Collection
At Madlik we light a spark or shed some light on a Jewish Text or Tradition. Created by Geoffrey Stern, an ex-Yeshiva student and along with Rabbi Adam Mintz we host Madlik Disruptive Torah on clubhouse every Thursday and share it as the Madlik podcast on your favorite platform.
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What's New in the Jewish New YearAn exploration of the major themes of Rosh Hashanah; Malchuyot, Zichronot and Shofarot in the context of Ancient Near Eastern New Year festivities and rites. (2016)
God in ExileParshat Nitzavim-Vayeilech - God, so to speak, “joining the Jewish People in Exile”, is a radical Rabbinic concept that in the words of Rabbi Akiva would have been blasphemous had it not been supported by Scripture. We explore the source of “God in Exile” (Shechinta B’Galuta - שְׁכִינְתָּא בְּגָלוּתָא) in Rabbinic texts and ponder its ramifications for modern-day Jewish Thought.
Geoffrey Stern•76 Views•September 23, 2024•Nitzavim-Vayeilech,Shechina,Shechinta B'Galuta,Yitz Greenburg,Elie Wiesel,שְׁכִינְתָּא בְּגָלוּתָא
Lost & FoundParshat Ki Teitzei - The Torah teaches that one must return a lost object and the great sages Abaye and Rava argue over the dynamics of loss and despair! We swim in this iconic Talmudic text to find what we have lost...
Geoffrey Stern•456 Views•September 10, 2024•Despair,Greek,יֵאוּשׁ,Abaye,Anthropology,Rava,Talmud,Sociology
Jew as MetaphorParshat Ki Tavo - Moses warns the Israelites that if they do not live up to God's expectations, they will be vilified as a caricature of evil. The world will use the Jew to personify failure and depravity. We discuss the use of the Jew as metaphor in our texts and literature.
The whole mitzvahParshat Eikev - The Book of Deuteronomy presents the Torah's various rules and regulations as a corpus. It uses a unique expression; כׇּל־הַמִּצְוָ֗ה variously translated as "All the commandment" or "instruction", the "entire mitzvah" . We explore how this impacted later Rabbinic thought and Jewish practice.
May God avenge his bloodParshat Shoftim - הי״ד the Hebrew acronym הַשֵּׁם יִקּוֹם דָּמוֹ hašém yikóm damó, “may Hashem avenge his blood” has been carved after the names of too many victims of bloodshed in the past few months. This week's parsha addresses tribalism, revenge killings and blood feuds which in the Ancient Near East, especially in the Sinai Peninsula, have a too rich history. We review the Biblical texts in light of pre-Islamic customs preserved by the Bedouin and we wonder when will it ever end.
Geoffrey Stern•87 Views•September 4, 2024•Blood Feud,Ger,Fugitive,Bedouin,Tent,Converts,Cities of Refuge,Revenge,Refuge,City of Refuge
What they say about us actually matters...Parshat Vaetchanan - The Torah proclaims that its laws are "wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations". The nations of the world will say "this is a wise and understanding people". We discover the writings and biography of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner; a radical thinker and early religious Zionist. Based on this verse, he taught that if Torah does not match the most enlightened moral, ethical, cultural and aesthetic standards of the day.... it needs to evolve. We explore.
just warParshat Devarim - The book of Devarim is not only spoken in the first-person voice of Moses but is also a reworking and reinterpretation of earlier events. This is nowhere more apparent then in the retelling of the story of the spies where, in our disruptive reading, the spies and their generation are not blamed for being too meek, but rather.... for being too militaristic.
Geoffrey Stern•135 Views•August 7, 2024•Parashat Devarim,Devarim,Deuteronomy,Wars,Sin of the Spies,Scouts
Culture WarsParshat Matot-Masei - Moses accuses the tribes of Reuben and Gad of perpetuating the defeatist attitude of the generation of the Exodus. The word Moses uses; Tarbut, has come to mean culture and we explore how culture, in contradistinction to Torah, has evolved and continues to impact Jewish thought until today.
