Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein interviews Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur, author of the recent best seller How Isn't It Going? Conversations After October 7 and the inspiration behind the hit streaming series Reformed, which is loosely based on her award-winning 2021 essay collection Living With Our Dead.
One of only a handful of female French rabbis, Horvilleur has become a leading public intellectual in her native country and a powerful proponent for plurality and interfaith dialogue. The New York Times has called her the rare public intellectual to bring religious texts into the public square. And the French Elle Magazine, which put her on the cover, said she finds the right words to describe our time and our ghosts.
In this episode, Horvilleur recounts her unconventional path to the rabbinate (with stops in medical school and as a journalist along the way), and talks about why being a female rabbi and a reform rabbi is still so unusual in France. She delves into the TV show inspired by her book, talking about what the show gets right and where it departs from her own experience. Tackling larger questions about "What is true leadership" and "What is the purpose of rabbinic leadership," she turns to the antisemitism facing French Jews, how it anticipated what American Jews are facing today and what it looks like in France at this moment.
She says: "I'm pretty convinced that I want to dedicate my rabbinate to the bridge building business, but I have to admit that in a situation like ours it's quite obvious and normal and understandable that people also want to strengthen protective walls around their Jewish identity. And the question for me as a Jewish leader is ... how do you reconcile these two existential needs."
Further Resources
- Read our review of Reformed
- Read a review of Horvilleur’s How Isn’t It Going? Conversations after October 7 and purchase a copy here.
- Read our review of Horvilleur’s Living with Our Dead and purchase a copy here
- Check out Tenoua, the online French-language journal of Jewish thought and culture that Horvilleur helms
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ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Hadassah Magazine Presents, a podcast based on the popular monthly Zoom series, was created to bring to life some of the features of Hadassah Magazine that our readers love. From author interviews with women writers whose books touch on Jewish themes, to deep dives and panel discussions on timely topics, you’ll find something to inform, entertain, engage and uplift you. This podcast is perfect listening for when you're commuting, exercising, on a walk, wherever you travel, enabling you to enjoy a bit of Hadassah Magazine on the go.
The show is hosted by Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein and produced by Hadassah Magazine with the support of the Engagement and Marketing divisions of Hadassah.
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