“Religion is the expression of what your values are. Religion on its own is nothing.”

— Rabbi Yossi Sapirman

What happens when you ask a room full of Jewish people to finish the following sentence: “The thing that is challenging about being Jewish…”?

Chances are you’ll receive a collection of insightful answers that really make you think.

Living Jewishly did just that, and this episode is the first of a three-part series exploring the discussion that followed.

While the family-centric nature of Judaism helps to strengthen familial bonds while underscoring spiritual belonging, this focus on family is a challenge for people who aren’t part of a nuclear family or have difficulty relating to their kin. This family-focus can make many people feel excluded or “less than.” Interestingly, exclusion is not limited to a specific age group, gender or other socio-economic factors.

How do Rabbi Yossi Sapirman and Dr. Elliot Malamet believe we can create a more tight-knit, inclusive community? Listen to the episode to find out.

“I think the role of G-d in our lives has to change… Rabbis are conveying the word of G-d, so to speak, and I actually think people talk about G-d too much. More doing might be better.”

— Rabbi Yossi Sapirman

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

• How the role of the Rabbi needs to adapt in a world where most questions are answered by Google
• Why the family-centric spirit of Judaism can be alienating for those who are travelling on different paths
• How the use of funding in Jewish communities can leave certain age groups out in the cold