Modern Torah

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.

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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.

This week, as we sit between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Moses is wrapping up his final speech when he suddenly breaks into song.

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.

Every year, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the traditional Torah reading presents an odd start to the New Year—a portrait of extreme duality. Two women, one ecstatic with joy, the other paralyzed by sorrow. As we turn the page to a fresh season, what can we learn from these stories our tradition highlights on Rosh Hashanah?

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.

As Moses approaches his own death, he's increasingly concerned with who will influence the Israelites after he's gone. Throughout their time in Canaan, at times of need, prophets arose to lead the Israelite people. But how are the people, warned repeatedly by Moses to be wary of corrupt leaders, supposed to discern a true prophet from a false one?

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.

Last week, over 600 Jewish organizations raised their voices as one, to make a simple statement. Black Lives Matter. Twice, in our portion this week, the Torah indicates that injustice stemming from actions committed in darkness and secrecy should be met with outrage—loudly and publicly. 

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.

This week, the Torah presents a series of challenging laws, many of which challenge our modern sense of morality, at least on first glance. One particularly distasteful law until the rabbis of the Talmud create a series of rules and protocols that make it highly unlikely, in fact nearly impossible, for that particularly troublesome law to ever be put into practice.

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 Parshat Shoftim, Moses reviews the judicial code that will govern Israelite society in the Land of Canaan, and he starts, with a passionate call to action, commanding the People, “justice, justice shall you pursue.”

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.

This week is Shabbat Nachamu, Shabbat of Comfort, and our Torah portion this week finds Moses recounting the experience at Sinai, including the 10 Commandments, to the Israelites community, on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. But the version of the 10 Commandments Moses shares is slightly different from the version in Exodus. And, as you might imagine, the differences are interesting.

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.

This week's Torah portion finds the Israelites camped on the Jordan River's eastern bank. Before crossing the river into Canaan, Moses gathers the people for one last, long teaching, his famous speech that comprises most of Deuteronomy. In the beginning of his speech, as he's just warming up, Moses does a funny thing, he subtly changes the narrative of history to place himself in a better light.

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.

The Israelites loot and raze cities as they wage total war against the idolatrous Midiante and Moabite peoples. After the slaughter, they gather the booty and spoil of battle, including captive slaves, and bring it to the Israelite camp, where G-d commands it be equitably divided among the Israelite nation. What can we take away, today, from these violent and destructive portions?

 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.