Tradition Today Summit

Tradition Today Summit

Author: Tradition Online November 11, 2025 Duration: 25:33
On Sunday, November 9th, 75 Jewish educators, rabbis, lay-leaders, and thought leaders gathered for the second Tradition Today Summit, convened together with Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and TRADITION’s publisher, the Rabbinical Council of America, on “Educating Our Children to Be Ovdei Hashem in a Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities.” Together we considered what we can do as a community to educate the next generation of committed Ovdei Hashem? How can students be guided to engage deeply with Jewish life and learning while navigating the challenges of a rapidly changing world? Questions such as these define the landscape of contemporary Jewish education. This second Tradition Today Summit explored how we confront these issues in different contexts: from the New York area to so-called “out-of-town” communities; from American gap-year programs in Israel to local schools and synagogues. Classical Jewish sources, Hasidic thought, and ideas from general educational teachings provide valuable perspectives for addressing these concerns. Central issues to be considered include the role of technology in the classroom and students’ lives more broadly, strategies for supporting different types of students, and models for fostering genuine spirituality. The discussion will highlight the range of approaches within Modern Orthodoxy and the broader challenges facing Jewish education today. View the program schedule. The conference proceedings will appear in an upcoming special issue of TRADITION. Listen to the opening remarks of the assembly with Rabbi Jeffrey Saks (Editor of TRADITION), Rabbi Etan Tokayer (President, RCA), and Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman (President, Yeshiva University). The post Tradition Today Summit 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
R. Feinstein on Brain Death, Revisited [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:51
In the area of Jewish medical ethics brain death is the topic which just will not die. With the advent of technologies and medical developments since the mid-twentieth century, questions about the halakhic definition of…
A Wayward Generation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:09
TRADITION’s Winter 2024 issue (now fully open access) featured a review by R. Gidon Rothstein of R. Elisha Aviner’s Hebrew volume, Dor Tahpukhot, whose English title might read A Guide for Parents Whose Children Have Dis…
Covenantal Capitalism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:24
Subscribers have no doubt begun to dig into TRADITION’s recent symposium issue on “The Challenge of Material Success,” which contains the proceedings of our Tradition Today Summit. We were delighted that one of our contr…
PODCAST: War in Israel at Yale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:53
TRADITION’s most recent issue features a special section with short reflective essays on the events of October 7th and the ongoing war in Israel. In this episode, two of those authors meet to discuss the topics touched o…
Alt+SHIFT Exit Interview [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:04
Because TRADITION has always aspired to be more than a quarterly print journal and aims to help shape the conversation and have an impact in our religious community, about five years ago we broadened our reach by expandi…
A Colonial Protestant Rabbi at Harvard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:30
Yisroel Ben-Porat, a doctoral candidate in early American history at CUNY Graduate Center, is writing a doctorate on the Puritans’ use of the Hebrew Bible as a political text. In TRADITION’s recent Fall 2023 issue he off…
AUDIO EDITOR’S NOTE: The Abnormal Matzav [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:02
Listen to an introduction to TRADITION’s upcoming Winter 2024 issue, with special content related to the ongoing war in Gaza. Jeffrey Saks observes: The initial shock, horror, and trauma of October 7th have in no way aba…
PODCAST: Law and Philosophy in the Guide [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:24
TRADITION’s Summer 2023 issue, recently made fully open access, contained a fascinating offering penned by Michael A. Shmidman, our distinguished editor emeritus, titled “Isadore Twersky’s Unique Contribution to the Stud…
R. Emanuel Feldman Remembers Wars and Hopes for Jewish Revival [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
As we continue to wrestle with the state of anxiety for what comes next at this troubling and traumatic time in Israel and around the Jewish world, we take strength from demonstrations of inspiring resilience and unity i…