Episodi
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Meet Judge Roy K. Altman, a U.S. District Court judge in the Southern District of Florida. Judge Altman was born in Caracas, Venezuela and immigrated with his family to Miami. After growing up in Miami, he graduated from Columbia University where he quarterbacked the football team and pitched on the baseball team. Following Columbia, Judge Altman went on to study at Yale Law where he served as Projects Editor for the Yale Law Journal.
After Yale, Judge Altman went on to serve as a federal prosecutor, twice receiving the Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneysā Award for Superior Performance. After several years as a partner in a law firm, on April 4, 2019, Judge Altman was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. At 36 years old, Judge Altman became the youngest federal district court judge in the country and the youngest federal judge ever appointed in the Southern District of Florida.
In my opinion, you are about to meet a generational mind. Born in 1982, Judge Altman is technically a millennial. Forget millennials, few Boomers or Gen Xers have reached the heights Judge Altman has obtained. To put it into context, in the United States, there are 1.35 million lawyers, and 30,000 of them are judges. Of that 30,000, only 870 are Article III judges. This means that after graduating law school, a lawyer has a 0.064% chance of becoming an Article III judge.
It isnāt an overstatement to say that Judge Altman is one of the most accomplished individuals in America. But this achievement isnāt what is most impressive about him. What makes Judge Altman outstanding is his moral leadership.
An example of his moral leadership is highlighted in a recent article in Bloomberg.
In my view, Judge Altman is setting the type of example Americans should follow. He is pursuing an honest and fact-based discussion about the conflict while refusing to cower to the mob of moral relativism.
When I think about Judge Altman and his actions after October 7, I recall a quote from the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks as he analyzed Estherās plea: āHow can I stand and watch disaster befall my people?ā To this, Rabbi Sacks said, āTo be moral is to live with and for others, sharing their responsibility, participating in their suffering, protesting their wrongs, arguing their cause.ā
Thankfully, because of Judge Altman, we have one of the great legal minds of the 21st century arguing the cause of Israel, the Jewish people, and all of Western civilization.
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Meet Ran Bar-Yoshafat, the deputy director of the Kohelet Policy Forum and an IDF special forces reservist. I reached out to Ran after learning about his experience speaking at UC Berkeley. On February 26, Ran was scheduled to speak on campus about his experience fighting in Gaza and the role of international law and the rules of wartime conduct. What transpired, even before he spoke, was a riot. 200 protesters stormed the venue, breaking glass at the entrance and forcing students and Ran to evacuate through a tunnel under police protection. When asked about the riotersā expressions of antisemitism and anti-Zionism, Ran said, āit is a much bigger problem than a Jewish or Israeli problem. Itās the collapse of Western civilization.ā
Let us not forget - Israel is at war. It is fighting a terrorist regime that has the explicit goal of eliminating Israel and the Jewish people. In an interview after the attacks of October 7th, Ghazi Hamad, a top Hamas official said the Oct. 7 bloodletting is ājust the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth, because we have the determination, the resolve and the capabilities to fight. We will do this again and again.ā
Ran is well aware of what is at stake and he is putting his life on the line to protect not only his nation but also the values and interests of the Western world. Many in the west are failing or flat out refusing to take the words of Iran and its proxies at face value. At this current moment, the words of Natan Sharansky come to mind: āOver the years, I have come to understand a critical difference between the world of fear and the world of freedom. In the former, the primary challenge is finding the strength to confront evil. In the latter, the primary challenge is finding the moral clarity to see evil.ā
Natan Sharanskyās quote helps put into context our conversation with Ran. As you will soon hear, Ran has the immense task of confronting evil. Here in the west, at this moment at least, all we are being asked to do is obtain the moral clarity to see the evil embodied by Hamas?
We are meeting Ran today because few media outlets have chosen to amplify the voices of IDF soldiers. I encourage us all to listen to Ran and think deeply about his perspective and why he has chosen to fight for Israelās right to fight.
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Meet Dani Menkin, an American-Israeli film producer who lives in LA in the process of creating a documentary about the synagogue hostage crisis that took place in North Texas in 2022. Dani has won over 30 awards for his films including an Israeli Academy Award for '39 Pounds of Love' and 'Is That You? In addition, Dani created the film production company 'Hey Jude Productions' and a non-profit dedicated to producing heart-warming stories.
