PopTorah

So much great TV, so little time! Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky recap everything Jewish about the 2022 Emmy awards. Who won, who was robbed, who wore what best, and who got that coveted PopTorah bump? Plus we discuss what the night’s biggest winners and losers tell us about the state of pop culture today, and what it says about contemporary Jewish life. See you on the red carpet!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky are back from summer vacation and eager to catch up on everything Jewish about our favorite pop culture offerings of the summer. Join us as we discuss the blockbuster film Thor: Love and Thunder, the provocative Netflix docuseries Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99, the Apple TV+ gem For All Mankind, and the latest Disney+ MCU series Ms. Marvel.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky just finished binging the fourth season of the Netflix juggernaut ‘Stranger Things’, and they have about as many thoughts as there are sides on D&D dice, legs on the Mindflayer, and demobats in the Upside Down. If you understand those references, then run, don’t walk, up that hill to catch this conversation about the Torah of ‘Stranger Things.’

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the most important characters in the Star Wars saga. It is Princess Leia’s distress call to Kenobi, her father’s former military comrade whom she calls her “only hope”, that sets in motion the events of the original trilogy, which also depicts Obi-Wan helping a young Luke Skywalker become a Jedi, sacrificing his own life in the process. But the prequel trilogy tells the story of how Obi-Wan once mentored Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker, until Anakin turned to the Dark Side, became Darth Vader, and led a campaign to wipe out the Jedi order. The new Disney+ original series ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, in which Ewan McGregor reprises the role he played in the prequel trilogy, depicts the character between the events of ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘A New Hope’, a time when he is both hunted for and haunted by his past. What does Jewish tradition have to say about (re)considering the difficult parts of our past and confronting our failures? The Force is strong with Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky in this episode as they examine ‘Obi-Wan’ Kenobi “from a certain point of view”.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

The new FX/Hulu miniseries Pistol tells the true story of The Sex Pistols. The Pistols may not have invented punk rock, but they did helped define its look, sound, and, above all, its attitude. Punk rock, as epitomized by bands like The Sex Pistols, is about standing at a remove from the dominant culture, interrogating it with an irreverent spirit, a challenging posture, and a critical eye; questioning the world as it is, being unafraid to poke at and even to smash sacred cows, and refusing to accept the status quo as inevitable. In other words, punk rock is outsider music, the art of those who look at the world as it is and realize something is deeply wrong. While Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky have different perspectives on punk rock, in this conversation they explore the connections between the method and message of bands like the Sex Pistols and Jewish wisdom and values.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

Do you seek better work-life balance? Tired of taking your problems from home with you to the office? Sick of bringing work frustrations home with you at the end of the day, or constantly feeling “on-call”? ‘Severance’ might be for you! The new sci-fi/thriller/dark comedy series, streaming on AppleTV+, imagines a world in which people can undergo a procedure that completely separates their work-selves from their home-selves. But would such an extreme procedure offer the balance we seek? Or would it make our lives worse? Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky discuss this engrossing new show, and explore the provocative questions it raises about memory, identity, how we relate to work, and how we process grief.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

The new Hulu series ‘Under the Banner of Heaven,’ adapted from Jon Krakauer’s eponymous 2003 novel and starring Andrew Garfield, tells the story of a Mormon detective who begins to question his faith as he investigates fellow Latter Day Saints for brutally murdering a mother and her baby. In the process, it takes big swings at the LDS Church and religion in general, making the case that faith is inherently dangerous. Does it succeed? Special guest Peter Eubanks, a professor of French at James Madison University and lifelong member of the LDS church, joins Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky to talk about what the show does and doesn’t get right about his faith and religion generally. Does ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ understand the subject matter? Do we? Join us for this illuminating conversation about the LDS church, religious extremism, and interfaith understanding.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

What does it mean to grow up? How do you balance being yourself and honoring your parents? If you could turn into a giant animal what animal would you turn into and why? These are just some of the interesting questions raised by the new Disney/Pixar movie, ‘Turning Red’, about an adolescent girl who turns into a giant red panda whenever she experiences strong emotions. Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky are joined by two very special guests, their daughters Lilah (9) and Cayla (11), to talk about ‘Turning Red’ and answer all of life’s big questions.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

‘The Batman’, starring Robert Pattinson, is a newer, darker take on the Dark Knight from visionary filmmaker Matt Reeves. Inspired by neo-noir films like Taxi Driver and dark thrillers like Se7en, ‘The Batman’ explores profoundly Jewish themes such as the difference between justice and vengeance, and how we deal with tragedy and trauma. Real-life Dynamic Duo, Rabbis Olitzky and Knopf, #unmaskthetruth of the Jewishness within the dark soul of the Caped Crusader’s latest film outing.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!