edJEWcation

edJEWcation
  • 4.8 (39)
  • Judaism
  • Updated Weekly

Your weekly dose of Jewish wit and wisdom. Each week Rabbi Abba Perelmuter, Chayaleah Sufrin, and Jay Covitz explore Jewish history, culture, and writings. Whether you're a relapsed Jew or an old pro there is something for us all to learn.

  1. 2d ago

    Matot-Masei: Vows, Tribes & Cities of Refuge

    The Rabbi opens with a request: can we please put a moratorium on the word “anti-Semitism” until next July 4th? (Spoiler: no, but we try.) Then we celebrate some family news and dive into Matot-Masei, the double portion that closes out the book of Numbers. The Rabbi calls it one of the juiciest parshas of the year, and he makes his case: a war, an angry Moses, a real estate negotiation gone sideways, and an ancient legal system for accidental killers. In this episode, we get into: Why some Torah portions are read as doubles, and who divided (and named) the parshas in the first place The trup (cantillation): how an ancient melody quietly narrates the story, including Joseph’s famous pause with Potiphar’s wife Gad and Reuben asking to stay east of the Jordan, and how one reversed word order exposed their priorities What the tribes’ obligation to fight alongside their brothers says about diaspora Jews when Israel is at war Cities of refuge: the Torah’s “safe space” for accidental killers, and why the tribe of Simon got scattered on purpose Whether you grew up with this parsha or you’re hearing “Matot-Masei” for the first time, pull up a chair. There’s a waffle bar story in here too. Links Parashat Matot-Masei (Numbers 30–36) Gad and Reuben’s request and Moses’ response (Numbers 32) “Every shock fighter among you crosses the Jordan” (Numbers 32:20–24) Cities of refuge (Numbers 35:9–34) The shalshelet in the Joseph and Potiphar’s wife story (Genesis 39:8) Shogeg vs. ones, laws of exile “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh” (all Jews are responsible for one another) “Those who tend a tree eat the fruit” (Proverbs 27:18)

  2. Jul 8

    Yahrzeit, Kaddish & the 17th of Tammuz

    Some episodes start light. This one starts with a candle. We begin with Jay’s yahrzeit for his mom, twelve years gone and still deeply missed, and the Rabbi walks us through what the anniversary of a death really means in Jewish tradition. From there we widen out to a fast day heavy with history and a piece of tech that might change how any of us learns Torah. In this episode, we get into: What yahrzeit means and why we say Kaddish for eleven months, then every year after The Rabbi’s own story of counting down the days, and the strange sadness when Kaddish ends The five tragedies of the 17th of Tammuz and the start of the Three Weeks Why you can get engaged during the Three Weeks but not married (and what that says about free will) Yochai, the new AI tool that turns anyone into a Torah study partner

  3. Jun 17

    Hillel & Shammai: Judaism's Dynamic Duo

    What makes two rabbis who disagreed about almost everything the most celebrated pair in Jewish history? This week we sit down with Hillel and Shammai, the original dynamic duo, and the answer turns out to be the way they argued, not what they argued about. In this episode, we get into: The lost art of disagreeing with someone you actually like and respect, and why Judaism treats a good argument as something close to sacred. Machloket l’shem shamayim: what makes an argument “for the sake of heaven,” and where the line gets crossed The Hanukkah menorah debate: do you start with eight candles or one, and why each side is right The gentile who asked to learn the whole Torah on one foot, and the very different answers Hillel and Shammai gave Why Hillel’s golden rule (”what you don’t want done to you, don’t do to others”) is not the same as “love your neighbor as yourself” Lenient versus strict: how two yeshivas, two personalities, and one open door shaped Jewish law Why we almost always rule like Hillel, and the surprising reason it comes down to humility Pull up a chair, pick a side, and remember: the rest is commentary. Resources: Hillel and Shammai, sayings and character Machloket l’shem shamayim (a dispute for the sake of heaven) Korach’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron

  4. Jun 10

    The Twelve Prophets, Part 3: Micah to Malachi

    We made it to the finish line. After two earlier episodes, we wrap up the Twelve Prophets and tie a bow on them all. Along the way we get into why these texts barely show up in yeshiva, a much-debated Midrash about Adam and the animals, and whether religion or just plain ideology has driven the worst of human history. Then we go prophet by prophet, all the way to the very last words of prophecy. In this episode, we get into: Micah, and the “swords into plowshares” verse that 99 percent of the world wrongly credits to Isaiah Nahum and the fall of Nineveh, plus a thorny question: if God wanted the exile, why blame Assyria for carrying it out? Habakkuk, who opens by arguing with God and reduces all 613 commandments to one: the righteous shall live by his faith Zephaniah on fear, fight-or-flight, and the command “do not fear” Haggai, Zechariah’s colored-horse visions, and Malachi closing the prophets with the hearts of parents and children turning back to each other Grab a book of the prophets and read along with us. It only takes a few minutes a day, and as we say in here, it’s no great honor to be ignorant. Resources: Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Malachi

