Passover Crossover - Rootless - Why Dual Loyalty is Good for the Jews, with Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz

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🗓️ 16 April 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

We're off this week for Passover, but we wanted to bring you an episode of Rootless we think you'll like. Rootless: Here's Why Dual Loyalty is Good for the Jews, with Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz The charge of dual loyalty has long been a key weapon in the arsenal of anti-Semites everywhere. But in his new book, The Case for Dual Loyalty: Healing the Divided Soul of American Jews, Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz of Los Angeles’ Valley Beth Shalom argues that it’s time to embrace the idea. He joins Liel to talk about why American Jews should be loyal to Israel and the United States alike, why that is a complimentary rather than contradictory idea, and why it’s time, in the aftermath of October 7th, for Jews to reconsider the way they view their identities

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, listeners, it's Josh Cross.
0:07.0	The other hosts and I are taking this week off for Passover, but we didn't want to leave you hanging without an episode to listen to.
0:12.5	So, we're sharing an episode of our sister podcast, rootless, that we think you'll really like.
0:17.5	Host Liel Leibovitz is joined by author and rabbi Nolan Leibovitz, who argues that it's time
0:21.7	to embrace the charge of dual loyalty, despite its weaponization by anti-Semites. He explains why
0:27.2	American Jews ought to be loyal to both the United States and to Israel, and how each loyalty
0:31.5	only strengthens each other. We hope you like this episode as much as we did. Hagsameach.
0:36.7	Haq Sama'emeyach. We hope you like this episode as much as we did. Hogsomeyer. Hey there, and welcome to Ruthless. I am Leah Liebowitz, and I am delighted to be back today with one of my favorite human beings, one of my favorite rabbis, one of my favorite thinkers, Rabbi Nolan Lieberwitz. He is by far the smarter and the more handsome Leibowitz of the two of us you will hear today.
1:15.1	And he wrote an incredible book with an incredible title, The Case for Dual Loyalty.
1:21.4	Hello, Rabbi Leibowitz.
1:22.8	Good morning, Leo.
1:23.8	You're coming to us straight from Los Angeles.
1:25.9	We could tell by that divine light that is
1:28.4	shining upon your countenance. Explain, what do you mean by the case for dual loyalty?
1:34.6	Well, first of all, I should just acknowledge that the title itself brings with it a kind of,
1:39.8	you know, provocative feeling inside of Jewish people, which I think is precisely the point. People have
1:45.7	considered dual loyalty. Jews have considered dual loyalty a charge that was dangerous for more than
1:52.6	2,000 years, especially in modernity. And I discussed the history of that charge, that accusation
1:58.4	in the book through the light of the modern lens.
2:03.1	But I really think that this moment, this post-October 7th moment, this new chapter of Jewish
2:08.1	history that we're living through, and that I think important thinkers are stepping forward
2:12.9	to help craft. I think that this moment calls for a pivot from fear to pride and that pivot has to come
	...

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