Episode 84: Why soldiers wept when Ran came home, lessons from Tu Bishvat

Episode 84: Why soldiers wept when Ran came home, lessons from Tu Bishvat

This week, Israel finally brought home the remains of its last hostage, 24-year-old Ran Gvili. To outsiders, the sheer scale of the national sacrifice and the collective exhalation of relief that followed his return can seem like a mystery. Every nation honors its fallen, but few go to the lengths Israelis do to reclaim a body from the hands of the enemy.


In this episode, we use the upcoming holiday of Tu Bishvat as an entryway into the Jewish psyche. We explore the idea of "hesed shel Emet" -- the "true kindness" of a dignified burial, which is called "true" because it can never be reciprocated. We dive into a world where a dignified burial is more than a ritual; it is a declaration that even in death, a human being remains a reflection of the divine. Through the teachings of the Malbim and the Sfat Emet, we re-examine Tu Bishvat not as a simple children’s holiday, but as a sophisticated meditation on the human condition. From the sap stirring in the dead of winter to the "inner light" hidden within the shells of the Seven Species, we discover a "New Year of the Human"—a day that honors our unique mission to find meaning in our mortality and uncover the sacred within the broken.


--


This episode was sponsored by an anonymous donor who asked to dedicate it to all our fallen soldiers and to the sacrifices of the reservists and their families, from October 7 until today. Thank you for your sponsorship.


--


If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠.


Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Episoder(103)

Episode 74: Why the global outrage at Israel's Somaliland recognition?

Episode 74: Why the global outrage at Israel's Somaliland recognition?

Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.Our current question: Why the global outra...

31 Des 202513min

Episode 73: Is military aid to Israel a good deal for America?

Episode 73: Is military aid to Israel a good deal for America?

Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.Our current question: Is military aid to I...

30 Des 20259min

Episode 72: The women fighters behind the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, with Elizabeth R. Hyman

Episode 72: The women fighters behind the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, with Elizabeth R. Hyman

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising stands as one of the few shining moments of (temporarily) successful Jewish resistance in the bottomless evil and despair that was the Holocaust. Heroes of the uprising like...

29 Des 20251h 2min

Episode 71: Why the heck does America support Israel?

Episode 71: Why the heck does America support Israel?

Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.Our current question: Why the heck does Am...

25 Des 202515min

Episode 70: The warrior Jews who terrified Rome, with Barry Strauss

Episode 70: The warrior Jews who terrified Rome, with Barry Strauss

Between the outbreak of the Jews’ Great Revolt against Rome in the year 66 CE and the final suppression of the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135, the Jews of the Roman Empire constituted the empire’s single bi...

23 Des 202552min

Episode 69: Israel's great divide - An insider's look at the judicial reform, with Moshe Koppel

Episode 69: Israel's great divide - An insider's look at the judicial reform, with Moshe Koppel

Until October 7, Israel’s politics were consumed by the fight over the government’s judicial reform proposals. The issue drove hundreds of thousands of Israelis to the streets in protest. It triggered...

19 Des 20251h 37min

Episode 68: Antizionism is inherently violent, with Adam Louis-Klein

Episode 68: Antizionism is inherently violent, with Adam Louis-Klein

After the massacre at Bondi Beach, anthropologist Adam Louis-Klein returns to the podcast to help us make sense of the new Jew-hatred.Antizionism, Adam argues, may be a form of hatred of Jews, but it'...

17 Des 20251h 1min

Episode 67: Miracles in the dark. A response to Bondi.

Episode 67: Miracles in the dark. A response to Bondi.

This Hanukkah began in darkness, in the brutal massacre of Jews in Sydney, Australia. Our hearts are broken, but our light is not dimmed.In this episode, we dive into the meaning of Hanukkah in the Je...

15 Des 202548min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
henrettelsespodden
rss-katastrofe
historier-som-endret-norge
rss-benadet
historier-som-endret-verden
sektledere
aftenposten-historie
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
med-egne-oyne
rss-gamle-greier
historiepodden
vare-historier
liberal-halvtime
rss-politisk-preik
rss-historiepodden-ww2
rss-historiske-romanser-svik-drap-og-kjarlighet
rss-alt-var-bedre-for