Shows
Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish EducationEpisode 35: Spotlight on Contemporary Jewish TheologyRecent years have witnessed an impressive outpouring of important new work in contemporary Jewish theology. In this Spotlight Session, we gather four leading scholars, each of whom has recently produced an important work of Jewish theology, to think together about the implications of their ideas for Jewish education. This webinar features the following panelists in discussion with Jon Levisohn (Brandeis University) about their books:Julia Watts Belser (Georgetown University): Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves WholeMara Benjamin (Mount Holyoke College): 2025-05-221h 06
Demand and DisruptIs God disabled?Kimberly talks with self-described queer, disabled, feminist, Rabbi, Julia Watts Belser. Her book, Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole, received the 2025 Grawemeyer Award for Religion from the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville. They talk about grappling with spiritual texts as people with disabilities.
If you are interested in registering for Rabbi Belser’s public lecture, either in person or online, visit
givebutter.com/2025Grawemeyer
Thanks to Chris Ankin for use of his song, “Change.”
The book "A Celebration of Family: Stories of Par...2025-03-2245 min
Quakers TodayQuakers and NeurodiversityIn this episode, co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Sweet Miche (they/them) explore best practices for welcoming and supporting neurodivergent individuals in Quaker worship and educational settings. Poet and writer Kate Fox shares insights from her article "A Place of Unmasking," drawing connections between early Quakers' spiritual practices and contemporary understandings of neurodiversity. Kate discusses her experience of Quaker meeting as a space where she can authentically be herself, free from the pressures of masking neurodivergent traits.
Kate Fox raises essential questions: How can places of worship and schools better accommodate neurodivergent individuals? How do sensory...2025-03-1825 minQuakers TodayQuakers and NeurodiversityIn this episode, co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Sweet Miche (they/them) explore best practices for welcoming and supporting neurodivergent individuals in Quaker worship and educational settings. Poet and writer Kate Fox shares insights from her article "A Place of Unmasking," drawing connections between early Quakers' spiritual practices and contemporary understandings of neurodiversity. Kate discusses her experience of Quaker meeting as a space where she can authentically be herself, free from the pressures of masking neurodivergent traits.
Kate Fox raises essential questions: How can places of worship and schools better accommodate neurodivergent individuals? How do sensory...2025-03-1825 min
Women Who Went BeforeBlemished Brides: Women’s Bodies and Disability in Ancient JudaismDr. Julia Watts Belser talks about ancient prenups, dancing at weddings, and what the rabbis had to say about beauty. We meet an Etruscan woman named Seianti Hanunia, an Egyptian Jewish woman Tapamet, and hear the (sometimes damaging) ideas of sages Shammai and Hillel. Paying attention to disability matters because it’s noticing a person’s full human experience. Access transcript and episode show notes: www.womenwhowentbefore.com/episodes/blemished-bridesWomen Who Went Before is written, produced, and edited by Emily Chesley and Rebekah Haigh.Podcast theme music is composed and produced by Mose...2024-12-0558 min
The Bible For Normal People[Bible] Episode 287: Julia Watts Belser - A Jewish Perspective on DisabilityHow does Judaism approach the topic of disability? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Julia Watts Belser joins Pete and Cynthia to examine how the Hebrew Bible portrays disability and how Jewish tradition engages these texts in both ancient and modern contexts. She explains what a “blemish” means in Leviticus, the rabbinic tradition of sacred interpretation, and how disability wisdom can make a better world for everybody.Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2024-11-1848 min
The College Commons PodcastJulia Watts-Belser: Around Us and In UsJulia Watts-Belser reveals disability as an engine for human creativity and spiritual depth - for everyone.2024-09-0336 min
Sermons from First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington Massachusettssermon Interdependence and Tenacious Love, by Megan Anderson, Worship Leader, worship service August 25, 2024Worship service given August 25, 2024 Prayer by Ruben Hopwood, Worship Leader https://firstparish.info/ First Parish A liberal religious community, welcoming to all First gathered 1739 How does reflecting on our belief in the interdependent web of life help us as Unitarian Universalists to attend to Disability Justice in our own congregation? Drawing on writings by Julia Watts Belser and Reverend Monica Coleman, this sermon reflects on the connection between our UU principles and the principles of Disability Justice as well as the connections between members of our faith community. During...2024-08-2615 min
331 - 3 Frauen, 3 Religionen, 1 Thema#73 Wie zeigt sich Ableismus in Gesellschaft und Kirche?331 - 3 Frauen, 3 Religionen, 1 Thema
Ableismus ist das Thema dieser Folge von 3 3 1 – drei Frauen, drei Religionen, ein Thema – dem interreligiösen Podcast vom House of One. Zu Gast ist Pfarrerin Lena Müller aus Berlin, die auch digital auf Instagram über ihren Glauben, Feminismus, Mode und Ableismus schreibt. Gemeinsam mit den Co-Hosts Maike, Kübra und Rebecca wird erkundet, was Ableismus ist und warum es wichtig ist, darüber zu sprechen. Wie kommt Ableismus in unserer Gesellschaft und Kirche vor? Gibt es christlichen Ableismus? Lena erzählt, warum sie begonnen hat, über ihre eigene Betroffenheit zu schreiben und wie sie auf Instagr...2024-08-0131 min
Blessed Are the Binary BreakersHoly Pride in disabled experiences and insightsHow can we use this last week of Disability Pride Month to celebrate the unique insights into human and divine nature that disability can bring? For starters, we can learn from the wisdom of disabled activists and theologians, which is what you'll find in this episode.