Geoffrey Stern•206 Views•July 31, 2024•Heresy,Tarbut,Hellenism,Domesticate,Rabbi Meir, Elisha B. Avuyah, and Bruriah,Culture
Vigilant about VigilantismParshat Pinchas - The story of Pinchas taking the law into his own impulsive hands was problematic to the Rabbis and has been used by zealots until today to justify vigilantism and extrajudicial execution. We discuss.
Geoffrey Stern•140 Views•July 24, 2024•קַנָּאִין פּוֹגְעִין בּוֹ,Impulse,Zealotry,Price Tag,Vigilantism,Pinchas
How good is that!Parshat Balak - A blessing delivered by a foreign prophet is so inspiring that it is used to initiate the morning prayers in Jewish houses of worship of every denomination and until today.How good is that?
Holy WaterParshat Chukat - This week’s parsha is Chukat which is as much about water as it is about Chukim or challenging rules. It starts with the death of Miriam and her well, segues into Moses fatal sin in striking the water rock and concludes with the Red Heifer its purifying water. Today we focus on the ability of sprinkled water or emersion into water to purify in Judaism and later Christianity.
The Spirit of all FleshParshat Korach - Moshe pleads that only the guilty are punished and uses a title for God he uses in only one other place and which is not used again in all of Tanach: "God of the spirits of all flesh". This name for God strikes us as very universalist, even humanistic and we explore.
WanderlustParshat Sh'lach - The so-called Biblical Spies are actually not characterized as undercover agents but rather as tourists or in Hebrew; Turim. Broadcasting live from Italy, we take this opportunity to explore the significant impact that journey has played in defining the Jew.
Retirement, Ageism and Age LimitsParshat Beha'alotcha - We've encountered age limits in the Torah with regard to reaching the age of majority, military age and the age required to serve as a priest, but there is a singular verse which provides a mandatory retirement age and it is the subject of our discussion.
Jewish Identity - Nature or Nurture?Parshat Bamidbar - There's nothing new with the emphasis on the genetic lineage of the tribes at the onset of the Book of Numbers. What is surprising is a strategically placed Rabbinic comment that whoever teaches Torah to another, Scripture regards it as though he had begotten him. So, what is it... Nature or Nurture?
DIASPORAParshat Bechukotai - God threatens to scatter the Jews and the Septuagint, in its Greek translation, coins a new word, maybe a new concept. A Greek word used to reference a people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently reside elsewhere. The word is Diaspora, a seminal concept in Judaism and a word that has spawned such concepts as alienation, ethnicity and redemption. Modern day Diaspora Studies transcend and sometimes eclipse the Jews but Disapora may lie at the heart of what is the enigma of the Jews...
Times for TorahParshat Behar - The Biblical Sabbatical year had a profound effect on academia and we use this evolution in the meaning of the Sabbatical year to explore how Judaism encouraged setting apart specific times for Torah Study.
Ki ba moed - the time has comeParshat Emor - We usually think of Tishrei and the Fall as a marathon in Jewish holidays, but if you count Rabbinic and Israeli holidays, the 7 weeks of Spring win the holiday race with ease. Pesach, Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha'atzmut, Pesach Sheni, Lag ba'Omer, Yom Yerushalyim and Shavuot. We use Leviticus 23 which has the most complete summary of Biblical holidays to explore the dynamic of adding new holidays and adding meaning to existing holidays.
Yom HaZikaron - a conversation with Menachem BombachThis year Yom Hazikaron; Memorial Day, will be different for many reasons and from many perspectives. We invite Rabbi Menachem Bombach, a maverick visionary in the Haredi community to join us for a conversation about the meaning, history and halachic significance of this day for Israelis in general and for the ultra-Orthodox in particular.
Editors
Geoffrey Stern
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