The Shema Podcast for the Perplexed

In this episode, I share how my worldview began to shift once I realized I’d grown up believing that all cultures were more or less the same—that we were all just decent people trying to get by. But as I began learning Torah and Jewish history, I started to see that Judaism introduced something radically different to the world. To unpack this further, I invited Rabbi Ken Spiro, historian and author of WorldPerfect: The Jewish Impact on Civilization, to join me.

We explore how values we take for granted today—like the sanctity of life, equality before the law, and social justice—weren’t universal at all, but were introduced to the world through the Torah. Rabbi Spiro walks us through the brutal norms of the ancient world and shows how the Jewish people, guided by the concept of ethical monotheism, reshaped human history not through conquest, but through values. It’s a conversation that deepens Jewish pride and clarifies our role in the world today.