Ep. 44: Shoftim - Magic & Performance feat. Tanya Solomon

After over 60,000 downloads in over 100 countries, we are so glad to have brought an entire cycle of Torah study to our listeners. Rabbi Adam and Raviv look back at a year filled with inspiring conversation, insight, and wisdom. Thanks for joining.The Study is produced by Evan Scott Nicholas and Raviv Ullman.Artwork by Julia Pott. 

Robert Alter, Professor in the Graduate School and Emeritus Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and award winning translator of the Torah joins Rabbi Adam and Raviv  to discuss why the Torah ends in a poem. We’ll discuss what clues this poem gives us about the ways in which people communicated and how they used language at the time the torah was written, and even their views on monotheism and the way judaism was practiced. Professor Alter is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Council of Scholars of the Library of Congress, and is past president of the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics. Professor Alter has published 24 books unpacking the poetry and prose of ancient literature.

James Darrah, stage and film director, and newly appointed artistic director of Long Beach Opera sits down with Rabbi Adam and Raviv to discuss a pivotal turning point in the Torah narrative- when Moses passes the torch to the next leader of the Israelites. What does it mean to carry a tradition for the next generation, and how does a  young interpreter of old texts make them accessible, exciting, inspiring, and relevant. Tune in to find out.

Kylie Unell, host of the new podcast for Tablet Magazine How To Fix A Soul In Thirty Days  and founder of Rooted joins Raviv and Rabbi Adam Greenwald to discuss fearing God and saving souls. 

Jake Cohen, author of NYT Bestselling JEW-ISH Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch, joins Raviv and Jess to talk about all things Jewish food, our connection to how we prepare our meals and where those ingredients come from, the incredibly long journeys that dishes take to get to our tables, and Jake’s journey as he’s learned it all. 

Natalia Abrams, executive director of Student Debt Crisis, a non-profit organization dedicated to fundamentally reforming student debt and higher education loan policies, joins Raviv and special guest Molly Wernick to discuss what got us into a nearly two trillion dollar crisis in the first place, what kind of preventive measures can be taken to avoid further devastation, and we'll also try to understand debt from a historical Jewish perspective.

Magician Tanya Solomon joins Raviv and Rabbi Jess to discuss her journey around the world as a performer, the parallel lives of magicians and rabbis, what we might take from the inclusion of demons, angels, amulets, and charms in the Torah, and why so many magicians throughout history have been Jewish.

Jess and Raviv have a one-on-one conversation to discuss parshat Re'eh and uncover what they "see" as part of the larger Jewish narrative. Jess discusses her relationship with asking "what" vs "why" when working to understand Torah passages, how one can abstract laws and apply them to our own lives, and what about studying makes her feel inspired.

Connor Goldsmith from the Cerebro podcast joins Rabbi Jess and Raviv to discuss the commonalities between studying the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Torah, what "retcons" are and their role in storytelling, and the ways in which the Mishna is like fan fiction from days of yore. Rabbi Jess discusses what the Jewish world can learn from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the power of engaging with spaces we don't understand.

Saul Kaiserman, Founding Director of Lifelong Learning at Congregation Emanu-El in New York City, joins Raviv and Rabbi Jess to discuss early and adult Jewish education, the responsibility and tradition of passing rituals from one generation to another, the Shema prayer, and the essence of what it means to be Jewish.