Advertise on podcast: Wandering Jews: A Travel Podcast That Entertains & Informs

Discover how the Israeli Supreme Court’s design serves as a "physical articulation" of the state’s democratic architecture and the values it aspires to uphold. From the "square" of human law to the "circle" of timeless justice, we explore a building rooted in Jerusalem stone yet open to the future. Join us as we discuss how this landmark translates the ancient command "Justice, justice shall you pursue" into a modern judicial shield for all inhabitants.   Links for Additional Reading The Israel Supreme Court – A Virtual Tour Jewish or Democratic? Israel’s Former Top Judge Reflects on Values, Aharon Barak, My Jewish Learning The Israel Religious Action Center The Israel Democracy Institute Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greek music fills Israeli weddings, cafés, and stadiums — but why? Israel doesn’t just listen to Greek music; it needs it. Listen to ‘Wandering Jews’ as we uncover how a “foreign” sound became a cultural safe harbor, revealing the Israeli search for identity and belonging. Through stories of exile, trauma, and survival, Greek music became a borrowed and reimagined sound of a Mediterranean home. What we listen to, it turns out, tells us who we want to be.   Links for Additional Readings: Rosa Eskenazi, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women Yehuda Poliker – My Eyes The Mediterranean Israeli Identity, A.B. Yehoshua, the European Institute of the Mediterranean Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us at “Wandering Jews” as we step beneath the branches of Israel’s “Storytelling Tree”—the Knesset Menorah—and uncover the roots that nourish a nation’s identity. From biblical heroes to modern pioneers, this monumental sculpture weaves centuries of struggle, hope, and renewal into bronze. Explore how art, memory, and moral vision intertwine to shape Israel’s civic heart.   Links for Additional Reading The Knesset Menorah, Wikipedia (including pictures) The Man Who Made The Menorah, Eli Abt, The Jewish Chronicle December 7, 2023  The Story Of The Menorah: From Temple To State Seal, Yael Steiner and Jonathan Schwab, Unpacked Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*Ramle* is an ancient crossroads, shaped by numerous empires along the historic ‘Way of the Sea.’ Its history and human mosaic highlights a modern reality: it is one of Israel’s most heterogenous cities, where a diverse *Jewish majority* lives alongside a significant *Arab minority*. The city's vibrant tension yesterday and today is a microcosm of the larger challenges and potential of Jewish-Arab coexistence within Israel. Wandering Jews will visit Ramle and probe lessons in how the past's multicultural mosaic continues to inform the present's complex politics and aspirations for a shared tomorrow.   Links for Additional Reading: Migration Patterns in Mixed Cities in Israel: Socioeconomic Perspectives, The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel The Municipality of Ramla – Financial Status and Human Capital Management, The Israel State Comptroller Archaeology in Israel: Ramla, Jewish Virtual Library Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explore the dramatic irony of turn-of-the-century Vienna, a city that both nurtured titans of Jewish thought and art—from Freud to Mahler—and became the hotbed for modern, racial antisemitism. Discover how Jewish luminaries defined Viennese modernity while simultaneously facing an increasingly hostile political and social climate.   This episode delves into the genius and the heartbreak of the "Wandering Jews" whose contributions and fates molded and reflected the modern European experience.   Links for Additional Reading: Our City! Jewish Vienna - Then to Now, The Vienna Jewish Museum Ambivalent Modernity: the Jewish Population in Vienna by Albert Lichtblau, Issues in Contemporary Jewish History How To Deal With Anti-Semitic Legacies And Historically Burdened Places In Public Urban Spaces? The Case Of The Lueger Monument In Vienna, OppAttune Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the misty glens of Scotland to the hidden speakeasies of Prohibition America, Jews have shaped the story of whiskey in surprising ways. In this episode, we trace the historic roots of Jewish involvement in the global whiskey trade, uncover the families and fortunes behind the barrels, and ask a question that blends law and spirit: what blessing do you say over a glass of whiskey? And what famous fictional whiskey Jew was created by James Joyce? Lior Hochberg - a J2 tour educator and travel expert - will share her work as a volunteer and champion of a vocational school for women exiting prostitution and abuse. Her Academy is about empowerment and building expertise through vocational and life training. Listen to Lior and learn more about Her Academy at - https://www.heracademy.org.il/   Links for Additional Reading:   The Forgotten History of Jews in the Alcohol Industry, Joel Haber, My Jewish Learning The History Of Jewish Bootleggers, Leah Siesfeld And Heidi Siesfeld, St Louis Light From Bourbon to Bagels in Kentucky, Table Studios Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the Jezreel Valley, a 6th-century synagogue floor reveals a people rooted in their land, inscribing faith into stone. This episode explores how archaeology affirms Jewish indigeneity, why the Binding of Isaac still unsettles us, and what these ancient treasures whisper about return and belonging.   