Big Questions of Jewish Belief

What are we actually trying to accomplish on Yom Kippur? And how does saying the same prayers, confessing the same sins, and fasting for 25 hours help us genuinely change?
Sara Kalmus once again turns the tables on Big Questions of Jewish Belief host Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum, this time asking him to explain what teshuva and forgiveness really mean, and how we can make Yom Kippur feel real rather than simply going through the motions.
Their conversation explores why the Vidui is poetry rather than a checklist, what to do when the prayers don't speak to us, why community matters, how fasting can actually help us focus, and what forgiveness means in the first place. Rabbi Zarum offers a striking understanding of God "carrying" our sins: allowing us to put down the weight of what we have done so that our mistakes no longer define who we are, and giving us the freedom to change.
From Jonah's journey into the depths to the closing gates of Ne'ilah, this is a conversation about taking Yom Kippur seriously without getting trapped by its words and rituals. How can we move beyond simply saying the prayers and instead use them to become more honest about who we are, who we want to be, and what we need to change?
How does teshuva work? Perhaps the first step is making Yom Kippur real.

What does it actually mean to have a relationship with God, especially when we're not even sure what we believe?
In the season three premiere of Big Questions of Jewish Belief, the tables are turned as Sara Kalmus interviews regular host Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum about his own understanding of God, faith, prayer, and the meaning of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Rabbi Zarum challenges the familiar picture of God as a distant Being who rewards, punishes, and intervenes from "out there." Instead, he proposes a radically different way of thinking about God: through relationship, consciousness, and our connection with the people and world around us. That perspective transforms the way he understands some of the most powerful ideas of the High Holy Days, from Unetaneh Tokef and divine judgment to teshuva, prayer, the shofar, and even the simple act of breathing.
What happens when we stop treating Rosh Hashanah as a test of whether we've been good or bad, and instead see it as an opportunity to wake up to who we are, who we could become, and where we are heading?
A thoughtful, challenging, and deeply personal conversation that may change the way you approach God, prayer, and the High Holy Days this year.

This week on Big Questions of Jewish Belief, Rabbi Raphael Zarum is joined by Stephen Frosh, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Birkbeck and author of How to Be Real, for a searching conversation about prayer, psychoanalysis, and the limits of certainty.
Stephen explores what it means for the intellectual chatter to fall silent — and whether that silence opens a space for faith.
Is religion an illusion? A creative act? A dangerous certainty? Or a humble recognition of our limits?
A rich, nuanced discussion about faith, doubt, memory, and the fragile space between imagination and transcendence.
How to Be Real can be purchased from Amazon UK or from Amazon in the US.

Rabbi Zarum sits down with leading human rights barrister Adam Wagner KC to explore the foundations of morality, law, and Jewish identity. Adam has dedicated his career to defending human rights and is an active and dedicated member of the Jewish community, yet personally wrestles with belief, skepticism, and the role of God in his life.
They discuss his Orthodox upbringing in Manchester, his journey back into Jewish learning as an adult, and why community, tradition, and responsibility still matter profoundly to him—even without certainty of faith. We also explore the fascinating relationship between Jewish law and modern human rights: are universal rights grounded in God, human reason, or something else entirely?
This conversation raises one of the biggest questions of all: do we need God to be good—or is our shared humanity enough?
As always, Rabbi Zarum's aim is not to persuade, but to understand how thoughtful people make sense of belief, doubt, and what it means to live a meaningful Jewish life today.
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you, or email bigquestions@lsjs.ac.uk with comments or questions.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you, or email bigquestions@lsjs.ac.uk with
comments or questions.
Naomi Alderman is an English novelist, game writer, and television executive producer. She is
best known for her speculative science fiction novel The Power, which won the Women's Prize
for Fiction in 2017 and has been adapted into a television series for Amazon Studios. Her first
novel, Disobedience, explores faith, identity, and forbidden love within a strict Orthodox Jewish
community. It was published in ten languages and has recently been adapted into a
feature-length film.
Naomi and I enjoy discussing our relationships with a God Who we can argue with, as well as
the pitfalls of arguing with people as a way of taking them seriously. We question whether it's possible to be religious without actually thinking about God very much, as well as the God-like aspect of being the 'Creator' of novels and the insight this can give authors into the love God has for us, in spite of having to put us through hard things.
It was a fascinating, fun conversation which I hope you'll enjoy.