May 22, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 55 - 2nd Anniversary Special - Paraders of the Blessed Ark - Part 1

To celebrate two years of being Jewish and Nerdy, we invited some of our previous guests from the past year back to the show for a Torah Smashed version of Dungeons & Dragons. Each player chose a biblical character to portray (character descriptions below) and worked together to rescue the innocents and protect one of the most famous artifacts of the Torah.

00:00:37 Character Introductions
00:01:44 Our story begins on the bank of the Jordan River
00:06:04 Between a rock and a river
00:12:05 An Unknown Code
00:21:37 Stuck between a cat rock and a hard spelling place.
00:26:36 All eyes in the city of Ai.
00:33:25 The Chatool house
00:45:33 Ai’ll Be Back
00:55:46 Guards!
01:27:51 Please, Don’t Leave
01:29:50 Shoutouts

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Character Information:
NOA (played by Barak Malkin) Changeling Sorcerer. She is a daughter of Zelophahad and twin sister to Tirza.

TIRZA (played by Ethan Lane-Miller) Changeling Ranger. She is a daughter of Zelophahad and twin sister to Noa.

CALEB (played by Rachel Frish) Wood Half-Elf Monk. He is second in command to Aaron.

ARONA (played by Rabbi Emma Gottlieb) Aasimar Cleric. She is the assigned protector of the Ark of the Covenant by Aaron.

RAHAB (played by Dr. Miriam Eve Mora) Eladrin Bard. She is a Canaanite sex worker who previously aided two of Joshua’s spies.

JOSHUA (played by Rabbi Benjamin Sharff) Holy Knight Paladin. He is the appointed leader of the Jewish people following Moses.

DUNGEON MASTER (RDY) The man behind the curtain, the puller of strings, and weaver of the improvised story made by the players.

May 8, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 54 - Very Special Episodes …with Guest Host Rabbi Alan Cook

This week’s episode will talk about something very special. Since we want it to be extra memorable, we’ll bring in a special guest. That should help ensure that the purpose and topic stick out in your mind. Did that work for you growing up with the very special episodes of your favorite tv shows growing up? Does that still work for you now? Find out the answer to these questions and more on this very special episode of Torah Smash!

00:03:00 In Good Company
00:03:44 The arrival of the “Very Special Episode”
00:10:47 A very special smash
00:15:59 Special Guest Characters of the Torah
00:16:50 Guest Starring Zelophahad’s Daughters
00:20:43 Guest Starring Moses’ Father in Law
00:25:21 Guest Starring A Celebrity!
00:30:47 More Torah Special Guests
00:34:04 Written Once More With Feeling
00:37:14 Do Special Episodes Resonate More?
00:41:04 Why bad things happen to unknown people.

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April 24, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 53 - Destiny Report

You’re going to listen to this episode. How do I know? Because it’s destined to happen. The fact that you’re reading this now already tells me that this episode is in your feed. Just because you're reading this doesn’t change the fact that it’s going to happen. You see the dilemma right? If you listen, then our Torah Smash precogs were right and the system works. If you don’t listen, then our precogs were wrong and the whole system is broken. What’s this episode worth to you? What choice will you make… or has it already been decided for you?

00:02:16 The legality of future crime in the Minority Report movie
00:05:11 Heroes not embracing their path
00:07:30 Moses’ humility
00:08:37 Destiny cannot be manipulated
00:09:47 A flaw in the logic
00:12:44 C.R.U.S.H.
00:16:02 It is your destiny!
00:22:24 All paths lay before you
00:31:34 Keeping the marbles
00:33:36 Ethan promises this isn’t a Star Wars episode

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April 10, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 52 - Moses and the Justice League

Passover is around the corner, so of course, we will look at the hero who, to avoid the destruction of his people, was sent by his parents to eventually grow up to be the hero we all look up to. I’ll give you a hint, they’re a member of the Justice League. …Wait, who were you thinking of?

00:00:38 Barak likes Jewish holiday smashes
00:01:56 Moses and Superman
00:03:12 Comparison of the two heroes
00:11:34 No capes!
00:15:31 The rest of the biblical Justice League
00:16:17 Is Cyborg a Golem?
00:17:42 Aquaman and the sea based characters
00:18:26 Young and Impulsive
00:18:48 Green Lantern’s ring
00:23:38 The Emerald Archer
00:25:40 Martian Manhunter
00:27:48 Wonder Woman and Black Canary
00:31:24 The Dark Knight
00:34:59 Who’s left?

