Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews

August 16, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 35 - Genesis of the Spider-Verse …With Special Guest Danny Fingeroth In this episode, we explore the converging and diverging realities of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse with one of the writers and editors of the Spider-Man comics, Danny Fingeroth. We explore the origins of The Spot, canon events in Marvel and the Torah, and a st...

August 2, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 34 - Mishpacha of the Galaxy Think back to the families that came before us: Abraham and Sarah; Rebecca and Isaac; Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah; and of course Rocket, Lylla, Teefs, and Floor. Join as we review the many different family structures within the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and some surprising connections to a...

July 19, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 33 - Cancel Lashon Hara …With Special Guest Rachel Frish In this episode, we are joined by Rachel Frish as we look at the complexities of the Hebrew phrase “lashon hara.” What happens when cultural icons speak poorly of others and how does it impact us as their nerdy fans? 00:03:28 Defining Lashon Hara 00:06:17 When is it not lashon har...

July 5, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 32 - The Mikvahlorian …With Special Guest Ellery Weil Join us and special guest, Ellery Weil, as we learn the way of the Mandalorian and the uncanny connection to one of Judaism’s ritual practices. While they don’t make their tallit out of beskar the history, culture, and customs we learn about in Season 3 of the Mandalorian help us refl...

June 21, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 31 - Movie Midrash: D&D - Honor Among Family Get ready to roll initiative again because we’re heading into a new medium for D&D! This episode we explore some of the Jewish “connections” that we found in the recent hit film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. We also talk about what parts plucked at our heart strings and...

June 7, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 30 - Movie Midrash: QWundermania …With Special Guest Terry Wunder In this episode, we are joined by Terry Wunder as we explore the recent dive into Marvel’s quantum realm and discover what bothers us about the newest Ant-Man movie as well as Terry’s hopes and dreams for the future of the MCU. 00:03:41 Overall thoughts on Paul Rudd’s newe...

May 24, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 29 - Anniversary Special: A One-Shot of Biblical Proportions! To celebrate one year of being Jewish and Nerdy, we invited our previous guests back to the show for a Torah Smashed version of Dungeons & Dragons. Each player chose a biblical character to portray (character descriptions below) and joined together for an adventure 5,783 y...

May 10 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 28 - STRANGERAMA Good news, everyone! Exodus is full of travelers, but never did we expect to travel so far into the future! We love fish out of water stories, but when Moses decided to name his son Gershom, meaning “stranger in a foreign land,” we wonder if that stranger also became a delivery boy. 00:01:32 Exodus 2:22 “A Stranger in a f...

April 26, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 27 - Forgotten Torah Stories: The Director’s Cut Not all Jewish stories are told. There are some that get left behind on the cutting room floor. Who decides which stories get told and how does that impact our teachings? Ethan leads us on an exploration of the forgotten, the rewritten, and the unknown. 00:04:19 How we decide which stori...

April 12, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 26 - It’s Not Easy Being Keen …With Guest Host Rabbi Elisa Koppel Join us as Rabbi Elisa Koppel (REK) makes a most colorful connection between her biggest fandom, the Muppets, and the part of herself that she most identifies with, Jewish education. Explore our favorite muppet characters and the lessons they teach us. This one is seriou...

March 29, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 25 - Passover’s Four Children, Mmkay? Read the passover haggadah like never before and explore a wild theory that Barak once heard about four famous never aging 10-year-old tv characters and their connection to the four children of the passover seder. 00:01:44 The Four Children of the Passover Haggadah 00:05:10 The children of South Pa...

March 15, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 24 - Is It Golem? …With Guest Host Rabbi Josh Fixler This episode, we take a tour of the virtual Golem Museum with its curator, Rabbi Josh Fixler! What should we talk about? Oh, I know: Superman! And Star Trek! And supercomputers! Actually, the conversation is about the Golem…or is it? 00:03:21 The History of the golem, for Susan 00:07...

March 1, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 23: Loving Everything, Everywhere, All At Once This movie has won award after award across every multiverse. In this life, RDY takes his time to guide us through the 2022 film: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. We explore the clutter, the googly eyes, the IRS receipts, and of course bagels. Find Joy for yourself in this episode and d...

