Modern Torah

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!

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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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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!

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.

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.

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 | iHeart

Go deeper with my sources on Sefaria.