Published by edJEWcation
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.
Listen on Apple Podcasts1 hr 3 min
Nobody warns you that the hardest parenting years might come after your kids are grown. We opened with a story Jay picked up in a Delta Lounge, a man quietly putting on tefillin who turned out to be a Soviet Jew that did not learn he was Jewish until his family reached America. That pulled us into the Rebbe and Soviet Jewry, quiet diplomacy versus loud demonstrations, and a father exiled to Kazakhstan whose wife made ink from berries so his Torah could survive. Then we turned to the question a lot of you have written in about: how do we stay parents to our kids once they are adults with lives, spouses, and kids of their own? In this episode, we get into: Why grown children still need their parents more than anyone expects, and what that means for us Where the boundary sits, and how to give feedback that lands from a place of love instead of criticism Protecting your spouse first, and why in-laws have to tread more carefully than parents Raising kids who become friendly with you without ever forgetting you are the parent Free choice, and how you can do everything right and still get a result you did not plan for Overbearing parents, helicopter moms, the Little League dad, and when to bring in a third party Whether you are the parent watching your kid make a call you would not make, or the adult child trying to keep the peace, come sit with us. There is grace in here for both sides.
1 hr 4 min
Tisha B’Av is coming, and before we sit on the floor with the lights low, we’re doing our homework. This week we open the Book of Lamentations, the scroll Jeremiah wrote as Jerusalem fell (or was about to fall, depending on which commentators you ask). It’s a book with a wild backstory: a king who burned the first draft, a scribe named Baruch who took dictation for round two, and an alphabet-shaped message hiding in the book. In this episode, we get into: Who Jeremiah was and why nobody wanted to hear his “doom and gloom” prophecies The scroll King Yehoyakim burned, and what Rashi says was in it Was Lamentations written before the destruction as prophecy, or after as eyewitness testimony? Why Jerusalem is described as a widow, and what that metaphor really means The Dubner Maggid’s parable of the needle-and-thread wagon: trading something real for nothing Whether Jews blame themselves too much for their own tragedies, from the Babylonians to October 7th Why we end our reading of Lamentation not on despair but on “bring us back to You, Hashem, and we shall return” It’s the heaviest book in Tanakh, but we promise this isn’t a stuffy seminary lecture. Come study with us before the fast.
1 hr 1 min
The Rabbi opens with a request: can we please put a moratorium on the word “anti-Semitism” until next July 4th? (Spoiler: no, but we try.) Then we celebrate some family news and dive into Matot-Masei, the double portion that closes out the book of Numbers. The Rabbi calls it one of the juiciest parshas of the year, and he makes his case: a war, an angry Moses, a real estate negotiation gone sideways, and an ancient legal system for accidental killers. In this episode, we get into: Why some Torah portions are read as doubles, and who divided (and named) the parshas in the first place The trup (cantillation): how an ancient melody quietly narrates the story, including Joseph’s famous pause with Potiphar’s wife Gad and Reuben asking to stay east of the Jordan, and how one reversed word order exposed their priorities What the tribes’ obligation to fight alongside their brothers says about diaspora Jews when Israel is at war Cities of refuge: the Torah’s “safe space” for accidental killers, and why the tribe of Simon got scattered on purpose Whether you grew up with this parsha or you’re hearing “Matot-Masei” for the first time, pull up a chair. There’s a waffle bar story in here too. Links Parashat Matot-Masei (Numbers 30–36) Gad and Reuben’s request and Moses’ response (Numbers 32) “Every shock fighter among you crosses the Jordan” (Numbers 32:20–24) Cities of refuge (Numbers 35:9–34) The shalshelet in the Joseph and Potiphar’s wife story (Genesis 39:8) Shogeg vs. ones, laws of exile “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh” (all Jews are responsible for one another) “Those who tend a tree eat the fruit” (Proverbs 27:18)
49 min
