Spin-a-Verse

This week we take a look at the binding of Isaac and two contemporary women's midrashim (commentaries that use linguistic hooks to add to the story).  Both attempt to bring Sarah into the story.  Leah and Rhyan talk about the pitfalls and rewards of using the form of midrash to give biblical and contemporary women an active voice within traditional texts.

Textsheet can be found here

A little more about Sarah's life in this mini-episode.  Can we relate to her ?  Did people really live that long back in those days?  And where did Jewish weaning parties go?  Text sheet is here

In honor of International Women's Month, we begin looking at the lives of the matriarchs, starting with Sarai/Sarah.  How can we view her life?  What are we missing?  What challenges do we find when looking at the life of an ancient woman from a contemporary perspective?

OK yes the flood and the ark and the animals - but why a flood?  And what came after?  How to make sense of a story of cataclysmic destruction, regret, and human nature.  Textsheet can be found here.

Rabbi Josh, Maya, Rhyan and Leah take on why the Torah starts with creation and the first woman who was...Lilith?  Listen in!

We put a bow on the final episode of the podcast … for now at least!  Looking back, we think about how we relate to the Torah and what we’ve each gained from encountering familiar texts and unfamiliar ones and giving our own unvarnished spin on them. Plus - Spin-a-Verse on Etsy?

In this week’s episode, Sabbatical years and slavery – can we live with the cognitive dissonance of principles of economic equity existing alongside reprehensible ideas of people as property?  And we close the book of Leviticus with guests from our “Taste of Hillel” Annual Meeting, including (gasp) our parents! The textsheet can be found here.

We take on the Omer and the case of the blasphemer this week as we make our way through Emor.  Our text sheet can be found here.  Listener's note: this podcast was recorded prior to the Lag Ba'Omer tragedy on Mt. Meron in Israel on Thursday evening.  Our prayers for healing and comfort go out to those affected and the families of those who perished.

This week we focus on the ethics of holiness in Kedoshim, including "Love your neighbor as yourself", and "do not oppress the stranger, as you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt", especially relevant in the current context of the guilty verdict in the Chauvin trial and continued police violence against Black people.  We touch upon the Torah's view of homosexuality briefly, with more interpretations included in the source sheet, which may be found here.

Births and leprosy and emissions - oh my!  Ben Levine '24 joins Rabbi Josh, Rhyan and Leah to talk about Tazria-Metzora, with a focus on the treatment of purity and impurity around menstruation and childbirth.  What were the motivations of the Biblical text, and how do we feel about it today? How have women reclaimed the practices of niddah and mikvah in the 21st century? 

The text sheet can be found here.