The Chanukah Episode

Chess chat, doughnut debate and remembering Chanukah

For Hayden Cohen’s final episode in season two of the Bagel Podcast he’s getting into the spirit of the Festival of Lights. Susan Polgar, the first female chess grandmaster and real-life Beth Harmon of Netflix's latest hit The Queen's Gambit, chats about overcoming sexism in the chess world as well as her Jewish Hungarian heritage. Gilad Halpern returns to talk through the recent news of the Morocco-Israel peace deal and the split in Israel’s right-wing political party Likud. Rabbi Margaret Jacobi of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue shares Chanukah themed Talmud, renowned Jewish chef Denise Phillips takes us through her tips for latkes and oil, and Bagel Broigus is redubbed the Doughnut Debate as Lindsey Taylor Guthartz, Samuel Lebens and Clive Lawton discuss whether Chanukah should be remembered or celebrated.

Bagel bite: Rabbi Jeremy Gordon

“A good dose of discomfort is almost certainly necessary”

Abbey Road may be synonymous with The Beatles, but it’s also the home of New London Synagogue (NLS). Hayden Cohen caught up with their rabbi, Jeremy Gordon, for the penultimate episode of the Bagel Podcast's run on JR. The pair discuss marriage under Masorti Judaism (Conservative in America) and how it contrasts with the British default that is Orthodox weddings; Ted Chiang stories; and of course NLS’s founder – and one of the most dominant figures of 20th-century British Jewry – Rabbi Louis Jacobs. Note: this interview was conducted in January 2020.

Discover more: newlondon.org.uk and louisjacobs.org.

Bagel bite: Rabbis Debbie Young-Somers & Gary Somers

"It’s important to be challenged because it helps you learn"

In this bite of the Bagel, Hayden has a candid conversation with Reform Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers and her newly (at the time; Jan 2020) ordained Orthodox husband, Rabbi Gary Somers. Most couples disagree about the division of chores, but their disagreement is halachic (Jewish law). How do they make it work? Listen and learn.

Discover more at Debbie and Gary’s @Mr_and_Mrs_Rabbi Instagram account.

What the future holds

Jewish votes in the US election, Black Lives Matter in the Jewish community and the future of gender and Judaism

Associate Professor of American Politics at Tufts University Eitan Hersh joins Hayden in this episode to talk through the Jewish voting patterns in the US election. Madeline Young, Associate Professor of Economics at Anglia Ruskin University and former Director of UK Movement for Reform Judaism, delves into the ways Black Lives Matter is affecting the Jewish community. Rabbi Harvey Belovski shares some high-concept Talmud, we have our usual Israel update from journalist Gilad Halpern and another Bagel Broigus emerges, this time around The Future of Gender and Judaism, featuring Sally Berkovic, Michelle Janes and Rabbi Daniel Lichman.

Politics is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action and Make Real Change by Eitan Hersh is out now.

Bagel Bite: Yehudis Fletcher

"If Rabbinim admit to themselves there's a problem, they have to enforce real systemic change and no one wants to do that"

In this episode Hayden Cohen is joined by Yehudis Fletcher, founder of Nahamu, a thinktank examining extremism in the Jewish community, and an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) for Jewish charity Migdal Emunah. Recorded in two parts, the pair first discuss Fletcher’s life and work, followed by a catch-up to hear how she feels the landscape may have changed in light of the Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse hearings. Whilst they do not go into graphic detail, please note that issues are discussed that may be difficult for some.

To find out more, head to the Migdal Emunah and Nahamu websites.

Bagel Bite: Rabbi Jonathan Romain

“I wanted my children to sit next to a Christian, play football with a Hindu, get detention with a Muslim, walk home with an atheist…”

Dipping in for another bite of the Bagel, Hayden Cohen is joined in this episode by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE, minister of Maidenhead Reform Synagogue in Berkshire. He is also a writer, broadcaster and founder of the Accord Coalition, a collective of religious groups, humanists, teachers and more working towards inclusive education. The pair met at Limmud 2019 for a robust discussion on the divergent topics of faith schools and assisted dying.

Getting the last laugh

Lynn Ruth Miller reveals the highs, lows and oddities that led to her becoming the oldest working comedian in the world

For this Bagel Bite, Hayden is joined by the hilarious Lynn Ruth Miller, who holds the title as the world's oldest comedian. From her hideaway in Stamford Hill – AKA “Chasidic heaven” – the pair discuss journalism school, marrying a gay man, accidentally selling sex, and much more. Please be advised that there will be language and topics that may not suitable for children.

Getting the Last Laugh: The Inspirational True Story of the World's Oldest Performing Comedienne by Lynn Ruth Miller is out now.

Renaissance Bagels

A post-Holocaust memoir, reparations and the UAE Israel deal

Esther Safran Foer, author and mother of Jonathan, joins Hayden Cohen in the first Bagel Podcast for JR to discuss her new book, I Want You to Know We're Still Here: A Post-Holocaust Memoir. Then we hear from Karen Heilig, assistant executive vice president of Claims Conference – an organisation seeking justice for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution – about the reparations from the German government for survivors. Plus Gilad Halpern speaks on the UAE Israel deal; Rabbi Leah Jordan talks about the life and times of Elisha ben Abuyah in Talmud for Schmeryls; and this episode's Broigus asks "Why should young Jews care about Israel?", featuring Labour Councillor Joshua Garfield, Esther Craven from Yachad and Robin Moss from UJIA.