Some episodes start light. This one starts with a candle. We begin with Jay’s yahrzeit for his mom, twelve years gone and still deeply missed, and the Rabbi walks us through what the anniversary of a death really means in Jewish tradition. From there we widen out to a fast day heavy with history and a piece of tech that might change how any of us learns Torah. In this episode, we get into: What yahrzeit means and why we say Kaddish for eleven months, then every year after The Rabbi’s own story of counting down the days, and the strange sadness when Kaddish ends The five tragedies of the 17th of Tammuz and the start of the Three Weeks Why you can get engaged during the Three Weeks but not married (and what that says about free will) Yochai, the new AI tool that turns anyone into a Torah study partner
1 hr 5 min
What makes two rabbis who disagreed about almost everything the most celebrated pair in Jewish history? This week we sit down with Hillel and Shammai, the original dynamic duo, and the answer turns out to be the way they argued, not what they argued about. In this episode, we get into: The lost art of disagreeing with someone you actually like and respect, and why Judaism treats a good argument as something close to sacred. Machloket l’shem shamayim: what makes an argument “for the sake of heaven,” and where the line gets crossed The Hanukkah menorah debate: do you start with eight candles or one, and why each side is right The gentile who asked to learn the whole Torah on one foot, and the very different answers Hillel and Shammai gave Why Hillel’s golden rule (”what you don’t want done to you, don’t do to others”) is not the same as “love your neighbor as yourself” Lenient versus strict: how two yeshivas, two personalities, and one open door shaped Jewish law Why we almost always rule like Hillel, and the surprising reason it comes down to humility Pull up a chair, pick a side, and remember: the rest is commentary. Resources: Hillel and Shammai, sayings and character Machloket l’shem shamayim (a dispute for the sake of heaven) Korach’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron
57 min
We made it to the finish line. After two earlier episodes, we wrap up the Twelve Prophets and tie a bow on them all. Along the way we get into why these texts barely show up in yeshiva, a much-debated Midrash about Adam and the animals, and whether religion or just plain ideology has driven the worst of human history. Then we go prophet by prophet, all the way to the very last words of prophecy. In this episode, we get into: Micah, and the “swords into plowshares” verse that 99 percent of the world wrongly credits to Isaiah Nahum and the fall of Nineveh, plus a thorny question: if God wanted the exile, why blame Assyria for carrying it out? Habakkuk, who opens by arguing with God and reduces all 613 commandments to one: the righteous shall live by his faith Zephaniah on fear, fight-or-flight, and the command “do not fear” Haggai, Zechariah’s colored-horse visions, and Malachi closing the prophets with the hearts of parents and children turning back to each other Grab a book of the prophets and read along with us. It only takes a few minutes a day, and as we say in here, it’s no great honor to be ignorant. Resources: Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Malachi
57 min
We picked up where we left off with the Twelve Prophets (Trei Asar), and Hosea throws us straight into one of the strangest stories in all of the Tanakh. Gd is furious that the Jewish people are chasing idols, so He gives Hosea an unusual assignment: go marry a woman of ill repute, have kids with her, and name them “Not My People” and “No Mercy.” It’s harsh, it’s strange, and the Rabbi calls it the most dramatic living metaphor any prophet was ever asked to act out. In this episode, we get into: Hosea, the harlot metaphor, and the Kabbalistic question of whether Gd can actually be affected by what we do What a prophet (and a leader) is supposed to be: tough on the people, defender to Gd, never a politician Joel and the locusts, the seven-year famine, and when punishment came measure-for-measure Famous Amos (great cookies, great prophet) and why prosperity might be the harder spiritual test Obadiah the convert who saved 100 prophets from Jezebel, the rabbinic tradition that Rome is Edom, and the famous widow with the miraculous oil Micah and the morality prophets: how “idolatry” in our day reads as money, power, and the corruption that comes with success We also kept circling back to something: most American Jews don’t think about Gd as Someone with expectations. That’s exactly the tension Hosea was preaching into 3,000 years ago. Same story, different costumes. Hit play, and stay with us for Part 3, where we close out the Twelve.
