Jewish Today Pod

Meet Gen Slosberg, producer of LUNAR: The Jewish Asian Film Project. Originally from China, Gen discusses how she found her place in the Jewish community, after immigrating to California at 14. Gen also details the creation of LUNAR and how the space has given members of the Asian American Jewish community a place to share their stories and connect. This episode also focuses on the nuances that come with the Jew of Color (JOC) community and the difficulties that some members can feel and...

February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. In this episode, hear from Rebecca Cheskes, a parent of a member of the disability community, and Lisa Houben, the Community Inclusion and Training Coordinator at the Greater Atlanta Jewish Abilities Alliance (JAA). Both discuss their connections and work in the community and how we can all work together to create more inclusive spaces for Jewish organizations and religious institutions. Rebecca also recounts the intentional...

Meet Rabbi Jamie Serber! Rabbi Jamie is currently wrapping up her chaplaincy residency and, in addition to her work as a chaplain, specializes in ancestral heritage, Jewish amulets, and spirituality. After moving from Philadelphia to North Dakota in 2017, Rabbi Jamie came to learn about the rich Jewish history that is in North Dakota dating back to westward expansion and the Jews who migrated out west. In this episode, Rabbi Jamie discusses her journey to attaining her rabbinical ordination...

A ketubah is a traditional marriage contract in Judaism that showcases a couple's hopes, promises, and dreams for their marriage and one another. Anat Michaelis is a ketubah artist based in Israel who creates beautiful ketubot (plural for ketubah) for people all over the world. A graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, Anat began her ketubah illustrations as gifts for her friends and has since turned it into her business known as Leila. Anat discusses her art...

The stereotype that all Jews are wealthy or good with money is merely just that- a stereotype and nothing more. The Jewish community is no exception to financial hardships, particularly in the age of COVID-19. We're kicking off Season 2 of Jewish Today Pod with Nancy Weissmann, Executive Director of the Jewish Interest Free Loan of Atlanta (JIFLA). In this episode, Nancy discusses the Jewish loan space as a whole, addresses the stereotypes of Jewish wealth and financial stability, COVID-19...

Calling all history buffs- this episode is for you! Southern Jewry is often misunderstood or even unheard of when learning about Jewish history. However, Jeremy Katz, Senior Archives Director of the Breman Museum in Atlanta, GA, shares the rich Jewish history that has made much Atlanta how we see it today, as well as the Southeast. Hear Katz discuss his journey to pursue archiving as a career and the work he does with The Breman Museum, the largest repository of Jewish archives in the...

Mental health affects all communities and the Jewish community is no exception. In this episode, we hear from Gabby Spatt, Executive Director of The Blue Dove Foundation. This organization was created to help address the issues of mental health and substance abuse in the Jewish community, based in Atlanta, GA. Spatt discusses the intersectionality of Judaism and mental health, how Shabbat can be used as a means to take care of ourselves, and reads an excerpt from The Blue Dove Foundation's...

Meet the classic Jewish grandmother from New York- Linda Budd! In this episode, Linda (or Mutti) discusses her parents journey as they escaped Berlin during WWII and came to America, after her father was released from prison for his arrest per the Nuremberg Laws. She then takes us through their lives in as new citizens in Manhattan and how being the daughter of Holocaust escapees influenced her life. Plus, some insight into life as a young woman in the 1950s and 1960s and whole lot of...

Meet Jenna Shulman- CEO of the Jewish Education Loan Fund (JELF), based in Atlanta, Georgia. JELF provides interest free loans for higher education to Jewish students in need across in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina & Virginia. Shulman shares her journey of finding her place for her career in the Jewish non-profit sector, post law school, and how her determination led her to her role today. Serving as JELF's CEO since 2014, she discusses JELF's mission and how it aims to...

Converting to Judaism is no easy feat. In this episode we hear from Mariana Braga. Braga grew up in a non-religious Catholic home outside of São Paulo, Brazil. She discusses how she decided to pursue conversion, the struggles she faced throughout the process, and ultimately how she came to love the Jewish faith. Braga describes her "beshert" (meant to be) moments throughout her conversion process and how she aims to lead a Jewish life and be an example today. 2020 All Rights Reserved ---...

In this episode, hear from Cecelia Borgman, an Atlanta native and a social justice fellow with Repair the World. Borgman discusses growing up with a multi-racial background and ultimately finding her place in the Jewish community. She explains how her impactful Birthright trip inspired her to give that same experience to others and and gives insight into the Jewish concept of "Tikun Olam." Borgman then details her role with Repair the World, a non-profit organization that seeks to mobilize...

In this episode, Jewish Today Pod Host, Amanda Budd, shares her personal Jewish journey. Starting off with her childhood experiences being raised in a Conservative Jewish home, going to religious school and Jewish summer camp, she discusses her struggle with coping with antisemitic remarks throughout her teen and college years. It wasn't until a school project at the end of college, in which she learned how to respond to these antisemitic instances and how the notion of learning and...

Welcome to Jewish Today Pod, a new, original podcast dedicated to Jewish stories everywhere. Hear from your host, Amanda Budd, for what's to come for the first season of the podcast. You won't want to miss out! 2020 All Rights Reserved --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jewish-today-pod/support