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 ...
Feb 12, 2024•6 min
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 pede...
Dec 21, 2023•10 min•Season 4Ep. 9
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/60c1dd59 Blue Wednesday - Slow Burn https://chll.to/fdcaa474 I’m not a rabbi, so ev...
Dec 15, 2023•8 min•Season 4Ep. 8
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 Jewis...
Dec 08, 2023•7 min•Season 4Ep. 7
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/db033300 Ian Ewing, Maduk - Stay Like This https://chll.to/2d387f49 Masked Man - Joop https://chll.to/f6126588 Poldoore, Maduk - Transformations https://chll.to/1b193db7 I’m not a rabb...
Nov 30, 2023•8 min•Season 4Ep. 6
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 ...
Nov 14, 2023•10 min•Season 4Ep. 5
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 t...
Nov 13, 2023•9 min
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 Rec...
Nov 10, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 4
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...
Nov 02, 2023•13 min•Season 4Ep. 3
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 Sefa...
Oct 26, 2023•11 min•Season 4Ep. 2
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 YouTube Listen on Spotify -- I’m not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conve...
Oct 20, 2023•10 min•Season 4Ep. 1
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 deb...
Apr 15, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 8
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...
Apr 07, 2022•6 min•Season 3Ep. 7
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. ————— I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look a...
Mar 18, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 6
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 ...
Mar 11, 2022•4 min•Season 3Ep. 5
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....
Nov 12, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 4
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 ...
Nov 05, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 3
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 ...
Oct 22, 2021•6 min•Season 3Ep. 2
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 memor...
Oct 15, 2021•6 min•Season 3Ep. 1
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 Ko...
Jun 11, 2021•7 min•Season 2Ep. 30
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. 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...
May 21, 2021•11 min•Season 2Ep. 29
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 hou...
May 14, 2021•9 min•Season 2Ep. 28
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 th...
May 07, 2021•10 min•Season 2Ep. 27
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...
Apr 30, 2021•9 min•Season 2Ep. 26
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 ...
Apr 23, 2021•9 min•Season 2Ep. 25
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 bi...
Apr 16, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 24
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 confusi...
Apr 09, 2021•8 min•Season 2Ep. 23
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 res...
Apr 02, 2021•8 min
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 circumst...
Mar 26, 2021•6 min•Season 2Ep. 22
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 c...
Mar 19, 2021•10 min•Season 2Ep. 21
