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Tablet Studios

Reasons to be Hopeful with Peter Himmelman

Tablet Studios

Tablet Magazine

Religion & Spirituality, Judaism, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2024

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

These days, a lot of people are feeling anxious about America, Israel, and the precarious state of the world. But Jews have always had a superpower—hope, not the facile and silly sort but the kind that motivates people to change the world. Liel is joined by singer, songwriter and author Peter Himmelman, who explains why giving up is never an option, why he chose a life of Jewish observance and reflection over greater fame and fortune, and why he decided to write a deeply moving song dedicated to the Bibas boys, Kfir and Ariel, still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, a song he shares on the show. They also discuss Himmelman's new book, Suspended by No String.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

0:05.0

oh, oh, oh, Hello hello hello and welcome back to rootless the show that just won't put up with any of the nonsense that passes

0:25.3

for perceived wisdom these days. We are, as the name applies, just not rooted, not rooted in any one party or any one movement or any one ideology or

0:35.0

any one political candidate we are Jews which very simply means we love life and

0:39.7

we hate lies now look if you've been listening to us for a while you know that this show is

0:45.4

usually about thorny matters. We haven't even been around for a month yet we've already

0:50.7

covered Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon, the Iranian threat, American foreign

0:55.7

policy and two-bit race hustlers like Tanahisei Coates, pretending to have big ideas about

1:00.8

life in America while caring primarily about advancing their own very

1:05.2

narrow and silly interests.

1:07.3

We have a lot more to cover and next week we will be back with a pretty fiery election special you don't want to miss.

1:14.8

But this week we absolutely have to pause and deliver a very important reminder.

1:20.8

Put bluntly, it's this. If we choose our anything, we are the people who hope, not hope in the

1:29.2

dumb way, like a Mets fan, I'm speaking as one, sitting there and watching the team collapse and still hoping for a trip to the world series,

1:37.0

everybody with half a brain knows ain't coming, not this year, most likely not next year either.

1:42.0

Not hope as in Head in the Sand. year, most likely not next year either.

1:43.1

Not hope as in head in the sand, ignore the fact, cheery, but ultimately ruinous optimism, the kind

1:49.4

very bad middle managers often insist on because they think it's good for employee morale.

1:55.6

But hope is something transcendent, almost reality changing, and deeply, deeply Jewish.

2:03.0

Pretty soon, I'll be joined by my guest, the marvelous rock star songwriter and author of an astonishing new book, Mr. Peter Himmelman.

2:11.0

But before I invite Peter to join me for a conversation and a few songs,

2:17.0

we need to talk a little bit more about Hope.

...

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