Rz Weekly

We take a critical look at the seemingly disappointing showing from the Yemina party. Was the result a failure, and what does it say about the Religious Zionist community in Israel? Then each of us shares a thought about Rosh Hashanah, which is just around the corner.

In this episode we discuss the justification - or otherwise - of holding gender segregated events in public spaces with specific reference to Motti Steinmetz’s concert in Afula where - after a legal battle and an overturned legal judgement - the concert took place with separate men’s and women’s seating. As part of our conversation, we reflect on the protection of the rights of minorities in Israel, and the trend towards both religiosity and secularism in the Modern State of Israel.

The latest edition of RZ (Religious Zionist) Weekly hosted by R’ Reuven Spolter, R’ Johnny Solomon and Mali Adler Brofsky is now available for download! In this episode we revisit the case against Rav Shmuel Tal and address the responses, and fall-out, from the Beit Din ruling, his apology, and what our expectation and priorities should be when responding to scandals such as this.

The latest edition of RZ (Religious Zionist) Weekly hosted by R’ Reuven Spolter, R’ Johnny Solomon and Mali Adler Brofsky is now available for download! In this episode we speak about the recent demonstrations and riots sparked by the shooting of Solomon Teke z’’l by an off-duty police officer, and the difference between the integration and assimilation of Ethiopians into Israeli society. We also spoke (34:50) about recent changes in both emphasis and content in Religious Zionist Yeshivot, how the study of Rav Kook seems to have been replaced by Rav Soloveitchik, and what this tells us about the development of the Religious Zionist world. As always, we very much welcome your feedback and we hope you enjoy the show.

This week's episode - again without Johnny Solomon - addresses the widely-shared article by Racheli Malek-Buda entitled, "Will My Children Remain Religious?" (https://www.makorrishon.co.il/opinion/145205/) We address a number of different aspects of the article including parental coersion, Overton Windows, and Zemirot on Shabbat.

This week’s podcast opens with a brief mailbag discussion about Hebrew language education in the religious Zionist community. Then, (11:00) is the religious Zionist community less involved in issues of social justice such as caring about the environment? If so, what are the possible reasons for that? Lively debate ensues, including discussion of possible differences in perspective along liberal/conservative lines. Finally (34:22) an impassioned discussion of the case of Rabbi Shmuel Tal, who has admitted to sexual indiscretion. We discuss what makes this case so troubling, and how the religious Zionist community should respond to cases of sexual abuse and impropriety among its leaders.

We open this week’s podcast with response to a comment from one of our listeners, relating to the value of aethetics, as a continuation of last weeks podcast discussion. Then, two of YU’s Roshei Yeshiva, Rabbi Schachter and Rabbi Willig, held a question and answer press conference at Yeshiva University in honor of Yom Haatzmaut. Their love of, and appreciation for, Israel came through clearly and movingly. At same time, some of their remarks were respectfully taken issue with by Rabbi Aharon Rakefet. In this podcast we take on these differences in perspectives, noting how the view from here is different from the view from there.

In this episode we discuss popular TV shows such as Game of Thrones which led Rabbi Pesach Sommer - inspired by a blog post by Mayim Bialik - to remark that "If the show is anything like Mayim Bialik describes, I'm pretty floored that anyone, let alone religious people, watch this." Given this, we discuss what is appropriate watching for Orthodox Jews, and the so-called justification amongst some Modern Orthodox Jews of watching improper movies and TV shows. As always, we very much welcome your feedback and we hope you enjoy the show.

In this episode we discuss whether Religious Zionists have a political party to vote for in the upcoming elections, and if the split of Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked from HaBayit HaYehudi to form HaYemin HaChadash points to significant political and ideological divisions among Religious Zionists in Israel. As always, we very much welcome your feedback and we hope you enjoy the show.

In this episode we begin (0-8:45) by mourning the loss of Gal Keidan and R’ Achiad Ettinger hy’d who were murdered at Tzomet Ariel on Sunday and we reflect on the bonds of unity that is felt when events like these occur. We then transitioned to our Mailbag section (08:45-22:45) where Mali addressed the topic of halachic change and surrendering to the halachic will in response to remarks made in our previous episode. We concluded (22:45-60:40) with a lengthy discussion about prevailing halachic interpretations and approaches towards drinking on Purim during which we considered a number of factors why there have been observable and recorded shifting attitudes with respect to drinking on Purim.

