Modern Torah

This is a bit of a break from the regular Modern Torah feed, but I want to share a new, limited-series podcast with you that I've just released. It's called 72 Miles til Kentucky, and it's a storytelling podcast all about Jewish life in my home state. Here's the quick blurb. You can check out the full podcast here.72 Miles features the stories of three separate interfaith Jewish families–two real, one not, and one mine. Together, they trace 150 years of Kentucky history, with experiences that resonate today—about being Jewish in America, about being Jewish and southern at the same time. About being Jewish, being interfaith, and the blending of the two. So strap in, and take a ride with me, up and down I65, or back and forth on the L&N railroad. In the end the when and the who don't make as much difference and you might think. But the where sure does. My name is Nathan Jordan Vaughan. It's 72 Miles til Kentucky. Let's get moving.Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Google, TuneIn, iHeartI'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | iHeart Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

This week, I was reading about the final stages of the plan to remove the Confederate Veterans Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The memorial, if you've never seen it, is atrocious. It's the tallest structure in the cemetery, for starters, and it's covered with racist, apologist imagery that glorifies the Southern cause. The monument is scheduled to be removed this month, and relocated to a Virginia state park at the site of the Battle of New Market, in the Shenandoah Valley. But the pedestal will stay, to avoid disturbing the graves surrounding the monument, because four people are buried at its base, including the artist—Moses Jacob Ezekiel. Music by Lofi Girl:Stories from another world – "Dying Language" by Nadav CohenStories from another world – "Eternal Garden" by Nadav Cohen x Emma JaffeStories from another world – "Rainy Day" by Nadav CohenI'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | iHeart Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

Sometimes, when I'm feeling bored in shul I flip to the back of the book, and read Pirkei Avot. There's a particular passage, in the fifth chapter, that I often find myself turning to, especially in weeks that I'm feeling old. Like this week. Because this year, and this week's Torah portion Miketz, marks 25 years since my Bar Mitzvah on December 19, 1998.Music by Chillhop Records:Aves - Cruisin' https://chll.to/60c1dd59Blue Wednesday - Slow Burn https://chll.to/fdcaa474I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

I went to graduate school at Brandeis University, and if I hadn't, I would've gone to law school at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, in Louisville, KY, where the first Jewish justice to sit on the Supreme Court was born, and raised. But what if I told you that story was almost wildly different. That the first Jewish nominee to sit on the bench was almost put forward almost 60 years before Brandeis was nominated, but he turned down the nomination. And thank goodness, otherwise the first Jewish justice would have resigned, to join the Confederacy.Music by Lofi Girl:"Used to love autumn" – Softy – Before it Snows"Snow in October" – Softy – Before it SnowsI'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

Obadiah, Ovadiah. Obadi-ah. However you pronounce it, you might not remember it, but Obadiah is the name of the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible, and the Haftorah portion the rabbis chose to pair with this week's Torah portion, Vayishlach.Music Courtesy of Chillhop Records:Leavv, Maduk - Company https://chll.to/db033300Ian Ewing, Maduk - Stay Like This https://chll.to/2d387f49Masked Man - Joop https://chll.to/f6126588Poldoore, Maduk - Transformations https://chll.to/1b193db7I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

This week, I'm all about cucumbers. This humble vegetable, which the Talmud calls a delicacy of kings, became an internet craze a few years ago when Macka B released his "Cucumber Rap." Check it out in my source sheet for this episode.The Talmud has a lot to say about cucumbers, including a discussion about whether or not they're good for your body, even if they did grace the table of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. In the end, they opt for a compromise, and all of it is driven by one line in this week's Torah portion, about the pain Rebekah experiences in her womb as she carries Esau and Jacob, each the father of a great nation destined to quarrel throughout time.Shabbat shalom, and thanks for listening.–––Music courtesy of Lofi Girl:Lucie Cravero & HoKø – Reborn, Bords de Marne, Travel Melody, Rear Window ft. Christophe Cravero–––I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

