Welcome to Wandering Jews, our J2 adventures. podcast!
Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Jewish experiential travel as we traverse the globe.
Whether it’s the ancient streets of Jerusalem or the historic charm of Toledo, each episode offers a fresh perspective and a deeper connection to the Jewish story.
See more at j2adventures.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to Wandering Jews, our J2 adventures. podcast!
Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Jewish experiential travel as we traverse the globe.
Whether it’s the ancient streets of Jerusalem or the historic charm of Toledo, each episode offers a fresh perspective and a deeper connection to the Jewish story.
See more at j2adventures.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join us at “Wandering Jews” as we step beneath the branches of Israel’s “Storytelling Tree”—the Knesset Menorah—and uncover the roots that nourish a nation’s identity. From biblical heroes to modern pioneers, this monumental sculpture weaves centuries of struggle, hope, and renewal into bronze. Explore how art, memory, and moral vision intertwine to shape Israel’s civic heart.
Links for Additional Reading
The Knesset Menorah, Wikipedia (including pictures)
The Man Who Made The Menorah, Eli Abt, The Jewish Chronicle December 7, 2023
The Story Of The Menorah: From Temple To State Seal, Yael Steiner and Jonathan Schwab, Unpacked
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*Ramle* is an ancient crossroads, shaped by numerous empires along the historic ‘Way of the Sea.’ Its history and human mosaic highlights a modern reality: it is one of Israel’s most heterogenous cities, where a diverse *Jewish majority* lives alongside a significant *Arab minority*. The city's vibrant tension yesterday and today is a microcosm of the larger challenges and potential of Jewish-Arab coexistence within Israel.
Wandering Jews will visit Ramle and probe lessons in how the past's multicultural mosaic continues to inform the present's complex politics and aspirations for a shared tomorrow.
Links for Additional Reading:
Archaeology in Israel: Ramla, Jewish Virtual Library
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Explore the dramatic irony of turn-of-the-century Vienna, a city that both nurtured titans of Jewish thought and art—from Freud to Mahler—and became the hotbed for modern, racial antisemitism. Discover how Jewish luminaries defined Viennese modernity while simultaneously facing an increasingly hostile political and social climate.
This episode delves into the genius and the heartbreak of the "Wandering Jews" whose contributions and fates molded and reflected the modern European experience.
Links for Additional Reading:
Our City! Jewish Vienna - Then to Now, The Vienna Jewish Museum
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From the misty glens of Scotland to the hidden speakeasies of Prohibition America, Jews have shaped the story of whiskey in surprising ways. In this episode, we trace the historic roots of Jewish involvement in the global whiskey trade, uncover the families and fortunes behind the barrels, and ask a question that blends law and spirit: what blessing do you say over a glass of whiskey? And what famous fictional whiskey Jew was created by James Joyce?
Lior Hochberg - a J2 tour educator and travel expert - will share her work as a volunteer and champion of a vocational school for women exiting prostitution and abuse. Her Academy is about empowerment and building expertise through vocational and life training. Listen to Lior and learn more about Her Academy at - https://www.heracademy.org.il/
Links for Additional Reading:
The Forgotten History of Jews in the Alcohol Industry, Joel Haber, My Jewish Learning
The History Of Jewish Bootleggers, Leah Siesfeld And Heidi Siesfeld, St Louis Light
From Bourbon to Bagels in Kentucky, Table Studios
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In the Jezreel Valley, a 6th-century synagogue floor reveals a people rooted in their land, inscribing faith into stone. This episode explores how archaeology affirms Jewish indigeneity, why the Binding of Isaac still unsettles us, and what these ancient treasures whisper about return and belonging.
Links for Additional Reading:
The Beit Alpha Synagoge at Wellesley College
The Beit Alpha Synagogue National Park
Jewish Worship, Pagan Symbols, Walter Zanger, Biblical Archeological Society
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In this episode of Wandering Jews, we journey to Budapest’s Dohany Synagogue, a stunning landmark that became the architectural blueprint for grand synagogues across Europe and the United States. Built in the Neo-Moorish style, the Dohany reflects a dual vision: a nostalgic nod to the Jewish Golden Age in medieval Spain and a bold architectural statement of Jewish modernity, pride, and belonging in 19th-century Europe. When is a building more than just a pile of bricks?
Links for Additional reading
Tracing the History of Budapest’s Dohany Street Synagogue, Jewish Heritage Europe
Moorish Style: Orientalism, the Jews, and Synagogue Architecture, Ivan Davidson Kalma
The Dohany Synagogue: History, Culture, and Sacred Rituals
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In this episode of Wandering Jews, we visit the Galilee outpost of Tel Hai – the story of a battle that became legend, and the life and death of the pioneer activist Yosef Trumpeldor. The story of Tel Hai became a foundational myth of Israeli heroism, encapsulated in the phrase attributed to Trumpeldor, “It is good to die for our country.” We trace how this narrative shaped Zionist identity and military ethos and how, over time, it has been reexamined and debated by Israelis grappling with questions of nationalism, sacrifice, and the evolving meaning of heroism in a maturing society.
