What Now? A JTS Podcast

What Now? A JTS Podcast

After tragedy, what happens next? How does Jewish tradition help us respond? To put to rest her own years of turmoil, alum Sara Beth Berman interviews faculty members of the Jewish Theological Seminary to finally get some answers.

Episodes

We Suffer Because We Care—Alan Mittleman

May 28, 2019 • 28 mins
In this opening episode, host Sara Beth Berman tells her story and speaks with Dr. Alan Mittleman, Aaron Rabinowitz and Simon H. Rifkind Professor of Jewish Philosophy at JTS. Prof. Mittleman shares his own experiences with loss, framing tragedies as taking place in a world that is nevertheless good and that gives us reason for hope. We also learn why giving Professor Mittleman advice is never a good idea.

Cover art: Aura Lewis
Them...
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Talking Back to God—Benjamin Sommer

May 29, 2019 • 33 mins
Sara Beth talks to Dr. Benjamin Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages at JTS. Professor Sommer takes us back to Ancient Israel, and explains how Psalms can validate our anger with God, and even help us find support from our community. He also shares how the reference to his work he’s most proud of is the one that ended up in the footnotes to a book about Bruce Springsteen.

Cover art: Aura Lewis
Theme music: “Jat P...
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Mourning in Public—Shuly Rubin Schwartz

June 6, 2019 • 35 mins
Sara Beth talks with Dr. Shuly Schwartz, Provost of JTS, Irving Lehrman Research Associate Professor of American Jewish History, and Sala and Walter Schlesinger Dean of the Gershon Kekst Graduate School. Dr. Schwartz shares the mourning and remembering practices, some innovative and some ancient, that have supported her family through even the most wrenching of bereavements. We also learn why Henrietta Szold insisted on saying kadd...
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The Wholeness of a Broken Heart—Mychal Springer

June 13, 2019 • 26 mins
Sara Beth talks with Rabbi Mychal Springer, founding director of the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS. Rabbi Springer shares her insights about living with brokenness derived both from her own losses, and from a career of helping others in crisis. And Sara Beth reveals why she’s been avoiding Rabbi Springer for all these years.

Rabbi Springer is stepping down from her role at JTS this summer to become Manager of Clinical Pastora...
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Getting Honest With Yourself—Eliezer Diamond

June 20, 2019 • 29 mins
Sara Beth talks to Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, Rabbi Judah Nadich Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at JTS, about the power of acknowledging all the parts of ourselves in order to move forward. We also learn what happens when a Catholic priest walks into a rabbi’s hospital room.

Cover art: Aura Lewis
Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).
Funding: The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious & Social ...
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We Were Strangers—Abigail Uhrman

June 27, 2019 • 24 mins
Dr. Abigail Uhrman, assistant professor of Jewish education in the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at JTS, explains how to have difficult conversations with children (and adults), and why we need to channel our tragedies into change. She also shares her passion for increasing access to Jewish education for all students and families.

Cover art: Aura Lewis
Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessio...
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Sympathetic Teachers and Rebellious Rabbis—David Kraemer

July 4, 2019 • 31 mins
Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at JTS, combs the canon of Jewish wisdom to find the right theological insights—and the right books—for the individual who has suffered a tragedy. And Sara Beth and Professor Kraemer found the first rabbinic motorcycle club.

Cover art: Aura Lewis
Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).
Funding: The Louis Finkelstein...
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From Loss to Action—Stephanie Ruskay

July 11, 2019 • 29 mins
Sara Beth talks to Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, associate dean of The Rabbinical School, associate director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, and executive director of the Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice, all at JTS! Rabbi Ruskay shares her journey to becoming a leader in the world of Jewish social justice, guided by a monumental loss—and some very tiny tragedies along the way.

Cover art: Aura Lewi...
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Restoring Balance—Julia Andelman

July 18, 2019 • 30 mins
This week’s guest, Rabbi Julia Andelman, Director of Community Engagement at JTS, explains kapparah (atonement) and the ruptures in the cosmic equilibrium created by sin and suffering. She and Sara Beth discuss how these ruptures can be repaired in our post-sacrificial era. (No livestock was harmed in the production of this episode.)

Cover art: Aura Lewis
Theme music: “Jat Poure” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).
Funding: The ...
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This One Goes to Eleven—David Fishman

July 25, 2019 • 33 mins
Sara Beth talks with Dr. David Fishman, Professor of Jewish History and Director of Project Judaica at JTS, about a tragedy that’s an 11 on a scale of one to 10. Professor Fishman describes the inspiration he’s found in the Vilna ghetto heroes of his recent book, who risked their lives daily to save artifacts from destruction, and who refused to let their tragedy define them.

The Book Smugglers by David Fishman: https://www.upne.com...
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On a Scale of One to Ten—Sarah Wolf

August 1, 2019 • 35 mins
In this season finale, Dr. Sarah Wolf, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at JTS, talks with Sara Beth about the impact of inherited tragedies, from her own family’s losses to the destruction of the Temple. And Sara Beth reaches the end of her journey (for now). She shares what she’s learned this season, and discovers the rabbinic wisdom of reframing our suffering by taking our lives’ narratives by the horns.

Professor Wolf...
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Introducing The Evolution of Torah: a history of rabbinic literature

November 27, 2019 • 13 mins
Episode 1: Who Were the Rabbis?

What led to the emergence of the group of scholars and teachers we call the Rabbis? What motivated them and what did they value? The Rabbis looked to their forebear, Hillel, as an exemplar of religious leadership, and in this episode, we’ll look at three stories they told about Hillel to see what we can learn about the Rabbis’ self-conception.

Subscribe now:
Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us...
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Introducing: Exploring Kabbalah

April 11, 2024 • 12 mins
Check out this new series from JTS Podcasts, Exploring Kabbalah. Dr. Eitan Fishbane shares the complext history of Jewish mystical thought from the Torah to Hasidism. 

Subscribe now:
RSS: https://www.spreaker.com/show/3550593/episodes/feed
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exploring-kabbalah/id1739159484


Hosted by: Dr. Eitan Fishbane
Produced by Ellie Gettinger
Edited by Sarah Brown
Cover art: Lee Willet
Theme music: “Y...
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Introducing JTS's Expanding the Conversation

June 25, 2025 • 30 mins
Check out this new offering from JTS Podcasts: Expanding the Conversation, a podcast that brings the thought-provoking discussions and dynamic scholarship of JTS directly to you. Drawing from live events, lectures, and panel discussions, this podcast goes beyond the moment—offering not only recordings of these programs but also exclusive interviews with speakers, scholars, and thought leaders.

Each episode explores the critical issu...
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