(55) Beyond the Labels: Tamar Elad-Appelbaum on Jewish Unity, Tradition, and Healing

What does it mean to build a Jewish community where secular and religious, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, right and left can all find a place? In this deeply moving conversation, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, founder of Kehilat Zion in Jerusalem and a leading voice for Jewish spiritual and communal renewal. Drawing on the faith of her Moroccan and Ashkenazi grandparents, Tamar describes a vision of Judaism that reaches beyond denominational labels and asks Jews to rediscover one another as a people. Together, Jo and Tamar explore the challenge of creating new Jewish ritual after October 7, the spiritual needs of a younger generation, the tension between pluralism and extremism, and what Rosh Hashanah can teach us about judgment, happiness, responsibility, and hope. Tamar also reflects on her path as a female religious leader and her dream of a future in which women no longer need to justify why their voices belong in Jewish leadership. At a moment of profound pain and division, this is a conversation about tradition that remains alive, leadership rooted in responsibility, and the possibility of rebuilding a Jewish people capable of seeing, hearing, and healing one another.