Good Faith Effort

Every story has a beginning... Join us for this podcast series as we explore the twelve sections of Genesis, as divided in Jewish tradition. Christian actor and social media influencer Nathaniel Bouzlic discusses each part with Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm. • Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm is the Chief Executive of BZ Media and President of SoulShop. A leading religious public intellectual, Rabbi Lamm hosts the top-ranked podcast on the Bible and society, Good Faith Effort, and his popular Twitter threads on “Why Read the Bible in Hebrew?” have reached millions and been covered by major international news outlets. For his leadership in the world of Jewish ideas, The Jerusalem Post recently ranked him #37 on its list of the world’s 50 Most Influential Jews. • Nathaniel Buzolic is an acclaimed Australian Actor, best known for his role as Kol Mikaelson in "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals," With a diverse background in acting, hosting, and a commitment to his Faith and Heritage.

Every story has a beginning... Join us for this podcast series as we explore the twelve sections of Genesis, as divided in Jewish tradition. Christian actor and social media influencer Nathaniel Bouzlic discusses each part with Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm. • Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm is the Chief Executive of BZ Media and President of SoulShop. A leading religious public intellectual, Rabbi Lamm hosts the top-ranked podcast on the Bible and society, Good Faith Effort, and his popular Twitter threads on “Why Read the Bible in Hebrew?” have reached millions and been covered by major international news outlets. For his leadership in the world of Jewish ideas, The Jerusalem Post recently ranked him #37 on its list of the world’s 50 Most Influential Jews. • Nathaniel Buzolic is an acclaimed Australian Actor, best known for his role as Kol Mikaelson in "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals," With a diverse background in acting, hosting, and a commitment to his Faith and Heritage.

About "Gen 12" "Every story has a beginning..." and so does our exploration into the foundational texts of the Bible. "Gen 12" aims to delve into the rich narratives and teachings of Genesis, bringing them to life through spirited discussions between Nathaniel Buzolic and Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm. Each episode will focus on one of the twelve sections, uncovering the timeless wisdom and relevance these scriptures hold in modern society. Meet the Hosts

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with Brooke Ashley Hall - one of the biggest creators on social media, across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube - about the opportunities and responsibilities of creating content for tens of millions of people on a daily basis. Along the way they talked about Brooke’s journey towards becoming an influencer; what an influencer’s day-to-day looks like; portraying motherhood from the Bible to TikTok; authenticity in traditional media vs. digital media; Arthur Clarke and scientific progress; how Brooke almost lost her son; the power of prayer and community; Brooke’s approach to comedy; Brooke’s advice for aspiring creators; and much more! Guest Quote: “It's incredible the amount of impact that you have, and I also think it's a great responsibility for what you share and the message that you're putting out. That's one thing that my husband and I decided whenever we started doing this, that we were going to stay on the line of being family friendly, maintaining our values, and always staying true to ourself in that way, because with great power comes great responsibility, right?” -Brooke Ashley Hall Time Stamps * (:01) Intro * (04:45) Brooke's creative journey * (11:23) Authenticity on social media * (13:41) Motherhood portrayed from the Bible to TikTok * (15:27) A day in Brooke’s life * (21:30) Technology as magic * (24:20) Influencers vs. celebrities * (27:46) Brooke's near-loss of her son * (39:37) The power of prayer and community * (44:49) Brooke’s comedic approach * (47:37) Brooke's inspirations * (49:57) Advice for aspiring content creators Good Faith Effort is a production of SoulShop, Bnai Zion, and Caspian Studios Links Follow Ari on Twitter Find out more about Brooke Brooke's Youtube Channel Brooke's TikTok Brooke's Instagram Watch on YouTube

