 24, 2024
<p dir="ltr">Schools which identify with the Modern Orthodox world and espouse a Centrist Orthodox hashkafa, nevertheless will sometimes hire teachers who profess a Hareidi worldview. In some ways, this is a welcome development; breaking down the barriers that separate our various communities is generally a good thing, and we should be pleased when we discern a willingness to engage Jews with different viewpoints.</p> <p dir="ltr">On the other hand, it often seems that Modern Orthodox institutions are more willing to hire Torah teachers who hail from ultra-Orthodox communities than the other way around. And according to Rabbi Yitzchak Blau, there may be some serious, albeit unintended consequences to this willingness, that Modern Orthodox Jews may find troubling. Rabbi Blau wrote an article in the journal <em>Conversations</em> entitled “The Hareidi Option” where he outlines some of the messages that our children and students may be hearing from their Hareidi teachers and books which most Modern Orthodox Jews would find extremely objectionable.</p> <p dir="ltr">In this episode, Rabbi Blau and Scott talked about the specific messages he believes that Modern Orthodoxy is receiving, and that need to be called out and identified before our students almost unconsciously adopt them. Among the areas they discussed are differing attitudes towards women, Gentiles, secular Jews, the Zionist movement, the Israeli army, divine providence, the role of great Torah scholars, and more.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to <a href= "https://scottkahn.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://scottkahn.substack.com/</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108</a>).</p> <p dir="ltr">Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out <a href= "https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/</a> for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit <a href= "https://www.jchpodcasts.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.jchpodcasts.com/</a> to learn all about creating your own podcast.</p> <p dir="ltr">Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com</p>
June 17, 2024
<p dir="ltr">(This episode was originally released on Septetmber 26th, 2023, but its message is perhaps even more relevant now, after October 7th and its aftermath, than before. Scott will be back with a new episode next week.)</p> <p dir="ltr">Megilat Kohelet is one of the most difficult books in Tanach: it jumps back and forth between conflicting assumptions, it lacks any obvious narrative or thematic structure, and its statements sometimes seem at odds with what most people would consider standard Rabbinic theology. People didn’t discover these problems today, of course; the Mishnah in Masechet Yadayim questions whether Kohelet was canonized as part of the Bible or not. Moreover, Masechet Shabbat 30b reports in the name of Rav that the Sages wanted to hide Kohelet because of its contradictions; they decided against it because its beginning and end are words of Torah - and as Rashi explains, that means that surely there must be other words of Torah in the middle. Still, the fact that they even considered this tells us that Kohelet was as mysterious to them as it is to us.</p> <p dir="ltr">We read Kohelet on Shabbat chol hamoed of Sukkot - or, in a year like this where there is no Shabbat during chol hamoed, on the first day of Sukkot in Israel, or on Shmini Atzeret outside of Israel. But going through all twelve chapters quickly in shul is not the best way to internalize the many messages of this intriguing book.</p> <p dir="ltr">For that reason, Scott was extremely gratified to welcome Dr. Erica Brown back to the podcast. Erica is the author of <em>Kohelet and the Search for Meaning</em>, and they discussed some of the many questions that are raised by Kohelet. It’s a wide ranging and fascinating conversation that invokes Shlomo HaMelech, the Byrds, C.S. Lewis, William Blake, George Carlin, Sesame Street, and more. It will give you a new appreciation for Kohelet not only as a sacred text, but as a book that speaks directly to the deepest concerns of human beings living in the 21st century.</p> <p dir="ltr">Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108</a>).</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out the Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to <a href= "https://scottkahn.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://scottkahn.substack.com/</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out <a href= "https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://jewishcoffeehouse.com</a>/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit <a href= "https://www.jchpodcasts.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.jchpodcasts.com/</a> to learn all about creating your own podcast.</p> <p dir="ltr">Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com</p> <p> </p>
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