I asked Dani to join us for a few reasons. The first is to better understand what transpired in North Texas on January 15, 2022. Like most news stories, this hostage situation was gone from most Americansā conscience within days. But thanks to Dani and his filmmaking skills, we will all soon be intimately familiar with this event and the Islamic extremism that shaped its circumstances and the brave souls who faced down evil and triumphed. The second reason is because film is such a powerful medium to convey messages. As you will soon hear, Dani doesnāt create films to convey specific messages, however, through his vivid storytelling, viewers gain an understanding of the thinking and emotions that drive us all. The last reason is because Dani is a proud Israeli. At this moment in our history, as the mainstream media paints Israel and Israelis as villains, it is critical we elevate and amplify the voices of those who know Israel so well.
This episode begins with the audio from the trailer for Daniās documentary, Colleyville. After the trailer finishes, you will find my conversation with Dani. If Colleyville is a project you are interested in supporting, please reach out to me or Dani. I know Dani would appreciate your support in launching this important project.
Colleyville trailer: https://vimeo.com/858969151
Dani's production company: https://www.heyjudeproductions.com/
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Meet David Bernstein, the founder and CEO of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (JILV). JILV helps Jewish organizations and individuals hold constructive conversations about critical social justice. David is the past President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and former executive director of the David Project. David is also the author of the book āWoke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews.ā
As many listeners know, since 2014 I have been concerned about progressive thought and the negative impact it is having on our sense making institutions. Pointing out flaws of this school of thought pre 10/7 was difficult. Criticism of social justice theory, diversity equity and inclusion and indigenous land recognition was oftentimes met with accusations of racism and hate. However, since 10/7 it has become easier. The reaction progressives had to the horrors Hamas unleashed on the Jewish people have awoken American liberals. As a result, many liberals are starting to understand the negative implications of progressive ideology.
As you will soon hear, David is a liberal who has been thinking about this ideology for way longer than I have...and he has the scars to prove it. I respect David for the decades he has spent attempting to educate the liberal world of the harms progressive ideology presents. When I look at David's career, I think of the quote from John Ruskin: āThe greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion, all in one.ā
In this episode we cover...
The difference between liberals and progressivesThe reasons why liberals went along with progressive thought for so longWhy the current social justice movement isn't an extension of Martin Luther King's civil rights movementWhat is the best path forward with regards to DEIWhy the Jewish people returning to their ancestral homeland doesn't meet the criteria of progressives who promote indigenous groups reclaiming their land.David's views on Israel's war against Hamas and the concept just war theoryThe difference between antisemitism on the left and right and which form David believes is the greatest threatAnd finally, how best to speak to liberals about why progressive thought is a threat to the American Jewish community -
Meet David Magerman, a native of South Miami who went on to earn a B.S. from UPenn and a PhD in computer science from Stanford. David is an investor and a philanthropist. In terms of investing, he spent 22 years working at the quantitative hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies, which is one of the worldās largest hedge funds with over $100B assets under management. After leaving Renaissance, David founded a venture capital firm called Differential Ventures. Since graduating Penn, David has made it a priority to give back to the institution. He has served on boards and has given over $5M to various initiatives. This strong commitment to the institution formally ended earlier this month when David published an open letter to UPennās president, Liz Magill. In the letter, David makes it clear that unlike other outspoken donors, he is not calling for the current president to step-down, instead, he is simply stating he is breaking up with the university. In his interview on CNN with Jim Acosta, when asked why subsequent statements by the university didnāt satisfy him, David responded, āI felt like the reaction they had at first was authentic, it represented who they were and I didnāt think anything they said could change that. Their values arenāt my values.ā In this conversation, David and I do a deep dive into the following:
His relationship to PennWhat went into his decision to write the letterWhy he believes Penn is mired in moral relativismWhy it is critical to know the values of the institutions you supportHis research into the $15-20B of undocumented gifts received by leading institutions like PennThe importance of Israel to the Jewish peopleFun round of quick fire questions where I foolishly ask a kosher person for his favorite place for a Philly cheesesteakI thank David for making the time to meet with all of us and for being a clear, intelligent and passionate voice during a time when America and the Jewish people need one.--Outro music: The Riders Of Rohan from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers).
