In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to an anonymous email sender about life upon the bridge between the truth of fact and the truth of feeling.

Our anonymous guest sent an email in to 18Forty, which we read previously on the Malka Simkovich episode. In his email, he describes struggling with the Oral Torah and clinging to his faith despite the unknown.

- How has practical Jewish religious observance evolved since the canonization of the Oral Torah?

- Are the struggles of modern day Jews the same struggles Jews faced in the Second Temple period ?

- Where does the divinity of the Jewish People lie?

- Is Judaism intended to be a socially arbitrated system?

Tune in to hear a conversation on authenticity within spirituality.
Interview begins at 16:39

References:

Torah Musings Blog by Gil Student
18Forty - “Malka Simkovich: The Mystery Of The Jewish People”
Zakhor: Jewish History And Jewish Memory by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi
Stories Of Your Life And Others by Ted Chiang
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Arrival
18Forty - “Moshe And Asher Weinberger: Heart Of The Fire: Together Even With Small Differences”
18Forty - “Larry And Tzipora Rothwachs: Here Without You — A Child’s Eating Disorder”
18Forty - “Andrew Solomon: Far From The Tree”
“Welcome To Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley
18Forty - “The Legacy Of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks”
18Forty - “Chaim Saiman: Is Talmud The Jewish Constitution?”
18Forty - “Ari Bergmann: Talmud As An Agent Of Chaos”
18Forty - “Joshua Berman: What Should We Believe?”
“Is It Really the Torah, Or Is It Just the Rabbis?” by Tzvi Freeman
Josephus: The Complete Works by Flavius Josephus
From Text to Tradition, a History of Judaism in Second Temple and Rabbinic Times: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism by Lawrence Schiffman
The Rambam’s Introduction to the Mishna
Iggeres d'Rav Shrira Gaon
The Thirteen Principles of Torah Elucidation by Rav Yishmael
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
The Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yoseph Karo
”Left and Right Brain Judaism” by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
COVID responsa from Rav Herschel Schachter
Show & Tale: Pinny Stieglitz
Game of Thrones
The Matrix
18Forty - Intergenerational Divergence
Mishna Berurah by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan
“Rupture and Reconstruction” by Haym Soloveitchik
Judaism Straight Up by Moshe Koppel
Sin-a-gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought by David Bashevkin
Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism by Malka Z. Simkovich
Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture by Louis H. Feldman