Mazal Tov, Congratulations, Mazaltations, and Congratul Tov to Miriam Terlinchamp!!! Judaism Unbound’s executive director is getting married the weekend of this episode’s release. Tune in to a conversation where Miriam, Dan, and Lex take this joyous occasion as a wonderful opportunity to dive deeper into how we might experiment creatively with Jewish weddings — and how doing so could help us experiment with Jewish ritual more broadly.

Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our 8-week courses in the UnYeshiva, which began earlier this week! Explore Jewish communities around the world, gender in Judaism, Maimonides's (Rambam's) theology, fierce women in Torah, and more!

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

This week, we’re bringing you an episode of our newest podcast, Tales of the Unbound! In its inaugural season Tales of the Unbound follows the Jewish journey of two incarcerated individuals, their chaplain, and the community they co-created in the most unlikely of places.

In Tales of the Unbound Episode 5, we reach the apex of the storyline, talking through all the details of the “big day” of conversion. Miriam recounts the challenges of facilitating a traditional Jewish conversion ritual for Ari and Josh in prison. She navigates assembling a beit din (rabbinic court). The mikvah (ritual bath) posed logistical hurdles, eventually combining some borrowed and collected elements to make it happen. The ritual circumcision (milah) was performed privately by Ari and Josh using diabetic lancets despite our share of reservations. The ceremony concludes with Ari and Josh affirming their Jewish identity before their community, marking a profound moment of spiritual transformation and communal contribution.

For information on how to reach out to connect with Jewish agencies who support folks who are incarcerated and their families, connect with a Jewish penpal, donate to help bring kosher meals and access to Jewish supplies, or give straight to Ari and Josh’s Jewish minyan in Monroe, connect with us at: www.judaismunbound.com/tales. You can subscribe to Tales of the Unbound in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else podcasts are found!

Happy Sukkot! Chag Sameach! The 7-day-long festival of Sukkot is here, and Dan and Lex welcome Joseph Altshuler and Ethan Blake — both founders of local Sukkah festivals celebrating creative design and architecture — to explore what this festival can teach us.

Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to check out our upcoming 8-week courses in the UnYeshiva! Explore Jewish communities around the world, gender in Judaism, Maimonides's (Rambam's) theology, fierce women in Torah, and more!

Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!