Episode 12:

Rooted in Jerusalem: The Abrahamic Faiths


Jerusalem is a city that has captivated the imagination and devotion of people for thousands of years. Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, a rabbi and Wheaton College professor of religion, illuminates the connections between each of the Abrahamic traditions and the historical and theological ties grounding them in Jerusalem. 

Guest Bios

Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus

Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus is Professor of Religion at Wheaton College. His is the author of Gastronomic Judaism as Culinary Midrash (Lexington Press, 2018) and has published numerous articles on Jewish food in the Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and CookeryStudies in Jewish Civilization, and other journals, and has translated Rabenu Bahya ben Asher’s fourteenth-century Hebrew mystical manual on food, Shulhan Shel Arba (Table of Four) into English which is available online. He has regularly taught “The Rituals of Dinner” First Year Seminar at Wheaton for over twenty years, as well as other courses in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies (New Testament) from Vanderbilt, and is an ordained Reconstructionist Rabbi. He lives, cooks, eats, and gardens with his wife Maia, an elementary school teacher in Providence, RI.

Susan Balogh

Susan Balogh teaches Social Studies at the Edith C. Baker School in Brookline, MA.

Free Resources and Featured Books

  • Dome of the Rock by Oleg Grabar. This book features photographs of Jerusalem, including much of the architecture mentioned by Professor Brumberg-Kraus!

  • Snow in Jerusalem by Deborah da Costa, recommended by Susan Balogh who reads the book with her middle school students.

Episode Acknowledgements

Special thaks to the Qatar Foundation International, which provided the seed funding and support to develop and launch this podcast and to produce this episode.

Thanks to Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus and Susan Balogh for generously sharing their expertise.

Image Credits

  • Photo of Jerusalem provided by Daniel Osborn.
  • Photo of Professor Brumberg-Kraus provided by Professor Brumberg-Kraus.

Featured Music

    • Kim Arar,” by Wind of Anatolia, from the album Live at the 2014 Golden Festival, used with permission from Wind of Anatolia. The track has been excerpted and mixed with narrative.