Dan and Lex: Judaism Unbound Podcast Episode 258 - Jewish Giving...Or Not
Dan and Lex round out their mini-series of episodes on Jewish philanthropy. They ask questions about the possibility of new communal structures of philanthropic giving, explore monthly-gifts as a form of Jewish practice, and argue against the idea that Jews should allocate the majority of their giving to Jewish-specific organizations.
[1] We strongly encourage you to check out the previous episodes in our mini-series on Jewish philanthropy, which include Episode 252: Foundations of Jewish Life - Aaron Dorfman, Episode 253: Philanthropic Inclusion Jay Ruderman, Shira Ruderman, Episode 254: The Jewish 1% - Danielle Durchslag, Episode 255: Amplification - Liz Fisher, Episode 256: A Righteous Crowd (Amy Schilit Benarroch), and Episode 257: Jewish Liberation Fund - Joanna Ware, Nadav David. Another episode, which wasn’t technically part of this series but which we refer to in the series a number of times, is Episode 244: The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex - Lila Corwin Berman.
[2] Dan mentions the book Winners Take All, by Anan Giridharadas, which the New York Times described as a “groundbreaking investigation of how the global elite’s efforts to ‘change the world’ preserve the status quo and obscure their role in causing the problems they later seek to solve.” You can purchase the book at this link.
[3] Both Dan and Lex critique the framework of the recently-announced Jewish Future Pledge. Learn more about that project, which “calls on all Jews to pledge that half or more of the charitable giving in their estate plan will support the Jewish people and/or the State of Israel,” at this link.
[4] Judaism Unbound may be launching its own giving circle — though the precise format and timeline of it is not certain yet. If you would like to be a part of this giving circle, please email us at Dan@JudaismUnbound.com, Lex@JudaismUnbound.com, or both!