Click here for an episode transcript.
Talking Points:
(0:00) Intro + Eli Clare on intersectional pride
(5:35) Pastor Lamar Hardwick: ableism = the fear of being human
(9:10) Letiah Fraser: our fragile, mortal bodies are where we meet God
(12:15) Rabbi Julia Watts Belser + Laura Sommer: disabled bodies' unique insights into the divine
(22:00) John...2024-07-2329 min
The Department of NuanceEp 2: Disability Justice and MinistryIn this episode, we hear from not one, but two(!) Bernardin Scholar alumni: David Gayes and Kate Williams. David is a disability theologian and activist who has cerebral palsy, and Kate is Vice President of Sacred Music at GIA Publications. Not only are David and Kate former colleagues, but they also share a commitment to center disabled, chronically ill, and mentally ill voices in their ministries. Alongside series cohost Madison Chastain - who herself is a disability theologian and writer - this episode's guests share stories and recommendations for how listeners can embrace all kinds of bodies and learn...2024-07-1552 min
A Friend for the Long Haul: A Long Covid PodcastA Lior for the Long HaulEpisode 5: Memes are Tiny Prayers
In this episode, I'm joined by the incredible Lior Ocean, an intuitive medium, fine artist, and beacon of light. Lior shares their story of navigating long covid, chronic illness, and disability while finding solace in art and spirituality. Lior speaks from a very unique perspective - they worked on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2016 and 2017. Just before the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, they obtained a Master's Degree in Infectious Diseases.
We delve into the philosophy of non-duality, and Lior shares insights on its intersection with chronic illness...2024-04-291h 07
EmbodiedAdvocated: How Disabled Activists Are Shaping Climate JusticePeople with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change yet often sidelined from policy conversations. Anita marks Earth Day by meeting three disability activists working to turn the tides. They share how their lives and bodies have been impacted by global warming — and how their wisdom could shift climate conversations.Meet the guests:- Daphne Frias, youth activist, shares how some policies aimed at addressing climate change disproportionately affect people with disabilities and about how her activism philosophy has been shaped by her cancer diagnosis- Germán Parodi, Co-Executive Director of The Par...2024-04-2649 min
Judaism UnboundEpisode 423: Disability Torah - Julia Watts BelserJulia Watts Belser is a rabbi, scholar, and longtime disability and queer activist. She currently serves as a professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University, and core faculty in Georgetown's Disability Studies Program. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about her latest book, Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole, which won a National Jewish Book Award in 2023.Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. In honor of our 8-year anniversary, if you're enjoying J...2024-03-2257 min
Around the Calendar with DrishaTisha B’Av 5780: ”God who Suffers With: Diving Presence Amidst Pain” with Rabbi Julia Watts BelserJewish tradition has often mourned the destruction of the Temple by tying loss to collective transgression, evoked most poignantly through the liturgy’s lament mipnei hatatenu, “on account of our sins.” But the Babylonian Talmud’s longest and most reflection on the destruction puts little emphasis on communal wrongdoing, and indict instead the brutality of state violence and Roman conquest.