I updated my phone this week, which made it a great time to repost this episode, from two years ago. What does it mean to actually have choice? Are the choices we see the actual choices that we have? Are we supposed to pick a path through the woods, or turn around, or just sit in the mud and cry?I have a new episode coming later this week, in time for Shabbat as normal, but wanted to revive this old episode. I hope you enjoy.I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

There's a poem I've been reading recently, a long form epic poem originally written in Yiddish, about a Jewish blacksmith who settles down in rural Kentucky, in the mid-19th century. It's part of a project called 72 Miles, which I'm about to release, but this week I couldn't get away from a scene in the story that seems ripped from the headlines of this week's Torah portion, Chayei Sarah — The Life of Sarah. Go deeper with my sources for this episode on Sefaria---Music courtesy of Chillhop Records:Yasper - It's Okay https://chll.to/75621dcbShofel - Waiting for that Phonecall https://chll.to/938ccadcoddfish - Somber Sky https://chll.to/d94c0936Philanthrope - Maple Leaf Pt.2 https://chll.to/d8376724Philanthrope, Guillaume Muschalle - Soil https://chll.to/d4fff83f---I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

This might be a bold statement, but there are probably few things in the world that cause people to pray more than children. We pray for their health, their safety, their growth, that they'll find their place in this chaotic world. Even if you don't have kids, you're probably praying for them, and if you're trying to have kids you're definitely praying, and praying harder the longer you keep trying.Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria---Music Courtesy of Chillhop Records:Philanthrope - Panda https://chll.to/0cffbc42Philanthrope, Leavv - Fade out https://chll.to/67ed24b5Philanthrope - Things Fall Apart Pt.2 https://chll.to/8341e150---I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week. New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Subscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

It took me a while, these past few weeks, overseas, In Israel, and here at home. It took a while to figure out what was going on and why I felt so strongly, feelings that seem to move, strangely, in too many directions at once.It wasn't until President Biden's speech in Israel, and his warnings about the mistakes our country made earlier this century, that it clicked for me. Because we've been here before, certainly.  But more specifically I've been here before. Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria---Music Courtesy of ChillHop Records:Blue Wednesday - Window Seat https://chll.to/2dbe4bfeYasper, sonofmark - Yellowblue https://chll.to/f4e1aaabBlue Wednesday - Big Dipper https://chll.to/e87580ce---I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week. New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts. Go deeper with my sources on SefariaSubscribe on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | Stitcher

I thought long and hard about whether or not I wanted to weigh in on the current crisis in Israel. In the end, I couldn't not, and I found myself turning as I often do to the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.Shabbat Shalom.--Music Provided by Lofi Girl:      Promise Due - Kinissue & Artemis Flow     Wicked Thoughts - Kinissue & Tibeauthetraveler      Farewell - Kinissue Watch on YouTubeListen on Spotify--I'm not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you're studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you'll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week. New episodes weekly, anywhere you get Jewish podcasts.

It's a critical question that the rabbis debate, partially in response to last week's Torah portion, and partially in response this week's parsha. "Is emerging backwards still emerging?" "Well no," says Rabbi Shmuel, "and here's why.""I agree that the answer is no, but not with how you got there," replies Abaye. "Emerging backwards isn't emerging, and here's why.""You're both wrong," says Rava, "emerging backwards is absolutely emerging, and here's why."Hear the answer to this fascinating debate and follow along in the source sheet on Sefaria. Thanks for listening, and Shabbat shalom.