1 hr 2 min
Let’s be honest: when someone you’re not a fan of gets bad news, there’s a tiny, guilty dopamine hit. We open this episode by confessing that impulse out loud and digging into what Pirkei Avot (and King Solomon) have to say about rejoicing at your enemy’s fall. Spoiler: it’s a whole thing. In this episode, we get into: The ethics of Schadenfreude and what Pirkei Avot teaches about resisting that guilty satisfaction Shavuos 101: the forgotten major Jewish holiday, why your boss has never heard of it, and why it matters How the giving of the Torah turned a tribe into a nation (and why shared ancestry alone isn’t enough) The Sam Harris morality debate: can you have ethics without God? The trolley problem, Jewish style: why the Torah says you can’t pull the lever The Book of Ruth, the ultimate story of loyalty, conversion, and the origins of King David Whether you’re prepping for Shavuot or just want to know if you’re a bad person for enjoying celebrity gossip, grab some cheesecake and press play. 🧀 Episode References Pirkei Avot 4:19 Proverbs 24:17 The Ten Commandments Book of Ruth
58 min
The rabbi’s out this week, so we’re are doing what any self-respecting book nerds would do: geeking out about reading. In this episode, we get into: Jay breaks down his “30 pages a day” habit (spoiler: it adds up to 10,000 pages a year) ChayaLeah confesses her Shakespeare regrets Jay’s system for building a daily reading habit (and why you should keep three books going at once) The “Chan-book-ah” book haul: Arab nationalism, Elie Wiesel, Holocaust memoirs, and Jewish prayer ChayaLeah’s pitch for Cultural Amnesia by Clive James and why Remains of the Day is still on her mind Why understanding Jewish prayer word by word is a total game changer Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, a book they both call the best they’ve ever read Hopefully you’ll get some ideas for your next book from this episode. Quote of the episode: "I realized I was never going to be the smartest person in a room, but I could be the most well read." — Jay All the books we mention: Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century by Adeed Dawisha God in Search of Man by Abraham Joshua Heschel Souls on Fire by Elie Wiesel Sages and Dreamers by Elie Wiesel Night by Elie Wiesel The Last Consolation Vanished by Zalmen Gradowski Hostage by Eli Sharabi On Killing by Dave Grossman Elusive Prophet: Ahad Ha’am and the Origins of Zionism by Steven Zipperstein As a Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg Anonymous Soldiers by Bruce Hoffman To Pray as a Jew by Hayim Halevy Donin The Hour of Our Death by Philippe Ariès Arrows of the Dark (two volumes) by Tuvia Friling Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman The Road by Vasily Grossman Cultural Amnesia by Clive James Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris My Prayer (two volumes, Chabad teachings on prayer) — could not confirm Amazon listing, may need manual search Rebel and Statesman-The Early Years: The Life and Times of Vladimir Jabotinsky: Volume One by Joesph Schechtman Fighter and Prophet; The Jabotinsky Story; The Last Years by Joesph Schechtman The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - this is ChayaLeah’s book. Jay dissavows
59 min
What does it actually take to be a prophet? Spoiler: it’s not just hearing voices and shouting in the marketplace (though there’s some of that). In this kickoff to our new series on the Trei Asar, the Twelve Prophets of the Tanakh, we set the stage before diving into the individual books. Think of this as Prophecy 101 with a side of cult talk, because honestly, the line between “biblical prophet” and “guy with millions of YouTube followers” is thinner than we’d like to admit. In this episode, we get into: 📜 What prophecy actually is in Judaism, according to Maimonides, and why Moses was working on a totally different frequency from everyone else 👑 The three pillars of Jewish leadership (king, high priest, Sanhedrin), and where the prophet fit 🎤 Who got tapped to be a prophet, why some were reluctant 🚫 Why prophecy ended after Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, and what replaced it 🤔 What we’d actually do if a prophet rolled up today (hint: probably an institution) 😬 False prophets and cults like, Sabbatai Zvi, Jim Jones, the Moonies Get ready to learn everything you ever wanted to know about prophecy but were afraid to ask.
1 hr 4 min
King Solomon had a thousand wives, wrote a book of proverbs, and still felt the need to write a whole passionate love poem about a shepherd boy and a maiden. Coincidence? We think not. In this follow-up to our Valentine’s Day episode, we go deeper into what Judaism actually teaches about love, including what Song of Songs reveals about God’s relationship with the Jewish people, and we bring it all the way down to earth with real talk about marriages stuck in a rut, whether people can truly change, and why “I can’t” usually means “I don’t want to.” In this episode, we get into: Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs): literal love poem or divine allegory? Why love is the only personality trait with its own dedicated book in the entire Hebrew Bible What Adam and Eve tell us about whether opposites actually attract Why real love has nothing to do with infatuation, Hollywood, or Taylor Swift (though we do have opinions about her and Travis) Practical advice for married couples who have drifted apart and want to find their way back Trust vs. love: which one is actually the foundation of a lasting relationship The Baal Shem Tov’s classic “you can, you just don’t want to” and why it applies to your marriage right now Why the Rebbe and Rebbetzin’s relationship might be the greatest love story you’ve never heard "Love goes deeper than what you can do for me. You love the person for who they are and what they are, not what they do for you." — Rabbi Whether you're happily married, newly in love, or just trying to remember what you liked about the person across the breakfast table, this episode has something real for you. Come learn, laugh, and maybe text your spouse something nice when it's over. 🕯️❤️ Referenced Material- Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) by King Solomon Mishlei (Proverbs) by King Solomon
58 min
