Intro to Judaism Podcasts

December 31, 2019 8:12 AM

I'd like to learn more about Judaism. The main goal is to be able to attend reform services without feeling awkward. An additional goal is to be able to socialize with friends who are Orthodox without putting my foot in it. There aren't any in-person Judaism 101 classes going on now that I can attend, so I was hoping that there are podcasts out there (or possibly videos) that can teach me the basics. What are the best podcasts for learning about Judaism for a beginner? And that are specifically focused on religious practice/values/belief?

I'm ethnically Jewish but my family doesn't practice (they're atheists/agnostics). So I've been to services here and there, but that's about it.

I'd like to be able to go to services without feeling uncomfortable or making embarrassing mistakes (which has happened many times!). I'd like to understand more about the religion in general. Overall, I'm too ignorant to practice currently and I'd like to have the basic knowledge necessary to do things like celebrate Shabbat (including at services), observe holidays, pray, etc.

And since I am close to an Orthodox Jewish family socially, even though I don't plan to ever practice Orthodox Judaism myself, I'd like to know enough that I don't do something stupid around the elders and little kids in the family.

Are there any free resources online, especially podcasts but also videos, that could get me to that comfort level?

What are the best podcasts for learning about Judaism for a beginner? And that are specifically focused on religious practice/values/belief?

posted by static sock to Religion & Philosophy (6 answers total)

I am a big podcast fan, but unfortunately I don't know any Judaism 101-type podcasts. (But would like some, so I'll be following here).

The Jewish podcasts I'm familiar with are more about Jewish news and culture than basic beliefs/practices, like Unorthodox, from Tablet magazine. That said, the hosts often explain Jewish practice to each other and to the audience, as they have different practices and not all of their audience are religious Jews.

For history, theology and other academic topics, I've enjoyed the podcast from the Foundation for Jewish Studies - that's where I've learned about things like traditional beliefs about the world to come.


For general free learning, I've found several websites useful - and some may have videos:
- ReformJudaism.org has questions and answers about Jewish practice from a liberal/Reform context
- Aish.com has a Judaism 101 section - this website gives a more traditional/orthodox perspective on practice
- Chabad is also a good resource, though with the caveat that they have some practices which are neither traditional nor liberal, but their own interpretation

There is also My Jewish Learning - I don't know if they have a denominational/movement leaning, so they may be more general (but I can't find a 101 section directly).

And in the course of googling, I've just found a new website: BimBam which has videos and a Judaism 101 section.

For attending services:

They all have pages like "What to expect at a Jewish Service" - and you can read the differences in practice: a video from BimBam, pages My Jewish Learning, Reform Judaism, Chabad. I would study up for the type of service that you plan to attend, but also check out what that specific community's custom is. At my Reform synagogue, for example, all men are asked to cover their heads but women chose whether they would like to or not. In another Reform synagogue, it may be that all people are asked to wear a head covering, or no one is required to (but may chose to).

The other thing is that if you contact a synagogue you are interested in visiting/attending services at, they may have a buddy-system even if they don't have a full formal class. My synagogue does - people email, they are assigned a "shul-buddy" who will provide what level of support they would like (some people just want a social introduction, some people are looking for an explanation of the service - my husband specializes in a sotto voce running commentary that will tell you more about the service than you may even want to know).

For visiting:

I am not Orthodox, but I have friends who are - and generally, you won't do "something stupid around the elders and little kids in the family" without trying. What I do when visiting families whose practices I don't know is to just pay attention to what they are doing / not doing. I (obviously!) don't bring ham, shrimp or any other forbidden food - in fact, if they are strict, I will bring no food unless I've bought it on the way there and it is certified kosher (my kitchen is not kosher). I don't get any dishes out unless asked and make sure I know which are meat, which are milk. In terms of conversation, it's like any other family - you'll have to wait to see how socially conservative they are or are not. I've known queer people who are very Orthodox in their practice and home (definitely two sets of dishes, only kosher-certified meat), but who were (obviously) very socially liberal.