We're still on leprosy this week in the Torah portion. There's beauty in things that peel, as we see in nature. I ordered some trees this week that shed their bark in beautiful curls of golden and orange, because I want to bring that beauty into my yard, even if it looks to some like the trees have been struck by disease.—————I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there's nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.nathanjvaughan.comModern Torah is a self-supported podcast. Your support goes a long way in helping keep this show on the digital airwaves.Support Modern Torah

In this week's Torah portion, Aaron is invested as high priest, as are his sons, in a lavish ceremony before the entire Israelite community. It's a high moment for Aaron, a week before his world will fall apart. I don't know why the rabbis segmented the Torah portions this way, but perhaps its a reminder to keep everything in balance, and to focus on the good at times, even—or perhaps because—you know rough waters are coming up ahead.Shabbat shalom.

It's been a long wait, but shows are starting to pop up in my media stream again. One of my favorites returned after a long hiatus (what else is new?) for it's 5th and final season. Watching the first few episodes, I couldn't escape its relationship to this week's Torah portion, and the work of asking for help, guidance, and strength from the divine, and the challenge of hearing an answer.Thanks for listening, and shabbat shalom!—————I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there's nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.nathanjvaughan.comModern Torah is a self-supported podcast. Your support goes a long way in helping keep this show on the digital airwaves.Support Modern Torah

We're halfway through November, which means the end of 2021 is coming up quickly. With a few weeks left in the year, I took a moment this week to reflect on some goals I'd set at the start of the year, how much progress I've made towards them, and where I find myself as the year wraps up.The Torah this week finds Jacob journeying to the house of Laban, where he serves as a laborer for 14 years before marrying Laban's daughter Rachel. Along the way he marries Leah, which wasn't part of his plan. I took a lesson from Jacob's struggles this week, the good and the bad, in the context of my own life this year.Of course, I couldn't help but slip in a Game of Thrones reference, having just finished a fifth rewatch of the series. If you're not a fan, hopefully I explained the basic details enough, and you understand the point.Thanks for listening, and Shabbat Shalom!—————I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there's nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.Modern Torah is a self-supported podcast. Your support goes a long way in helping keep this show on the digital airwaves.Support Modern Torah

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.This week, I put Robert Frost's famous poem—"The Road Not Taken"— in conversation with our weekly Torah portion, Toldot. The parsha covers the story of Isaac, including the exchange between his sons Jacob and Esau, where Esau sells his birthright to his younger brother.Jacob's actions are often explained away by the rabbis, and Esau is commonly demonized as wild and wicked so Jacob comes across more kindly. This has never felt right to me, and in my mind I couldn't stop comparing what I imagine Esau's response to Jacob's offer must have been, with my own response every time I update my phone and click agree on a terms and condition statement I haven't read.—————I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there's nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

I finally set my television up after moving in, which meant last Sunday morning was the perfect time to break in the new space with a fine home cinema experience. Naturally I picked Ferris Bueller's Day Off, because I love it, and because it's leaving Netflix at the end of this month. What I didn't expect was to spend the whole movie reflecting on the similarities between the movie and this week's Torah portion—Parsha Vayera. I couldn't get the comparison of Cameron and Sarah's journeys out of my head, so I wrote it down, and later in the week came back to find I still like what I'd written. So I recorded it to share with all of you, and I hope you enjoy. Have a thought of your own to share? Go to www.moderntorah.com and leave me a message. I'd love to to hear from you. Shabbat Shalom—————I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there's nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.Modern Torah is a self-supported podcast. Your help goes a long way in keeping this show on the digital airwaves. Please support Modern Torah today!

Getting to this episode has been a journey. I took a break in May 2021, after producing 59 episodes, with plans to return in September 2021, at the start of the Jewish New Year. Then my wife and I bought a house, and life got busy with housework. Then my mother's illness took a turn for the worse and life got busy with life.My mother died on September 14, 2021. We buried her a few hours before Kol Nidrei, which means this is the first episode of Modern Torah that she'll never hear. In her memory, and in keeping with the theme of this week's parsha—Lech L'cha—I hope you'll indulge me in sharing a bit of my family history.  Four generations after my grandfather's grandfather put his trust in G-d and placed his son Reuben on a boat bound for Ellis Island the Friedmans are still here, still thriving, and still growing.This episode is dedicated to the memory of my grandparents Irving David Friedman and Elaine Marion Ellias Friedman, to their parents Max Sam Ellias & Florence Spilg Ellias and Reuben Friedman and Yetta Gordon Friedman, and to my mother, Margaret Joy Friedman Vaughan. May their memories be blessing.Shabbat shalom—————I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there's nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is written and produced by me, Nathan J. Vaughan. You can learn more about me and any of my podcasts at www.nathanjvaughan.com.

