TEXTing

The Golden Calf, Institutional Crisis, and the Making of a Mob — with Franklin Foer

What turns a crowd into a mob, and what does the Torah teach us about moments when communities unravel? In Parashat Ki Tisa, the Israelites form a mob and build the Golden Calf in Moses’s absence. On this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and The Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer unpack how fear, identity, belonging, and fragile institutions shape collective behavior. Drawing on social theory, campus encampments, and the contrasting leadership models of Moses and Aaron, they consider what keeps communities grounded, what pushes them toward rupture, and why those dynamics feel especially urgent today. Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-17-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/]

The Mishkan: The Jewish Art of Building and Becoming — with Tamara Mann Tweel

In Parashat Terumah, the Israelites are commanded to build the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Why construct something so exquisite and detailed in the middle of a desert? And what can building something so valuable, then and now, teach us about living through uncertainty? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Hartman research fellow Tamara Mann Tweel turn to the rabbinic tradition to explore how building can ground us, offering practices that shape who we become. Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-16-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/]

Rethinking Our Relationship to the Past – with Tamara Mann Tweel

What do we owe the generations that came before us, and what do we want future generations to inherit from us? When do we preserve the past, and when do we break from it? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, Elana Stein Hain and Hartman research fellow Tamara Mann Tweel dig into Parashat Yitro, uncovering how the commandment to honor parents is about more than caretaking; it’s about learning to see the past with weight, reverence, and generosity. Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-15-Source-Sheet-v2.pdf] Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEc0OhOO6nfsNKu6jeRkEmeeEfEDfGVL]⁠. 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/]

What Jewish Stories Do We Tell in a Broken World? – with Tamara Mann Tweel

What happens when the stories we cherish no longer fit the world that we and our kids see? Elana Stein Hain and Hartman research fellow Tamara Mann Tweel turn to Parashat Bo to contend with the challenges of parenting in treacherous times and the power of narrative to create meaning and resilience in an incoherent world. We are grateful to Micah Philanthropies and the Walder Charitable Trust for their generous support of TEXTing IRL. Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-14-Source-Sheet.pdf] Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEc0OhOO6nfsNKu6jeRkEmeeEfEDfGVL]⁠. 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/]

TEXTing IRL Live: Choosing Israel Again and Again – with Ronit Heyd

How do we stay invested in Israel when it exhausts and challenges us? In this episode of TEXTing IRL, recorded live at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Winter Leadership Conference, Elana Stein Hain welcomes Ronit Heyd, Hartman Vice President and Director of the Center for Israeli & Jewish Identity, to read the work of Amos Oz and to discuss why relationships between Israelis and within the Jewish people must be committed: loving, honest, and critical. We are grateful to Micah Philanthropies and the Walder Charitable Trust for their generous support of TEXTing IRL. Episode Source Sheet [https://www.hartman.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TEXTing-IRL-Ep-13-Source-Sheet-podcast-only.pdf] Watch the video version of this episode ⁠here [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEc0OhOO6nfsNKu6jeRkEmeeEfEDfGVL]⁠. You can now sponsor an episode of TEXTing. Click HERE [https://hartman.tfaforms.net/4719134] to learn more.  Missed the Winter Leadership Conference? Join us at the Florida Leadership Conference [https://www.hartman.org.il/event/florida-leadership-conference/] and our flagship Community Leadership Program [https://www.hartman.org.il/program/community-leadership-program/]! ⁠JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS⁠ [https://www.hartman.org.il/newsletter/]