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Meet Nate Leipciger, a 95 year old Holocaust survivor who lives in Toronto. Nate was born in Poland in 1928 and when he was 15 years old, he entered Auschwitz. Nate is one of the 11% of European Jewish children under sixteen who lived to see the end of WWII. This number drops to only 1% when you consider Polish Jewish children. Put another way, 89% of Jews (and 99% of Polish Jews) under sixteen were murdered and robbed of the chance to live and shape our world. In other words, Nate is a miracle. Not only is it a miracle that he survived the Holocaust, it is a miracle that at 95 years old, Nate is sharp, witty and mobile! You heard right in the introduction - Nate is still driving! Nate and I first spoke in June, and my normal process is to hold one conversation and then publish the episode. However, after speaking with Nate I realized 1) how ill-prepared I was to navigate a conversation with a survivor and 2) how important it is to tell as much of Nateās story as possible. As a result, Nate and I held additional conversations, the latest being this past Monday, October 23. This most recent conversation provides us all with an opportunity to hear Nateās thoughts on 10/7 and the atrocities Hamas unleashed on Israel. Our discussion on 10/7 begins shortly after the 60 min mark. In 2015, Nate published a book titled The Weight of Freedom. His book details the living hell he and his family navigated while living under the control of the Third Reich. Nate was 5 years old when the Nazis came to power and for the next 12 years he lived under the rule of Adolf Hitler. In 1939, hell touched down on earth, and Nate lived it. It looked like starvation, disease, firing squads, gas chambers, and sexual abuse by fellow prisoners. This wasnāt war. This was depravity that was mainstreamed, normalized and systematized. The Nazis were purpose built to exterminate the Jewish people. And they almost achieved that goal having murdered ā of the living Jews at the time. Nate and his family were forced from their home into a ghetto in 1939. And then on August 1, 1943 - Nate and his family were deported to the death camp, Auschwitz. Over 1.1 million people, including Nateās mother and sister, were murdered in Auschwitz. As you will hear, while in Auschwitz, Nate asked his father what they would do if they were marched into the gas chambers. Nateās father responded, āwe will march with our heads held high in defiance and we will say the first line of the Shema over and over again.ā This episode concludes with Nate saying the Shema and me joining him. I have muted my voice so each one of you will be able to say the Shema with him. Thank god Nateās final Shema was not lost in the darkness of Auschwitz. Instead, Nate's Shemas continue to this day and will be here, for eternity, for all those seeking Nateās courage. May we and god never forget Nate, his words and the wisdom and daas he has chosen to gift all of us.
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Before I introduce our guest, I want to honor all those in Israel who were taken from us on 10/7. The atrocities Hamas brought on Israel, the Jewish people and many foreign nationals on 10/7 must be acknowledged for what they were: an insult to humanity. This attack, designed to eliminate Israel and exterminate Jews, must never be forgotten. The heart, honor and spirit of all those taken from us on 10/7 will echo through the ages and strengthen the Jewish people. Given all the dark we have been confronted with over the past few weeks, I felt the need to introduce some light, hence this conversation with Abe Baker-Butler.
Meet Abe, a junior at Yale studying Global Affairs and Global Health. Abe hails from Rye Brook, New York where he was his high schoolās valedictorian. At Yale, Abe is a contributing reporter at the Yale Daily News, a Yale College Council senator, president of the Alexander Hamilton Society and a member of the Board of Trustees of Yaleās Slifka Center. Outside of Yale, Abe is the president of the American Jewish Committee's Campus Global Board.
In this episode we coverā¦
What it was like on Yaleās campus on 10/7How the campusā reaction was fueled by, in the words of Abe, āthe growing problem of students putting ideology and dogma over facts and moral clarityāWhat Abe thinks are the goals of the students who chant Free PalestineThe reaction of Yaleās leadership to 10/7How Yale as an institution has taken an illiberal turn over the past decade and what we identify as the consequencesAs Abe said, āfree thought and dialogue still exits on Yaleās campus, you just have to look for themāHillel security and what some students perceive as the rationale for it (I found this story shocking)Abeās response to whether or not he would feel comfortable wearing in class clothing with an Israeli flag on itThe term Zionist and how it is interpreted on campusHow Abe thinks about his Jewish identityAnd a Yale-inspired round of quick fire questionsOutro music: Benny Friedman - Am Yisrael Chai
The quote on liberalism from Andrew Sullivan:
"Liberalism is not just a set of rules. Thereās a spirit to it. A spirit that believes that there are whole spheres of human life that lie beyond ideology ā friendship, art, love, sex, scholarship, family. A spirit that seeks not to impose orthodoxy but to open up the possibilities of the human mind and soul. A spirit that seeks moral clarity but understands that this is very hard, that life and history are complex, and it is this complexity that a truly liberal society seeks to understand if it wants to advance. It is a spirit that deals with an argument ā and not a person ā and that counters that argument with logic, not abuse. Itās a spirit that allows for various ideas to clash and evolve, and treats citizens as equal, regardless of their race, rather than insisting on equity for designated racial groups. Itās a spirit that delights sometimes in being wrong because it offers an opportunity to figure out whatās right. And itās generous, humorous, and graceful in its love of argument and debate. It gives you space to think and reflect and deliberate. Twitter, of course, is the antithesis of all this ā and its mercy-free, moblike qualities when combined with a moral panic are, quite frankly, terrifying. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values,ā President Kennedy once said. āFor a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.ā Letās keep that market open. Letās not be intimidated by those who want it closed."