February 15, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 22: Producing a Hit Spiel ...With Guest Host Rabbi Leah Berkowitz We explore the ideas behind the very first Purim Spiel and the villain we all love to mock with our guest host, Rabbi Leah Berkowitz. Join us as we discover the connections to one of Mel Brooks’ classic films and share some of our favorite parodies from years past. 00...

February 1, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 21 - Phase IV: The Genesis Saga The first book of the Torah, Genesis, has many of the characters exploring the questions of “How do we know who we are or who we are supposed to be?” Lucky for us, similar themes run through the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four projects! Get ready for a dive on some of your favorite Marvel projects...

January 18, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 20 - Captain Janeway’s Transporter Trolley Dilemma Ethan takes us back for a rewatch of an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, titled “Tuvix.” A miscalculation with the transporter causes two crew mates to be merged into a new being. Captain Janeway has quite the conundrum in front of her and Judaism has a few pieces of advice for her. Al...

January 4, 2023 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 19 - Movie Midrash: May Wakanda Forever Be A Blessing We laugh and cry until it hurts in this look at Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with special guest Myq Kaplan. Join us as we celebrate the lives of both Chadwick Boseman and T’Challa. Also, why did they change the name to Talokan? 00:03:18 A solemn opening 00:06:47 A movie in mourni...

December 21, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 18 - Hershel and the Torah Smash Chanukah Special! Walking down the dark, quiet road is Hershel of Ostropol and, what’s this? He’s real?! Not only did this yiddish folklore legend save Chanukah, but he also has so much in common with another character from nerd culture. Find out who in this very special Chanukah episode! 00:01:11 In...

December 7, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 17 - I. Am. Jacob …With Guest Host Micol Zimmerman Burkeman Our guest host, Micol Zimmerman Burkeman, leads us in discussion of her favorite and least favorite representations of a hero in the bible. They may not always be fighting a villain who is the opposite of them. Sometimes it’s our own selves that need to be dealt with. 00:05:...

November 23, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 16 - Rogue One: A Midrash Story RDY leads us in an exploration of Rogue One and the implications it has on the vast expanding Star Wars universe. You’re probably just as surprised as us that Ethan wasn’t the lead on this episode. TIME STAMPS 00:00:50 - RDY’s Star Wars nostalgia 00:02:16 - Think of the entire Star Wars universe for t...

November 9, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 15 - Nerd Mitzvah: A Rite Of Passage Ethan reminds us that life happens in stages. In Judaism, we experience milestones like our b’nai mitzvah or religious school or summer camp. What rituals do nerd children have to look forward to? Listen if you want to learn how to best prepare for your own Nerd Mitzvah! 00:00:38 Pirkei Avot 5:21...

October 26, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 14 - The McFlys of Hillel Valley …with special guest Micah Hart We find a new Jewish connection as we are joined by the host of the Jewish geography game show, Who Knows One?, Micah Hart. Join as we explore the numerous timelines of the Back to the Future trilogy and how it connects perfectly to a quote by the Talmudic scholar, Hille...

October 12, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 13: Dungeons & Discrimination? RDY dives into his background as a Dungeon Master for a D&D group of Rabbis and we look into an article on magical creatures that makes us question our perception of the world around us. 00:02:20 RDY has a few things to say 00:04:12 Our Cassandra problem 00:08:10 The Problem with Bubble Wrap Gol...

September 28, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 12 - Choice Effect 3 Finally, our first video game based episode! Ethan shares his insights to one of the most controversial decisions from the last decade that was made in the virtual RPG world. Listen to the episode or not, the choice is entirely yours. Or at least maybe that’s what we want you to think. 00:00:43 - Exploring Mish...

September 14, 2022 Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews Episode 11 - Movie Midrash: Iyov and Thunder We proudly present our second Movie Midrash episode! Join us as we review the recently released Thor: Love and Thunder, and discover which biblical character’s story has immense similarity to one of the main characters in this newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 00:00:53 - Initial...