A Rabbi And A Skeptic Walk Into A Podcast

Morality, ethics, where do they come from? God? And what of moral relativism, William F. Buckley, right and wrong?  Stay tuned!

Here is a Torah take on music and art from Rabbi Alon Tolwin.  The Torah instructs us that we should live with joy, and there is a  part that music plays as we kick off season two.

A very special treat today! Rabbi Simcha Tolwin joins me... to coax me to leap into Judaism 2.0--- kicking and screaming.  Me, not him .  Why does tragedy bring religion? Knowledge isn't the same as faith. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is name-checked. Why we go gray, and why that's a good thing. Thanks, Rabbi! Let's do this again.

When does a ritual become a mitzvah?   We discuss the Dixie Cup effect-- featuring a story about Rabbi YomTov Glazer, then Rabbi Tolwin nails down a piece of consciousness . Danny Kahneman and Amos Tverski are name-checked, along with cartoonist Dave Berg from Mad Magazine  on how to honor your father and mother.... and more!  This may be the end of season one. Time will tell. Thanks for listening...

I know, i know... it's pretty cheesy to name-check such a wonderful song from Fiddler. But, Hey, if I can't do that now, then when will I ever get such an opportunity?  Why, it's like a... whopper-tunity!  Mmmm, ...whopper.... An especially delightful chat with Rabbi Alon Tolwin of Aish Detroit about the three ages of miracles, and why they don't really impress anyone. I can&ap...

This week Rabbi Alon Tolwin helps your host see how the Torah should be considered. Is it a history book, a story book?  We discuss the bread of shame and free clothing. Can we take Torah literally?

Ok, i had no idea the famous "magic words" are from hebrew!  Wait, what? As we scratch the surface of mysticism, Rabbi Alon Tolwin tells us that "while science can tell us how things work, Kaballah tells us why ."  Whoa-a-a-a. Mind blown.       A few minutes hence came this little atom bomb: "Everything we do lasts forever... leaves an indelible impact on the world we&apos...

This time it's personal. We take a break from the  high-flying  philosophy stuff to look at my relation to  Judaism.  I ask Rabbi Tolwin to discuss my effort to be a better person. Fer instance, why do I sometimes feel like I need to bonk myself on the head with a rubber mallet? 

The Jewish method of mourning, either orthodox or other than orthodox. Also in this episode, when the soul freaks out (so to speak), what does that mean? Rabbi Alon Tolwin of Aish Detroit sets me straight on a few things. Thanks for listening. If you are getting something out of this live, barely edited convo, please share it with a friend! Questions for the rabbi? Send them to rabbi2skeptic@gmail...

Episode 21. Sin-talk... morphs into a discussion of parenting, then the rabbinic rules about the charging of interest. Thanks for listening, and I played the theme music longer than usual this week, cause... I felt like it. What, is that a sin? Them music excerpted from my song "Under My Skin" performed by A Herring And A Half, formerly known as A Volley of Salvoes (hat tip to the great...

Fish, Springsteen,  gratitude, dixie cups, the limits of metaphor, breathing, mercy, and "constant amazement."  Enjoy.

Pod gets a little bit personal this week, boys and girls. What kind of path leads to becoming a Rabbi with Aish HaTorah? Whatever you do, "Keep off the Grass!"

What if someone could prove to you there is a God? Would you change your mind? What does proof mean anyway?

Cue the scary music. Rabbi Tolwin and I discuss the nature of evil and how we might learn to think of it in a Torah-centric light. The pod's new email is rabbi2skeptic@gmail.com.  Please get in touch with questions or subjects with which we can tango. Let's start a dialogue.  Thanks for listening. Please share with friends if you get a kick out of it.

Somehow this discussion of education sailed from business and retail ethical behavior and fairness to phishing and gullibility. Good clean fun!

Rabbi Tolwin goes deep this week. This discussion really ranges, from slavery to Jimmy Carter to stolen candy bars. 

This week, Rabbi Tolwin and I discuss the relationship of the Torah to science.  We touch on the writings of Gerald Schroeder such as his brilliant and helpful books The Science of God and Genesis and The Big Bang. There's your homework assignment for the week. And it will be on the test! 

Special guest Patrick Amar joins Rabbi Tolwin and me to discuss the war and related issues. Patrick, an Israeli citizen born in Canada, has been living in Israel with his family since 2005, working as a tour guide. 

Goethe said, "To have doubt is uncomfortable, but to be certain is ridiculous." I once met a rabbinic student in Jerusalem, 19 years old. He had never -- in his life!- met anyone with any doubt about God or the Torah or nuthin! Blew each others' minds. Enjoy.

The horrendous events of the past few days are our topic today,  with an emphasis on some on "how we got here."   So much unknowable right now. So much sadness and carnage. Thanks for listening.

Let's learn about Zionism, shall we?

Two things.  A. This is a topic with which I am intimately familiar, and  2. Why did this topic make the Rabbi nervous?

Talking about other religions can be fraught. Can be dicey. Can be spiky. Even  prickly sometimes. Stop me before I google a thesaurus. 

Judaism's treatment of women in general goes under scrutiny from our skeptical host.  Side note--The host loved the Barbie movie, BTW, recommends it heartily, and was quoted as saying it was "the most important film in 30 years" and "girls (and the the women they become) will quote this movie the rest of their lives."

Isn't gossiping just harmless little fun sharing of juicy tidbits?   "Not so fast!" says Judaism. This is no small matter. Some tall ethical fences to climb here.