For Heaven's Sake
For Heaven's Sake is a weekly podcast presented by Ark Media and the Shalom Hartman Institute, hosted by Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi. The podcast draws its name from the Jewish concept of machloket l'shem shemayim, "disagreeing for the sake of heaven," which is exactly what takes place each week as Donniel and Yossi discuss the moral aspects of topics affecting Israel, world Jewry, and the future of Zionism.
Episodes
Naza: When a Film is the News
Can a provocative film transform into an unshakeable weapon in the global battle over Israel's moral legitimacy? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the intense cultural and political fallout surrounding "Naza," the award-wi...
Israel Votes: New Year, New Hopes
How can a society deeply divided by electoral deadlock find the collective moral courage to choose democratic renewal over perpetual crisis? In this Rosh Hashanah episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi set aside the reactive mode of recent yea...
Israel's Election: What Do Israelis Really Want?
Why does Israeli political life appear hopelessly frozen at the top even as tectonic shifts stir beneath the surface? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the looming Israeli elections, the persistent mathematical stalemate b...
Israel’s Election Season: The Opening Shot (Re-release)
What do four political earthquakes in a single week – as the Knesset is on the brink of dissolving – reveal about the election that will define Israel's future? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi open Israel's election season by ma...
Why are Young Jews Turning Against Israel? - with Yossi Klein Halevi and Sara Labaton
Can the Jewish people hold on to moral tradition in the era of Jewish power? In this special episode—recorded live in the courtyard of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Jerusalem campus on July 14, 2026, at the Institute's Wellspring Summit for Educators—...
Humanness: From Mensch to Warrior
What happens to our humanity when fear takes hold? In this special summer episode, recorded live in the Beit Midrash of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Jerusalem campus during our Community Leadership Program, Donniel Hartman delivers a solo lecture on ...
The Post October 7 Jew
How do the Jewish people reclaim our story when our very right to self-defense is under global assault? In this special episode, recorded live at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Community Leadership Program in June, Yossi Klein Halevi sits down with aut...
Israel's Elections: Judaism on the Ballot
How does a Jewish state navigate its future when the most fiercely contested issue at the ballot box is the definition of Judaism itself? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the profound ways religion is shaping Israel's upc...
Iran and My Summer Vacation
What happens to a nation's psyche when the basic need to breathe is blocked by the geopolitical reality of an endless war? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi explore this dreamlike summer interlude where Israeli life appears suspen...
Israel's Elections: The Change We Hope For
Is it possible to rebuild a shared national vision when a society remains deeply traumatized and divided over its own moral obligations? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the newly announced October election date and look ...
Scheduling Note on this Week's Episode: July 15, 2026
Hello For Heaven’s Sake listeners. We are adjusting our publishing schedule this week, and you won’t see an episode in your feed today. Please make sure you are subscribed to us wherever you get your podcasts, so new episodes download automatically as ...
Israel's Election Season: The Opening Shot
What do four political earthquakes in a single week - as the Knesset is on the brink of dissolving -reveal about the election that will define Israel's future? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi open Israel's election season by map...
The Haredi Insurrection
Is Israel’s social contract breaking under the weight of the ultra-Orthodox draft exemption? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the explosive civic and theological crisis surrounding the ultra-Orthodox draft exemption in Is...
Israeli-American Relations at a Crossroads
What do American Jews owe Israel when their own political and moral worlds feel under threat? In this episode, recorded live from our Beit Midrash in Jerusalem as part of Hartman’s Community Leadership Program, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi co...
Scheduling Note on this Week’s Episode: June 24, 2026
Hello For Heaven’s Sake listeners. We are adjusting our publishing schedule this week, and you won’t see an episode in your feed today because we will be livestreaming our show from the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Community Leadership Program in Jerusal...
The Sum-of-All-Fears Election
Subscribe to Inside Call me Back. ____ Why is Israel’s next election being driven more by fear than hope? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi join Dan Senor to discuss the emotional forces shaping Israel's coming election. As Israelis prepare to vot...
As the Missiles Fly and Then Stop
If Israel has successfully degraded the capabilities of Hamas and Hezbollah, why do so many Israelis feel less safe today than they did a year ago? In this episode, following a resumption of fire between Israel and Iran, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein...
When the Israel Day Parade is More Than a Parade
Can American Jews define themselves through love of both Israel and America? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi unpack a parade transformed by October 7, Mamdani's boycott, and how a historically innocuous parade has transformed in...
Who's In Charge? Israel's Angst
Can a country recover its sense of agency when every front — external and internal — refuses to stay resolved? In this episode, recorded just as Prime Minister Netanyahu issued another emergency call-up of exhausted reservists, Donniel Hartman and Yoss...
