Jewish Action The Podcast

Twenty-five years after 9/11, Rabbi Moshe Elefant, newly appointed CEO of OU Kosher, joins Rabbi Gil Student to remember the morning the OU's downtown offices went dark. A conversation about memory, vulnerability, and what a world that lost its innocence asks of us before Rosh Hashanah.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the Orthodox Union's headquarters sat two blocks from the World Trade Center. Rabbi Moshe Elefant was on the t...

n honor of America's 250th anniversary, Rabbi Gil Student sits down with Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm, CEO of BZ Media and host of Good Faith Effort, to explore the Orthodox Jewish experience in America through the 1700s and 1800s. Drawing on the Summer 2026 issue of Jewish Action, this conversation brings to life some of the most remarkable and overlooked figures in early American Jewish history.

The two dive deep into the life of Isaac...

What does the Torah teach us about disability, identity and the profound power of gratitude? 

In this deeply personal and Torah-rich conversation, Rabbi Gil Student sits down with Mrs. Michal Horowitz, author of Abled: A Torah View on Living with a Disability, to discuss her remarkable journey from a fully hearing child to suffering from severe hearing loss as an adult, and the chizuk she has drawn from Torah alo...

Rabbi Gil Student speaks with Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU Kosher and general editor of OU Press, about "Aggadot HaRav, Vol. II," the newly published collection of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s lectures on the Aggadic passages of Masechet Berachot.

Rabbi Genack reflects on his close relationship with the Rav, the unforgettable power of the Rav’s shiurim and public derashot, and the ongoing relevance of his Torah mor...

In this episode of Jewish Action: The Podcast, Rabbi Gil Student sits down with Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Orthodox Union, to explore the Spring 2026 cover story on Torah in the age of artificial intelligence. 

They discuss whether the anxieties surrounding AI are overblown or warranted, how the disappearance of "grunt work" is upending the way we train the next generation...

In this episode of Jewish Action: The Podcast, Rabbi Gil Student sits down with Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman for a wide-ranging conversation about Torah learning, women’s leadership, and how Torat Imecha Nach Yomi quietly grew into a global movement.

What began as a vision to introduce women to a sustained, daily engagement with Navi—one perek at a time—has become the largest Navi clas...

In this milestone episode, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Jewish Action magazine. Returning for  the conversation is Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Managing Director of Community Engagement at the OU, who provides a "behind-the-scenes" look at the multifaceted work of his department—from Torah apps and shul leadership to the Impact Accelerator for Jewish entrepreneurs.

We dive deep into the Winter 2025 retrospectiv...

In this deeply moving and wide-ranging conversation, Rabbi Gil Student sits down with Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Managing Director of Community Engagement at the Orthodox Union, to reflect on leadership, responsibility and the legacy of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l.

Recorded in the shadow of profound loss and at a pivotal moment for the Jewish community, this episode offers an intimate look at how Rabbi Hauer thought, built, challe...

What does it mean to build Jewish life in places where every person truly counts?

In this episode, Rabbi Gil Student sits down with Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, Founding Director of the OU Women’s Initiative, to talk about the power of small communities and the people who help them flourish. Drawing on her nine years as Rebbetzin of the Birmingham, Alabama community, Rebbetzin Shmidman shares what it means to create a vibrant...

In this episode of Jewish Action: The Podcast, Rabbi Gil Student speaks with Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, founding director of the OU Women’s Initiative, about one of the Fall 2025 issue’s most buzzed-about articles. The conversation opens with the now-viral “cantorial controversy,” when Jewish Action accidentally printed the sheet music for We Wish You a Merry Christmas in an article about High Holiday cha...

Host Rabbi Gil Student is joined by Rabbi Yisrael Motzen (Ne’er Tamid; Assistant to the OU EVPs; Director, Kol Echad) to unpack two standout pieces from the Summer 2025 issue of Jewish Action.

Part 1 — Rebbetzin Tobi Kaplan:

Beyond the legend of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan zt”l is the remarkable story of his wife, Rebbetzin Tobi Kaplan—from the Mississippi Delta to Boro Park—whose hospitality, editing help, and u...

Welcome to the Jewish Action Podcast, the official podcast of Jewish Action Magazine from the Orthodox Union. Join Rabbi Gil Student, Director of Jewish Media, Publications, and Editorial Communications at the OU, as he sits down with thought leaders and community voices to explore the issues shaping the Jewish world.

In this episode, Rabbi Student is joined by Rebbetzin Emma Katz, Rebbetzin of Congregation Anshei Chesed in Linden, ...