edJEWcation

Mar 05 2025 52 ep. 65 mins 12
edJEWcation Podcast artwork

Your weekly dose of Jewish wit and wisdom. Each week Rabbi Abba Perelmuter, Chayaleah Sufrin, and Jay Covitz explore Jewish history, culture, and writings. Whether you're a relapsed Jew or an old pro there is something for us all to learn.

  Religion & Spirituality
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We're in a Tal-Mood

Mar 05 2025 66 mins  
If you spend time on X/Twitter (which I would never waste my time doing), you’ve probably seen a bunch of internet morons talking about how “they’ve read the Talmud and here’s this horrendous thing it says.” Today, we discuss why they are full of nonsense (this is family programming).But first, we begin discussing a recent Pew Research poll that shows that the decades-lon

The Need for Justice

Feb 26 2025 53 mins  
This week's episode was a high-wire act. What I thought would be a slight aside to kick things off ended up being the entire episode. You never know what those crazy Jews are going to do…We start discussing what I thought was a profound insight from this week's parsha (don’t mind if I do!), Exodus 22:21-23 if you want to read along, which led us to a broader discussion about th

Judaism and Abortion

Feb 20 2025 71 mins  
Oh boy. Here we go…This week we decided to tackle the oh-so-non-controversial, milquetoast, mundane topic of the big A. No, the A does not stand for Alcoholism, Agamemnon, or Adult Diapers. It stands for Abortion.We’ve batted around discussing it for a while now and decided to avoid it (for probably obvious reasons). However, the great Kat Rosenfield wrote an article for The Fr

edJEWcation Book Club: Frankenstein

Feb 12 2025 74 mins  
This week, we present to you all the second installment of the edJEWcation book club. This month, we discuss Mary Shelley’s classicFrankenstein.When I first suggested this book for the book club, ChayaLeah and the Rabbi looked at me as if I had two heads (each with a yarmulka on). However, after reading it, I think they came around. The book deals with several profound human ques

Happiness: A Jewish Perspective

Feb 05 2025 65 mins  
After a few weeks of intense conversations, we decided to lighten it up a bit and talk about happiness and what’s so great about it, both generally and in the Jewish context. In this conversation, we discuss the importance of a joyful home and delve into the emotional nature of happiness and gratitude. We discuss the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and the importance of joy

Washington, Shakespeare and the Jews

Jan 29 2025 65 mins  
In this episode, we cover a lot of ground with our guest and true Renaissance woman, Sarah Skwire. We originally invited Sarah to discuss an article she wrote about the significance of George Washington's letter to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. During that portion of the discussion, we explore the letter’s historical context, Washington’s deft usage of l

Euthanasia: A Jewish Perspective

Jan 22 2025 59 mins  
With the growth of the number of countries legalizing euthanasia to various degrees, we thought it would be a good topic to discuss this week. You know, why not hit on another lighthearted topic, amiright? In our conversation, we discuss the importance of life in Judaism, the moral dilemmas surrounding euthanasia, and the role of rabbis in guiding families through end-of-life decis

Divorce: A Jewish Perspective

Jan 16 2025 71 mins  
When ChayaLeah said she wanted to discuss “the big d,” I thought she meant delis, which got me excited because I can actually add something to that discussion. Alas, it was not to be. Apparently she meant divorce, which depressed me on several levels. Anyway, in this conversation, we start by discussing the impact of the horrendous California fires on the Jewish community, emph

Charity: A Jewish Perspective

Jan 08 2025 62 mins  
Welcome back for another edJEWcation discussion. This week, we’re talking Tzedakah (or charity, for everyone who didn’t attend Hebrew school). In this conversation, we explore: The significance of charity in Judaism, Personal stories of giving The Torah’s perspective on charitable obligations The impact of charity on individuals and communities The historical context of

Capital Punishment: A Jewish Perspective

Jan 02 2025 57 mins  
On this episode, we discuss the Jewish perspective on capital punishment. The discussion includes: A discussion about current events, including the recent horrific murder on the New York subway Contrasting the Jewish religious perspective with American justice. The role of justice in society and the biblical foundations of punishment. The importance of objective morality an