Hebraica
Hebraica is a weekly newsletter and podcast about Jerusalem and the world shaped by it. Through essays, conversations, and occasional dispatches, it explores Israel and the Near East from the inside out—the languages, beliefs, histories, peoples, and ideas that still shape events today. Written and hosted by Robert Nicholson.
Episodes
20 episodes
The Hebraic Revolution
What is Hebraica really about?Friedrich Nietzsche believed the ancient Jews launched a revolution in human values that eventually conquered Rome and transformed the Western world. He called it a catastrophe. Robert thinks he was right ab...
Why America Can’t Defeat Radical Islam—and Doesn’t Need To
Can America defeat radical Islam? It's the question everyone is asking as we commemorate 9/11—but it could be the wrong question. Twenty-five years after the attacks that changed his world, Robert revisits the War on Terror, Afghani...
Can Christianity Coexist With Israel? The Church and the Jewish People
In this episode of Hebraica, Robert takes up two listener questions: the tension between the Church’s universal mission and Israel’s particular identity, and the harassment of Christians by some Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem.He arg...
The Hero's Journey vs. the Hebrew's Journey
Watching Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey got Robert thinking about one of the most powerful stories in Western culture, the Hero’s Journey, and the very different story outlined by the Bible.In this episode of Hebraica,...
Who Are the Settlers?
Israeli settlers are back in the headlines. But who are these people, what do they believe, and why is a violent fringe hijacking the rest? In this episode, Robert travels back to a Shabbat evening in Ofra, the murder of an innocent...
The Jew Is My Brother
What does a Christian owe his Jewish neighbor in a time of rising antisemitism?In this episode, Robert explains why he’s come to see the Jewish people not simply as friends or neighbors, but as brothers—and why that conviction carries pr...
Armenians, Jews, and the Minority Shuffle
Why does Christian Armenia maintain close ties with Iran while Israel has built a strategic partnership with Muslim Azerbaijan?In this episode, Robert explores the strange logic of Middle Eastern alliances and introduces the “minority sh...
Field Note: The Lost Art of Reading the Times
Where the modern world promises universal rules, the Hebraic tradition sets the world against the backdrop of time. The effect on judgment is enormous.Drawing on verses from Ecclesiastes to Proverbs, Robert looks to Solomon for clarity i...
Zionism vs. Judaism?
Israel's rapidly growing Haredi population is forcing the Jewish state to confront a question buried in the Zionist project from the beginning: What happens when the institutions that preserved a stateless people collide with the demands of Jew...
Field Note: The Things That Undo Us
A Wall Street Journal article about artificial intelligence provokes reflection on a saying from the Talmud: "From the forest itself comes the wood for the axe handle." It's a simple saying with profound implications. Throu...
The Illusion of Control
Turkey is rising, Israel is worried, and President Trump is betting that his friend Recep Tayyip Erdoğan can help bring order to a chaotic region. But America has made this kind of bet before.From the Afghan jihad to the War on Terror, ...
The Pharisee Who Defended the Christians
A Pharisee rises before the Sanhedrin and saves the apostles from execution. The story of Gamaliel challenges some of Christianity's deepest assumptions about Judaism, religious authority, and the mysterious ways in which God works.At a ...
We Are What We Believe
Why do nations act the way they do? Why do some societies endure hardship while others collapse? Why do people continue to sacrifice, fight, build, and hope in ways that seem irrational to outsiders?In this episode, Robert argues that hu...
Field Note: The Richest Nation in History
On the 250th anniversary of the American republic, Robert reflects on gratitude, wealth, and our tendency to focus on what we lack instead of what we have.Drawing on Ecclesiastes, the American experience, and observations from his own li...
Bibi, Jesus, and Genghis Khan
Benjamin Netanyahu recently sparked controversy by declaring that "history proves that Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan." Critics called the remark cynical, even blasphemous. But the real problem with the statement is not that it...
Galileo's Prayer
What does a handwritten copy of Psalm 145 reveal about one of history's greatest scientists? Robert explores a newly-discovered note in Galileo's personal copy of the Almagest and argues that the astronomer's worldview was ...
Beyond the Israel Debate
After more than a decade working on issues related to Christians, Jews, and Israel, Robert has come to believe that the conversation we're having is far too small. In this episode, he reflects on a recent discussion about Israel, Gaza, and the ...
The Judeo-Christian Paradox
Christians and Jews share a common scripture, a common moral vocabulary, and a common God. They also share a long and often painful history.In this episode, Robert explores the paradox at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition: how t...