Jewish Insights with Justin Pines

What do a ping-pong paddle, a global shoe empire, and Independence Mall in Philadelphia have in common? Stuart Weitzman. One of America's most celebrated designers, Stuart built a brand worn by Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Kate Middleton — and then went on to compete in the Maccabiah Games in Israel, carrying the American flag into the opening ceremony. He also made a transformative gift to save the Weitzman National Museum of ...

He rebuilt Jewish life post-Holocaust and advised world leaders—but the Lubavitcher Rebbe was also a profound counselor to the human soul. Rabbi Levi Shmotkin, author of the global bestseller “Letters for Life: Guidance for Emotional Wellness from the Lubavitcher Rebbe” [https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Life-Guidance-Emotional-Lubavitcher/dp/0826690149] investigated over 23,000 letters written by the rebbe and expla...

He was called a “once-in-a-millennium scholar.”

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz z”l was a physicist by training who became a towering Torah authority — a prolific author of over 300 titles, an Israel Prize laureate, the first person since the medieval sage Rashi to produce a complete commentary on the entire Babylonian Talmud, and the first ever to translate it into modern Hebrew. It took him 45 years.

Bruce Pearl built Auburn into a college basketball powerhouse — five SEC championships, two Final Four runs, and an NCAA Coach of the Year award. But for Pearl, the game has always been about something much bigger.

In this episode of Jewish Insights with Justin Pines, Coach Pearl opens up about the Jewish grandfather who shaped everything — a plumber from Roxbury who came to America at age 11, housed Black tenants throu...

What does it mean to write about Jewish hope and renewal — and then lose your son a week later?

Rav Dr. Tamir Granot is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Orot Shaul, a hesder yeshiva in the heart of south Tel Aviv. He is a Holocaust scholar, a student of Rav Amital and Rav Lichtenstein at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and the author of multiple books on Jewish thought. Days after Oc...

What makes the Book of Ruth one of the most beloved texts in the Jewish canon — and what does it have to say about the choices we face in our own lives?

Dr. Raizi Chechik — founding Director of the Pava Center for Women’s Torah Scholarship at Yeshiva University (https://go.yu.edu/pava), Community Scholar at The Jewish Center of Manhattan, and veteran Jewish educator who has taught in over...

The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) is one of the Torah's most familiar yet mysterious stories. In this episode of Jewish Insights, host Justin Pines is joined by Ms. Shuli Taubes — educator, scholar, and chair of the Jewish Thought department at SAR High School — who takes us back to Migdal Bavel and uncovers something in the text that most of us have never noticed. What is G-d actually worried about? And ...

What does it really mean to receive the Torah — and is it actually designed for imperfect people? In this illuminating first installment of our special three-part Shavuot Torah series, Jewish Insights host Justin Pines sits down with Rabba Yaffa Epstein to explore two extraordinary stories from the Babylonian Talmud that reveal the behind-the-scenes drama of Moses ascending to receive the Torah at Sinai...

Dr. Tal Becker — architect of the Abraham Accords, Israel's voice at the Hague, former Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior peace negotiator across multiple rounds of talks, and Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute (https://www.hartman.org.il/person/tal-becker/) — joins Jewish Insights with Justin Pines for a conversation about Jewish identity, how we talk about Israel,...

Every year, Israel moves in a single day from its deepest grief to its greatest celebration — from Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day for fallen soldiers, to Yom Ha'atzmaut, Independence Day. How do we hold both? And what does it mean to love Israel from across the ocean?

Rabbi Sam Klibanoff — spiritual leader of Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, NJ (https://www.etzchaimnj.org/about-us/clergy/), a...

How does a visionary Hasidic leader simply… vanish?

In this episode of Jewish Insights, Justin Pines sits down with historical detective and scholar Rabbi Pini Dunner to uncover a decades-old mystery, a secret identity, and a journey home. 

Discover the unbelievable life of Yechezkel Taub (The Yabloner Rebbe)—a world-renowned leader who led hundreds of pioneers from pre-Holoc...

What if your Haggadah could meet you exactly where you are this year — checked out, overwhelmed, full of joy, or somewhere in between? Rabbi Yakov Danishefsky, therapist, author, and creator of the Attached Haggadah - https://www.amazon.com/Attached-Haggadah-Rabbi-Yakov-Danishefsky/dp/B0GN9NDTC1-, joins us for one of our most ambitious episodes yet: unlocking the entire Pesach Seder in one hou...

What if the 25 hours of Shabbat weren't just a break from your week, but the very engine of your spiritual growth?

Host Justin Pines sits down with Dr. Alan Morinis — founder of the Mussar Institute and a leading voice in the contemporary revival of Mussar, the Jewish tradition of character refinement — to explore his new book, The Shabbat Effect: Jewish Wisdom for Growth and Transformatio...

How do you turn 2,000-year-old prayers into modern hits?

For the 100th episode of Jewish Insights, Justin sits down with the world-renowned Hasidic folk-rock duo, Zusha. Shlomo Gaisin and Zachariah Goldschmiedt open up about their journey from wordless niggunim to electronic soundscapes, and the "idol smashing" required to keep their art authentic.

In this episode:

• The Creative Process: How Zusha...

In this episode of Jewish Insights, Justin Pines welcomes Alana Rifkin Gelnick, founder and CEO of Dreamearly, for a deep dive into the "pedagogy of the Seder." As we navigate rising antisemitism and global uncertainty, Alana explores how the ancient rituals of Passover - from the Ma Nishtana to the Four Sons - provide a timeless framework for modern parenting and education, and healthier...

In this episode of Jewish Insights, Justin Pines sits down with one of the most celebrated Jewish historians of our time — Professor David B. Ruderman, the Joseph Meyerhoff Professor Emeritus of Modern Jewish History at the University of Pennsylvania and former founding Director of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies — for a rich and deeply personal conversation about a remarkable 50-year career, from...

In this episode of Jewish Insights, Justin Pines welcomes back Dr. Mijal Bitton for a raw and sophisticated look at the "new reality" facing the Jewish community on occasions of Purim and Shabbat Zachor. Two years after their conversation following October 7thhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQrygsFtT0], they move past the initial shock to explore what it means to build resilience when the "clarity of evil" transitions...

Join Justin Pines for a special episode of Jewish Insights, recorded live at the Yeshiva University Seforim Sale! Justin welcomes renowned Tanakh scholar Dr. Yael Ziegler for a deep dive into the "writing revolution" of the Torah. Dr. Ziegler explores how ancient texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh illuminate Tanakh's unique values, the power of writing to process national tragedy, and the foundational themes of exile and redemption i...

Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm, Chief Executive of BZ Media (www.bz-media.org) joins Jewish Insights with Justin Pines to reveal how Jewish ideas provided the "intellectual engine" for the American experiment. From figures like Ben Franklin to Yale’s Ezra Stiles, discover how the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic wisdom and unlikely friendships helped shape the spiritual and political soul of the United States, and the role faith is playing across ...