Jewish TALK JSCN

While the Torah is clear that every plant and animal species was individually designed “according to its kind”, Darwin’s theory of evolution states the multitude of species we see today all evolved from just a few original forms. Which is right? And if humans evolved too then how could we have been created “in God’s image?” ABOUT Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum: Rabbi Zarum is Dean of LSJS and holds the Rabbi Sacks Chair in Modern Jewish Thought at the school. He is a rabbinic leader, lecturer and author with a passion for teaching traditional Jewish texts and innovative educational programming for young and old. He gained a PhD in Theoretical Physics from King’s College London, leading to the publication of a number of papers on Quantum Chaos Theory. This podcast has been made possible with the help of Whitefield Jewish community and Mizrachi UK

Jack Aisenberg was a young lad when he was separated from his family, who he would never see again. Though he eventually was caught, he survived the Nazi concentration camps and death marches.  In this 3.30 minute podcast Holocaust survivor Jack tells of the fateful day he parted from his family.

Dan and Lex invite the audience to engage in the idea of a virtual synagogue, one without walls and without boundaries, as if it was on a completely new Jewish planet. Dan Libenson studied at Harvard law school where he graduated with honours and spent five years as a law professor. He’s been closely involved with Hillel in Harvard and Chicago and now devotes his life to working with the Jewish community. He believes people seek connection to Jewish traditions in a way that they perceive as authentic or meaningful but not necessarily tied to some preconceived notion of the “right way”. He is Co-founder of Judaism Unbound podcast.  Lex Rofeberg is a 29 year old Jewish educator and organiser. He graduated with a degree in Judaic Studies from Brown University and was also involved with Hillel. He worked for the Institute of southern Jewish life based in Jackson Missouri where he was an education fellow. He is interested in non-traditional ways of studying Talmud and is currently studying to be a rabbi. Along with Dan he co-founded the Judaism Unbound podcast. Recorded at Limmud Festival 2019

One hundred years before the Expulsion from Spain, the 1391 anti Jewish riots were the most widespread and today least known outbreaks of violence against Jews in medieval Europe. Jews had lived in Spain for over 1,000 years, predating the fall of the temple, a period regarded as one in which they enjoyedgreatestz freedom and success. So how did this violence become the precursor to the Spanish Inquisition and the Expulsion of 1492? Michael Schraere was recorded at Limmud Festival 2019. This episode was made possible with funding from National Lottery community Fund.

How are life and death decisions made in Jewish Law? If faced with the decision of saving just one life how does Jewish law help with that dilemma ?   Rabbi Dr Akiva Tatz is a South African born physician and lecturer, and the author of Dangerous Disease and Dangerous Therapy in Jewish Medical Ethics.   In this episode of JewishTALK he looks at a famous case of Siamese Twins born to an Orthodox Jewish couple. How was the dilemma of separating them was approached, and how does that fit with Life and Death in Jewish Law.   Rabbi Tatz  studied medicine in South Africa and the USA and graduated with distinction in surgery. He spent a number of years concurrently practicing medicine and engaging in Talmudic study.  Today he teaches and promotes knowledge of Jewish medical ethics internationally.   This episode was made in collaboration with Manchester Grammar School.   Responsum by Rav Moshe Feinstein   jewishvirtuallibrary.org/siamese-twins-and-jewish-law Teacher’s Guide  http://nleresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Conjoined-Twins-Teachers.pdf Article reproduced from Philadelphia Reporter http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/assia_english/drake-1.htm

Although he was born in Berlin, Rudi Leavor is a Yorkshireman at heart and that’s where we’re going today. Rudi is the 93-year-old custodian and president of Bradford Reform Synagogue, which has been in the news quite a bit in recent years, partly because of the Muslim leader who sits on the shul's board. I met Rudi in the synagogue to find out more about the shul and Bradford's Jewish history. Two other Bradfordians, Hanneke Dye and Stefan Simmonds... spoke to Nigel Grizzard about shul life, growing up in the Bradford community, and the Hostel that was home to child refugees from the Kinder Transport.  We have more information about the Bradford community on the JSCN website just go to https://jscn.org.uk/small-communities/bradford-reform-synagogue/ there you will find a number of videos which talk a lot more about the history of Bradford and its Jewish community, including a complete film about the hostel which housed those Kindertransport children.

There is a kindly gentleman who sits not far away from me in Synagogue. He’s called Sam. He always asks about me and my wife, and I always make sure to wish him Shabbat Shalom. He rarely speaks about himself but I know, from other people, that Sam has survived three or maybe four concentration camps. And people were also keen to tell me “Hey you know he’s one of the ‘Windermere Boys’, don’t you?” “The Boys”, was a group of 300 boys and girls who ended up in Prague and had been airlifted out as refugees at the end of the war. They were taken to Windermere to recover, and from there they would go on to build new lives. But recently I found out how the history of that time and the physical evidence of their existence had almost been eradicated for ever.  Trevor Avery had an interest in the war time history of Windermere, but initially for a completely different reason, until the chance encounter piqued his interest. Now for over 10 years he has made it his mission to uncover that history and tell the story of The Windermere Boys to the world.

We kick off our highlights of Leeds Limmud with the big panel discussion featuring  Gideon Falter chairman of the Campaign Against anti-Semitism,  Rachel Creeger, who you might know as the Frum stand-up comedian,  Robert Dyson a Leeds historian  Patrick Morrow an Anglican priest who is a regular Limmudnik and Aviva Dautch a teacher and familiar face who has been a presenter at Limmud for many years. The panel, chaired by Helen Lewis, had a wide-ranging debate answering questions...- Will Brexit affect UK Jews?- How can we deal with antisemitism in politics?- Expansion of Jewish schools, is it for the good?

In March 2019 Ed Horwich accompanied a group of Local Councillors and Civic community leaders, as they journeyed to Poland to learn about its history and the legacy of the Holocaust.This mainly non-Jewish group spent an intense 2.5 days visiting Warsaw, Treblinka, Majdanek, Tarnow, the 'Children's Forest', Krakow and Auschwitz.For all, the nature of what they witnessed was challenging and emotional.Ed recorded their journey and the emotions shared with him. It can be tough listening.

Four years ago a lady strode up to a volunteers co-ordinator to make a demand "You have to record my story".Now hers is one of over 30 books which have been produced telling, in their own words, the stories not just of surviving the Holocaust, but of finding and making a new life, creating a  family, and building a future. Ed Horwich went along to record the amazing story of the My Voice team, and to hear from the director of Yad Vashem, Dorit Novak, where the books are being archived.