Iyun Podcast

Episode 33 - Chareidi Women in Tech...in the IDF?!

Esti Salomon is the founder and CEO of Atida, a pioneering Israeli nonprofit creating new pathways for ultra-Orthodox women to serve in elite technological units within the IDF as civilian employees. Under her leadership, Atida has placed more than 400 women in prestigious roles in units such as Unit 8200, the Air Force’s Ofek Unit, the Communications Corps, and the Ground Forces Command. In addition to her groundbreaking leadership, Esti is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Bar-Ilan University, where her doctoral research focuses on the emerging phenomenon of ultra-Orthodox women working within the IDF. In this episode, we discuss the intersection of Haredi society, military service, women’s professional advancement, and Israeli social change, and what Atida’s work reveals about the evolving future of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. For more quality content, join our weekly newsletter: https://iyun.org.il/en/join-our-newsletter Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Tzarichiyun

Episode 32 - Tradition or Innovation: Gender Roles in Chareidi Society

Mrs. Miriam Kosman is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, a longtime resident of Bnei Brak, and now lives in Afula in Israel’s north. The daughter, descendant, and wife of distinguished talmidei chachamim, she has emerged as one of Orthodoxy’s most compelling thinkers on the subject of Judaism and gender. Her groundbreaking work, Circle, Arrow, Spiral, draws on academic insight, psychological depth, and the esoteric teachings of Judaism, particularly those of Rav Moshe Shapiro zt”l, to offer a rich and often countercultural framework for understanding masculine and feminine spiritual energies in Torah thought. In our conversation, we explore the theological dimensions of gender in Judaism, along with contemporary expressions, common misconceptions, and some of the stranger distortions that have emerged in the current cultural moment. For more quality content, join our weekly newsletter: https://iyun.org.il/en/join-our-newsletter Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Tzarichiyun

Episode 31 - What is a "Kiddush Hashem" And Why Does it Matter? With Rabbi Shraga Freedman

Rabbi Shraga Freedman, a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, has dedicated himself to restoring the centrality of Kiddush Hashem as a defining value in Jewish life. Through the work of the Living Kiddush Hashem Foundation, he has developed programs, educational materials, and practical resources designed to inspire Jews to live in a way that reflects honor, integrity, and moral beauty. In this episode, we explore the contours of this timeless Jewish concept through its classical Torah sources, consider how it may have lost some of its central place in contemporary religious consciousness, and discuss how to restore it to a position of primacy within the lived experience of Torah observance. You can visit livingkiddushhashem.org for a wide range of resources, including the videos and educational materials featured in this episode. Contact Rabbi Freedman at livingkidushhashem@gmail.com For more quality content, join our weekly newsletter: https://iyun.org.il/en/join-our-newsletter Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Tzarichiyun

Episode 30 - "The Anthropology of Daas Torah" with Professor Benny Brown

SHOW NOTES: PROFESSOR BENNY BROWN Professor Benjamin (Benny) Brown is one of the foremost experts on charedi ideology and identity in the modern Israeli academy. He has published widely on a range of topics, including mussar and chassidus, in addition to our topic on this episode, Daas Torah. We explore what Daas Torah means, how it evolved into the operational principle governing much of charedi life today, and how it fits into the broader trends of modernity. MORE ON DAAS TORAH Professor Lawrence Kaplan, Daas Torah, A Modern Conception of Rabbinic Authority https://www.scribd.com/doc/39842329/Kaplan-Lawrence-Daas-Torah-A-Modern-Conception-of-Rabbinic-Authority Rabbi Anthony Manning’s English Bibliography on “Da’at Torah and Rabbinic Authority”: https://rabbimanning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Daat-Torah-2017-Bibliography.pdf For more quality content, join our weekly newsletter: https://iyun.org.il/en/join-our-newsletterOur Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Tzarichiyun

Episode 29 - "When Ben Gurion Met the Chazon Ish" - With Rabbi Nathanial Helfgot

On November 19, 2025, Rabbi Nathaniel (“Nati”) Helfgot - a congregational rabbi and Judaics teacher at SAR in Riverdale - wrote an article at The Lehrhaus titled, “Ben Gurion and Hazon Ish: The Sequel.” In the article, Rabbi Helfgot traces the history of the iconic encounter between these secular-political and chareidi leaders, respectively, in the State of Israel’s earliest days. He then proceeds to document the little-known continuing correspondence between the two figures. This encounter - both the actual historical event and its larger metaphorical import - helps us understand the origins of the ideological fault lines that remain entrenched today, despite a heavily altered demographic landscape. We also examine ways in which chareidi norms have shifted since October 1952, and how the meeting in question might inform relations in our current moment.