  5. Jun 3

    The Minor Prophets, Part 2: Hosea to Micah

    We picked up where we left off with the Twelve Prophets (Trei Asar), and Hosea throws us straight into one of the strangest stories in all of the Tanakh. Gd is furious that the Jewish people are chasing idols, so He gives Hosea an unusual assignment: go marry a woman of ill repute, have kids with her, and name them “Not My People” and “No Mercy.” It’s harsh, it’s strange, and the Rabbi calls it the most dramatic living metaphor any prophet was ever asked to act out. In this episode, we get into: Hosea, the harlot metaphor, and the Kabbalistic question of whether Gd can actually be affected by what we do What a prophet (and a leader) is supposed to be: tough on the people, defender to Gd, never a politician Joel and the locusts, the seven-year famine, and when punishment came measure-for-measure Famous Amos (great cookies, great prophet) and why prosperity might be the harder spiritual test Obadiah the convert who saved 100 prophets from Jezebel, the rabbinic tradition that Rome is Edom, and the famous widow with the miraculous oil Micah and the morality prophets: how “idolatry” in our day reads as money, power, and the corruption that comes with success We also kept circling back to something: most American Jews don’t think about Gd as Someone with expectations. That’s exactly the tension Hosea was preaching into 3,000 years ago. Same story, different costumes. Hit play, and stay with us for Part 3, where we close out the Twelve.

  6. May 20

    Shavuos: The Forgotten Holiday

    Let’s be honest: when someone you’re not a fan of gets bad news, there’s a tiny, guilty dopamine hit. We open this episode by confessing that impulse out loud and digging into what Pirkei Avot (and King Solomon) have to say about rejoicing at your enemy’s fall. Spoiler: it’s a whole thing. In this episode, we get into: The ethics of Schadenfreude and what Pirkei Avot teaches about resisting that guilty satisfaction Shavuos 101: the forgotten major Jewish holiday, why your boss has never heard of it, and why it matters How the giving of the Torah turned a tribe into a nation (and why shared ancestry alone isn’t enough) The Sam Harris morality debate: can you have ethics without God? The trolley problem, Jewish style: why the Torah says you can’t pull the lever The Book of Ruth, the ultimate story of loyalty, conversion, and the origins of King David Whether you’re prepping for Shavuot or just want to know if you’re a bad person for enjoying celebrity gossip, grab some cheesecake and press play. 🧀 Episode References Pirkei Avot 4:19 Proverbs 24:17 The Ten Commandments Book of Ruth

  7. May 14

    A Jewish Bookshelf

    The rabbi’s out this week, so we’re are doing what any self-respecting book nerds would do: geeking out about reading. In this episode, we get into: Jay breaks down his “30 pages a day” habit (spoiler: it adds up to 10,000 pages a year) ChayaLeah confesses her Shakespeare regrets Jay’s system for building a daily reading habit (and why you should keep three books going at once) The “Chan-book-ah” book haul: Arab nationalism, Elie Wiesel, Holocaust memoirs, and Jewish prayer ChayaLeah’s pitch for Cultural Amnesia by Clive James and why Remains of the Day is still on her mind Why understanding Jewish prayer word by word is a total game changer Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, a book they both call the best they’ve ever read Hopefully you’ll get some ideas for your next book from this episode. Quote of the episode: "I realized I was never going to be the smartest person in a room, but I could be the most well read." — Jay All the books we mention: Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century by Adeed Dawisha God in Search of Man by Abraham Joshua Heschel Souls on Fire by Elie Wiesel Sages and Dreamers by Elie Wiesel Night by Elie Wiesel The Last Consolation Vanished by Zalmen Gradowski Hostage by Eli Sharabi On Killing by Dave Grossman Elusive Prophet: Ahad Ha’am and the Origins of Zionism by Steven Zipperstein As a Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg Anonymous Soldiers by Bruce Hoffman To Pray as a Jew by Hayim Halevy Donin The Hour of Our Death by Philippe Ariès Arrows of the Dark (two volumes) by Tuvia Friling Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman The Road by Vasily Grossman Cultural Amnesia by Clive James Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris My Prayer (two volumes, Chabad teachings on prayer) — could not confirm Amazon listing, may need manual search Rebel and Statesman-The Early Years: The Life and Times of Vladimir Jabotinsky: Volume One by Joesph Schechtman Fighter and Prophet; The Jabotinsky Story; The Last Years by Joesph Schechtman The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - this is ChayaLeah’s book. Jay dissavows

  8. May 7

    The Twelve Prophets of Judaism, Part 1

    What does it actually take to be a prophet? Spoiler: it’s not just hearing voices and shouting in the marketplace (though there’s some of that). In this kickoff to our new series on the Trei Asar, the Twelve Prophets of the Tanakh, we set the stage before diving into the individual books. Think of this as Prophecy 101 with a side of cult talk, because honestly, the line between “biblical prophet” and “guy with millions of YouTube followers” is thinner than we’d like to admit. In this episode, we get into: 📜 What prophecy actually is in Judaism, according to Maimonides, and why Moses was working on a totally different frequency from everyone else 👑 The three pillars of Jewish leadership (king, high priest, Sanhedrin), and where the prophet fit 🎤 Who got tapped to be a prophet, why some were reluctant 🚫 Why prophecy ended after Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, and what replaced it 🤔 What we’d actually do if a prophet rolled up today (hint: probably an institution) 😬 False prophets and cults like, Sabbatai Zvi, Jim Jones, the Moonies Get ready to learn everything you ever wanted to know about prophecy but were afraid to ask.

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Your weekly dose of Jewish wit and wisdom. Each week Rabbi Abba Perelmuter, Chayaleah Sufrin, and Jay Covitz explore Jewish history, culture, and writings. Whether you're a relapsed Jew or an old pro there is something for us all to learn.

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  • Creator
    edJEWcation
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    117
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © edJEWcation
  • Show Website
    edJEWcation

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