In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin responds to listeners’ feedback and comments, in conversation with Denah Emerson.<br /><br />In this episode we discuss:<br /><br />—Should every Jew be Orthodox?<br />—Is the gap year in Israel “just a business”?<br />—How does one develop their own Jewish identity at a phase in life when it’s no longer mediated by institutions?<br /><br />Tune in to hear what the 18Forty community has been thinking about regarding the conversations we’ve shared.<br /><br />Voicemails begin at 9:40.<br /><br />David Bashevkin is the founder and host of 18Forty. He is also the Clinical Assistant Professor of Jewish Values at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business. He completed rabbinic ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, a master’s degree at the Bernard Revel Graduate School, and his doctorate in Public Policy and Management at The New School’s Milano School of International Affairs. He has published four books, including <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sinagogue-Failure-Thought-Perspectives-Post-Rabbinic/dp/1618117971" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sin·a·gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought</a></i> and a Hebrew work, <a href="https://www.hebrewbooks.org/53838" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>B’Rogez Rachem Tizkor</i></a> (trans. <i>In Anger, Remember Mercy</i>).<br /><br /><b>References:</b> <br /><i></i><br /><i>18Forty Podcast</i>: “<a href="https://18forty.org/podcast/michael-eisenberg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Eisenberg: Iran, USA, Israel: What Comes Next</a>”<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.15?lang=bi&amp;aliyot=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Genesis 15 </a><br /><br /><i>18Forty Podcast</i>: “<a href="https://18forty.org/podcast/michael-olshin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Olshin: Reimagining the Gap Year in Israel</a>”<br /><br /><i>18Forty Podcast</i>: “<a href="https://18forty.org/podcast/orthodox-interviews-reform/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Diana Fersko: An Orthodox Rabbi Interviews a Reform Rabbi</a>”<br /><br /><i>18Forty Podcast</i>: “<a href="https://18forty.org/podcast/reform-interviews-orthodox/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dovid Bashevkin: A Reform Rabbi Interviews an Orthodox Rabbi</a>”<br /><br /><a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691160139/how-judaism-became-a-religion?srsltid=AfmBOopc4yJZiyr-c_DJOzcpIKCmOE7kCuNyRO9Gp7AkzYhC8yhua7Jh" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>How Judaism Became a Religion: An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought</i> </a>by Leora Batnitzky<br /><br />“<a href="https://sapirjournal.org/aspiration-ii/2026/the-future-is-sephardic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Future Is Sephardic</a>” by Mijal Bitton<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Joshua.7?lang=bi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joshua 7 </a><br /><br /><i>18Forty Podcast</i>: “<a href="https://18forty.org/podcast/mark-wildes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mark Wildes: Is Modern Orthodox Outreach the Way Forward?</a>”<br /><br /><i>18Forty Podcast</i>: “<a href="https://18forty.org/podcast/elisheva-carlebach/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elisheva Carlebach &amp; Debra Kaplan: The Unknown History of Women in Jewish Life</a>”<br /><br /><b>For more 18Forty:</b><br />NEWSLETTER: <a href="http://18forty.org/join" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">18forty.org/join </a><br />CALL: (212) 582-1840<br />EMAIL: [email protected]<br />WEBSITE: <a href="http://18forty.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">18forty.org </a><br />IG: @18forty<br />X: @18_forty<br />WhatsApp: <a href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/JmShFj7nnSZJqTLLZYNfLJ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">join here</a><br /><br />Become a supporter of this podcast: <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss">https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support</a>.