In this session, we’ll examine stories that grapple with Roman power and violence to explore how they imagine divine presence amidst pain, how they invite us to consider God not as one who stands apart, but one who suff...2023-12-151h 21
New Books in ReligionJulia Watts Belser, "Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole" (Beacon Press, 2023)A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture."What's wrong with you?"Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What's wrong isn't her wheelchair, though--it's exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain.Our attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses believes his stutter renders him unable to answer God's call. Jacob's encounter with an angel leaves him changed not just spiritually bu...2023-12-121h 19
New Books in Disability StudiesJulia Watts Belser, "Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole" (Beacon Press, 2023)A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture."What's wrong with you?"Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What's wrong isn't her wheelchair, though--it's exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain.Our attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses believes his stutter renders him unable to answer God's call. Jacob's encounter with an angel leaves him changed not just spiritually bu...2023-12-121h 19
New Books in Christian StudiesJulia Watts Belser, "Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole" (Beacon Press, 2023)A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture."What's wrong with you?"Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What's wrong isn't her wheelchair, though--it's exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain.Our attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses believes his stutter renders him unable to answer God's call. Jacob's encounter with an angel leaves him changed not just spiritually bu...2023-12-121h 19
New Books in Jewish StudiesJulia Watts Belser, "Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole" (Beacon Press, 2023)A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture."What's wrong with you?"Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What's wrong isn't her wheelchair, though--it's exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain.Our attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses believes his stutter renders him unable to answer God's call. Jacob's encounter with an angel leaves him changed not just spiritually bu...2023-12-121h 19
New Books in Biblical StudiesJulia Watts Belser, "Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole" (Beacon Press, 2023)A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture."What's wrong with you?"Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What's wrong isn't her wheelchair, though--it's exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain.Our attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses believes his stutter renders him unable to answer God's call. Jacob's encounter with an angel leaves him changed not just spiritually bu...2023-12-121h 19
The PulseDisability Wisdom & SpiritualityIn this episode Joeita is joined by Rabbi Julia Watts Belser. They discuss the ableism and misconceptions surrounding disabilities in religious communities. Julia, who is a rabbi and scholar, emphasizes the importance of loving and embracing oneself as a disabled person in a world that often devalues and stigmatizes disabilities. They also explore the need for religious communities to move away from treating disabled individuals as symbols of suffering or inspiration and instead recognize their complexity and full humanity. Julia examines biblical texts and traditions, highlighting the presence of disability and challenging the ableist narratives often associated with them...2023-10-0124 min
Can We Talk?Episode 98: By Disabled Jews, For Disabled JewsWhat did JOIN for Justice, the Jewish Organizing Institute and Network, do when the pandemic made its in-person community organizing fellowship impossible? It turned the obstacle into an opportunity, shifting to a virtual fellowship specifically for people with disabilities.
Over seven months in 2021, a cohort of Jewish young adults with a wide range of disabilities, race and gender identities, and social justice interests met online for JOIN’s Access to Power Fellowship. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we hear from the Access To Power director and two participants about how the fellowship shaped them, how their...2023-09-2622 min
Let Your Imagination Run Wild With Our Captivating Free AudiobookLoving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole Audiobook by Julia Watts BelserListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttps://hotaudiobook.com/freeID: 654090
Title: Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole
Author: Julia Watts Belser
Narrator: Sara Sheckells
Format: Unabridged
Length: 11:25:27
Language: English
Release date: 09-12-23
Publisher: Beacon Press
Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Non-Fiction, Religious Studies, Social Science
Summary:
A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture
A 2024 National Jewish Book Award winner and essential read on disability, spirituality, and social justice
“What’s wrong with you?”
Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser...2023-09-1211h 25
Grab A Full Audiobook That Is Simply Eye-Opening.Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole by Julia Watts BelserPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/654090to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole
Author: Julia Watts Belser
Narrator: Sara Sheckells
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hours 25 minutes
Release date: September 12, 2023
Genres: Social Science
Publisher's Summary:
A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture A 2024 National Jewish Book Award winner and essential read on disability, spirituality, and social justice “What’s wrong with you?” Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What’s wrong...2023-09-1211h 25
Listen to Trending Full Audiobooks in Non-Fiction, Social ScienceLoving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole by Julia Watts BelserPlease visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/654090 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole Author: Julia Watts Belser Narrator: Sara Sheckells Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 11 hours 25 minutes Release date: September 12, 2023 Genres: Social Science Publisher's Summary: A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture A 2024 National Jewish Book Award winner and essential read on disability, spirituality, and social justice “What’s wrong with you?” Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What’s...2023-09-1210 min
Palsys With PalsiesLoving Our Own Bones: A conversation with Julia Watts BelserView the transcript here.
2023-09-081h 07
Adventures in Jewish Studies PodcastDisability & Inclusion in JudaismIn this episode of Adventures in Jewish Studies, we’re looking at the intersection of Jewish studies and disability studies. Guest scholars Julia Watts Belser and nili Broyer, along with host Avishay Artsy, talk about everything from the story of Moses to the founding of the Jewish state through a disability lens. They also consider current efforts to make Jewish life more inclusive of people with disabilities of all kinds.2022-07-1933 min
Die Neue NormReligion und Behinderung - Warum wir nicht an Heilung glaubenMenschen mit Behinderung erleben immer wieder, dass jemand für sie beten will, damit sie "gesund" werden. Warum diese "Güte" fehl am Platz ist und ob die Rolle der christlichen Kirchen in Deutschland bei der Betreuung von Menschen mit Behinderung gut oder paternalistisch ist, darum geht in dieser Folge Der Neuen Norm.In Folge #27 beschäftigen wir uns mit der Religion. Unser Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf dem jüdischen und christlichen Glauben. Welches Verhältnis haben wir zu Glaube und Religion? Dazu lassen wir eine Rabbinerin und eine Religionswissenschaftlerin zu Wort kommen.