This may come as a surprise, or not, especially if you know me, but I identify with Korach the much demonized revolutionary who gathers followers and challenges Moses's leadership in this week's Torah portion. Most of Jewish history makes Korach out to be the bad guy—seeking power for power's sake, power he thinks he has a right to but which has been denied to him by Moses, Aaron, and the new hierarchies of leadership handed down by G-d. The arguments are powerful, but honestly, we never hear Korach's perspective, and it has me wondering maybe we've gotten the whole thing wrong from the beginning.––––I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there's nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com. Thanks for listening, and Shabbat Shalom.

This episode was recorded in May 2021, and somehow never published. So I'm delivering it now, in November 2021, because the world can never have enough Torah.

This week, as the Torah returns to the theme of counting, in Parshat Bamidbar, the world seems to have more to count than ever—infection rates to be sure, but also global vaccine programs. And if you’re focused on Israel you might be tracking rockets fired from Gaza, interceptions by the Iron Dome. Of course, you might also be tracking Palestinian casualties in Gaza and the West Bank, the number of seconds you have to chuck a teargas canister before the vapors envelope you, and the number of houses demolished by Israel, to make way for new Jewish neighborhoods.I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to say anything about Israel on this podcast. It’s just so divisive. But I was encouraged by a favorite quote of mine, from Pirkei Avot, attributed to Rabbi Tarphon. “You are not obligated to finish the work of repairing the world, but neither are you free to neglect it.”So here it goes.___I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

Some weeks it’s hard to wrap my head around the world, and how it seems to perfectly line up with the week’s Torah portion. This week was one of those weeks. I’ve been reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, in the same week the Torah presented the laws of shmitta in Parshat Behar. The shmitta tradition is all about our cyclical obligation to treat the Earth with integrity, trading the produce of our toil rather than the land itself, and I found it impossible to read both texts in the same week.________I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

I had a plan this week, to weave the complicated and problematic language we find in the Torah into a metaphor about the ebbs and flows of the Jewish people's eternal fight for social justice. But then I put off writing this for a few days, and I read the news instead, and it became harder and harder to talk about embracing new perspectives, or waiting out the seasonal flows of our fight for social justice, when we seem to eternally stuck in this cycle of violence.I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

This week has been a full week, and to be honest, I'm shocked that this episode is actually being released. I wrote, recorded, and produced it in a single day, and I'm not even sure if it makes sense, so if you're reading this and you give it a listen, let me know!This week, the Torah offers another double Torah portion, Achrei Mot & Kedushim, which are both about creating holy community, in different ways. At the beginning of Achrei Mot, and in response to the deaths of Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu (which we read about earlier in the Torah),  G-d offers a strict set of laws regarding who is, and is not, allowed to approach the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, and pull back the curtain which covers its entrance, when, and for what purpose. It got me thinking this week, especially after my first COVID shot, about the layers of illusion that have to exist to make a society function, and about another curtain that was famously pulled back, by a dog named Toto in a land called Oz.I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

Recently, the Arkansas legislature overrode their conservative Christian governor's veto of a bill, now state law, that criminalizes gender-affirming healthcare for children. The state government, effectively, has legislated away the ability of compassionate healthcare providers to support trans kids in the Arkansas. It's a dramatic contrast to the Jewish approach, which connects back to this week's Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, which details the laws of purification for women who have given birth to a male or female child, but gives no instructions for what to do if the physical sex of the baby is indeterminate, a conversation that leads the rabbis to develop a rather sophisticated concept of gender fluidity.I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

