Loving other human beings is both the trickiest and most important thing we’ll ever do.
It's the most important, because the love we share with other people is what gives our lives meaning; it's tricky because the actual people that we love can make us want to tear our hair out.
Fortunately, the Jewish tradition has tremendous resources to help us think about our relationships - with our partners, our children, our parents and our friends. How do we love when we are wounded ourselves? How do we express anger without slipping into scorn? How do we love our children as they are, while still shaping who they might become?
Good Jewish Lover, from the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem is a podcast that brings the Torah of relationships to the reality of contemporary lives. During each episode, Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek will explore a classic Jewish text with a guest who has important and relevant things to say about contemporary relationships.
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #10 – Learning Love from the Torah
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by Pardes Chief Innovation Officer Faith Leener for a conversation about reading the Torah with an eye toward becoming a Good Jewish Lover.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
19 Jun 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #9 – Living While We’re Alive, with Assael and Galit Romanelli
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by couples therapists Assael and Galit Romanelli to discuss covert male depression, single married mothers, a family caving adventure in New Zealand and more.
Their conversation begins with the story of Adam and Eve; you can read the original text here.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
5 Jun 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #8 – Confronting our Shame, with Ely Kreimendahl
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by Ely Kreimendahl, queer comic, author, psychotherapist and host of Shame Spiral to discuss an ancient sage who is forced to confront his ego after 70 years of sleep, overbearing parents (having them and being them), letting go of love and old school Italian rainbow cookies.
Their conversation begins with the story of Honi the circle maker who awakes after 70 years of sleep. You can read the original text here.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
22 May 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #7 -Knowing our Partners, with Jonathan Vatner
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by Jonathan Vatner, author of Carnegie Hill and The Bridesmaids Union to discuss knowing our partners, managing our insecurities and recognizing that we are worthy of love despite our limitations.
Their conversation begins with the story of Rav Rechumei and his tragic inability to connect with his wife. You can read the original text here.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
8 May 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Trailer
A Torah of Relationships
Loving other human beings is both the trickiest and most important thing we’ll ever do.
It's the most important, because the love we share with other people is what gives our lives meaning; it's tricky because the actual people that we love can make us want to tear our hair out.
Fortunately, the Jewish tradition has tremendous resources to help us think about our relationships - with our partners, our children, our parents and our friends. How do we love when we are wounded ourselves? How do we express anger without slipping into scorn? How do we love our children as they are, while still shaping who they might become?
Good Jewish Lover, from the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem is a podcast that brings the Torah of relationships to the reality of contemporary lives. During each episode, Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek will explore a classic Jewish text with a guest who has important and relevant things to say about contemporary relationships.
7 May 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #6 – Parents and Children, with Rabbi Mychal B Springer
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by Rabbi Mychal B Springer, Manager of Clinical Pastoral Education at New York Presbyterian Hospital and co-editor of Sisters in Mourning, to discuss the boundaries between parents and children, about letting go and reconnecting, about differentiation and regret and grief.
Their conversation begins with the story of Rav Assi and how he flees from a mother he finds overbearing. You can read the original text here.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
24 Apr 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #5 – Minding our Boundaries, with Catherine Bell
Rabbi Brent is joined by celebrated coach Catherine Bell to discuss maintaining boundaries, communicating clearly, slowing down enough to regulate our nervous system, power, hierarchy, calling people into right relationship and more.
Their conversation begins with the extraordinary tale of R. Yehoshua outsmarting the Angel of Death, and you can read the original story here.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
10 Apr 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #4 – Being Better Men, with Jackson Katz
On this episode of Good Jewish Lover: The Torah of Relationships, Rabbi Brent is joined by Jackson Katz to talk about gender-based violence, recovering from patriarchy and more.
Their conversation begins with a medieval woman who became a teacher of Torah in a violently patriarchal culture, and if you are interested, you can read the full text of the story here, and a further exploration of the themes of this story is available here.
Jackson Katz’s teachings can also be accessed at:
The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help
Man Enough? Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton and the Politics of Presidential Masculinity.
Brother Keepers: New Perspectives on Jewish Masculinity
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
27 Mar 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #3 – Building our Heritage, with Day Shildkret
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by Day Shildkret, creator of Morning Altars and author of Hello Goodbye to discuss names, Fiddler on the Roof, Stephen Jenkenson cultural hunger, The Bearing Witness Zen Meditation Retreat at Auschwitz-Birkenau and more.
Their conversation begins with a story of how the original human named the animals, himself, and even the Holy One. You can read the original text here.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
27 Mar 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #2 – Addressing Our Shadows, with Shoshana Bloom
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by London-based ICF-certified Coach and clinical hypnotherapist Shoshana Bloom.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
27 Mar 2023
Good Jewish Lover – Episode #1 – Owning Our Issues, with Brandon Srot
In this episode, Rabbi Brent is joined by Sydney, Australia-based psychotherapist Brandon Srot to discuss how we come to take ownership of our issues - the ones we know we have and the ones that we stumble across, sometimes painfully.
Their conversation begins with a story of the sage Pelimu, who has his preparations for Yom Kippor interrupted by a vagrant on a mission. You can read the original text here.
If you have thoughts about this episode or suggestions for texts, topics or guests for future episodes, please be in touch with Rabbi Brent at brent@pardes.org or on Instagram.
To find out more about learning opportunities at Pardes, please visit www.pardes.org.il.
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