The Jewish tradition is full of exhortations to look after the vulnerable—to open up our pocketbooks, our hearts and even our homes to those in need—as well as stories of our own vulnerability, when we were dependent on the generosity and heroism of others. What might it look like to take those exhortations, and those stories, seriously? Last week, Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield, Executive Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, wrote an article in Tablet about opening up her home this past year to a family of Ukrainian refugees. She joins Yehuda Kurtzer to explore that experience and what it can tell us about obligation, about dignity, and about the meaning of Jewish history.

Identity/Crisis: The Ideas Behind the News is a podcast of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

A transcript of this episode is available here.

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In a frenzied media cycle, Identity/Crisis delves into the big ideas behind the news from a uniquely Jewish perspective. Host Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, talks with leading thinkers to unpack current events effecting Jewish communities in North America, Israel, and around the world, revealing the core Jewish values underlying the issues that matter to you.