What does it mean to be a Jew in the United States military? Phil Lieberman, an Orthodox rabbi, professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt, and a decorated, active-duty military chaplain, talks with Yehuda Kurtzer about how success as a Jewish navy chaplain is not always measured by the size of community but in educating others about Jewish life. Ronit Stahl, author and associate professor at UC Berkeley, frames the larger historical context of Jews in the armed services normalizing Judaism as an American religion. 

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.