Links for Additional reading
Yosef Trumpeldor, Tel Aviv Streets
The Hidden American History of One of Zionism’s Foundational Battles: Tel Hai
The Secret Agreement That Shaped the Middle East, Unpacked
Kol Galgal – Lyrics in Hebrew and English (‘Something for the Road with Hillary Menkowitz)
Kol Galgal – Spotify (‘Something for the Road with Hillary Menkowitz)
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The Peres Center is more than just an interactive exhibition. It is a showcase and lab at the center of Israel’s hi-tech industry and innovation. Visiting the Peres Center inspires us to consider the ongoing relevancy of the vision of Shimon Peres and to grapple with the challenge posed by significant Israeli communities who remain under-represented in Israel’s start-up nation success. It also challenges us to ask – what does it mean to be a ‘pragmatic dreamer’ and work to build hope?
Links for Additional Reading
The Peres Center for Innovation and Peace
Shimon Peres – A Biographical Sketch
Employers On The Front Line: The Labor Market Put To The Test, Tasneem Na’ara, JPost
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For many of us, a Yiddish phrase or word reminds us of parents and grandparents who may have not been Yiddish speakers but held on to a taste of Yiddish that they inherited from their own parents and grandparents. Even when visiting Warsaw – what was the largest Yiddish-speaking city in the world before 1939 – Yiddish is no longer the language of the streets and markets, synagogues and theaters. Yet, Yiddish is more than nostalgia. It was the linguistic home that generations of Eastern European Jews inhabited. We’ll take a deep dive and look at the place of Yiddish in the dreams and fears, the triumphs and defeats of a Jewish civilization now gone… But is it?
Links for Additional Reading
Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation, Paul Kriwaczek
Learn Popular Yiddish Words with Amy Walker!
Yiddish is Making a Comeback, Robin Estrin, All Things Considered, NPR, 22 April 2025
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The story of Qumran – on the Dead Sea Shore – reveals a still unraveled historic riddle about the meanings of one of most important archaeological treasures discovered in the 20th century. In a unforgiving landscape, Qumran reveals the story of the Dead Sea Sect and their expansive hidden library. Join us to venture into the caves and between the dry riverbeds to explore the world of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the community who collected and wrote them. The first Reform Jews? The first kibbutznikim? Join us to find out.
Links for Additional Reading
Why Are the Dead Sea Scrolls Important With Dr. Jodi Magnes
Led Astray By a Dead Sea Latrine, The Forward, 16 February 2007
The Shrine of the Book, The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls
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The beautiful city of Toledo – perched on the hills above the Tagus River – was once home to a thriving Jewish community. However for the past 532 years – since 1492 – Jewish children do not run home to the Jewish Quarter, and shabbat hymns do not ring through the streets on Friday evenings. When we visit Toledo, we need conjure through our stories the lives that once were. In this episode, we will visit the synagogues of Toledo – no longer in the hands of a Jewish community – recall the glory that was… as well as the meanings of ownership and remembering.
Links for Additional Reading
Toledo: The Cultural Guide to Europe, JGuideEurope
The Many Lives of the Synagogue El Transito, National Library of Israel
Córdoba and Toledo: The Last Synagogues of Sepharad, SLICE
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Seafaring and piracy are not the first associations that come to mind when we think of the Jews. In this episode, we will travel the Great Sea – the Mediterranean – in search of Jews who had salt water in their blood. We will sail from ancient Israel to the Middle Ages – and even revisit the question often asked – Columbus? Funny, he does not look Jewish!
Links for Additional Reading
The Great Sea, David Abulafia – a Book Review (The Guardian, May 1, 2012)
Jewish Pirates of the Mediterranean, Yaakov Landman (Kankan, April 3, 2020)
Columbus and the Jews, Jonathan Sarna (Commentary, November 1992)
Fado with Lior Hochberg – A Spotify Playlist mentioned in Something for the Road
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Who doesn’t love an Indiana Jones flick? The excitement of the search for treasure, the trepidation before the unknown, and encounter with long-buried stories. At Tel Maresha and Beit Guvrin – UNESCO World Heritage Sites – we will uncover the underground city and its caves, tunnels, and chambers – and share the stories of the archeological excavations and the Dig for a Day program. Join us for an adventure above and below ground… and bring your fedora. And this time – we will host a special guest – Dr. Ian Stern of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Haifa University – the archeologist responsible for the excavation and one of the founders of the Dig for a Day program.