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Meet Jesse Appell, an American performing Chinese language stand-up in China. Jesse grew up in Boston and is a graduate of Brandeis University. His Fulbright Scholarship brought him to Beijing where he studied a type of comedy called Xiang Sheng, which became famous during the Qing Dynasty. Jesseās unique path has put him in situations few Americans have ever encountered. When I look at Jesseās efforts, I think of the quote from Eric Sevareid, the CBS war correspondent who became a household name during WW2. Sevareid once said, "Next to power without honor, the most dangerous thing in the world is power without humor." Jesseās efforts are helping many in China realize the important role humor plays in a high function society. In this episode we coverā¦
How a 9 day vacation to the States turned into 3 years being locked out of ChinaThe approval process Jesse goes through to perform stand up shows in ChinaThe differences between what Ameicans and Chinese consider funnyHow the Chinese perceive Jewish peopleHow Jesseās three year long exodus from China led him to create a tea company and the largest tea drinking page on all of Tik TokThe years Jesse spent studying Xiang Sheng under the mentorship of a famous masterWhy the tea district in Beijing should be a the top of your travel listThe reason we in America think about tea all wrong and how tea drinking might be the solution to our nation's loneliness epidemicThe chinese word he thinks should make its way into the American lexiconBuy Jesse's tea: https://jessesteahouse.com/ (discount code: SearchForDaas) Tik tok: @yourteaguyInstagram: @whatxisaid
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Meet David Harris, the leader at the helm of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for 32 years. AJC was established in 1906 making it one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations in the world, and as you will learn in this episode, Davidās leadership was pivotal in strengthening AJC and its mission. David has been honored more than 20 times by foreign governments for his international work, making him the most decorated American Jewish organizational leader in U.S. history.
In this episode we cover...
His approach to building deep and trusting relationships with world leadersWhy domestically it is important to pursue a non-partisan approachWhy he dedicated so much of his time to building a relationship with JapanAntisemitism, specifically how it has morphed since 1940Why Israel is so important and how best to engage with those who have an unfavorable view of itHow early on he identified an opportunity to build a deep and broad peace with nations in the Middle East and his prediction for how the circle of peace will growHow his mother, who was a Holocaust survivor, shaped him and how she spent her life asking what she could give back to AmericaHis approach to writingHis favorite Yiddish word and the the world leader he considers most impressive--
The outro music was produced by Michael Greenberg.
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Meet Rabbi Simon Jacobson, a rabbi with a vast reach. On YouTube he has over 15 million views and his book, Toward a Meaningful Life, has sold over 400,000 copies. Rabbi Jacobson grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn in a home he describes as "full of ideas." Beginning in 1979, Rabbi Jacobson headed a team of scholars that memorized and transcribed entire talks the late Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson gave during the Sabbath and holidays as writing and tape recording were not permitted. Today, Rabbi Jacobson leads the The Meaningful Life Center which the New York Times describes as a āSpiritual Starbucks.ā The Center bridges the secular and the spiritual through a wide variety of content. In this episode, we cover a lot of ground including how best to approach game-changing technology, why community is so important and the preeminence of the soul. --The outro music was produced by Michael Greenberg.
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Explore the concept of Daas with Rabbi Mendy Schochet.
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Meet Rabbi Dr. Abadie and learn about his journey from being expelled from Lebanon to being invited by the United Arab Emirates to serve as the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates. Along the way, learn about the immense changes taking place in the Arab world as a result of the Abraham Accords.
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The outro music was produced by Michael Greenberg.
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Meet the professor who brought Jewish studies to Japan. For over two decades, Professor Taggar-Cohen has been educating thousands of students at Doshisha University in Kyoto on everything from the Talmud to Tel Aviv.
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This episode's reverse ad features Jesse's Teahouse. Please visit jessesteahouse.com and use the following code at checkout for 15% off your order: searchfordaas
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The outro music was produced by Michael Greenberg.