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with the best-selling author and historian of English and American history Nick Bunker about the Mayflower Pilgrims and how the Hebrew intellectual and religious tradition shaped their world, and ultimately birthed the United States of America. Along the way they talked about how Nick, a Roman Catholic from London, spent his most formative years immersed in the Jewish community of the Upper West Side of Manhattan; the importance of King James I; the rise of English interest in Biblical Hebrew; the origins of the Puritans; why the Pilgrims were fascinated by the medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides; Nick’s career in investment banking and how it molded his work as a historian; and much more! Guest Quote “And one of the things you have to do as a historian is to show that process by which the events in one country and the other country interacted with each other. Information flowed back and forth, people flowed back and forth. There was a transatlantic economy that was created which linked England, New England, Virginia, the West Indies. And it was through these kind of interflows back and forth that this kind of Atlantic world was created. And that was how the United States eventually came into being from this process of kind of interaction.” - Nick Bunker Time Stamps * (:01) Intro * (04:49) Connection between American and English history * (07:13) Nick’s journey * (18:52) Significane of King James I * (21:39) Origins of the Puritans * (24:42) Biblical book of kings influence on non-conformists * (28:11) Decoding the Puritan Quadrilateral * (32:07) The rise of English interest in Biblical Hebrew * (36:19) Unmasking the original Thanksgiving * (37:04) Maimonides and the Pilgrims * (40:18) Judaic impact on history * (46:13) Jewish political and intellectual influence on England * (51:08) Fueling curiosity amidst demanding careers * (54:28) Sneak peek into Nick's new book Good Faith Effort is a production of SoulShop, Bnai Zion, and Caspian Studios Links Follow Ari on Twitter Find out more about Nick In the Shadow of Fear: America and the World in 1950 Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America Watch on YouTube

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with the greatest character actor in the history of Hollywood, the legendary Stephen Tobolowsky, about his lifelong journey to understand the Hebrew Bible. Along the way they talked about growing up around members of the Nazi Party; Stephen’s love of Shakespeare; being comfortable with weirdness; Stephen getting held at gunpoint during a hostage situation; Deuteronomy and the Shema prayer; thinking about death; why Ned Ryerson is the most Jewish character in the history of American film; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop Guest Quote "There is such a positiveness in Judaism, that when you become a part of it, you realize how absolutely life-affirming it is. Even in death, it gets you through all the terrible transitions: from Genesis to Exodus, Leviticus to Numbers to Deuteronomy. It can get you through every one of those walls, every one of those challenges.“ - Stephen Tobolowsky Time Stamps * (5:06) Jordan Calhoun’s “Piccolo is Black”, and growing up without a Jewish Community * (11:23) Stephen opens the Pandora’s Box of rediscovering Judaism * (22:45) The 5 Books of Moses, as a story of life * (24:28) Californication, and Stephen’s decision to write a spiritual memoir * (30:57) Magic exists, and Stephen’s tale of finding God while being held hostage at the grocery store * (40:33) Visiting the Bible throughout your life * (44:44) Importance of saying the Shema * (54:55) Is Ned Ryerson the most Jewish movie character? Good Faith Effort is a production of SoulShop, Bnai Zion, and Caspian Studios Links Follow Ari on Twitter - https://twitter.com/AriLamm Find out more about Stephen: https://stephentobolowsky.com/ My Adventures With God, on Amazon Books: https://www.amazon.com/My-Adventures-God-Stephen-Tobolowsky/dp/1476766460 Watch on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@GoodFaithEffort

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with Joshua Berman, Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University and author of “Created Equal: How the Bible Broke With Ancient Political Thought”, about the revolution that the Bible introduced into human affairs. In a world dominated by some of the most renowned civilizations in history — from Mesopotamia to Egypt — how did the Bible re-envision the idea of the good society? Along the way they talked about the idea of “covenant” — both inside and outside the Bible; Plato vs. the Bible on universalism; monarchy in Biblical thought; why the Bible conceives of a particular land as holy; how the American Founders wrestled with Biblical political theory; the Biblical concept of atonement; and much more Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop Links Follow Ari on Twitter Check out Good Faith Effort on Youtube!

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with the extraordinary classical educator and University of Virginia professor Angel Adams Parham about the Black intellectual tradition and how it has been shaped by—and in turn can shape our contemporary understanding of—the classics. Along the way they talked about why Phillis Wheatley was fascinated by death; the importance of poetry in classical education; Frederick Douglass’s oratory; classical education for all; faith and providence in Martin Luther King Jr.’s thought; Biblical literacy in America; the Greek tradition vs. the Biblical tradition; the Book of Lamentations; and much more! Guest Quote “In so much of Western culture, we have focused on “truth”. Truth and goodness, but especially truth. We've taken these truth-first approaches to understanding what it means to be a good society. What about beauty? What if we were to flip that and take beauty at the beginning? Beauty as our root to truth and goodness, and not always have beauty last. There's something about the tradition of philosophical critique that's led us to where we are today, that seems to strip things down to their most kind of mechanically rational in a way that can become anti-human.” - Angel Adams Parham Time Stamps * (:01) Intro * (5:42) How Angel fell in love with the Classics * (14:09) Phyllis Wheatley, and the start of the African-American religious tradition * (21:33) Elegies and everyday poetry * (31:58) What’s a Classic anyways? * (37:55) Faith within the Black intellectual tradition * (45:24) The Bible as the basis for Western Literature Good Faith Effort is a production of SoulShop, Bnai Zion, and Caspian Studios Links Follow Ari on Twitter Find out more about Angel The Black Intellectual Tradition: Reading Freedom in Classical Literature on Amazon Books

