Inside the Haredi Community: Education, Identity, and Israel’s Future

It’s easy to criticize—but much harder to build. In this episode of Common Faith, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel begin with a challenge: what if the real problem in Jewish life today isn’t disagreement—but a culture of critique without responsibility? From “kvetching” to self-reflection, they explore what Judaism actually demands when we call out what’s broken. Then, Rabbi Menachem Bombach joins the conversation—a Haredi educator and social entrepreneur working at the center of one of Israel’s most urgent and complex challenges: integrating the ultra-Orthodox community into broader Israeli society without compromising religious identity. Through his groundbreaking Netzach educational network, Bombach is building a new model—one that combines Torah study with secular education, opening pathways to higher education, careers, and national participation. This episode dives into the tensions shaping Israel today: religion and state, identity and economics, tradition and modernity—and asks whether a more integrated future is possible.   Rabbi Menachem Bombach: https://netzach.org.il/en/leadership-executive/ The Netzach Education Network  https://netzach.org.il/en/home/   Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrove https://x.com/RabbiCosgrove Park Avenue Synagogue:https://www.pasyn.org https://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/# Jon Frankel: https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.