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Ask a Jewish question, get a Jewish answer: It's complicated. It would be impossible to fully represent the richness and variety of Jewish experiences, but who better to try than a bunch of writers? So, author, publisher, and podcaster Zibby Owens took on the task in her anthology, "On Being Jewish Now" (see what I did there?); also a Substack where anyone can submit an essay. You may know Zibby from her long-running podcast, Totally Booked, (formerly Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books) which started in 2018 and has hosted more than 2100 authors since then. Zibby is a gifted interviewer, but she's also a fascinating guest!

GLOSSARY and More:

The global Jewish population is just under 16 million people, or about 0.19% of the global population. Nearly half reside in Israel, the Jewish ancestral homeland, from which they were expelled by the Romans in 70 CE after residing there for centuries, of which there is recorded history going back to at least 1200 BCE. The Jewish population of the U.S. is approximately 7.6 million, or about 2.4%.

Reform Judaism is a branch of modern Judaism that grew out of early-19th Century assimilationist sentiments in Germany, instituting various reforms including mixing genders in the synagogue, including music and using local language to lead services (as opposed to Hebrew).

Am Yisrael: meaning "people of Israel" appears frequently in the Torah in reference to the Jewish people. The text of the Torah is dated to 1000-1500 BCE. The earliest recorded reference to a state of “Israel” is from the Merneptah Stele, dating to about 1203 BCE.

The 5800 years reference: The Hebrew Calendar year is counted from the traditional biblical date of creation, currently 5785, similar to how Christian custom counts from the traditional date of Jesus' birth. To learn about the archaeological evidence of “Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?”, check out the book by that name, by famed Biblical archaeologist Bill Dever (who is also, full disclosure, my stepdad!).

More on Tikkun Olam with Rabbi Shankman in Episode 1!

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As a wise rabbi once said (It was Rabbi Susan Shankman, our very first episode), there as many ways to be Jewish as there are Jews. Well, friend-of-the-show Evan Feinberg is a living example of how one can live their "Jewishness"....as a Christian? Evan is Chairman of the Stand Together Foundation, and through the work he's done with non-profits like CarePortal, Points of Light, and Good Soil, among other things, he's kind of become "the faith guy" at work. We bonded when we met at Stand Together, both being obvious MOTs (members of the Tribe) and each time we worked on a project together, we'd have to spend the first few minutes trying to figure out the latest Gabers he'd discovered in his family tree and how the heck we must be related. TBD, by the way. I'll keep you posted.

But, I discovered later: Evan is a practicing Christian. I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't met many Jews who converted away from Judaism, and I had some questions. Thankfully, he's here to tackle them and present from both perspectives, and I'm pretty confident he'll help complicate your thinking in the same satisfying ways he did mine. Evan is a huge proponent of volunteerism and service, and is starting a new position at Praxis, where he'll continue to share his message: the power that created you (and all things) also empowers you to be a creative force to do good in this world. If you don't know where to start, click any of the links above or go to Catchafire.org.

GLOSSARY

Christian apologetics: a branch of theology that uses logic and reason frameworks to defend the claims of Christianity.

Tikkun Olam: “world repair,” is a concept that all human beings are responsible for one another and the world, and for repairing harm and damage through their actions, big or small.

Tzedakah: often translated as “charity,” it actually means “justice," reflecting the idea that things like having enough food to eat, shelter and dignity, and helping to provide those things is not charitable, it’s balancing the scales of justice.

Redemptive Entrepreneurship is a concept used by Praxis which centers "creative restoration through sacrifice" to support ventures and individuals working to help solve cultural and societal problems through their organizations.

MORE

CS Lewis’ argument in favor of Christianity, sometimes called the Trilemma, popularized an approach that has been traced as far back as John the Apostle, using a logic framework to argue for the legitimacy of Christ a

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Your Jewish friend is back!! Season 3 of Jew-ish has a whole new roster of stories and voices from all the usual and unusual suspects: Jews, non-Jews, former Jews, and the generally Jew-curious.

As usual, we'll tackle the questions you're not sure if you should ask, with our usual irreverence, humor, curiosity and deep thoughts.

Jew got questions? We got answers(or know someone who might)! Follow, subscribe and tell a friend!

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