John Prine died a year ago this week, and I wrote this week's episode on the anniversary of his death. This week's Torah portion, Parshat Shmini, features the deaths of Nadav and Avihu who, as Ibn Ezra comments, died before G-d doing something they thought was acceptable before G-d. They had made a mistake and deviated from the instructions G-d gave them. Ibn Ezra's commentary reminded me of John Prine's song That's The Way The World Goes Round and a story he often told about a moment of confusion on stage with a fan in the crowd who wanted him to sing The Happy Enchilada Song.I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

By the time this episode airs, we'll have already celebrated our second year of socially distanced Seders. Passover is all about seeing yourself as a participant in the exodus from Egypt, and applying that experience to improving our world today. That intention has led to a slew of games, toys, and content designed to make the Seder more approachable and more fun, especially for children.While there's lots to choose from, for Jews my age there's one piece of content that rises above all the rest—The Rugrat's Passover Special. This year, as we can see the light at the end of the pandemic, and perhaps struggling to feel like we can get there, the story of Grandpa Boris Kropotkin being locked in his attic seemed more relatable than ever. Chag Pesach Sameach & Shabbat Shalom.I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

As they wandered  the desert, the Israelites  carried the Tabernacle, and all its holy objects, so they could offer the sacrifices G-d had required of them. The Tabernacle provided a venue for these offerings, as the priests burned some or all of the sacrifices brought to them by the people. Fire was an essential component to the Israelites ritual sacrifices, and in this week’s Torah portion, Tzav, G-d commands the Israelite people to build a perpetual fire, never to be put out, under any circumstances. 

This week's Torah portion, Vayikra, kicks off the Book of Leviticus with a familiar feeling theme—G-d calling to Moses and delivering a set of instructions. In this case, G-d delivers detailed instructions for the sacrifices Aaron, his sons, and their priestly descendants will perform on behalf of the Israelite people. These sacrifices are the Israelite's main means of communicating with G-d, but since the destruction of the First and later Second Temples, the Jewish people have been unable to communicate with G-d through sacrifices. So we turned to prayer.This week though, I'm talking a lot less about Judaism than I normally do, because while the Jewish people turned to prayer and ritual as our primary means of communicating with G-d, other religions have evolved out of Judaism, and created their own means of talking to G-d.So this week, if you'll indulge me, and in celebration of my 50th episode of Modern Torah, I'm exploring the idea of being called by G-d and searching for a means to respond. In particular, I'm taking hard look at the Puritan Christian theology that has so dramatically affected social policy and culture in the United States. I hope you'll stick with me, and definitely let me know what you think!I'm not a rabbi, so every week I try to put the Torah in conversation with the modern world around me. Sometimes it's hard, and sometimes it's easy, and I hope it's valuable to you. You can learn more about me and any of my podcasts at my website. Modern Torah is published weekly, on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Shabbat Shalom. :)