On today’s episode, Ari sits down with Seth Rogovoy, writer, producer, cultural journalist, and author of Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet. On this episode, Ari and Seth dive into the life and history of Bob Dylan through the lens of Jewish spirituality. What are his songs really about? How does the Bible show up in the different eras of his song writing? How do protest and folk songs relate to the Jewish tradition? Dubbed as the number one Jewish Bob Dylan scholar, Seth carefully pulls apart the Biblical references through Dylan’s discography, and sheds light on how he’s artfully woven the Jewish tradition into his entire persona as an artist, and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with Rainn Wilson, who’s not only the actor behind Dwight Schrute, one of the most iconic characters in TV history, but also the author of the magnificent new book on faith and culture, “SoulBoom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” (Hachette Books). On today’s episode Ari and Rainn talked about some of life’s biggest questions. Why believe in a religion you got from your parents? How should you go about seeking truth? Why does willingness to travel have to do with faith? Is Dwight Schrute “millennial Fonzie”? What does The Office have to teach a spiritual seeker? What’s the most important verse in the Bible? What is sacredness? Why is religious ritual important? What did Rainn, a devout member of the Baháʼí Faith, learn from visiting a Baháʼí sacred site in Israel? What does religion have to say about technological advancement? Should religions have heroes? And much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

Attention, Good Faith Fam! We've been on a brief hiatus, but the podcast is making a triumphant return! We’ll resume our deep dives into the amazing world of the Bible, from the profound to the perplexing. We're talking politics, pop culture, and everything in between. And... because you’ve all been so patient… just a cool little spoiler for you: our triumphant comeback will be with none other than Rainn Wilson - a.k.a. Dwight from The Office! Good Faith Effort is coming back soon, and it's ready to take your eardrums on a biblical rollercoaster ride. Don't miss it! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

Attention, Good Faith Fam! We've been on a brief hiatus, but the podcast is making a triumphant return! We’ll resume our deep dives into the amazing world of the Bible, from the profound to the perplexing. We're talking politics, pop culture, and everything in between. And... because you’ve all been so patient… just a cool little spoiler for you: our triumphant comeback will be with none other than Rainn Wilson - a.k.a. Dwight from The Office! Good Faith Effort is coming back soon, and it's ready to take your eardrums on a biblical rollercoaster ride. Don't miss it! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with renowned Bible teacher and scholar Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom about one of the most common question asked by Good Faith Effort listeners (or Why Read The Bible In Hebrew readers on Twitter!): what is the “Jewish” way of reading Scripture? Along the way they talked about developing a methodology for Scripture study; the difference between reading a text critically and “text criticism”; why it matters that the Biblical Hebrew vocabulary is relatively small; why the Bible cares about political history; the geography of the Joseph narrative; why you can’t read the later books of the Bible until you’ve read the earlier ones; how to find other excellent Bible teachers; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with the University of Utah’s Dean of Humanities, and renowned historian of 19th century literature and society, Hollis Robbins to talk about the state of the humanities in American education. As Hollis explains, reports of the humanities demise are greatly exaggerated. But just as important as understanding why the humanities are, in fact, flourishing, is understanding where and under what conditions they are flourishing. What lessons can we learn from answering these questions? In a wide ranging discussion, Ari and Hollis spoke about the religious culture of Utah; secularism’s effect on the humanities; Orthodox Jewish pedagogy; Brandon Sanderson’s novels and AI; Effective Altruism and the collapse of FTX; the Tower of Babel; Borges; Dracula; whether Descartes really understood clocks; TV and book recommendations; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with American Jewish University resident scholar Rick Richman about the land, people and polity of Israel in Hollywood’s imagination. What does Hollywood storytelling about Israel—from Exodus in 1960, to Top Gun: Maverick in 2022—tell us about America’s perspective on the Holy Land, and perhaps more strikingly, America’s perspective on itself. In a wide-ranging discussion, Ari and Rick talked about Exodus (1960); Munich (2005); Top Gun: Maverick (2022); Dara Horn’s “People Love Dead Jews”; Brooklyn-based Judaism in American cinema; the effect of American racial discourse on its view of the Near East; Montesquieu’s “Persian Letters”; the spouses of great political leaders; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

