Boyz II Mensches with Adam Teitelbaum

About this episode

Adam Teitelbaum discusses the disconnection of men from Jewish communal life and the significance of the bar mitzvah in a conversation with Rabbi David Wolpe.

Men are drifting, disconnected, and increasingly absent from communal life, argues longtime Jewish communal professional Adam Teitelbaum in his new essay, Boyz II Mensches . What does this mean for Jewish life, starting with the bar mitzvah? On April 16, Rabbi David Wolpe sat down with Adam for a live virtual conversation where they explored how the bar mitzvah lost its power as a profound rite of passage, how to reclaim this foundational period in a boy’s life, and how to help Jewish boys eventually become Jewish men. Read Adam’s essay in SAPIR , Boyz II Mensches : https://sapirjournal.org/aspiration-ii/2026/boyz-ii-mensches/ Watch the interview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXczsCczOGg Questions or comments? Send us a note at ⁠info@sapirjournal.org⁠ Music from #Uppbeat: ⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/monsieur-groove

People in this episode

Host: Rabbi David Wolpe

Guest: Adam Teitelbaum

Topics covered

• Jewish communal life
• bar mitzvah
• rite of passage
• Jewish boys
• Jewish men
• disconnection
• reclaiming tradition

Keywords

• Jewish life
• communal disconnection
• bar mitzvah significance
• rite of passage
• Jewish identity
• Adam Teitelbaum
• Rabbi David Wolpe

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SAPIR, SAPIR journal, YouTube

Books & works: Boyz II Mensches

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