During this tumultuous and difficult year, what have we learned about how we relate to Judaism, the Jewish people, Israel, and the world? In this final episode of 2023, Yehuda Kurtzer uses selections from Identity/Crisis episodes over the past year to guide us through key moments and ideas. Beginning with concerns over Israel’s democracy, he explores what characterizes North American Judaism before delving into the devastation of October 7 and the subsequent war, ultimately reflecting on the lessons we have learned.

Previous episodes of Identity/Crisis mentioned in this episode:

Tehila Friedman, Hole in the Center of Israeli Society | January 17, 2023
Rana Fahoum, Envisioning Shared Society | January 10, 2023
Mishael Zion, How to Run a Seder | April 4, 2023
Matti Friedman, Zion’s Roads are in Mourning |July 27, 2023
Rachel Isaacs, Small Town American Judaism |June 19, 2023
Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield, From Kharkiv to New York | February 27, 2023
Hannah Lebovitz, Lessons on Housing Insecurity | September 27, 2023
Eliot Cosgrove, The Case for Commandments | May 9, 2023
Rabbi David Wolpe, The Art of the Sermon | September 12, 2023
Various voices, A Nation That Can’t Sleep | October 11, 2023
Shira Berkowitz, When Jews Show Up | November 28, 2023
Eric Fingerhut, The Jewish Establishment and Its Critics | August 29, 2023
Gali Cooks, The Jewish Leadership Pipeline Problem | July 17, 2023
Tal Becker, Fighting a Just War |November 14, 2023

A transcript of this episode is available here.

Subscribe on all major platforms​

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.