On this week’s episode, Ari speaks with New York Times columnist and media personality David French about the future of American political and cultural virtue. What does it look like to stick to your principles in 2023, even if they’re unpopular? How do we escape the ideological traps of contemporary American political life? Along the way, they discussed the idea of an “exhausted majority”; the relationship between sports and politics; theological concepts like redemption and apocalypse and their role in political philosophy; John Adams and Frederick Douglass; George Washington and Micah 6:8; how it’s possible to “become” American; the cases for and against reparations; American masculinity; caring for grandparents and grandchildren; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop

On today’s episode, Ari spoke with political philosopher Yechiel Leiter about John Locke—the thinker whose work undergirds all of American political philosophy. If you were to read Locke, one of the first things you’ll notice is that he quotes and relies upon texts from the Hebrew Bible far more than (almost to the exclusion of) any other. And yet, for centuries, Locke scholars have almost entirely ignored his Hebraic influences. Together, Ari and Yechiel discussed how a Hebraic reading of Locke is crucial for explaining all of the most interesting and even revolutionary elements of Locke’s thought. GoodFaith10 is the 10% discount code at www.sedersalt.com Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

Every minority—every ethnic or religious subgroup—has its own internal conversations. Often, in the modern age, that’s resulted in specialized journalistic outlets. Jewish newspapers; Christian TV stations; Muslims journals. But just as fascinating are journalists who take their particular identity, and use it as a lens through which to help general audiences view the world. What, indeed, does it mean for a reporter who is Jewish—or Christian, or Muslim, or Buddhist—to write for The Atlantic, or Business Insider? To do original reporting in Ukraine, or Somalia or Syria? On today’s episode, Rabbi Lamm spoke to Tablet Magazin’s Armin Rosen about what it means to learn and write about the wide world Biblically and Jewishly. They talked world travel; music festivals; the connection between death and joy in popular culture; the intertextuality of hip hop; what makes Orthodox Jews different from and similar to other Jews; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 2007 address at Columbia University; the importance of 1st century Rome and Jerusalem for understanding contemporary politics; novels about Brazil; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

From ancient times until today, plagues and pandemics have played a transformational role in human history. And of all the intellectual and theological traditions that have reflected upon the significance of these devastating natural phenomena, perhaps the most famous and profound is the Bible. Just think, for example, of the narrative of the Ten Plagues in the Book of Exodus. So how have commentators on the Bible understood these reflections, and even developed them in new and surprising directions? In his most recent book—”The Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics From the Bible to Covid-19”—Dr. Jeremy Brown (Director at the NIH and a historian of science) broke down how Jewish thinkers and communities in particular responded to widespread infectious diseases across history. And on this episode, Ari broke it all down with Dr. Brown. They discussed pandemics and the fall of Rome; humans and animals in the Book of Genesis; anti-Jewish canards during the Black Death; intellectual creativity during pandemics; responses to Edward Jenner’s invention of the smallpox vaccine; mysticism during the Scientific Revolution; “plague weddings”; new perspectives on the Ten Plagues; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.

How should you read the Bible? Is the Bible just a collection of nice stories mixed in with a bunch of motivational poster one-liners? What’s the best way to plumb the artistic depths of this unparalleled literary and spiritual masterpiece? On this episode, Ari unpacked all of this with renowned podcaster and Biblical scholar Alastair Roberts. Over the course of this exciting, frenetic conversation, they talked about the Bible in the history and culture of England; why Alastair, a Protestant scholar, is a fan of Jewish Biblical commentator Rabbi David Fohrman; the connection between Noah’s Ark, the birth of Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea; the character of Miriam; the Creation narrative and the Tabernacle in Leviticus; why Martin Luther was wrong about the Book of Esther; how the stories of Genesis illuminate the stories of Samuel and Kings; the role of the tribe of Benjamin; the Israelites in Exile; and much more! Good Faith Effort is a production of Bnai Zion and SoulShop.