Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism

Parshat Bo - A live recording of Madlik Disruptive Torah recorded on Clubhouse with Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz, Rabbi Abraham Bronstein and "The Haftorahman", Reuben Ebrahimoff on January 6th 2022. Can Biblical commandments evolve and have alternative meanings at different times and to different people? Mitzvot; for some an obligation, for others a political, cultural or fashion statement an...

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse on December 30th 2021as we use an innocuous reference in Rabbinic Literature to Pharaoh's personal hygiene to explore the unique disposition of Judaism to the physical body and bodily functions and contrast it to other religions and cultures. With special guest appearances by Josephus Flavius, Karl Marx, Ernst Becker and the Rabbis of...

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse as we discuss Judeo-Christian Magical Thinking….. Moses encounters a miraculous burning bush, receives a magical rod and learns an incantation of the name of God. But the Rabbis of the Talmud call Jesus a magician…. We explore the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Judaism's uniquely ambivalent attitude to the miraculous. Sefaria Source Sheet:...

Parshat Vayechi - Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse December 16th 2021 as we recognize that Jacob introduced the handle #TwelveTribes . The book of Genesis ends, as does Deuteronomy with blessings over these iconic Twelve Tribes of Israel but the count is unclear. Joseph is at times counted as one tribe and at times subdivided. Shimon and Levi are likewise alternately...

Parshat Vayigash - A live recording of Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse on December 9th 2021 as they ask: What if our Prince of Egypt, was not an ancient-day Paul Samuelson using science and economic theory to serve society? What if Joseph and his  Pharaoh were the villains and the new Pharaoh "who knew not Joseph" was an Egyptian patriot and liberator who saved the Egypti...

Parshat Miketz- Shabbat Hanukkah - Food Fights-Gastro Diplomacy. Ancient Egyptians wouldn't break bread with Hebrews and were known to have rigorous dietary restrictions..... How does this play out in the Exodus narrative and what does it mean for us? Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz for a live recording on Clubhouse December 2nd, 2021 for the first Madlik lunch & learn as we discuss the s...

Parshat Vayeshev - Join Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and friends. Recorded on Clubhouse on November 25th as they explore how the story of Joseph and the patriarchal origins of the Exile to Egypt is interrupted by the story of Tamar and the matriarchal origins of redemption through the Davidic bloodline. They wonder whether we might re-read Genesis as Her Story? With special "guest" appearances...

parshat Vayishlach (genesis 32) Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded live on Clubhouse on November 18th 2021 as they discuss arguing with God in the Bible and later Rabbinic texts and Jewish Literature. Jacob's name is changed to Israel which we are told means to struggle with Man and God. How do we live up to this name? Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/363352 Transcript o...

Parshat Vayetzei - The Rabbis learn from the multiple use of the word MAKOM - Place in the story of Jacob's Ladder, that God is the Place of the World, but the World is not His Place. What can we learn from the Rabbis? Special "Guests" Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza and the Kotzker Rebbe Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/360797 Transcript on Podcast Website: https://madlik.com/2021/11/10/ham...

Recorded live on Clubhouse on November 4th from Tzofar in the Arava of the Negev Desert in Israel with Rabbi Adam Mintz in New York, we explore Yaakov's name and career path and struggle with his twice stolen blessing. We ask how parents could give a child a name such as "heel-sneak" or "heal grabber' and how Israel could emerge from such crooked timber? Special "guests" include Shmuel Yoseph Agno...

Parshat Chayei Sarah - Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse on October 28th 2021 as they explore the Bible's euphemism for death: "and he was gathered unto his people" as an opportunity to question our assumptions regarding the biblical view of the afterlife … with much appreciation to Jon D. Levenson. Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of th...

A live recording of Madlik Disruptive Torah on clubhouse with Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz as we ask: Was it the Binding of Isaac or the Sacrifice of Isaac and what difference does it make? We use the seminal story of the miraculous birth of Isaac and the hints at the Sacrifice and Resurrection of Isaac in the biblical and later Rabbinic texts to explore the meaning of these themes in Judai...

