Judaism Unbound Episode 509: Embracing Exile - David Kraemer
David Kraemer is the author of a recent book entitled Embracing Exile: The Case for Jewish Diaspora, and the Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He joins Dan and Lex for a conversation that uses that book as a springboard into a conversation about diaspora and exile in the Jewish past, present, and future.
[1] Learn more about David Kraemer here, and purchase Embracing Exile via this link.
[2] Can’t get enough of David Kraemer on Judaism Unbound podcasts? He was a guest on the Oral Talmud podcast as well! Listen in here.
[3] For the story from the Talmud that Lex references, related to taking a poop, see B’rachot 61b.
[4] Two narratives from the book of Numbers (Bamidbar) arose in this conversation. One — the story of the 12 spies/scouts — can be found in Numbers 13, and the second — the story of Gad, Reuben, and (half of) Manasseh asking to settle east of the Jordan River — can be found in Numbers 32.
[5] Kraemer references Gerson Cohen’s “The Blessing of Assimilation in Jewish History,” which Kraemer argues should have been titled “The Blessing of Exile in Jewish History.” You can read Cohen’s essay (initially a commencement address delivered at Hebrew College) here.