Episode 115: Dr. Erica Brown "The Torah of Leadership"

JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED | A Guide for Today's Perplexed: Confronting the Challenges of This Generation

Leadership isn’t just a modern concern—it’s embedded in the DNA of the Torah itself. In this episode, Dr. Erica Brown unpacks the centrality of leadership in Jewish thought, drawing on insights from The Torah of Leadership. She explains why leadership has been a defining theme of her work, how the need for strong leadership has intensified—especially since October 7th—and why the Torah’s challenge to lead is more relevant than ever. We explore how the Torah doesn’t merely contain lessons on leadership but demands leadership at every turn, a truth that often goes unnoticed. Dr. Brown diagnoses why we’ve lost sight of this and offers a path back to seeing leadership as the Torah intends. From the dangers of stubbornness in am k’sheh oref (a stiff-necked people) to the ethical dilemmas of deception in Rivkah and Yaakov’s story, this conversation delves into the profound tensions and moral complexities of leadership. What does it take to lead a people who resist change? When, if ever, do lies serve a higher purpose? Dr. Brown brings clarity, depth, and wisdom to these questions, making the Torah’s leadership lessons impossible to ignore.

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• Bio: Dr. Erica Brown is the Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and the founding director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership. She previously served as the director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership and an associate professor of curriculum and pedagogy at The George Washington University. Erica is the author or co-author of 15 books on leadership, the Hebrew Bible and spirituality. Erica has a daily podcast, “Take Your Soul to Work.” Her book Esther: Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile (Maggid) was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. Her latest book is Kohelet and the Search for Meaning (Maggid). She and her husband live in Maryland and have four children, another four through marriage, and six exquisite grandchildren.

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• Get her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Torah-Leadership-Erica-Brown/dp/1592646816/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MFTHQQ4CLKC2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hLYZuZZvn75pCZotr-6RyN4_8UV3NNF4hrqv3YpP34DGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.RzHMV8wYe07YNizVGST8QU6M6HijexFDycQ7iBfmKG8&dib_tag=se&keywords=erica+brown+torah+of+leadership&qid=1739133039&sprefix=ericA+BROWN+TORAH+%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1

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