The Dybbukast
Jewish Podcast | Jewish Diaspora | Jewish Arts | Jewish Literature | Jewish History
What do poems, plays, and other creative texts from throughout history tell us about the times in which they were written? And what do they reveal about the forces still at play in our contemporary societies?
Jewish communities, for a good deal of recorded time, have been spread across much of the globe, often existing as minority groups within a variety of dominant cultures. As such, the creative works generated, read, and listened to in these communities can provide glimpses into the ways in which people navigate challenging cultural waters.
Through a combination of performed readings and interviews with artists and scholars, The Dybbukast brings these creations and their historical contexts to life, all while revealing their relationships to issues still present today.
The Dybbukast is currently on hiatus, but will return with new episodes at the beginning of 2024. Episodes are released on the second Friday of the month.
Listen here, on YouTube (captions available), or on your favorite podcast app.
Season 1
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S1 E1 "I-Tell-You"
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S1 E1 bonus "I-Tell-You...More"
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S1 E2 "The Book of Enoch"
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S1 E3 "The Death of My Aunt"
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S1 E3 bonus "Translation and The Death of My Aunt"
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S1 E4 "The Murdered Jewess"
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S1 E5 "The Protocols, Henry Ford, and The International Jew"
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S1 E5 bonus "A Fine Ford Vehicle"
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S1 E6 "How to Hide"
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S1 E7 "Unetaneh Tokef for Black Lives"
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S1 E8 "In Defense of Women"
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S1 E9 "The Book of Bovo"
Season 2
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S2 E1 "I Sing and I Pray"
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S2 E2 "The Book of Job"
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S2 E3 "Sing This at My Funeral"
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S2 E4 "The St. Thomas Split"
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S2 E5 "The New World"
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S2 E6 "The Temple Bombing"
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S2 E7 "Sound in the Silence"
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S2 E8 "Adapting Exagoge"
Season 3
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S3 E1 "Years Have Sped By"
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S3 E2 "Why I Was a Zionist and Why I Now Am Not"
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S3 Guest "The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages"
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S3 E3 "The Chronicles of the Rabbis"
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S3 E4 "The Imagined Childhood"
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S3 E5 "The Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers"
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S3 E6 "The Book of Tahkemoni"
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S3 E7 "Studying Sacred Texts"
Season 1 of The Dybbukast was started with seed funding from The Covenant Foundation.
Seasons 2 and 3 are generously supported by a grant from Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah.
Episodes 3-6 of Season 3 were co-produced as a limited series with the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University.
Latest Episode
"Studying Sacred Texts"
Season 3, Episode 7
In the concluding episode of our five-episode series in partnership with the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University and of our third season, we investigate the ways in which students respond to Jewish sacred texts. Throughout the episode, we present readings from the Torah and accompanying responses from students.
Dr. Ziva Hassenfeld, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, discusses her work in studying how children develop interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, sharing about both the tensions and the opportunities that exist within learning environments.
Our limited series with Brandeis NEJS Department
We're excited to be in collaboration with the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (NEJS) at Brandeis University to present a five episode series as part of the third season of The Dybbukast. Each episode will feature a single scholar from the NEJS Department and will be released between February 10 and June 9, 2023.
Season 3
Season 3 of The Dybbukast is generously supported by a grant from Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah.
Season 2
Season 2 of The Dybbukast is generously supported by a grant from Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah.
Season 1
Thank you to The Covenant Foundation and Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah for their support of The Dybbukast and related educational resources.