Unbinding Isaac

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse. By tradition, the holiday of Passover is preceded by five specially named Shabbatot. The first is called Shekalim and we discuss the meaning of this shabbat in light of both Rabbinic and New Testament texts and in the process join our forebears in preparing for the Spring awakening.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/549744 

Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/03/06/shekels-count/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern and rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse. We invite Berel Dov Lerner the author of recently published: Human-Divine Interactions in the Hebrew Scriptures to discuss his book and his premise of Covenants and Cross-Purposes. We’ll use a simple basin made of pedestrian copper found in the Tabernacle as our point of departure.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/547714 

Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/02/29/human-divine-interactions/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse. We explore the enigma of the Urim and Thummim; the priestly breastplate, especially within the context of the Torah’s explicit rejection of sorcery and divination. And we wonder …. We wonder about contemporary incarnations of divination and prophesy in the form of opinion-polling and social media engagement.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/546029 

Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/02/21/the-sorcerers-apprentice/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbiu Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse. According to Rabbinic tradition Moses was shown a paradigm of the Menorah but was uncertain how to translate the vision into reality of the moment. Bezalel had no such reservations and succeeded where Moses failed. We use this tradition to explore the modern concept of Paradigm Shift and wonder whether we are at such an inflection point today.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/544480

Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/02/15/paradigm-shift/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and special guest, the Reverand Dumisani Washington recorded on Clubhouse. As the rubber meets the road and the Torah begins to translate its vision of liberation into practical rules and regulations, we sense a pattern. The Torah starts by addressing a legal institution close to home; slavery, and provides laws of emancipation. Next the Torah begins to create social solidarity amongst this previously persecuted multitude. Finally the Torah addresses a natural inclination towards a victim mentality and a lens that sees only privilege and victims. We use this opportunity to invite our friend Rev Dumisani Washington to discuss the current state of the Black Church and its relationship with Israel.

Sefaria source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/543156 

Transcript on podcast web page: https://madlik.com/2024/02/07/the-black-church-and-israel/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern, Rabbi Adam Mintz and special guest Shikh Muhan Fares for a discussion recorded on Clubhouse.. We celebrate Yitro and our Druze brothers and sisters. We marvel at the superlatives that the Torah uses to describe Jethro and how the same characteristics of loyalty, leadership and integrity are showcased by Israeli Druze today…. and maybe in the process, we learn a little bit more about the Druze and about ourselves.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/541621 

Transcript on episode webpage: https://madlik.com/2024/01/31/jethro-and-the-druze/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse. Nachshon is the posterchild of what Heschel called “Praying with your feet”. He personifies Judaism’s clear bias for action over the status quo, action over prayer and even action over reflection. Today we explore the darker side of Nachshon and the potential deficiencies of Action Bias in decision theory. 

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/539799 

Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/01/24/nachshon-and-action-bias/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse. Of all the plagues, only the plague of the firstborn carries a timeless message. It represents the culmination of the Torah’s critique of primogeniture and takes on a life of its own in the Israelite law of the firstborn and first fruits. So join us as we explore how the death of the firstborn impacts the message of the Exodus.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/538044 

Transcript onm episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/01/17/entitlement-reform/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz recorded on Clubhouse. We explore Martin Luthur King Jr.’s iconic “I have a Dream” speech along with an interview he gave at the Convention of the Rabbinical Assembly for Conservative Judaism, a year after the 6 Day War and 10 days before he was assassinated. We will showcase King’s identification with a prophetic tradition which saw the universality of the Exodus story without diminishing its unique message for the Children of Israel.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/536664

Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/01/11/mlk-and-exodus/ 

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam MIntz recorded on Clubhouse. Following Classical Rabbinic sources that show a link between the Family Story of Genesis and the Birth of a Nation Story of Exodus we review a recently published book: Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and its Origins by Jacob Wright and reflect on what made the Hebrew Bible so unique and its message so eternally timely.

Sefaria Source Sheet: www.sefaria.org/sheets/534972 

Transcript on episode website: https://madlik.com/2024/01/04/exodus-and-the-birth-of-a-nation/