Catching Up with TraditionOnline

Catching Up with TraditionOnline

Author: Tradition Online July 14, 2025 Duration: 45:04
In this episode of the Tradition Podcast we update our listeners on some happenings over on our website, TraditionOnline.org. Check out the Tradition Summer Book Endorsements: Our yearly tradition of turning to our esteemed editorial board for endorsements for summer reading. Some may be amused to think of a seaside read with the 29 tomes our team chose, but that’s what you get from TRADITION’s thought leaders: sometimes surprising suggestions, but always reading worthy of your attention. Readers of TraditionOnline have been following our pair of biweekly columns which appear on Thursdays. We catch up with those authors to summarize what’s been accomplished online and to look ahead. TRADITION’s associate editor, Chaim Strauchler, the Rabbi of Rinat in Teaneck, has been offering us “Tradition Questions” prodding us to think about an array of issues facing religious life. That column is now going off on hiatus and will be replaced in the Fall with the return of his very popular “The Best” series – we spoke with Chaim about the answers and insights he found in the course of “Tradition Questions.” Moshe Kurtz, has presented 30 installments in his “Unpacking the Iggerot” series, exploring the background and reception history of R. Moshe Feinstein’s most consequential response in the Iggerot Moshe. It’s a fascinating guided reading of those teshuvot. We catch up with Moshe to survey what’s been accomplished in that series as it goes off on summer break while he settles into his new position as the rabbi of Cong. Sons of Israel in Allentown, PA. Fear not – he’ll return to TraditionOnline with new essays in the Fall. We’re also glad to let you know that Yitzchak Blau, no stranger to our readers, will be filling in over the Summer with an encore series of his “Alt+Shift” column—that’s the keyboard shortcut allowing us quick transition between input languages on our keyboards. For many readers of TRADITION that’s the move from Hebrew to English (and back again). The series will appear every Thursday until September, offering an insider’s look into trends, ideas, and writings in the Israeli Religious Zionist world and helping readers from the Anglo-sphere gain insight into worthwhile material available only in Hebrew. The post Catching Up with TraditionOnline appeared first on Tradition Online.

The Tradition Podcast extends the deep, considered conversation of its long-standing journal into an audio format. Each episode draws from the rich well of Orthodox Jewish thought, but frames these ideas for a contemporary listener grappling with modern questions. You'll hear discussions that sit at the intersection of ancient texts and present-day life, where timeless philosophy meets current ethical dilemmas, historical context informs cultural shifts, and spiritual inquiry finds practical expression. This isn't about delivering simple answers, but rather exploring the nuanced arguments and diverse perspectives that have defined a living tradition for centuries. The podcast naturally delves into the same rigorous topics as the journal-Jewish law, theology, societal trends, and moral philosophy-but with the accessible, engaging flow of a spoken dialogue. It’s for anyone curious about how a vibrant intellectual and religious tradition navigates the complexities of the human experience, offering thoughtful reflection that resonates far beyond the page. Tune in for a series that honors the depth of its source material while creating a new space for auditory learning and reflection.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Tradition Podcast
Podcast Episodes
COVID+5 Panel Discussion [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:44
Readers of TraditionOnline.org have been following our week-long series COVID+5,where we’ve been exploring the lasting impact of the pandemic on Jewish education, communal life, and spirituality. Through the insights and…
The COVID Seder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:51
With Passover around the corner our minds are on the many preparations required to join our families around the Seder Table—and yet, who can forget the events of five years ago, when so many of us were isolated, locked-d…
Religious Zionism’s Triple Cord [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:01
In this episode of the Tradition Podcast, our associate editor Yitzchak Blau interviews author, researcher, and Makor Rishon columnist Yair Sheleg about his recent Hebrew book HaHut HaMeshulash, whose English title might…
Esther, the Spies & Faith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:10
In this episode of the TRADITION Podcast, Mali Brofsky and Mark Smilowitz discuss the central thesis of his recent essay, “Esther and the Spies: A Bible-Based Symbolic Meaning of Walled Cities from the Time of Joshua” wh…
The Halakhic Philosophy of Forgiveness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:36
What is the purpose of forgiveness? How necessary is it to maintain working social order – within the body politic or within the smaller circles of religious community or family? Is forgiveness the work and responsibilit…
War Writing Week [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:11
R. Jonathan Sacks observed that “Jews have survived catastrophe after catastrophe, in a way unparalleled by any other culture. In each case, they did more than survive. Every tragedy in Jewish history was followed by a n…
Maimonides as Rabbi and Philosopher [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:23
TRADITION’s Summer 2024 issue contained expanded book review coverage including a review by Menachem Kellner of ArtScroll’s new anthology of Maimonidean philosophy, Kisvei HaRambam: Writings of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon – T…
The Ideology of Hesder Revisited [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:24
TRADITION and the Rabbinical Council of America recently hosted R. Mosheh Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion, for a conversation revisiting a classic essay from our archives: R. Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l, “The Ideolog…
The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:16
TRADITION’s recent Summer 2024 issue contained expanded book review coverage including a review by Yitzhak Blau on Gila Fine’s new “The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud” (Maggid Books & Pa…
“Bittersweet” with Susan Cain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:19
It’s become a tradition at TRADITION that each year we turn to our esteemed editorial board for endorsements for summer reading (read this year’s picks here). This summer our friend and colleague Mali Brofsky highlighted…