Recorded live on Clubhouse on Friday October 15th 2021 Parshat Lech Lecha - Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and Rabbi Abraham Bronstein explore various ways of viewing Abraham's epic journey and how it reflects our own. Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/354270 Transcript (excerpt): You know, I could make the argument that Abraham was the first atheist. And what I mean to say is, if you...

Parshat Noach - Join Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and Pastor Dumisani Washington of IBSI - Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel and Christians United For Israel for a live recording of a discussion on Clubhouse Friday October 8th with the Pastor regarding his book Zionism and the Black Church: Why Standing with Israel Will Be a Defining Issue for Christians of Color in the 21st Century ....

Parshat Bereshit - Exile and Return is a seminal Jewish theme we normally associate with Exodus and the narrative of the Jewish People. We discover this theme in the first chapters of Genesis and in so doing discover the Hebrew Bible's universal message regarding the trauma of birth, the anxiety of life and the rewards of creativity and expansion. Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/34978...

Join a live recording of Madlik disruptive Torah on Clubhouse with Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and Rabbi Avraham Bronstein  as we use the book of Kohelet to explore the fundamental difference between the Torah given at Sinai and the Wisdom literature we share with our ancient Near Eastern neighbors. We explore the difference between linear and cyclical time and we wonder why we need a healthy...

Parshat Ha'Azinu - With the Yom Kippur liturgy fresh in our minds we explore a disturbing, persistent and infantile argument for forgiveness… that God forgive us for His sake. Using equal measure of Chutzpa and shaming, we argue that God, as our Father and as our Creator is ultimately responsible for our sins, the sins of his children/creations. We ask: How does God Respond? How should we respond?...

Parshat Vayeilech - We review the septennial Hakhēl convocation where the Torah is read publicly as an opportunity to explore the revolutionary nature of the Hebrew Alphabet from both a social and technological perspective. In so doing, maybe we shed some light on the proliferation of alphabetical acrostics in the Psalms and later liturgy and piyyutim. Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/...

parshat nitzavim (deuteronomy 30) Join Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and Theatre Director and Professor Michael Posnik in a live recording of Madlik Clubhouse as they explore the verse in Deuteronomy 30 that proclaims that the Torah is not in Heaven. We explore it in context and in the agada. We take a literary journey into the iconic story of the oven of akhnai. Sefaria source Sheet: www.sefar...

parshat ki tavo (Deuteronomy 26) a recording of a discussion between Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz on Clubhouse as they explore the roots of the concept of the Chosen People looking at the Favored sons and wives of Genesis and at the concept of Covenant and antecedent Hittite suzerainty treaties. Join us as we ask whether Tevya was right and should God choose someone else for a change? Sefar...

Parshat Ki Teitzei - When was the last time you listened to the lyrics, poetry and sounds of the mitzvot? Join Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and special guest poet, Haim Nachman Bialik in a live recording of our weekly disruptive Torah on Clubhouse.  We are told that there never was nor never will be a case of the Biblical Rebellious Son and that we are simply to be rewarded for its study. We e...

A live recording of Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz as they explore the Torah's visceral disgust for the monarchy and how this rejection sheds light on the New Year Festival and it's powerful message. Link to Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/340788 Transcript: Geoffrey Stern  This week's parsha is Shoftim. And it is the first time that the Jewish people ask for a king. And so I'm j...

A live Clubhouse recording of Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz as we explore the origins of ritual slaughter, the implicit bias of the Torah to vegetarianism and the origins and limitations of carnivorism in Judaism.  We also highlight the contribution of Judaism of mindfulness when it come to our food supply and where we go from here. Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/340004 Transcr...

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse Friday July 30th as we wonder whether the practice of Judaism outside of the land of Israel just that…. practice? We explore a Rabbinic opinion that the land of Israel is so central to the religion of Israel that the religion can only be observed in the Land. In so doing we question whether the practice of Judaism in and outside of Isr...

Parshat Vetchanan (Deuteronomy 6) Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Roy encounter the iconic call to Faith of the Shema Yisrael to explore the complexity of faith and especially the contribution of the Musar Movement Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/337360 Transcript: Geoffrey Stern  And today, we are going to discuss the one sentence that pretty much I think every Jew knows about has heard is...