We’re kicking off a brand new segment called “Dear Rabbi,” where we bring real-life issues to the Rabbi and actually get into it with honest, often hilarious, sometimes painful conversations about the stuff people are quietly struggling with. First up: how to care for elderly parents without losing your mind, your marriage, or your lunch break. In this episode, we get into: Setting boundaries with elderly parents (and why that’s easier said than done) The difference between being a caregiver and being a nurse Why your parents just want to feel significant — and no, a text does NOT count The generational divide around phones, Uber apps, and why nobody remembers their Kaiser password What to do when your relationship with your parents is, well, complicated The Rabbi’s reflection on his Holocaust-survivor father and putting yourself in your parents’ shoes Jay on caring for his mom while raising a young daughter and feeling guilty about feeling guilty ChayaLeah admitting which of her four sons she’d trust with her medications (spoiler: it’s not all of them) Plus a hot take on Matzo manufacturers who dare to sell non-Kosher-for-Passover matzo. The audacity. Whether you’re navigating aging parents yourself, trying to figure out how much you’re really capable of giving, or just looking for permission to laugh about the hard stuff, this one’s for you. Grab a coffee, settle in, and remember: your parents just want you to call. Got a question for Dear Rabbi? Email us at edjewcationpod@gmail.com or message us on Substack.
57 min
We kicked off this month's Zoom talking about the Rebbe's birthday and why his legacy still hits so hard, from growing Chabad's global mission to his no-nonsense philosophy on turning obstacles into opportunities. Then we got into full Passover mode: ChayaLeah is prepping a community Seder for 120 people and her game plan is SPEED. We broke down the Ten Plagues (why those plagues, why that order, and how long they actually lasted), talked about why you don't need a minimum number of people for a Seder (but the more the merrier), and heard from Moshe Perelmuter live in Israel about what Passover looks like during wartime, with packed grocery stores but empty Jerusalem streets. We also explored studying the Tanya, which the Rabbi describes as essentially a self-help book for the Jewish soul. And Goldie dropped some hilarious childhood stories about sharing a bedroom with ChayaLeah. It's Passover prep meets life advice meets family chaos.
1 hr 0 min
On this chag episode, we tackle a section of the Haggadah that almost everyone breezes past: Jacob's fateful decision to "temporarily" settle in Egypt, only to buy land, put down roots, and stay for 17 years. From that ancient real estate deal, the conversation spirals into the big questions Jewish families are wrestling with right now: What does Israel really mean to diaspora Jews? Is "dual loyalty" just an antisemitic trope, or something worth actually thinking about? Why did 80% of Jews choose to stay in Egypt even after centuries of slavery? We don't talk about rising antisemitism, the war with Iran, and what it means to say "Next year in Jerusalem" from your living room in Long Beach. ChayaLeah shares her family's Passover prep rituals (poster boards, car detailing, kids moving the fridge), and we a passionate case that any level of observance counts. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 🍷\ Resources Mentioned- Genesis 46:27 - Jacob’s family settling in Egypt Exodus 13:18 - Circuitous route out of Egypt The Four Questions explained - Chabad.org The Rebbe’s seder table - Chabad.org
1 hr 2 min
In this edJEWcation Book Club episode, Jay brings the crew one of his all-time favorite books: Up From Slavery , the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. Born into slavery in 1856 and emancipated at nine, Washington went on to found the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and reshape what education could mean for a freed people. Jay, ChayaLeah, and the Rabbi explore the surprising parallels between Washington's vision of education as moral training and the Yeshiva model, debate the Torah's relationship with labor and productivity, and push back hard on today's victim mentality culture. The Rabbi even draws a line from Booker T. Washington to the Rebbe and the Maggid of Mezritch. It's a wide-ranging, warm, and surprisingly moving conversation about resilience, legacy, and what it really means to build something from nothing. Books mentioned in this episode: Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington Open by Andre Agassi
57 min
When the British Museum quietly updated some of its ancient Near East exhibit labels from "Palestine" to "Canaan," the internet exploded. But what does the history actually say? Israel tour guide, Jewish educator, and Substack writer Alex Stein joins Jay and ChayaLeah to break it all down, from the Bronze Age Canaanites and the Hyksos to Herodotus, to Hadrian officially naming the Roman province "Palestina" in the second century CE. Along the way we get into Jewish indigeneity, the archaeology of the Israelite conquest (spoiler: it's complicated), dual-narrative tourism, and how you'd even begin to explain any of this to a sixth grader. This is the episode for anyone who wants to actually understand the history beneath the headlines, without the yelling. Where to find Alex: Make sure to check out Alex’s upcoming Love of the Land Tour in October! From Palestine to Canaan article
1 hr 4 min
What happens when a wealthy man buys up all the synagogue seats and blocks the aisles? Or when a rabbi tries to convince the Lubavitcher Rebbe, a trained engineer, that an ocean liner basically "runs itself" on Shabbos? In part 2 of their Responsa deep dive, the edJEWcation crew explores how Jewish law evolves to meet the real world, from Talmudic property rights to Shabbos doorbells in modern Brooklyn. The Rabbi, ChayaLeah, and Jay cover it all: the Cypriot chicken saga, the kosher cheeseburger question raised by lab-grown milk, getting a "hetter" (permission slip) for nail polish at the mikvah, and a last-minute Shabbos wedding in medieval Krakow that required some seriously creative legal reasoning. It's Jewish law as it's meant to be…living, breathing, and endlessly fascinating.
