TEXTing

Loving and Leaving: A Zionism of Longing – with Yonah Hain

What does it mean to love Israel deeply while choosing to build your life elsewhere? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and her husband, Columbia/Barnard Hillel Campus Rabbi Yonah Hain, get personal and reflect on their family's two years living in Israel, their decision to return to New York, and the competing demands of family, career, Jewish identity, and Zionism. Drawing on Parashat Vaetchanan, the Shema's commandment to teach our children, and rabbinic teachings about Moses’ longing to enter the Land of Israel, they explore the fulfillment of the self and the challenge of making life-changing decisions in uncertain times. Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-27-Source-Sheet.pdf] Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/@TEXTing-IRL]⁠. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS [https://www.hartman.org.il/newsletter/]

Are Today’s Leaders Failing Gen Z? – with Maya Sulkin

What kind of leadership prepares the next generation, and what kind of leadership makes them lose trust? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and journalist Maya Sulkin mine Parashat Masei for competing models of leadership through a generation’s journey through the wilderness. Against the modern backdrop of AI, campus movements, and generational divides, they ask: Which of these models can still sustain a community? What would it mean to lead not by promising, controlling, or fighting, but by enabling people to grow? Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-26-Source-Sheet.pdf] Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/@TEXTing-IRL]⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE [https://hartman.tfaforms.net/4719134] to learn more.  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS [https://www.hartman.org.il/newsletter/]

Blessings, Curses, and Allies: Who’s Really on Our Side? – with Rori Picker Neiss

With antisemitism and anti-Zionism on the rise, are Jews alone in today’s world, or is that belief a powerful myth actively shaping Jewish identity and relationships for the worse? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Rabba Rori Picker Neiss, Senior Vice President of Jewish Council for Public Affairs, read Parashat Balak to explore how questions of power, fear, and vulnerability shape Jewish relationships. Drawing on biblical text, Talmudic insight, and contemporary Jewish experience, they probe how narratives about allies and enemies are formed, how they can mislead, and what it takes to stay invested in relationships, even when partners tell us what we don’t want to hear and when engagement may carry real risk.   Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-25-Source-Sheet.pdf] Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/@TEXTing-IRL]⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE [https://hartman.tfaforms.net/4719134] to learn more.  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS [https://www.hartman.org.il/newsletter/]

Do We Still Believe in the Jewish State? – with Michael Koplow

Is Israel losing American Jews, or are American Jews losing sight of Israel? Maybe it’s both. In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Michael Koplow, Chief Policy Officer of Israel Policy Forum, turn to Parshat Sh’lach and the story of the spies in Numbers 13 to explore why many American Jews today feel overwhelmed, disillusioned, or disconnected from Israel. They unpack how fear, moral conflict, and a sense of powerlessness can erode commitment, and they explore what it would take to sustain a meaningful relationship with the Jewish state—and a shared sense of Jewish peoplehood—in this moment. Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-24-Source-Sheet.pdf] Read [https://www.sourcesjournal.org/articles/reclaiming-mamlakhtiyut-the-road-to-an-inclusive-israeli-identity] Masua Sagiv's "Reclaiming Mamlakhtiyut: The Road to an Inclusive Israeli Identity" from Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/@TEXTing-IRL]⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE [https://hartman.tfaforms.net/4719134] to learn more.  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS [https://www.hartman.org.il/newsletter/]

Peace, War, and Torah: What Are We Asking For? – with Yehudah Mirsky

Please take 5 minutes to fill out the TEXTing IRL survey [https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TEXting_Survey]! What do we mean when we ask for peace, especially in a time of war, rising antisemitism, and deep uncertainty? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Brandeis University professor Yehudah Mirsky explore the meaning of peace in Jewish thought through the priestly blessing in Parashat Naso. Drawing on Torah and contemporary reality, they unpack the difference between “negative” and “positive” peace and the tension between safety, stability, and human flourishing. The result is a more grounded and honest framework for thinking about peace today.   Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-23-Source-Sheet.pdf] Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/@TEXTing-IRL]⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE [https://hartman.tfaforms.net/4719134] to learn more.  JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS [https://www.hartman.org.il/newsletter/]