In dieser Folge...2022-04-2241 min
The Two CitiesEpisode #106 - Introducing Christian Anti-JudaismIn this episode we kick off our brand-new series on Christian Anti-Judaism. Here we introduce the key topics of the conversation, and provide some context for why we regard this conversation as an ethical imperative for Christians, since our collective history is steeped in anti-Judaism. Along the way, we define some of the key terms, including anti-Judaism, which we distinguish from anti-Semitism as being more focused on essentialist religious ideas than strictly ethnic categories (even though there is a lot of overlap at times), supersessionism, which is the idea that the Church replaces Israel, and philo-Judaism, which can be...2022-02-0231 min
SKRAPS: Deep DiveRecording on 50th Anniversary of "War on Drugs"Conclusion: War on Drugs is wrong, unethical and impacts society in a bad way. There is no data to suggest it has worked. In case you missed it, here are some golden nuggets to justify why the war on drugs has been a failure. We are joined by Dr. Julia Buxton, Dr. Jo Neill and Dr. Alex Belser of Cybin Inc for some candid Q&A on this policy. In addition, there are some fantastic resources below: https://twitter.com/BuxtonJulia/status/1406005245424058369?s=20https://julianbuchanan.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/15-benefits-from-the-war-on-drugs/2021-06-211h 25
American Academy of Religion"Goddess and God in the World": An Embodied Theological ConversationTaking off from their new book, Goddess and God in the World: Conversations in Embodied Theology (Fortress, 2016), Carol P. Christ and Judith Plaskow introduce their embodied theological method and explore their theological differences: Is Goddess a personal presence who cares about the world? Or is God an impersonal creative energy equally supportive of good and evil? Mary E. Hunt will moderate a conversation that includes Monica Coleman, Aysha Hidayatullah, Miranda Shaw, and Julia Watts-Belser, who will speak from Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, and Goddess perspectives. The panelists respond to the book, especially to its method, but also discuss their own...2017-09-212h 05
Podcast – Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU#42—The rabbis and the rain, with Julia Watts Belser [MIPodcast]In the land of Israel, rain falls during a single, crucial, season of the year beginning in October or November and continuing through the spring. Lives depended on successful harvests which depended on healthy rainfall. According to the Hebrew scriptures, weather proved God's blessing or cursing the people of Israel:"From the rain of the heavens, you will drink water—a land that the Lord your God seeks out perpetually;the eyes of the Lord your God are upon it" [...]The post #42—The rabbis and the rain, with Julia Watts Belser [MIPodcast] appeared firs...2016-03-291h 11Maxwell Institute Podcast#42—The rabbis and the rain, with Julia Watts Belser [MIPodcast]In the land of Israel, rain falls during a single, crucial, season of the year beginning in October or November and continuing through the spring. Lives depended on successful harvests which depended on healthy rainfall. According to the Hebrew scriptures, weather proved God’s blessing or cursing the people of Israel:
From the rain of the heavens, you will drink water—
a land that the Lord your God seeks out perpetually;
the eyes of the Lord your God are upon it
from the year’s beginning to the year’s end.
If you heed My commands with which I ch...2016-03-291h 11Maxwell Institute Podcast#42—The rabbis and the rain, with Julia Watts Belser [MIPodcast]In the land of Israel, rain falls during a single, crucial, season of the year beginning in October or November and continuing through the spring. Lives depended on successful harvests which depended on healthy rainfall. According to the Hebrew scriptures, weather proved God’s blessing or cursing the people of Israel:
From the rain of the heavens, you will drink water—
a land that the Lord your God seeks out perpetually;
the eyes of the Lord your God are upon it
from the year’s beginning to the year’s end.
If you heed My commands with which I ch...2016-03-291h 11
Romemu: Jewish Life, ElevatedShekhinah as Lover: The Sabbath Bride - Rabbi Jill Hammer Week 6Lecha Dodi, Shlomo Alkabetz, source packet p. 49-50
Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 54a, Zohar II, 63b, 99a, Zohar I, 8a
Source packet p. 52
Jill Hammer, “The Bride,” source packet p. 53
Julia Watts Belser, “Speaking of Goddess: Finding the Sacred Feminine in the Song of Songs,” p. 54-59
The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi, p. 59a-622014-03-261h 09