1 hr 0 min
In this special birthday episode, ChayaLeah and Jay sit down with the man of the hour, the Rabbi, as he turns 70. Born in Montreal on March 4th, 1956 (the 22nd of Adar on the Jewish calendar), the Rabbi reflects on a life he never could have predicted: from growing up in a non-Chabad home and boarding a bus to a New Jersey yeshiva on a whim, to serving as a Schlaich in Seattle, building a Chabad presence in Boston's Kenmore Square, and eventually putting down roots in California where, through decades of challenge, a global pandemic, and more than a few permit headaches, his community finally found a permanent home. Grounded in the wisdom of Pirkei Avot (which calls 70 "ripe old age," a fullness and satisfaction), the Rabbi shares what it really feels like to look back on a life of purpose, sacrifice, and gratitude. Funny, honest, and genuinely moving, this episode is a masterclass in what it means to "keep breathing" until the sail comes in.
1 hr 3 min
What if the holiday that looks the most like a carnival is actually hiding the most profound questions in Judaism? Professor Tanya White, Bar-Ilan University professor, host of the Books and Beyond podcast, and one of the most engaging Jewish educators alive, joins Jay and ChayaLeah to unpack the Book of Esther like you've never heard before. We explore why God's name doesn't appear once in the Megillah (and what that means for us today), the concept of "radical seeing" and the stunning parallel between Purim and our post-October 7th world. ChayaLeah opens up about Esther's loneliness and sacrifice, Jay brings a story about a Cold War spy finding God in his daughter's ear, and Tanya shares an "invisible string" that will genuinely move you. This is the Purim episode you didn't know you needed. Where to find Tanya- Torah Chat on WhatsApp TanyaWhite.org Books and Beyond Podcast Tanya’s Instagram Books & articles we discussed- The Invisible String by Patrice Karst: the children’s book Tanya shares the beautiful “invisible string” story from Why Grow Up? by Susan Neiman: philosopher’s book on the problem of evil that Tanya references in discussing adversity and resilience Rav Soloveitchik’s concept of “fate to destiny” : consider linking to Kol Dodi Dofek or a summary essay God in Search of Man by Abraham Joshua Heschel: Heschel’s concept of “radical amazement” Witness by Whitaker Chambers: his memoir is where the famous “daughter’s ear” moment comes from
59 min
Was Theodor Herzl a secular visionary or a spiritual seeker? A hero or a heretic? On the 130th anniversary of his landmark manifesto Der Judenstaat , Professor Gil Troy, presidential historian, Zionist scholar, and editor of The Zionist Ideas , sits down with Jay and ChayaLeah for a conversation that covers all of it: Herzl's complicated relationship with Judaism, why he was persona non grata in Haredi education, the emotional power of standing at his grave on Mount Herzl, and why Professor Troy’s concept of "identity Zionism" speaks directly to Jewish students navigating hostile campuses today. Along the way, the hosts bring their signature mix of head and heart, Jay digs into the intellectual history while ChayaLeah shares what it was like to discover Herzl as an adult after growing up Chabad, where his picture wasn't exactly hanging on the wall. It's a timely, moving, and surprisingly fun deep dive into the father of modern Zionism. To learn more about Professor Troy’s work, you can find it at his website GilTroy.com A selection of works: To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to my Students on Defending the Zionist Dream The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland: Then, Now, Tomorrow The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath: Facts, Figures, History