Why We're Losing the War Over Israel's Legitimacy
Is it possible to win every battle and still lose where it matters? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront what may be the most dangerous front Israel faces today — the narrative. They lay bare the forces converging against Is...
In the Wake of Kristof and the Times: What's There to Say?
What do you say when defending yourself only makes things worse? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi respond in real time to Nicholas Kristof's New York Times column accusing Israel of systemic sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees ...
Scheduling Note on this Week's Episode: May 13, 2026
A brief update from For Heaven's Sake on the release schedule for this week's episode. Make sure you are subscribed to or following the show on your preferred podcast app so new episodes download automatically as soon as they are released.
Hilltop Youth and Israel's Moral Crisis
Can an army of the people maintain its ethical compass when a faction of the public it protects and consists of embraces ideological lawlessness? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the IDF Chief of Staff's urgent warning re...
Re-Release: Bennett 2026
In light of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid recently announcing the launch of a unified party for the Knesset elections, we are re-releasing our episode Bennett 2026, recorded on January 6, 2026. Donniel and Yossi will be back with a new episode next we...
Hopes for Israel's 78th Birthday
What do you wish for a country you love that is still learning to love itself? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi mark Israel's 78th Independence Day with a meditation on eulogies, blessings, and the distance between the two. They ...
Israel’s 10 Days of Awe: From Holocaust Memorial Day to Independence Day
How do we observe national days of mourning when the nightmares of the past feel like the realities of the present? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect Israel’s "10 Days of Awe," the intense period between Holocaust Memorial...
The Battle Over the Word Zionism
When a word carries history, burden, and identity all at once, can the Jewish people afford to let it go? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect the internal Jewish debate over the term Zionism, examining its classical promises...
Passover Under the Shadow of War: The Challenge of Hope
How do you celebrate the holiday of liberation when the reality of war, grief, and political division feels heavier than ever? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront the growing exhaustion in Israel with the conflicts in Iran ...
The War in Iran: The End?
Is Israel destined to have its wars stopped by its closest ally just before the finish line? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the rumors of a potential negotiation to end the current conflict with Iran and ask whether thi...
The Impact of the Iran War on Israel and the Jewish People
What is the hidden cost of Israeli resilience? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi move beyond strategic analysis to examine how the war is reshaping daily life in Israel, why the polls haven't budged despite a popular and militaril...
Israel: Winning the Iran War, Losing the American Jews?
Please take 5 minutes to fill out For Heaven's Sake’s LISTENER SURVEY ____ If this war with Iran is self-evident to Israelis, why does it feel so different to North American Jews? Starting with that blunt question, in this special live episode of For H...
The Case for War
Please take 5 minutes to fill out For Heaven's Sake’s LISTENER SURVEY ____ Why do 93% of Israelis support a war that much of the West condemns as a violation of international law? In this special episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect ...
Thoughts from the Shelter
Please take 5 minutes to fill out For Heaven's Sake’s LISTENER SURVEY ____ Why does this experience of war with Iran feel entirely new and eerily familiar in the arc of Israeli life? In this emergency episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Donniel Hartman and Y...
Waiting
Please take 5 minutes to fill out For Heaven's Sake’s LISTENER SURVEY ____ How do you go about daily life — bar mitzvahs, trips, work — when every two hours the news cycle shifts, every Israeli with a cousin in the Air Force has a take, and even season...
Israel's Sovereignty Crisis
Can a country survive when tribal loyalty overwhelms collective responsibility? This week on For Heaven's Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine something unprecedented: while Israel defends its borders from external threats, it's losing ...
The Hidden Challenges of Antisemitism
Antisemitism is everywhere in Jewish conversation. But what are we missing? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi zoom out to examine the assault on the Jewish story, the cost-benefit calculus of Jews around their identity, and the abuse of antisemiti...
Election Currents
Israel is headed toward elections again, but can either side form a stable government? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi take a step back to examine the current political climate: the politics of exclusion, the historic unificatio...
843 Days, 12 Hours, 6 Minutes
The hostage clock stopped at 843 days, 12 hours, and 6 minutes. But did the healing begin? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi reflect on the return of the body of Ran Gvili—the last hostage from October 7th—and what this moment reveals about Israel...
Trump's World
What can Israel do when unpredictability becomes U.S. policy? In this episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi reckon with what it means for Israel to live in “Trump’s world”—where unpredictability isn’t just a style, it’s a...