Links for Additional Reading: The Beit Alpha Synagoge at Wellesley College The Beit Alpha Synagogue National Park Jewish Worship, Pagan Symbols, Walter Zanger, Biblical Archeological Society Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Wandering Jews, we journey to Budapest’s Dohany Synagogue, a stunning landmark that became the architectural blueprint for grand synagogues across Europe and the United States. Built in the Neo-Moorish style, the Dohany reflects a dual vision: a nostalgic nod to the Jewish Golden Age in medieval Spain and a bold architectural statement of Jewish modernity, pride, and belonging in 19th-century Europe. When is a building more than just a pile of bricks? Links for Additional reading Tracing the History of Budapest’s Dohany Street Synagogue, Jewish Heritage Europe  Moorish Style: Orientalism, the Jews, and Synagogue Architecture, Ivan Davidson Kalma The Dohany Synagogue: History, Culture, and Sacred Rituals Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Wandering Jews, we visit the Galilee outpost of Tel Hai – the story of a battle that became legend, and the life and death of the pioneer activist Yosef Trumpeldor. The story of Tel Hai became a foundational myth of Israeli heroism, encapsulated in the phrase attributed to Trumpeldor, “It is good to die for our country.” We trace how this narrative shaped Zionist identity and military ethos and how, over time, it has been reexamined and debated by Israelis grappling with questions of nationalism, sacrifice, and the evolving meaning of heroism in a maturing society. Links for Additional reading Yosef Trumpeldor, Tel Aviv Streets The Hidden American History of One of Zionism’s Foundational Battles: Tel Hai The Secret Agreement That Shaped the Middle East, Unpacked Kol Galgal – Lyrics in Hebrew and English (‘Something for the Road with Hillary Menkowitz) Kol Galgal – Spotify (‘Something for the Road with Hillary Menkowitz) Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Peres Center is more than just an interactive exhibition. It is a showcase and lab at the center of Israel’s hi-tech industry and innovation. Visiting the Peres Center inspires us to consider the ongoing relevancy of the vision of Shimon Peres and to grapple with the challenge posed by significant Israeli communities who remain under-represented in Israel’s start-up nation success. It also challenges us to ask – what does it mean to be a ‘pragmatic dreamer’ and work to build hope?   Links for Additional Reading The Peres Center for Innovation and Peace Shimon Peres – A Biographical Sketch Employers On The Front Line: The Labor Market Put To The Test, Tasneem Na’ara, JPost Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many of us, a Yiddish phrase or word reminds us of parents and grandparents who may have not been Yiddish speakers but held on to a taste of Yiddish that they inherited from their own parents and grandparents. Even when visiting Warsaw – what was the largest Yiddish-speaking city in the world before 1939 – Yiddish is no longer the language of the streets and markets, synagogues and theaters. Yet, Yiddish is more than nostalgia. It was the linguistic home that generations of Eastern European Jews inhabited. We’ll take a deep dive and look at the place of Yiddish in the dreams and fears, the triumphs and defeats of a Jewish civilization now gone… But is it? Links for Additional Reading Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation, Paul Kriwaczek Learn Popular Yiddish Words with Amy Walker! Yiddish is Making a Comeback, Robin Estrin, All Things Considered, NPR, 22 April 2025 Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of Qumran – on the Dead Sea Shore – reveals a still unraveled historic riddle about the meanings of one of most important archaeological treasures discovered in the 20th century. In a unforgiving landscape, Qumran reveals the story of the Dead Sea Sect and their expansive hidden library. Join us to venture into the caves and between the dry riverbeds to explore the world of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the community who collected and wrote them. The first Reform Jews? The first kibbutznikim? Join us to find out.   Links for Additional Reading Why Are the Dead Sea Scrolls Important With Dr. Jodi Magnes  Led Astray By a Dead Sea Latrine, The Forward, 16 February 2007 The Shrine of the Book, The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The beautiful city of Toledo – perched on the hills above the Tagus River – was once home to a thriving Jewish community. However for the past 532 years – since 1492 – Jewish children do not run home to the Jewish Quarter, and shabbat hymns do not ring through the streets on Friday evenings. When we visit Toledo, we need conjure through our stories the lives that once were. In this episode, we will visit the synagogues of Toledo – no longer in the hands of a Jewish community – recall the glory that was… as well as the meanings of ownership and remembering.   Links for Additional Reading Toledo: The Cultural Guide to Europe, JGuideEurope  The Many Lives of the Synagogue El Transito, National Library of Israel  Córdoba and Toledo: The Last Synagogues of Sepharad, SLICE Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seafaring and piracy are not the first associations that come to mind when we think of the Jews. In this episode, we will travel the Great Sea – the Mediterranean – in search of Jews who had salt water in their blood. We will sail from ancient Israel to the Middle Ages – and even revisit the question often asked – Columbus? Funny, he does not look Jewish!   Links for Additional Reading  The Great Sea, David Abulafia – a Book Review (The Guardian, May 1, 2012) Jewish Pirates of the Mediterranean, Yaakov Landman (Kankan, April 3, 2020) Columbus and the Jews, Jonathan Sarna (Commentary, November 1992) Fado with Lior Hochberg – A Spotify Playlist mentioned in Something for the Road Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who doesn’t love an Indiana Jones flick? The excitement of the search for treasure, the trepidation before the unknown, and encounter with long-buried stories. At Tel Maresha and Beit Guvrin – UNESCO World Heritage Sites – we will uncover the underground city and its caves, tunnels, and chambers – and share the stories of the archeological excavations and the Dig for a Day program. Join us for an adventure above and below ground… and bring your fedora. And this time – we will host a special guest – Dr. Ian Stern of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Haifa University – the archeologist responsible for the excavation and one of the founders of the Dig for a Day program.   Links for Additional Reading A Dig Full of Holes, Sara Jo Ben Zvi (Segula – The Jewish History Magazine, September 2023)  Beit Guvrin National Park Israel Nature and Parks Authority  Israel Museum Receives Stone 'Letter,’ Etgar Lefkovits (The Jerusalem Post, May 7, 2007) Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Find more at j2adventures.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.