While the Torah is clear that every plant and animal species was individually designed “according to its kind”, Darwin’s theory of evolution states the multitude of species we see today all evolved from just a few original forms. Which is right? And if humans evolved too then how could we have been created “in God’s image?”

ABOUT Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum:
Rabbi Zarum is Dean of LSJS and holds the Rabbi Sacks Chair in Modern Jewish Thought at the school. He is a rabbinic leader, lecturer and author with a passion for teaching traditional Jewish texts and innovative educational programming for young and old. He gained a PhD in Theoretical Physics from King’s College London, leading to the publication of a number of papers on Quantum Chaos Theory.

This podcast has been made possible with the help of Whitefield Jewish community and Mizrachi UK

Jack Aisenberg was a young lad when he was separated from his family, who he would never see again. Though he eventually was caught, he survived the Nazi concentration camps and death marches. 

In this 3.30 minute podcast Holocaust survivor Jack tells of the fateful day he parted from his family.

Dan and Lex invite the audience to engage in the idea of a virtual synagogue, one without walls and without boundaries, as if it was on a completely new Jewish planet. Dan Libenson studied at Harvard law school where he graduated with honours and spent five years as a law professor. He’s been closely involved with Hillel in Harvard and Chicago and now devotes his life to working with the Jewish community. He believes people seek connection to Jewish traditions in a way that they perceive as authentic or meaningful but not necessarily tied to some preconceived notion of the “right way”. He is Co-founder of Judaism Unbound podcast.  Lex Rofeberg is a 29 year old Jewish educator and organiser. He graduated with a degree in Judaic Studies from Brown University and was also involved with Hillel. He worked for the Institute of southern Jewish life based in Jackson Missouri where he was an education fellow. He is interested in non-traditional ways of studying Talmud and is currently studying to be a rabbi. Along with Dan he co-founded the Judaism Unbound podcast. Recorded at Limmud Festival 2019

One hundred years before the Expulsion from Spain, the 1391 anti Jewish riots were the most widespread and today least known outbreaks of violence against Jews in medieval Europe. Jews had lived in Spain for over 1,000 years, predating the fall of the temple, a period regarded as one in which they enjoyedgreatestz freedom and success. So how did this violence become the precursor to the Spanish Inquisition and the Expulsion of 1492? Michael Schraere was recorded at Limmud Festival 2019. This episode was made possible with funding from National Lottery community Fund.

How are life and death decisions made in Jewish Law? If faced with the decision of saving just one life how does Jewish law help with that dilemma ?   Rabbi Dr Akiva Tatz is a South African born physician and lecturer, and the author of Dangerous Disease and Dangerous Therapy in Jewish Medical Ethics.   In this episode of JewishTALK he looks at a famous case of Siamese Twins born to an Orthodox Jewish couple. How was the dilemma of separating them was approached, and how does that fit with Life and Death in Jewish Law.   Rabbi Tatz  studied medicine in South Africa and the USA and graduated with distinction in surgery. He spent a number of years concurrently practicing medicine and engaging in Talmudic study.  Today he teaches and promotes knowledge of Jewish medical ethics internationally.   This episode was made in collaboration with Manchester Grammar School.   Responsum by Rav Moshe Feinstein   jewishvirtuallibrary.org/siamese-twins-and-jewish-law Teacher’s Guide  http://nleresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Conjoined-Twins-Teachers.pdf Article reproduced from Philadelphia Reporter http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/assia_english/drake-1.htm

Although he was born in Berlin, Rudi Leavor is a Yorkshireman at heart and that’s where we’re going today. Rudi is the 93-year-old custodian and president of Bradford Reform Synagogue, which has been in the news quite a bit in recent years, partly because of the Muslim leader who sits on the shul's board. I met Rudi in the synagogue to find out more about the shul and Bradford's Jewish history. Two other Bradfordians, Hanneke Dye and Stefan Simmonds... spoke to Nigel Grizzard about shul life, growing up in the Bradford community, and the Hostel that was home to child refugees from the Kinder Transport.  We have more information about the Bradford community on the JSCN website just go to https://jscn.org.uk/small-communities/bradford-reform-synagogue/ there you will find a number of videos which talk a lot more about the history of Bradford and its Jewish community, including a complete film about the hostel which housed those Kindertransport children.

There is a kindly gentleman who sits not far away from me in Synagogue. He’s called Sam. He always asks about me and my wife, and I always make sure to wish him Shabbat Shalom. He rarely speaks about himself but I know, from other people, that Sam has survived three or maybe four concentration camps. And people were also keen to tell me “Hey you know he’s one of the ‘Windermere Boys’, don’t you?” “The Boys”, was a group of 300 boys and girls who ended up in Prague and had been airlifted out as refugees at the end of the war. They were taken to Windermere to recover, and from there they would go on to build new lives. But recently I found out how the history of that time and the physical evidence of their existence had almost been eradicated for ever.  Trevor Avery had an interest in the war time history of Windermere, but initially for a completely different reason, until the chance encounter piqued his interest. Now for over 10 years he has made it his mission to uncover that history and tell the story of The Windermere Boys to the world.

We kick off our highlights of Leeds Limmud with the big panel discussion featuring  Gideon Falter chairman of the Campaign Against anti-Semitism,  Rachel Creeger, who you might know as the Frum stand-up comedian,  Robert Dyson a Leeds historian  Patrick Morrow an Anglican priest who is a regular Limmudnik and Aviva Dautch a teacher and familiar face who has been a presenter at Limmud for many years. The panel, chaired by Helen Lewis, had a wide-ranging debate answering questions...- Will Brexit affect UK Jews?- How can we deal with antisemitism in politics?- Expansion of Jewish schools, is it for the good?

