In this episode, we sit down with Rabbi Dr. Yosie Levine to explore the life, world, and enduring significance of Hakham Tsevi Ashkenazi, the towering early modern rabbinic figure at the center of his book Hakham Tsevi Ashkenazi and the Battlegrounds of the Early Modern Rabbinate. We begin at the very beginning: what draws a historian to write a full-scale study of Hakham Tsevi, and why his career offers such a powerful window into early modern rabbinic life and the development of halakha. Moving beyond biography, Rabbi Dr. Levine explains how Teshuvot function not only as halakhic documents but as rich historical sources that illuminate communal pressures, lived religion, and the texture of Jewish decision-making in a rapidly changing world. The conversation then turns to the political and cultural dynamics shaping Jewish communities of the period, and how these forces complicated the relationship between rabbis and their congregations. We examine Hakham Tsevi’s nuanced engagement with Sefaradim and his defense of certain Sepharadi approaches to Jewish law and minhagim, challenging simplistic Ashkenazi–Sepharadi divides. Rabbi Dr. Levine also unpacks Hakham Tsevi’s attitude toward Kabbala and how it manifests within his Teshuvot, revealing a careful, principled posture rather than a reactionary one. Finally, we delve into the dramatic Ḥayon Affair, tracing its significance not only as a personal crisis for Hakham Tsevi but as a defining moment in the broader battlegrounds of the early modern rabbinate.

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*This episode is dedicated to the refua shelema of Sarah Miriam bat Tamar, Binyamin ben Zilpa, and our dear friend Yaakov ben Haya Sarah Malakh, and l'ilui nishmat Zehara Yehudit bat Yaakov Ezra v'Ilana Shira

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• Bio: A scholar of early modern Jewish history, Rabbi Yosie Levine became the seventh rabbi of The Jewish Center in 2008, after serving there for four years as Rabbinic Intern, Assistant Rabbi, and Associate Rabbi under the mentorship of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, z”l; Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter; and Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman. Prior to joining The Jewish Center, he served as educational director of the Lauder Foundation’s Beit Midrash in Berlin. Rabbi Levine has played a leadership role on the issue of day school affordability, pioneering a communal model for sustaining excellent Jewish education, and he is co-chair of the Manhattan Eruv. He is active in numerous communal organizations, including AIPAC, NORPAC, and the UJA-Federation of New York, where he previously served as a board member, and his advocacy for Israel has helped make The Jewish Center a model for Israel activism within and beyond the Religious Zionist community. Rabbi Levine earned a BA in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia College, received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, and holds a PhD in Early Modern Jewish History from Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School, where he serves as an adjunct professor and sits on the Dean’s Council. His work has appeared in both scholarly and popular publications, and his book, Hakham Tsevi Ashkenazi and the Battlegrounds of the Early Modern Rabbinate (Littman Library, 2024), is the recipient of the Association for Jewish Studies’ Jordan Schnitzer First Book Award.

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• Get his book here: https://www.amazon.com/Ashkenazi-Battlegrounds-Rabbinate-Littman-Civilization/dp/1835536417

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• Welcome to JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED: A PODCAST FOR THE PERPLEXED | Co-hosted by Benjy & Benzi | Thank you to...Super Patron: Jordan Karmily, Platinum Patron: Craig Gordon, Rod Ilian, Gold Patrons: Dovidchai Abramchayev, Lazer Cohen, Travis Krueger, Vasili Volkoff, Vasya, Silver Patrons: Ellen Fleischer, Daniel M., Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal, Fred & Antonio, Jeffrey Wasserman, Jacob Winston, and Ariel Klainerman! Please SUBSCRIBE to this YouTube Channel and hit the BELL to can get alerted whenever new clips get posted, thank you for your support!

In this episode, we sit down with Rabbi Zach Millunchick to discuss tradition, authority, and the Rambam’s vision for halakhic and intellectual life today. Rabbi Millunchick reflects on being a student of Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch a’h, who was also a formative teacher of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks a’h, and explains how Rav Rabinovitch’s approach continues to shape his worldview. From there, the conversation turns to his book Kakhol HaYam, which emerges from a deep commitment to the Rambam alongside a willingness to rethink assumptions about tradition, authority, and leadership. We explore his central claim that laws derived through the thirteen hermeneutical principles are fundamentally rabbinic, even when they appear indistinguishable from biblical law in the Talmud, and what this means for understanding halakhic authority. Rabbi Millunchick also explains the Rambam’s sharp distinction between clarifying the Torah’s meaning and creating new law through human reasoning, and why collapsing that distinction carries serious intellectual and religious consequences. The discussion then moves to the second half of Kakhol HaYam, where Rabbi Millunchick argues that the Rambam’s theory of halakhic authority cannot be separated from his political philosophy, including his views on courts, governance, and human perfection. We consider whether this model of tradition—neither rigid nor relativistic—is viable in the absence of a Sanhedrin, or whether it reveals unresolved tensions in modern Jewish life. The episode concludes with a conversation about Jewish education in Israel, particularly within the Dati Leumi world. Rabbi Millunchick addresses the common blending of Rav Kook and the Rambam, explains what he believes needs to change in the yeshiva curriculum, and shares his vision for a new mekhina he is developing with Rabbi Yohai Makbili and what he hopes students will take with them. Special thanks to Rabbi Jonathan Livi for connecting us and making this conversation possible.

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*This episode is dedicated to the refua shelema of Sarah Miriam bat Tamar, Binyamin ben Zilpa, and our dear friend Yaakov ben Haya Sarah Malakh, and b'ilui nishmat Zehara Yehudit bat Yaakov Ezra v'Ilana Shira.

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• Bio: Rabbi Zach Millunchick is a student of Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch, of blessed memory, and is currently working on the continuation of his monumental commentary on the Mishne Torah, the Yad Peshuta. He authored the book כחול הים - על העברת המסורת והנהגת העם במשנת הרמב״ם, which focuses on the Rambam’s political theory, from both halakhic and philosophical perspectives.

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• Welcome to JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED: A PODCAST FOR THE PERPLEXED | Co-hosted by Benjy & Benzi | Thank you to...Super Patron: Jordan Karmily, Platinum Patron: Craig Gordon, Rod Ilian, Gold Patrons: Dovidchai Abramchayev, Lazer Cohen, Travis Krueger, Vasili Volkoff, Vasya, Silver Patrons: Ellen Fleischer, Daniel M., Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal, Fred & Antonio, Jeffrey Wasserman, Jacob Winston, and Ariel Klainerman! Please SUBSCRIBE to this YouTube Channel and hit the BELL so you can get alerted whenever new clips get posted, thank you for your support!