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Martini Judaism

Martini Judaism

Written by: Religion News Service
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 For those who want to be shaken and stirred. Join one of American Judaism’s most prolific thought leaders and his special guests as they talk about the current state of Judaism, American culture, politics, religion, and spirituality.© 2023 Judaism Politics & Government Spirituality
Episodes
  • Being a Rabbi in the Midst of an Earthquake + Elan Babchuck

    Being a Rabbi in the Midst of an Earthquake + Elan Babchuck
    Jan 21 2026
    As the ground shifts beneath our feet, where is our faith? For your consideration: Rabbi Elan Babchuck. He is the founding director of Glean Network, an incubator for faith-rooted innovation; the executive vice president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL); Fellow with the Faith & Media initiative advocating for improved representation of faith in media; and a nationally recognized commentator on religion, technology, and the evolving needs of communities today. And what ahs this to do with earthquakes? In 1837, there was a devastating earthquake in northern Israel that caused major damage to the holy city of Tiberias. Rabbi Babchuck’s great-great-great grandfather was a rabbi in Tiberias at the time, and he had to rebuild a community that had quite literally been leveled. That experience found its way into Elan’s family story, and it became his own job description. Because that is what Rabbi Babchuck does now: he teaches us how to live Jewishly in the midst of earthquakes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • Jews and Hats: A Thousand-Year-Old Love Story

    Jews and Hats: A Thousand-Year-Old Love Story
    Jan 8 2026
    When did Jews start covering their heads? Certainly not in the Bible. The practice emerged during rabbinic times, and not everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Reform Judaism's Wide Open Doors + Rabbi Rick Jacobs

    Reform Judaism's Wide Open Doors + Rabbi Rick Jacobs
    Dec 29 2025
    Why Do Jewish? Love, Obligation, and the Courage to Show Up Imagine a familiar conversation in any household across the world. “Do we have to go to the school concert tonight?”There’s no law. No statute. No external requirement. And yet—you go. Why? Because love creates obligation. Not the other way around. That deceptively simple truth sits at the heart of my conversation with Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, on this episode of Martini Judaism. For generations, Jews have argued about obligation. Traditional Jews often point to halacha—Jewish law—as the source of Jewish responsibility. Reform Jews, by contrast, have insisted on autonomy, conscience, and choice. So the question remains stubborn and unavoidable: Why do Jewish at all? Rabbi Jacobs and I explore that question through the lens of relationship—an idea shared by three of the thinkers who shaped us both: Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, and Eugene Borowitz. Each, in his own way, taught that Jewish obligation does not descend from heaven like a decree. It rises from love, belonging, and covenant. Buber taught that mitzvot come alive when they are responses to encounter.Rosenzweig insisted that commandment follows love, not the other way around.Borowitz reminded Reform Jews that autonomy without commitment is hollow—and that obligation grows out of relationship with God, tradition, and the Jewish people. You don’t attend your child’s concert because you signed a contract.You go because you love your child—and because love binds. Judaism works the same way. This episode isn’t about guilt or coercion. It’s about relationship. And about the quiet, demanding truth that love creates the strongest obligation of all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    50 mins
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