Links for Additional Reading
A Dig Full of Holes, Sara Jo Ben Zvi (Segula – The Jewish History Magazine, September 2023)
Beit Guvrin National Park Israel Nature and Parks Authority
Israel Museum Receives Stone 'Letter,’ Etgar Lefkovits (The Jerusalem Post, May 7, 2007)
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High in the Portuguese mountains lies the small, inconspicuous village of Belmonte. At first glance, Belmonte possesses the local charm of many of the villages of the Senhora da Esperança range. However, the village possesses a secret dating back nearly half a millennia – a Jewish community that went underground during the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions and inquisitions – and held onto their Jewish core for centuries. Discover Belmonte and this little-known story of steadfast Jewish resistance.
Links for Additional Reading
Portugal, Echoes of a Jewish Past
Belmonte: A Reporter Revisits An Anusim Community
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Israel has become known internationally as the ‘start-up nation’ – one of the most successful international hi-tech hubs. The Ayalon Institute – just outside of Rehovot – may have possessed the world’s only start-up laundry – an underground factory designed to produce the crucial bullets needed by the pre-state and early Israel to fight the 1948 War of Independence. How do you keep such an operation a secret? How did the Ayalon Institute reflect something about the ethos of pre-state Israel? And does some of that same ethos survive today?
Links for Additional Reading
The Ayalon Institute: The Secret Facility Hidden Under a Kibbutz Laundry
Why Did American Jews Smuggle Guns Into Palestine?
Israel’s Defense Industries: From Clandestine Workshops to Global Giants
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Wine in Judaism isn’t just a drink—it’s a ritual, a symbol, and a story poured into every glass. From the vineyards of ancient Israel to today’s award-winning boutique wineries, wine has played a sacred and celebratory role in Jewish life for millennia. But how did Israel go from kiddush wine to world-class vintages? And what makes Israeli wine so special? Grab a glass as we explore the past, present, and future of Jewish wine culture. L'Chaim.
Additional reading:
https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/judaism/the-value-of-wine
https://www.sefaria.org.il/sheets/601017?lang=bi
https://www.timeout.com/israel/things-to-do/the-israeli-wine-list
https://www.ice.edu/blog/wines-of-israel
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The planet Earth may not be able to support the billions who call it home. Even in the wealthiest countries, too many people are hungry. We zoom in on the Jewish experience of issues connected with food justice – from the days of the Bible and before, to modern Israeli food innovation, and including the non-profits striving to provide those in need with that most basic of rights – the right to go to sleep and wake up without hunger. Our special guest today is Joseph Gitler, the founder of Leket – a leading NGO aspiring to implement Jewish values around food access towards a healthier society in body and soul.
Links for Additional Reading (And Ways For You To Help…)
Latet - Combating poverty and food insecurity in Israel
Leket Israel - Rescuing nutritious surplus food for those in need
Pantry Packers - Providing nutritional support to Israel's neediest families
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Tel Aviv is sometimes described as just another city with no story to call its own. Today we will pull back the curtain to share the many stories and the foundational narratives that Tel Aviv told about itself through the years and the connections between story and symbol and urban planning, architecture, and design. Whether you want to call it ‘The White City’ or ‘The Big Orange’ or ‘The City That Never Stops’ – join us for a behind the scenes look at Tel Aviv and it’s celebration of the Zionist new normal.
Links for Additional Reading:
The Mythography of Tel Aviv, Maoz Azaryahu and Jonathan Silver. Mosaic, 17 November 20222
Tel Aviv: Israel's Cultural and Financial Capital, History of Israel Explained, Unpacked
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Mount Hermon – the eyes of Israel – has been witness to thousands of generations telling their stories throughout the ages. This single, towering peak bears the weight of countless narratives — stories of history, culture, faith from ancient times until today. Hermon is not just a place to go skiing; it’s a place where the sacred intersects with the strategic, where ancient traditions meet the present day, and where diverse communities—Jewish, Druze, Christian, and Muslim—leave their imprints on its slopes.
Links for Additional Reading
Mount Hermon – A General Overview
Mount Hermon – Jewish Virtual Library
Druze Lives Matter | Real Talk Marissa Streit sits with Rania Dean and Omar Nasser
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Much of our consumer experience in the 21st century is antiseptic and impersonal. Visiting Jerusalem’s open air market at Mahane Yehuda is a chance to engage all of our senses, to get out and about, and see a slice of Jerusalem as it lives and breathes in all of its colors, flavors, and tastes. In this episode, we will visit the streets and alleys of Mahane Yehuda – a bit of history, a bit of culinary, and a bit of the human mosaic that makes Mahane Yehuda an exciting classroom for understanding Israeli society.
Links For Additional Reading
The Complete Guide to the Machane Yehuda Market
100 Years Of Photographs At Machane Yehuda Market, Israel21C, Naama Barak, 23 July 2023
Zooming In On The History Of Jerusalem's Iconic Machane Yehuda Market, i24NewsEnglish
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