Iran: When the Story Changes
Iran's regime is under pressure—and so are the assumptions that have shaped Western policy for decades. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi explore the "conceptia" behind the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Jewi...
Bennett 2026
Is former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett a right-wing ideologue or Israel's great national healer? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi grapple with this paradox as they examine the only candidate currently ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ...
Mar-a-Lago
Did we learn anything useful about the future of Israel from the Trump-Netanyahu Mar-a-Lago summit? In this episode, recorded just hours after the summit concluded, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi wrestle with the disconnect between Trump's opti...
Vance
For 60 years, Israel has counted on the United States. Is the "special relationship" between the U.S. and Israel now in jeopardy—not from the left, but from the MAGA right? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi unpack Vice President J...
Bondi Beach
What does the horrific attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach mean for the future of Diaspora Jewish life? Australian Jews have built one of the most vibrant, cohesive, creative Jewish communities in the world. Shaped by Holocaust survivors and a deep sense of...
The State of the Israeli Center
With elections less than a year away, Israel's political center faces an existential test. What does it stand for—and can it beat Netanyahu? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi analyze the state of Israel's center and center-left. T...
The State of the Israeli Right
Can Israel's right-wing reclaim its principles? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine the mainstream Israeli right's evolution from Jabotinsky's ideals of security and dignity to today's personality-driven politics. They explore the critical d...
Arabs in the Coalition?
With Israeli politics deadlocked, could Arab parties provide the path to a new coalition? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi discuss the extraordinary political journey of Mansour Abbas, the complexities of Palestinian-Israeli identity, and the fut...
Who's Afraid of a Palestinian State?
Who's afraid of a Palestinian state? According to Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi, the answer is: almost every Israeli. In this urgent conversation recorded after the UN Security Council backed President Trump's Gaza peace plan, Donniel and Yoss...
Coming Apart
What happens when 30% of NYC Jews vote for a candidate others see as antisemitic? In this week’s episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi consider issues of betrayal, tolerance, red lines, and unity in a conversation about whether some positions...
The Latest Scandal
What happens when everything becomes instantly politicized and no institution is safe from attack? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi dissect how October 7 has transformed Israel's moral landscape, as the Netanyahu government shifts focus from defe...
Mamdani
What does the possible election of Zohran Mamdani mean for Jewish identity, Diaspora-Israel relations, and the boundaries of Jewish community? As New Yorkers head to the polls in the coming week to elect their next mayor, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klei...
Day 13
How are Israelis processing the transition from 760+ days of war to a fragile peace? Nearly two weeks into the ceasefire with Gaza, Israeli society is grappling with hope, trauma, and unsettling questions about who actually won. In this episode, Donnie...
After the Joy
Will this moment of national unity in Israel transcend politics and open new possibilities for transformation after the celebration? Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi reflect on the profound emotional impact of Israel's recent hostage return - a d...
Breathing Again
Two years and two days after October 7, Israel celebrates a breakthrough. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi react to the game-changing deal securing the release of all Israeli hostages. From Trump's surprising humanity to Netanyah...
A New Era?
Can a society traumatized by October 7 learn to hope again? As Trump unveils his Arab supported Gaza peace plan, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine why Israelis struggle to embrace hope after October 7. They discuss the plan's moral dimensi...
The Season of Reckoning
Can we maintain the highest ethical standards without betraying national solidarity? As the war in Gaza surpasses 700 days and the High Holidays approach, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi explore what it means to love Israel unconditionally while...
Sparta Nation
In a headline-grabbing speech, Benjamin Netanyahu asked Israelis to embrace life as a “super-Sparta,” cut off from a hostile world— which begs the question: who do Israelis want to be after October 7? In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Ha...
Doha
In striking Hamas leaders in Qatar, Israel is invoking a decades-old principle: enemies of the Jewish people have no sovereign immunity. In this episode, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi examine how the 1961 Eichmann Trial, which established the ...
Gaza City
Is pushing into Gaza City a necessary step—or a purposeless escalation that jeopardizes hostages, multiplies civilian suffering, and splinters national unity? As Israel weighs an assault on Gaza City, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi debate the I...
Coming Home (Re-release)
This episode originally aired on January 16, 2025. A ceasefire deal has just been reached. In the past, Israelis have been united in elation and relief about the return of hostages, even at a high cost to national security. But not this time. Far-right...
Between Trauma and Torah: Jewish Leadership after October 7
What does it mean to lead Jewish communities through crisis? And how can North American Jews navigate complex relationships with Israel during wartime? In a raw and honest conversation recorded live at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem on July ...
