This series is sponsored by Joel and Lynn Mael in memory of Estelle and Nysen Mael.

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Jack Wertheimer, a professor of American Jewish History at JTS, about the radical transformations of American Jewish practice over the last century.

We can’t understand the Jewish People without a sobered look at what happens in our synagogues, homes, and communities. We can talk about a movement’s ideological ideals, but amid those discussions we cannot ignore the on-the-ground realities of a community’s practice. In this episode we discuss:

How does a Jewish movement’s "lived religion" differ from its stated ideals?
What is the cost of radical inclusivity?
What misconceptions do Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews have about each other?

Tune in to hear a conversation about what Judaism means for us in our current time.

Interview begins at 28:28.

Dr. Jack Wertheimer is a leading thinker and professor of American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He is the former provost of JTS, and was the founding director of the Joseph and Miriam Ratner Center for the Study of Conservative Judaism. Jack has written and edited numerous books and articles on the subjects of modern Jewish history, education, and life. He won the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Contemporary Jewish Life in 1994 for A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America.

References:

“Sometimes Mashiach Is Not the Solution” by Aaron Lopiansky

“Politics and the Yeshivish Language” by Cole S. Aronson

The New American Judaism by Jack Wertheimer

A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America by Jack Wertheimer

Sliding to the Right: The Contest for the Future of American Jewish Orthodoxy by Samuel C. Heilman

Contemporary American Judaism: Transformation and Renewal by Dana Kaplan

“What Jewish Denominations Mean to Me” by David Bashevkin

Michtav Me'Eliyahu by Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler

The 18Forty Podcast: “Rabbi Dr. Haym Soloveitchik: The Rupture and Reconstruction of Halacha”

“Shomer Yisroel” by Omek Hadavar

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Jack Wertheimer: A New American Judaism? The Sociology of Jewish Practice [Denominations 3/5]

18Forty Podcast