In March 2019 Ed Horwich accompanied a group of Local Councillors and Civic community leaders, as they journeyed to Poland to learn about its history and the legacy of the Holocaust.This mainly non-Jewish group spent an intense 2.5 days visiting Warsaw, Treblinka, Majdanek, Tarnow, the 'Children's Forest', Krakow and Auschwitz.For all, the nature of what they witnessed was challenging and emotional.Ed recorded their journey and the emotions shared with him. It can be tough listening.

Four years ago a lady strode up to a volunteers co-ordinator to make a demand "You have to record my story".Now hers is one of over 30 books which have been produced telling, in their own words, the stories not just of surviving the Holocaust, but of finding and making a new life, creating a  family, and building a future. Ed Horwich went along to record the amazing story of the My Voice team, and to hear from the director of Yad Vashem, Dorit Novak, where the books are being archived.

This is the third episode recorded at this years 2019 Manchester Limmud. Jewish Small Communities Network was given its own session in this year’s program of talks.  And for it I assembled a panel of three experts on the Jewish community in Wales. So join the audience as we experience some of that history through the lives of one particular family; find out how you can go on a walking tour of the Jewish community that no longer exist in Bangor by using an app on your phone; and hear how one particular project is making sure that the heritage and stories of the Jewish people in Wales are recorded for posterity. References: The Jews of Wales - Can Parry Jones Walking Jewish History on the Apple App Store Jewish History Association of South Wales - https://twitter.com/jhasw2018

Stanley Kubrick, born of Jewish parents and brought up in New York, famously directed films like 2001 a Space Odyssey, Dr Strangelove, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange. His final film Eyes Wide Shut is based on a Jewish novella, but seemingly excludes nearly all Jewish references. Take a seat with me in the audience at Manchester Limmud 2019 as Professor Nathan Abrams intrigues us to see why it’s Kubrick’s most Jewish film.

700 years ago a Spanish Jewish mystic named Moshe DeLeon began writing down a collection of teachings and tales that have never been seen or heard of before. Its influence has been profound, both in the Jewish and non-Jewish world, and is still felt in the teachings of our great educators today. Sefer ha-Zohar, the Zohar (The Book of Radiance), has amazed and overwhelmed readers for seven centuries. It is the major text of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. Its language is a peculiar brand of Aramaic, with Spanish undertones, that breaks the rules of grammar and even invents words. Join me in the audience as Jonathan Davies presents a very accessible introduction to the history of this book, how the latest and most accessible translation came into being, along with insights into the Zohar's key themes, revelations and symbolism. Download the Source Sheet to use whilst you listen to our Podcast:  https://jscn.org.uk/zohar/ Recorded @ Manchester Limmud June 2019

I'd like to introduce Fiona Frank, one of the founders of the Lancaster & Lakes Jewish community. Recently she's been taking time to travel around Europe, taking in different Events and cultural experiences... and recording a personal podcast as she travelled. I wanted to bring you one particular one, recorded when Fiona visited Weimar in the former East Germany. Weimar was home to the Bauhaus movement founded by Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Walter Gropius Before that it was known as the birthplace of Weimar Classicism, a literary humanistic movement of the writers Goethe and Schiller. But there was also a darker side to Weimar... the city had a Nazi government 2 years before Hitler came to power, and Buchenwald concentration camp is 11 km down the road. But in today's modern Europe, Weimar is trying to put itself back on the positive cultural map. Yiddish Summer  Workshops and Festival was established in 1999. Fiona met with its founder and Director Alan Bern

Judith Phillips gets the inside track on what its like to vote in an Israeli General Election and what the issues are for your average Israeli. We also have help for UK voters who want to find out if their candidates are understanding of your Jewish concerns.

Jack Maurer tells me how to make matzos at home. Simone Pinkus cooks both for her family and customers. How does she plan Pesach, fill hungry mouths in a hurry, and make a packed lunch to take to work or school? Recipe on our website JSCN.ORG.UK

Between 45-55 thousand Jews took part in the First World War. Their stories have remained untold and are in danger of being lost forever. But now a heritage project, British Jews in the First World War, is getting people to come forward and making a record of those stories so their legacy will never be lost. JSCN is partnering with BJFWW and Ed Horwich invited the Project Team into the studio to talk us about some of the amazing stories they have uncovered and how you can get involved. www.jscn.org.uk https://www.facebook.com/jscnuk/ contact: jscn.org.uk/contact

Ed Horwich discovers that he and Sal Litvak shared a similar experience leading to them individually becoming more involved with their communities. Sal tells the emotional story of how his grandmother was responsible for him ultimately becoming the Accidental Talmudist. WEBSITE: http://jscn.org.uk Facebook: https://www.

Was the Middle East Peace Process ever going anywhere? Is it a missed opportunity and why? Will there be peace in the future?Asaf Siniver ,Reader in International Security at Birmingham University and biographer of Aba Eban, unravels the failures and looks at the requirements for a peace in the future. WEBSITE: http://jscn.org.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jscnuk/ CONTACT: http://jscn.org.uk/contact

Sheffield has been home to Jews since 1797. That was just one reason why JSCN held a Regional Small Communities Meeting there to hear about inspiration and innovation that has created landmark successes in some of our small communities. Where did the Jews of Sheffield come from come? We hear about this and Mark Rayner tells us what Jewish life is like in Sheffield now.