As they journey through the desert, the Tabernacle is the defining feature of the Israelite camp. This week's double Torah portion, Vayakhel-Pikudei, deals with the details of the Tabernacle's construction. The entire community participated in this process, bringing freewill offerings to build the Tent of Meeting. At a certain point, though, enough is enough, and as donations begin to pile up, Moses issues a proclamation that rings out across the Israelite camp. And in response, the Torah says, "the people stopped bringing: their efforts had been more than enough for all the tasks to be done."I’m not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”Visit https://www.moderntorah.com to learn more about me or any of my other podcasts.Shabbat Shalom. I hope you have a great week! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I can’t imagine why, but this year I’ve been particularly struck by all the plague related content sprinkled throughout the Torah. In past years, plagues have always seemed like metaphors for greater threats or external burdens we place on ourselves. This year plagues feel very real.Modern Torah put the Torah in commentary with the world around us. New episodes are published weekly, on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Like, subscribe, and follow along. If you have feedback, I'd love to hear it. Visit https://www.moderntorah.com to learn more about Modern Torah, me, or any of my other podcasts.P.S. This is being published on the one year anniversary of my first Modern Torah podcast episode. Thanks so much to everyone who has listened to it so far and helped me grow. I appreciate you! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a week when our Torah portion, Tetzaveh, collides with the holiday of Purim, I couldn't think of a more appropriate topic to discuss than superheroes. No spoilers for WandaVision, at least not intentionally, but honestly it's not accident that there are so many Jewish themes woven throughout the superhero universe. Our sacred texts are full of characters whose story arcs are strikingly familiar to the modern stories we know and love today.Shabbat Shalom, and Chag Purim Sameach. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A catastrophe has been playing out this week, unrelated to the coronavirus, as the electrical grid in Texas failed under the pressure of winter weather, leaving millions stranded without heat during an unusually fierce cold snap. While it may seem odd to compare the electrical grid with the Tabernacle built by the Israelites in the desert, there are too many similarities to ignore. Especially in a week where our Torah portion, Terumah, is all about connecting individual components together to build something large and integral to daily life in the Israelite camp.If you enjoy this episode of Modern Torah be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a review. Visit my website to learn more about me and my other podcasts. Shabbat Shalom, and thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I've spent a lot of time this week on Clubhouse. It's a new social media platform, with an audio only format, that's becoming really popular during the pandemic. There's tons of videos about Clubhouse out there, so go check it out, and feel free to email me if you're interested in getting on the platform. What I love about Clubhouse, though, is the diversity of people who starting conversations, and the way the app empowers them to take control of those conversations. I spent some time this week in a Room for "Black and Mixed Raced Jews," where the mic was reserved for Jews of color to share their experiences with the rest of us just listening and hopefully learning. It was a fascinating experience, made all the more so by the juxtaposition of this week's Torah portion, Mishpatim, which sets forth the beginnings of a legal and civic code for the Israelite people. Strikingly, for a recently freed people, that code begins with laws about how to treat an Israelite slave. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the heart of most religious traditions, including Judaism, is a series of simple questions. Can you talk to God? If you can talk to God, how? Does God hear you? If so, will God answer? One of my favorite movies, since the very first time I saw it, is the Kevin Smith classic, Dogma, which might seem like a funny topic for a Jewish podcast about the weekly Torah portion, and to be honest the movie doesn't age well, at least not all of it. Still, there's something very Jewish about dogma that keeps drawing me in.If you like Modern Torah, be sure to subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. New episodes are available weekly. For more information about me, or any of my podcasts, go to www.moderntorah.com. Thanks for listening, and Shabbat Shalom. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Changes of heart happen, sometimes often. I had a change of heart recently, about the future of this podcast, something I've been thinking about for a while. I thought I wanted to put it to bed, having accomplished all of my goals for this project. When I didn't post an episode for a full month, people started reaching out to me. So I'm back, and excited to be sharing this podcast again, and in a week where changes of heart seem to dominate our weekly Torah portion, Beshelach. I promise, I didn't plan it that way. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Transitions of power don't come around that often, even in the United States, but when they do they offer us a chance to reflect on an important topic, one that seems particularly relevant this week as a new President is sworn in at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It only takes ten verses this week for the Israelite people to fall about as far as a people can, from the height of privilege as new immigrants who had saved the Empire all the way to slavery in Egypt.This episode was written in the wake of the January 6th riots at the U.S Capitol. It was delivered live that week at my synagogue's community Kabbalat Shabbat service. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Storytelling is so important to the Torah, and this week the rabbis employ one of the oldest tricks in the book, right out of a Hollywood movie—a good cliffhanger, right in the middle of a global catastrophe that only one man can see coming. This episode was written during the week of Christmas, 2020. It was recorded and posted a few weeks later. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams in this week's Torah portion, Miketz, he offers an almost apocalyptic vision of the future. After being appoint by Pharaoh to lead Egypt through the seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of famine, he benefits from the authority Pharaoh wielded as a diving king. In the last weeks of 2019, there were early warning signs that COVID-19 had the potential to spread like wildfire. And I have to imagine that if Joseph had been alive a year ago, warning of a coming global pandemic from COVID-19, instead of starvation from a global famine, he would have been received very differently. Instead of convincing one person of the coming threat, Joseph would be faced with the challenge of convincing everyone around him that, as scary as it might be, the dark vision he paints of the future is likely to come true. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's Torah portion, Vayeshev, features the story of Joseph, whose ability to correctly interpret the dreams of those around helps him gain tremendous power, with a few spectacular falls from grace along the way. Joseph's story spans more than one parsha, and this week, the Torah cuts the story short on an emotional cliffhanger, with Joseph left alone and forgotten in a dark cell. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's Torah portion contains violence, and if you're someone who's triggered by scenes of sexual violence, you might want to skip this week.This week, the Torah prominently features the rape of Jacob’s daughter Dina, and the reaction of her siblings—Jacob’s sons—to that act of violence. Having returned to Canaan with his new family, and made peace with his older brother Esau, Jacob purchases a parcel of land, near the city of Shechem, from the local community, and settles down with his wives, children, and herds of sheep...Modern Torah is published weekly, anywhere you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite platform to be notified of new episodes, and visit www.moderntorah.com for written formats and much more. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, our Torah portion focuses on Jacob as he departs on a long journey to gather wealth, find a wife, and build a new life for himself, his family, and his descendants. He migrates to his uncle's household, where he spends years working for Laban, even as his uncle employs trickery, leveraging Jacob's love for Laban's daughter Rachel, to secure additional years of labor from a prized employee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This year, of course, has reminded me of the importance of family, especially as we approach a season that, at least in the United States, people associate with family. Whether it's the family you were born into, the family you chose, or even the family that chose you, family is an inescapable reality in life. Still, family can be incredibly complicated, as the Torah reminds in this week's portion—Toldot. This week's portion begins with a joyous event, the birth of two sons—Esau and Jacob. But by the end of the parsha, that same family is broken and scattered, mourning the death of their patriarch Isaac while nursing long held wounds in isolation from each other. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There's probably never been a better week in the history of the Jewish people than this one for Vayera, this week's Torah portion, to pop up in our regular reading cycle. Because something, all you can do when you look at the world, is laugh. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week is a little different. For the first time Modern Torah isn't just my Torah. This week, my wife makes her Modern Torah debut, speaking to a subject that, I think you'll agree, we're all better off hearing about from her, rather than me. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the opening lines of this week's Torah portion Noah, the namesake and relative hero of this parsha, is referred to as a righteous man who walked with G-d. Yet Noah's actions, or inactions, call his righteousness into question. The rabbis of the Talmud debate this, and compare the righteousness of Noah with a different figure, one who doesn't appear in this week's portion, Abraham. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we start the Torah over again, from the beginning, with Bereshit. And that means, we get to revisit the original dispute of the Torah—not between Cain and Abel, but between the Aleph and the Bet, the letters that is. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the end of Sukkot, Jews around the world make a small change to our routine of daily prayers. Beginning on Shmini Atzeret, we add a request for rain to the second blessing of the Amidah—the core of our prayer service that we recite three times each day. This prayer, though, doesn't just ask G-d for rain, but for rain in its proper season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sukkot is hands down, my favorite Jewish holiday, a season when we're commanded to gather and rejoice, in the middle of what has always been my personal season of joy. This year, of course, feels different, but the perspective makes me appreciate a little recognized Sukkot ritual which has always felt particularly odd to me. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.