As your friends, I'm sure they would also be happy to teach you more about their own practices and customs - I've always found that people of many traditions enjoy teaching people who are eager to learn, especially if the purpose is to be more respectful of their practice.

/to give you my bona fides - I'm a Jew-by-Choice (aka convert) who came from a very goyish background and was completely ignorant about Judaism before my husband - who came from the same background as you have - decided to become religious and learn how to practice Judaism about 6-7 years ago. I had to learn a lot - and some of it came from my formal class. But for the first 1-2 years, I learned everything at my synagogue. If you do go to a local synagogue, you may meet many people who are or have been in your specific situation.

I am now a volunteer gabbai at my synagogue - so I'm responsible for getting the Torah out and making sure we don't drop it. My Hebrew is still terrible, but I'm pretty good at carrying things.
posted by jb at 9:26 AM on December 31, 2019 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I don't know of any podcasts either, but the Chabad organization linked by jb above will happily tell you everything you need to know. Also, the book How to Run a Traditional Jewish household is very thorough and readable.
posted by Melismata at 10:43 AM on December 31, 2019

An excellent standard reference is Jewish Literacy, which covers all the areas you asked about and many others. It's 800 pages, which may seem intimidating, but each chapter is only a few pages. For example, it has few pages on each holiday, on each major prayer, on major events in Jewish history, etc. The entire "Synagogue and Prayers" section is only about 30 pages. Not free, but used copies are under $10. It's aimed at a broad audience, both gentile and Jewish.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:44 AM on December 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

I don't know any podcasts like you describe, though I'll second UnOrthodox as a good one in general. I will say that the terribly-named book Judaism for Dummies is actually really solid. As is the even-more-terribly-named website Jewfaq.org.
posted by Mchelly at 1:06 PM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

For a progressive perspective on Judaism, there is ritualwell. There are "courses" that you pay for but plenty of free content. I am the spawn of an atheist Jew and a lapsed Methodist, and have actually been interested in digging into my Jewish cultural and religious roots as well. One thing I like about this website is that it offers blessings translated with feminine or gender-neutral language. Thinking of "God" (whatever that is) as a man is a definite non-starter for me.
posted by SinAesthetic at 3:41 PM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

It’s not free, but there are prayer books with commentary/ritual guides that can be helpful in this situation. Or Hadash is the Conservative one, and it is keyed to Sim Shalom, the Conservative siddur, but it will help with the Reform one also. To Pray As A Jew is also a good book, but more Orthodox focused. Chaveirim Kol Yisrael of Boston (Progressive, reconstructionist/conservative) has an inexpensive ($10) version that is good too:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881256803/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0881256803&linkCode=as2&tag=myjewishlearn-20

Your local synagogue may have a library you can borrow these from. You might also like the book Jewish with Feeling. (I know you asked for podcasts but the books are helpful and for prayers seeing them in context can be helpful.)

2nding Chabad, Aish, and Jewfaq as online options.

A potentially off the wall suggestion: these days a lot of Reform and even some Conservativeish shuls broadcast some of their services online, for free. Many of them have a free or cheap prayerbook Available that you can use to follow along. It won’t help with the Orthodox aspect but the prayers are (largely) the same in Hebrew and you can see what people do and that might help. It will help with the comfort with Reform services.

Here is a list: https://reformjudaism.org/attend-shabbat-services-online. My favorite of these is the Central Synagogue one (I got really sick a couple of years and this is what let me attend services). Their prayerbook is also available for free or cheap (under $5).

Someone asked something similar on Reddit and got some great suggestions: https://www.reddit.com/r/Judaism/comments/9n00qa/anyone_know_any_jewish_podcasts/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=post_title

If there is anything I can do to help, feel free to memail.
posted by eleanna at 10:41 PM on December 31, 2019