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March 27, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 51 - You Are So Not Invited To My Borg Mitzvah

Star Date: April 5, 2063. Earth has finally made contact with other intelligent life in the universe, so we better ask them all the important questions: Do lobster people keep kosher? How many people attend a Borg’s b’nai mitzvah service? And why does Ethan think Star Trek: First Contact can hold its own with Wrath of Kahn?

00:01:15 First Contact Day 04/05/63
00:03:16 Not sure if it holds up, but what a cast!
00:07:15 The power of touch
00:10:01 How would alien life change Judaism?
00:13:55 Humanity in a post-religious world
00:16:29 Does life on other planets have free will?
00:18:45 Alien b’nai mitzvot
00:21:15 Debating through real life examples
00:25:38 First romantic contact
00:28:22 Continuing the arguments …err …conversations
00:31:04 A little perspective
00:32:24 Is there religion in 2063?
00:33:09 Going back to the writing

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March 13, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 50 - Funny, You Don’t Look Jewish …with Special Guest Fabrice Sapolsky

Purim is around the corner (some may say it’s around three corners) and throughout the holiday we disguise who we really are. Together with comic creator and publisher, Fabrice Sapolsky, we explore some comic heroes who hide in plain sight and we discuss how these decisions are reflective in our modern world. So, pull up a chair, grab a plate of hamantashens, and enjoy this one!

00:02:13 Poppy filled pockets are coming!
00:03:52 Queen Esther hides her identity
00:05:45 Daniel Kaufman’s ELI Talk
00:06:33 Which Superheroes Passively hide?
00:09:44 Bear-ly hiding at conventions
00:16:04 What brings superheroes out of hiding?
00:21:59 In Jewish History and Present
00:24:43 When do you present actively or hide passively?
00:33:20 Revisiting the superheroes who passively hide
00:40:30 Movies trying to hide as comics

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February 28, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 49 - Hogwarts School of Judaism and Wizardry…With Special Guest Rabbi Emma Gottlieb

Filled with decades of knowledge, halls filled with history, and helping to teach the young ones the history, culture, and practices of their people. As we explore the starting point for the wizarding youth attending Hogwarts, joined by Rabbi Emma Gottlieb, we explore the connections to our own Jewish educational institutions that we had opportunities to learn and study in as well.

00:04:31 A boy named Harry Potter
00:10:25 Yeshiva: A History
00:12:40 Another nerd yeshiva
00:14:27 Learning in different worlds
00:17:31 Keeping the past alive
00:20:03 The value of multiple perspectives
00:24:06 Schools around the globe
00:29:54 The competition
00:35:37 Our houses
00:38:42 Anthony Goldstein
00:40:50 Names are important
00:42:39 Abra Kadabra

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February 14, 2024
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 48 - What If Creation Wasn’t The Beginning?…With Special Guest Roy Schwartz

Judaism encourages us to ask questions. In this episode, we try to answer Marvel’s biggest question of What If…? We discuss the most recent animated addition to the MCU and debate how the question could be used to change our view of our own Jewish history.

00:01:49 The oddities of “Is Superman Circumcised?”
00:04:48 A good month for superhero fans
00:07:45 Ours is the world that was selected, for now.
00:09:59 Process theology
00:15:42 Save Scumming
00:20:20 Why OUR universe? Was it the burritos?
00:21:54 Jewish What If Scenarios
00:22:10 What If Pharoah’s Heart Wasn’t Hardened?
00:23:42 What If Moses Didn’t Part the Red Sea?
00:25:34 What If Baby Moses Chose Differently?
00:26:50 What If Adam Ate The Apple First?
00:28:58 What If We Didn’t Worship The Calf?
00:29:17 What If Pharoah Knew Joseph?
00:30:15 What If Joseph Didn’t Add?
00:31:10 What Isaac Binded Abraham?
00:35:00 What If we let this question loose in nerd culture?

Share this episode with a friend: https://www.torahsmash.com/post/episode-48-what-if-creation-wasnt-the-beginning

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