Show Notes
The final episode of our special series. Rabbi Ken Spiro, Professor Elan Javanfard, and Ellie Bass unpack how Ashkenazi and Sephardi/Mizrahi communities developed radically different responses to centuries of trauma — and how those responses still shape Jewish observance, identity, and reactivity today. In the wake of October 7th, those differences matter more than ever. This conversation explores why Ashkenazi Judaism became fear-based and perfectionistic while Sephardi/Mizrahi Judaism remained attachment-based and warm, what each tradition gets right, and what an integrated, resilient Jewish future could look like. Three components of Jewish resilience. Two wounds. One people. Listen now. Welcome to a special three-part series of Remember What's Next called Jewish History and Trauma. Ellie Bass and Rabbi Ken Spiro are in conversation with Professor Elan Javanfard who is a researcher and expert in Jewish intergenerational trauma. Together, we are going to trace the full arc: where our collective wounds come from, how they live in us today especially now and what healing might actually look like going forward. Find out more about Professor Javanfard and his work: https://www.elanjavanfard.com/ and check out his blog: https://nefesh.org/blogs/Ejavanfard Want the full story? Start from episode one. As Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." That's exactly what we're doing — going all the way back, so we can understand the present and shape what comes next. 🎙️ Learn more about your hosts: Rabbi Ken Spiro → www.KenSpiro.com Ellie Bass → www.elliebass.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RkenSp Help us keep going. Support the work on our KOFI page with a one time or monthly sponsorship: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Remember What's Next is a labor of love for our people — and it's working. We've hit #1 in multiple countries, with thousands of listeners around the world tuning in. We want to grow this even further, and we'd love your help. The simplest way to support us? Support the work: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Also! Like. Share. Subscribe. Review. Every single one helps more people discover the essential history behind who we are as a Jewish people — and the lens we need to understand the world today. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 🕎 📧 Got a question or topic idea? Email us: [email protected]
More from Remember What's Next
Welcome to Season 6 of Remember What’s Next, with Ellie Bass and Rabbi Ken Spiro. This season, we’re exploring Jewish history through the people who shaped it: who they were, the choices they made, and how their influence continues to shape our lives as Jews today. We’re beginning with Shaul, King Saul, Israel’s first king, whose story raises difficult questions about leadership, compassion, and moral courage. How could the same man who spared Agag, the king of Amalek, later order the killing of the priests of Nov? What shaped his judgment—and what can we learn from those contradictions? We’ll also explore the idea of “suicidal empathy”: when compassion, disconnected from judgment and responsibility, ends up enabling harm. How do we distinguish mercy from misplaced sympathy? When does humility become a fear of standing firm? And how do we recognize when our own emotions are clouding our sense of what is right? Join us as we get to know Shaul—and consider what his story asks of us today. Want the full story? Start from episode one. As Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." That's exactly what we're doing — going all the way back, so we can understand the present and shape what comes next. 🎙️ Learn more about your hosts: Rabbi Ken Spiro → www.KenSpiro.com Ellie Bass → www.elliebass.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RkenSp Help us keep going. Support the work on our KOFI page with a one time or monthly sponsorship: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Remember What's Next is a labor of love for our people — and it's working. We've hit #1 in multiple countries, with thousands of listeners around the world tuning in. We want to grow this even further, and we'd love your help. The simplest way to support us? Support the work: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Also! Like. Share. Subscribe. Review. Every single one helps more people discover the essential history behind who we are as a Jewish people — and the lens we need to understand the world today. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 🕎 📧 Got a question or topic idea? Email us: [email protected]
Rabbi Ken Spiro and Ellie Bass discuss the history of truth, and how the idea of facts and ultimate truth are more new than we think. Want the full story? Start from episode one. As Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." That's exactly what we're doing — going all the way back, so we can understand the present and shape what comes next. 🎙️ Learn more about your hosts: Rabbi Ken Spiro → www.KenSpiro.com Ellie Bass → www.elliebass.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RkenSp Help us keep going. Support the work on our KOFI page with a one time or monthly sponsorship: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Remember What's Next is a labor of love for our people — and it's working. We've hit #1 in multiple countries, with thousands of listeners around the world tuning in. We want to grow this even further, and we'd love your help. The simplest way to support us? Support the work: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Also! Like. Share. Subscribe. Review. Every single one helps more people discover the essential history behind who we are as a Jewish people — and the lens we need to understand the world today. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 🕎 📧 Got a question or topic idea? Email us: [email protected]
Rabbi Spiro and Ellie discuss the history of conspiracy theories and how those show up today in our world. Want the full story? Start from episode one. As Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." That's exactly what we're doing — going all the way back, so we can understand the present and shape what comes next. 🎙️ Learn more about your hosts: Rabbi Ken Spiro → www.KenSpiro.com Ellie Bass → www.elliebass.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RkenSp Help us keep going. Support the work on our KOFI page with a one time or monthly sponsorship: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Remember What's Next is a labor of love for our people — and it's working. We've hit #1 in multiple countries, with thousands of listeners around the world tuning in. We want to grow this even further, and we'd love your help. The simplest way to support us? Support the work: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Also! Like. Share. Subscribe. Review. Every single one helps more people discover the essential history behind who we are as a Jewish people — and the lens we need to understand the world today. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 🕎 📧 Got a question or topic idea? Email us: [email protected]
This episode features a discussion about the historical and spiritual context of modern challenges facing the Jewish people, specifically as they approach Tisha B'Av. The conversation explores the recurring patterns of history, the concept of Jewish destiny, and how to maintain perspective during times of heightened antisemitism. Want the full story? Start from episode one. As Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." That's exactly what we're doing — going all the way back, so we can understand the present and shape what comes next. 🎙️ Learn more about your hosts: Rabbi Ken Spiro → www.KenSpiro.com Ellie Bass → www.elliebass.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RkenSp Help us keep going. Support the work on our KOFI page with a one time or monthly sponsorship: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Remember What's Next is a labor of love for our people — and it's working. We've hit #1 in multiple countries, with thousands of listeners around the world tuning in. We want to grow this even further, and we'd love your help. The simplest way to support us? Support the work: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Also! Like. Share. Subscribe. Review. Every single one helps more people discover the essential history behind who we are as a Jewish people — and the lens we need to understand the world today. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 🕎 📧 Got a question or topic idea? Email us: [email protected]
In this episode Rabbi Spiro and Ellie discuss the recent elections in NY and the DSA candidates who won, and what the history of communism, socialism and democracy can help us understand about America today as it approaches it's 250th birthday. Want the full story? Start from episode one. As Winston Churchill said, "The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." That's exactly what we're doing — going all the way back, so we can understand the present and shape what comes next. 🎙️ Learn more about your hosts: Rabbi Ken Spiro → www.KenSpiro.com Ellie Bass → www.elliebass.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RkenSp Help us keep going. Support the work on our KOFI page with a one time or monthly sponsorship: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Remember What's Next is a labor of love for our people — and it's working. We've hit #1 in multiple countries, with thousands of listeners around the world tuning in. We want to grow this even further, and we'd love your help. The simplest way to support us? Support the work: https://ko-fi.com/rememberwhatsnext Also! Like. Share. Subscribe. Review. Every single one helps more people discover the essential history behind who we are as a Jewish people — and the lens we need to understand the world today. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. 📧 Got a question or topic idea? Email us: [email protected]