Rabbi David StavEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

Passover is just around the corner. So we sat down with the ever-wise Rabbi David Stav to dig into the inexplicable contradictions at the heart of the holiday's traditional Seder meal -- and of Jewish life writ large. In the Seder's text, the Hagaddah, we are commanded to declare that “now we are slaves, but next year we shall be free” -- even if we live in freedom and prosperity. And we are commanded to thank God for "taking us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a festival" -- even in generations past when we were crushed beneath the yoke of oppressors and tyrants, and even in our own day when we must run to a bomb shelter to be safe. So which is it? Are we free? Are we still slaves? Rav Stav takes us through stories of Natan Sharansky, Hasidic rebbes in the ghetto, and Rav Kook’s wisdom to reveal Passover's deepest teaching -- that true freedom is an inner consciousness and moral choice, not mere political circumstance, and that the experience and remembrance of slavery teaches us how to value, safeguard and properly use our liberty. And that is why on the evening of April 1, in this time of war and sirens, violence and fear, Jews all over the world will once again affirm, as they have done for three millennia, that “next year we shall be free.” -- This episode is sponsored by an anonymous listener who asked to share this note. "Many thanks to Haviv, for all his insights. This episode is dedicated to Barbara S. from New Mexico on the occasion of her second Bat Mitzvah, with love from her kids and grandkids. Am Yisrael Chai." -- If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

To support the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology: ats.org/callmeback Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP Subscribe to Nadav Eyal’s Substack: https://nadave.substack.com/ Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/ Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts: For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/ Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg Dan on X: x.com/dansenor Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel : tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn (00:00) Introduction (04:49) Dissecting the “settler” umbrella (10:11) The origins and evolution of the settler movement (14:32) 50 shades of ideology: the various segments of settlers (20:12) A hot potato: the reluctance to address Israeli extremist violence (29:40) The ideology that underlies this violence (37:18) How the Israeli government has changed its approach to extremist violence (44:55) Closing thoughts and Nadav’s new substack Today’s Episode: Critics of Israel often emphasize the phenomenon of extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Yet it can be difficult to understand the scope of the problem from afar, given the anti-Israel bias and false reporting demonstrated by many media outlets, especially following October 7. To get to the bottom of this controversial issue — and to filter signal from noise — Dan sat down with Ark Media contributor Nadav Eyal and Rabbi David Stav. Rabbi Stav is the co-founder and chairman of the Tzohar rabbinic organization and serves as Chief Rabbi of the city of Shoham in central Israel. CREDITS: ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

To support the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology: ats.org/callmeback Subscribe to Inside Call me Back inside.arkmedia.org Gift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/gifts Listen to What’s Your Number: lnk.to/GsOESP Subscribe to Nadav Eyal’s Substack: https://nadave.substack.com/ Subscribe to Amit Segal’s newsletter ‘It’s Noon in Israel’: arkmedia.org/amitsegal/ Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast Check out Ark Media’s other podcasts: For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA ‘What’s Your Number?’: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.org To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/ Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorg Dan on X: x.com/dansenor Dan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor To order Dan Senor & Saul Singer’s book, The Genius of Israel : tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdn Today’s Episode: Critics of Israel often emphasize the phenomenon of extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Yet it can be difficult to understand the scope of the problem from afar, given the anti-Israel bias and false reporting demonstrated by many media outlets, especially following October 7. To get to the bottom of this controversial issue — and to filter signal from noise — Dan sat down with Ark Media contributor Nadav Eyal and Rabbi David Stav. Rabbi Stav is the co-founder and chairman of the Tzohar rabbinic organization and serves as Chief Rabbi of the city of Shoham in central Israel. CREDITS: ILAN BENATAR - Producer & Editor ADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive Producer BRITTANY COHEN - Production Manager MARTIN HUERGO - Sound Editor MARIANGELES BURGOS AND PATRICIO SPADAVECCHIA - Additional Editing MAYA RACKOFF - Associate Producer GABE SILVERSTEIN - Community Management YUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Over the past two weeks, there has been increasing conversation in Israel among the Religious Zionist community about the continued refusal of many ultra-Orthodox Jews to consider enlisting in the Israeli army. Many of us have been discussing this issue for months or years; but it came to a head in the past couple of weeks largely because of the attempt by the Chareidi political parties in the Knesset to enshrine this exemption through legislation. The most recent attempt was the so-called Daycare Bill, which, if passed, would mean that the status of the father would not be taken into account when determining if a couple is eligible for state subsidies for daycare. This might seem like an obscure bill, but it is understood by almost everyone as a backdoor attempt to effectively legalize draft dodging by the Chareidi population by removing one of the financial disincentives to ignoring a draft notice. The question of Chareidi avoidance of the draft opens up a number of questions about Chareidi political influence on the wider Israeli public. This is obvious in numerous areas, including, most recently, the election of new chief rabbis of the State of Israel. Because the vote for the two chief rabbis is heavily influenced by political factors and by politicians, the Chareidi political parties have a huge influence on who is chief rabbi - more than any other sector - even though, ironically, their communities are largely unaffected by the rabbinate's authority. There are many other areas where Chareidi political influence is affecting the rest of Israeli society, including kashrut, personal status, marriage and divorce, and conversion. As Rabbi David Stav, the founder of Tzohar, says, the problem is not Chareidi influence; the problem is Chareidim determining the law of the land, while not being bound or affected by the consequences of those laws. This is a serious issue for Jews no matter where they reside - and I was honored to speak to Rabbi Stav about the current situation, and what needs to change. PLUS: A personal editorial comment about the recent election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. Check out Orthodox Conundrum Commentary on Substack and get your free subscription by going to https://scottkahn.substack.com/ . Please listen to and share this podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108 ). Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more - we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse . Check out https://jewishcoffeehouse.com/ for the Orthodox Conundrum and other great podcasts, and remember to subscribe to them on your favorite podcast provider. Also visit https://www.jchpodcasts.com/ to learn all about creating your own podcast. Music: "Happy Rock" by bensound.com

Rav Stav is the co-founder of the Tzohar, a rabbinical organization which aims to provide religious services to and create dialogue with the broader Israeli population. He also serves as the rabbi of the city of Shoham. Previously he served as the rabbi of the religious film school, Maale, and was one of the founding heads of Yeshivat Hesder Petach Tikva. He is the author of Bein Ha-Zemanim, a book about culture and recreation in Jewish thought and law. One of Israel's most visible rabbinic figures, he regularly appears on Israeli television and radio, and lectures to a wide range of audiences. We discuss his organization and the challenges and opportunities presented by the war and its aftermath.

Following last week's discussion about Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, we wanted to know more about the challenges inherent in servicing as an official rabbi in the State of Israel. We are fortunate that Rabbi David Stav, Chief Rabbi of Shoham, agreed to join us to speak about his experiences. In a wide-ranging discussion, Rav Stav explained the official responsibilities of a local rabbi in Israel today, who employs him, what he does (or does not) do every day, and how his work can influence the Israeli public in a myriad of ways.