Jewish Funders Network
78 episodes listed below
PRESS PLAY
The issues, stories, and people changing the world in philanthropy and the Jewish community. If you like "What Gives?" be sure to check out "Outside the Tzedakah Box" (https://honeycomb.org/podcast-outside-tzedakah-box/) a podcast on Jewish youth philanthropy from JFN's Honeycomb.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It makes Jewish philanthropy legible as a meeting point for communal responsibility, institutional leadership, Israel, and contested ideas.
What Gives? The Jewish Philanthropy Podcast turns questions of Jewish communal life into searching conversations about responsibility, identity, education, and civic leadership.
A mezuzah on the door; your questions about who belongs have to meet the harder ones.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A careful case for innovation that keeps tradition in the room.
Zvika Krieger's path through journalism, policy, and Meta's first responsible-innovation role opens into a clear argument about how Jewish life can change without giving up what still matters.
A clear argument for telling Israel's story in forms young people will actually hear.
This episode treats Jewish storytelling as a practical editorial and funding question, not just a slogan. Dr. Noam Weissman keeps pulling the focus back to audience, purpose, and the medium itself: if the goal is to shape how young Jews think and feel about Israel, then the…
A measured conversation about presence, Jewish responsibility, and the tension between tribal loyalty and broader solidarity.
Rabbi Sharon Brous centers the conversation on presence and communal response. When people are broken, the answer is not to pull away but to make a room that says, amen, I see you.
A measured look at coalition leadership, public pressure, and the discipline of speaking with purpose.
This episode traces the practical strain of keeping a Jewish coalition aligned as member voices pull in different directions. William Daroff sits at the center of that pressure, and the episode works best when it treats public statements, internal pressure, and outside scrutiny…
A practical look at disciplined Jewish grantmaking and the balance between strategy and judgment.
Josh Miller's conversation with Andres Pokojny focuses on the practical side of Jewish philanthropy: how grants are made, why general operating and multi-year support can be smarter bets, and how good intentions can still miss the mark.
A serious listen on Israel education that leaves room for broad inquiry.
This conversation between Dr. Keren Fraiman and Dr. Sivan Zakai tracks how Jewish children learn about Israel before college turns the question sharper.
A thoughtful link between complexity theory, Jewish life, and the cost of staying adaptable.
Neil Theise's conversation ties pathology, complexity theory, and Jewish communal life into a single, serious argument. It treats living systems as something that has to stay in balance, with too much order on one side and too much disorder on the other, and it makes the case…
A steady, serious look at how travel, identity, and belonging meet.
This episode reads as a clear, grounded account of Birthright as both a personal journey and a large institution trying to make Jewish belonging feel possible at scale.
Daily halacha, case by case.
Parsha questions carried into serious Torah argument.
Stephen Bronfman links his climate work to growing up in Montreal, summers in the Laurentians, a 19-year-old trip to Israel, and a formative time with ranger Yuval Pellet in the southern region.
Laura Lauder traces her path from a young newcomer in San Francisco to board chair of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, linking her family legacy to Henry Morgenthau Jr.’s 1948 letter and the creation of the Jewish state.
Rabbi Danny Schiff discusses his book Judaism in a Digital Age with host Andres Pocoidi, exploring how non-Orthodox Jewish movements designed for 19th-century modernity are struggling in the digital era.
Rabbi Sharon Brous explores how ancient Jewish ritual wisdom addresses the modern loneliness epidemic, connecting personal brokenness to community healing and political stability.
Zvika Krieger's career runs from journalism in the Middle East and policy work in Washington, D.C.
Dr.
Dr.
Ronen Koehler, a former submarine commander and leader in Brothers and Sisters in Arms, speaks with Andres Pokoini from a public shelter in central Tel Aviv during Israel's war with Iran.
Abigail Pogrebin interviews Andrés Spokoiny about his book's central figure, 'modern Rachel,' a hyper-empowered Jew facing 2,000 dating-app options, weakened belonging, and the 'dizziness of freedom.' He argues that Jewish life is still organized around 19th- and early-20th-century models, naming federations, the JDC, Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Chabad as responses to earlier historical problems.
Zach Bodnar, CEO of the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, discusses reimagining Jewish institutions for contemporary community.
Dr.
Yehuda Kurtzer argues on What Gives?
Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer discuss their book It Takes Two to Torah, which pairs a Reform journalist and an Orthodox rabbi in dialogue over the five books of Moses.
Political psychologist Oded Adomileshem discusses the role of hope in crises, particularly after the October 7 attacks in Israel, explaining how hope strengthens societies and sharing examples of Israeli resilience.
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, describes how a 50-organization coalition tries to speak with one voice in Washington and Jerusalem.
Jay Ruderman says he moved from politics and public policy into philanthropy and then combined it with activism, using the Ruderman Family Foundation to push disability inclusion, Jewish peoplehood, and Israel-Diaspora issues.
Sara Hurwitz makes a direct case for reclaiming Jewish identity.
Host Andres Pokojny interviews Eugene Kandel, former chair of Israel's National Economic Council and current chair of Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, on Israel's geopolitical and economic future.
October 7th changed everything about Israel's social contract and philanthropic priorities.
Josh Miller joins Andres Pokojny to look back on how he found his way into Jewish philanthropy.
Amy Spitalnik joins Andres Pocoidi for a serious conversation about antisemitism and democracy.
Dr.
Dan Senor uses the 2024 Jefen International Conference to argue that Israel remains resilient after October 7 and the 2023 judicial reform crisis.
Rabbi Noah Farkas, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, says his career was shaped by trauma work in Iraq, disaster response after Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, and now repeated crises in Los Angeles.
Rachel Sumekh, Project Executive for Together Ending Need (TEN), says Jewish poverty is closer to 20% than the 5% or 6% many funders guess.
Elias Saratovsky traces Birthright's 25th year back to the program's original promise.
Simon Greer joins Andres Pokojdi for a conversation about viewpoint diversity, polarization, and what it takes to disagree seriously.