The latest edition of RZ (Religious Zionist) Weekly hosted by R’ Reuven Spolter, R’ Johnny Solomon and Mali Adler Brofsky is now available for download! In this episode we begin by addressing listener feedback about Tefillah (0-13:45) and Alonei Shabbat (13:45-15:20), and then proceeded to address the story of the so-called ‘Drumming Bride’ and communal tzniut norms (15:20-52:10). Specifically, at what point it is appropriate to challenge the modesty norms of a particular community, and when should we apply the principle of ‘live and let live’ in terms of communal norms and customs - especially as they relate to the treatment of women. As always, we very much welcome your feedback and we hope you enjoy the show, and while we continue to make technical improvements to the show, we apologise for the echo that can be heard in some parts of this recording.

The most recent (with much improved sound quality!) episode of RZ (Religious Zionist) Weekly hosted by R’ Reuven Spolter, R’ Johnny Solomon and Mali Adler Brofsky is now available for download! IIn this episode we discuss Alonei Shabbat (Religious Zionist Shabbat magazines) and how their prevalence - notwithstanding their many adverts and political stories which make them halachically problematic to read on Shabbat and specifically in shul - highlights a significant disengagement with prayer. Through our discussion we note how Alonei Shabbat are used as a vehicle to spread information to Religious Zionist communities, while also acknowledging the absence of Alonei Shabbat in most Ezrat Nashim. We then proceeded to explore the wider topic of prayer, and whether a more impactful and meaningful prayer experience can be nurtured within the current framework of communal prayer. Through this refreshingly honest conversation about the status of prayer in Orthodoxy, we each explored our unique expectations and experi

The latest episode of RZ (Religious Zionist) Weekly hosted by R’ Reuven Spolter, R’ Johnny Solomon and Mali Adler Brofsky is now available to listen and download from itunes, Podbean, and will also soon be available on Stitcher and Podcast Addict. In this thoughtful episode we address the recent partnership forged between the HaBayit HaYehudi and the Otzma Yehudit political parties, as well as the wider question of the role of Jewish nationalism and religious ideals in Israeli politics. Specific reference is made to the responses from Rabbis Benny Lau, Baruch Gigi, Moshe Lichtenstein and Yitzchak Blau, while exploring the dynamic between politics and religious ideology in the Modern State of Israel. Given the complexity of our topics we very much welcome your feedback and of course, we hope you enjoy the show.

The latest episode of RZ (Religious Zionist) Weekly hosted by R’ Reuven Spolter, R’ Johnny Solomon and Mali Adler Brofsky is now available to listen and download from itunes, Podbean and Podcast Addict. This episode begins with some personal and profound reflections by Mali following the murder of Ori Ansbacher hy’d who was a friend and classmate of Mali’s daughter, and this was accompanied by remarks by Reuven and Johnny about the impact of Ori’s murder and legacy on Israeli society (0-14.30mins). Following this, we each offered a variety of perspectives about Shabbat observance in the modern state of Israel while making reference to Gesher Yehudit, Eurovision and the Shalva band’s decision not to perform on Shabbat, and public transport on Shabbat in Israel (18:20-26:00). We concluded with a heated debate concerning religious coercion and religious freedom of Shabbat observance in the Modern State of Israel (26:00-55:50). Given the complexity of our topics we very much welcome your feedback and of course,

In this episode we address two fascinating topics that are shaping Jewish discourse and the Jewish community the modern age - Social Media, and Marriage and Relationships. Mali opened by sharing her thoughts about how Social Media undermines healthy discourse on social media (0-29.50mins), to which both Johnny and Reuven responded with their thoughts about the opportunities and limitations of constructive dialogue in the facebook and twitter age. This was followed by a discussed led by Reuven who explored the phenomena of ‘Netflix’ (ie. casual) relationships in the Religious Zionist community, as recently highlighted by R’ Haim Navon in an article in the Motzash magazine of ‘Mekor Rishon’ (29.50-51.41mins), to which both Mali and Johnny responded with thoughts about the wider impact of changes in the family. We hope to post links to relevant articles in our Facebook page. Until then, please let us what you think and we hope you enjoy the show.

In this heated episode we address two topics that have arisen in recent weeks in the Religious Zionist/Modern Orthodox world. Specifically (1) The non-apology of Rabbi Haim Druckman who previously gave a teaching platform to the convicted sex offender Motti Elon and whose lack of acknowledgement of the harm this has caused has led to a very public RCA statement and Canadian funder ceasing to support his institutions (0-25.20mins), and (2) The response by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu to two halachic statements by Rabbi Iddo Fechter and Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig (25.20-50.35mins) with reference to women wearing pants. We will be posting links to relevant articles in our facebook page, and though we seem to have had a few technical issues with the sound, we very much hope you enjoy the show.

In this week's episode: Introduction (0 -2.40mins), Topic 1 - Jewish group affiliation and membership (2.40-17.30mins), Topic 2 - Pesika by groups vrs. individuals (17.30-33.20mins), Topic 3 - Yeshiva students learn about the role of women in Judaism (33.20-49.00mins), Concluding remarks (49.00-49.41mins)