Power Meets Prejudice: The End of Jewish Innocence
What if October 7 didn't only traumatize Israel and Jews worldwide—but actually changed the course of Jewish history? On this special episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Yossi Klein Halevi and Shalom Hartman Institute of North America CEO Rachel Jacoby Rosen...
Judea and Samaria: The Conversation Israel Isn't Having
In this conversation recorded live in Jerusalem on July 2, 2025, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi confront the explosive question: What future awaits Judea and Samaria, referred to by some as the West Bank and others as the Occupied Territories? ...
Famine
The war with Hamas has now come at a devastating cost. Hunger is penetrating Gaza, and Israelis are now witnessing the humanitarian disaster unfolding on their border, which their government—and the world—have so far failed to properly address. In this...
The Outsiders Among Us
A recent clash between Druze and Bedouins in the Syrian region of Sweida evolved into chaos as Syrian troops, Israeli Druze, and the IDF all entered the fray. For Israelis, the incident is prompting renewed awareness—and fresh questions— about the unus...
Waiting
For the second time in two months, Israel’s government is at risk of collapsing, as Haredi parties threaten to withdraw from the coalition over the conscription of Yeshiva students. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is discussing a “60 day ceasefire” that would ret...
Pariah Nation
Around the world, Israelis are being harassed, attacked, and condemned for their country’s actions in Gaza, with even Israel’s staunchest allies beginning to reject claims of self-defense. This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi unpack why th...
Gaza: The End?
Since his inauguration, Donald Trump has inserted himself into the core of Israeli politics. He now wants an imminent end to the Gaza war, and Netanyahu seems ready to capitulate, even at risk to his coalition. This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klei...
What Do We Know?
The U.S. strikes Iran’s Fordo facility. Trump announces a ceasefire. Netanyahu and Khamenei both claim victory. But beneath all the bluster, it remains unclear if Israel’s 12-day campaign succeeded in neutralizing a nuclear threat. This week Donniel Ha...
A New Era?
How many times in Israel’s short and fraught history have we marked the start of a new era, and how does this affect the Israeli psyche over time? In this special episode of For Heaven’s Sake following America’s monumental entry into the war with Iran,...
The War is Real
Four days into the war with Iran, the feeling in Israel has gone from surreal to painfully real, with initial sighs of existential relief giving way to anxiety, grief, and uncertainty. On this episode of For Heaven’s Sake, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Kle...
WAR WITH IRAN
Today is day 616 of Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, and day 1 of a new era for Israel. For Israelis who were jolted out of bed by sirens and Jews around the world who have been glued to the headlines, the first 24 hours of the war with Iran have been sur...
Israel at War – The Clocks Are Ticking
As the war in Gaza drags on, Netanyahu has dramatically lost popular support yet until now he has managed to retain his government coalition. But with the Ultra-Orthodox, the IDF, world Jewry, and foreign leaders all pulling in different directions, th...
Israel at War – The War Against the Jews
After violent attacks in Washington, D.C. and Boulder, CO, America’s Jewish community is on edge. Public displays of Jewishness or Zionism now seem to carry a risk in liberal bastions of the country, as a frightening wave of antisemitism emerges not fr...
Israel at War — A Nation that Dwells Alone
One of the goals of Zionism is to reintegrate the Jewish people into the “community of nations,” recognizing Israel’s sovereignty and forging global partnerships built on mutual respect and shared values. But as the war in Gaza takes a new turn, France...
Israel at War — Red Lines
What does it mean to fight a just war justly—and who decides when we’ve crossed a moral red line? What began as a just war of self-defense has evolved into something more morally ambiguous, raising questions about Israel's tactics, humanitarian concern...
Israel at War – The New Plan
As Israel enters a perilous new stage of the Gaza war—authorizing indefinite occupation of captured territory—Netanyahu’s pledge of “complete victory” over Hamas is deepening societal rifts and threatening to further fracture Israeli unity, pitting nat...
Israel at War — Independence Day: Gratitude and Hope
This Yom Ha’atzmut carries an apt but concerning metaphor for the State of Israel: as a brushfire burns along Route 1, the annual Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony has been canceled and the connection between Israel’s cultural and ideological po...
Israel at War — Holocaust Memorial Day
In the wake of the Holocaust, the Jewish people defied history. We restored sovereignty in our homeland and established the State of Israel, vowing that such victimization would never befall us again. Then came the massacre on October 7. Though Israel ...
Israel at War — The State of our Freedom
A shadow lingers over Passover this year: 59 hostages still languish in Hamas captivity, Netanyahu continues his efforts to mold Israel into an authoritarian state, and Gazans once again live with the dangers of war. How can we celebrate freedom when s...
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