Loading...

PODCAST

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism

The Malcolm Gladwell of the Torah -- That"s how listeners describe Madlik™ – where sharp insight meets sacred text. With the curiosity of a cultural critic and the soul of a yeshiva bochur, Madlik ignites Jewish thought from a post-orthodox perspective. Each weekly episode explores the Torah with fresh eyes — drawing unexpected connections, challenging assumptions, and offering a heterodox yet deeply rooted take on halachic and philosophical questions. Born of a lifelong love for Jewish texts and

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

34:19

What Does the Torah Really Mean by "Create

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/10/08

The Torah says God created the world. It never says God created it from nothing. For centuries, Jewish thinkers have argued over something hiding in the very first sentence of the Torah. The Torah begins with perhaps its most famous words: בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים — "In the beginning, God created." But does bara mean creating something from nothing—yesh me'ayin? Forming something from pre-existing matter? Bringing order out of chaos? Or separating and setting boundaries? In this episode of Madlik

en

31:19

In the Beginning was a New Idea

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/10/01

What if the way you learned to think about the God of Genesis is exactly what Genesis was trying to change? What if the most radical thing about the opening of Genesis is not what it says—but what it leaves out? There is no birth of God. No genealogy of God. No divine family tree and no story of how one god defeated the others and became supreme. Genesis simply begins with God already acting: בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים. In this episode of Madlik Disruptive Torah, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz

en

34:26

And the Earth Will Be Cleansed

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/09/17

What if we have the story of creation exactly backwards, and the world wasn't made for humans at all? We usually assume that God created the world for humanity and gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish people. But what if we have it exactly backwards? What if humanity was created to serve and protect the earth—and Israel was chosen to serve and protect the Promised Land? Key Takeaways Israel Recapitulates Adam Ha'Azinu describes Israel's creation in language borrowed from the creation of the

en

33:33

Forgive Me, for We Have Sinned

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/09/03

On Yom Kippur, we lovingly honor our parents' memories during Yizkor—so why does the climax of the confession force us to stand up and blame them for our sins? On Yom Kippur, we strike our own chests—but confess the sins of people who are no longer alive. אֲבָל אֲנַחְנוּ וַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ חָטָאנוּ "But we and our parents have sinned." Why bring our mothers and fathers into our confession? Are we blaming them, asking forgiveness on their behalf—or admitting that their unfinished business lives on in us

en

33:17

The Strange Exodus Story Hidden in Ki Tavo

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/08/27

Why did the Rabbis tell the Exodus through the words of a farmer—and leave Mount Sinai out of the story? What if the Torah's shortest version of the Exodus leaves out the most important moment? The story of the Exodus without using the Book of Exodus? In Parshat Ki Tavo, an Israelite farmer enters the Temple carrying a basket of first fruits and recites a compact history of his people: "My father was a wandering Aramean. The Egyptians oppressed us. We cried out. God brought us forth and gave us this

en

27:50

The Barren Woman's Song

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/08/20

Isaiah didn't just offer passive comfort to a broken nation—he hijacked the oldest stories in the Book of Genesis to force them to survive. What do you do when there is no reason to sing? Isaiah answers with a startling command: Rani akarah lo yaladah—"Sing, O barren woman who has not given birth." Sing before the child is born. Sing before the promise is fulfilled. Sing while the future still appears impossible. Key Takeaways Isaiah reads—and rewrites—Genesis. He brings Abraham and Sarah, Eden and

en

33:34

Shake Off the Dust and Dance

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/08/13

We usually associate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with judgment and fear, but a closer look at the texts reveals a completely different, shocking command: rejoice. Wake up. Shake off the dust. Put on your finest clothes—and rejoice! The haftarah for Parshat Shoftim delivers an urgent wake-up call to a defeated and demoralized people: Hit'oreri, hit'oreri—Awaken, awaken! Uri, uri—Wake up, wake up! Isaiah calls upon Zion to rise from the dust, cast off the identity of a captive, dress herself in

en

34:07

Becoming Good

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/08/05

What if Judaism has been misunderstood all along, and the real reward for doing good isn't what you get, but who you become? Is Judaism really about reward and punishment—or is it about becoming? Parshat Re'eh begins with a tiny grammatical anomaly. Instead of saying, "if you obey," the Torah says "that you obey." Could one unexpected Hebrew word change the way we understand blessing, virtue, and even human nature? In this episode of Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz follow that question

en

30:48

The Torah's Theory of History

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/07/30

We've all heard the old cliché that "history repeats itself," but the Torah actually reveals a massive flaw in that idea. The Greeks believed history repeats itself. Enlightenment thinkers believed history marches relentlessly forward. The Torah suggests they're both missing something. In this episode, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz begin with a single Hebrew word—eikev—and uncover a uniquely Jewish philosophy of history. Through the insights of Ramban, Giambattista Vico, Johann Gottfried

en

33:38

From Moses to Modern Populism

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/07/23

If you think your flaws and failures automatically make you a better, more "authentic" leader, you've completely misunderstood the lesson of Moses. Most civilizations turned their founders into saints. The Hebrew Bible does the opposite. Abraham falters. Jacob deceives. David sins. Moses—the greatest prophet in Judaism—is denied entry into the Promised Land. This isn't a bug in the Torah. It's one of its most revolutionary ideas. In this episode of Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz explore

en

31:17

The Lost Art of Paying Attention

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/07/16

What if the greatest cure for our distracted, scroll-addicted minds was written over 3,000 years ago? Deuteronomy isn't just repeating the Torah. It's teaching us how to pay attention. The fifth book of the Torah—Deuteronomy (Mishneh Torah)—is often dismissed as simply a review of what came before. But what if Moses' final retelling wasn't repetition at all, but one of the Torah's deepest lessons about how human beings learn, remember, and grow? In this episode of Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi

en

42:55

Yehoshua Pfeffer and the Haredi

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/07/09

From the ancient words of the Torah to the modern frontlines, a hidden shift is taking place that will redefine what it means to be an Israeli. Is the Haredi draft crisis really about military service—or about the future of the Jewish people? As Israel struggles with one of its most divisive public debates, Geoffrey Stern sits down with Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer—founder of the Iyun Institute, editor of Tzarich Iyun, and one of the leading intellectual voices emerging from within the Haredi

en

32:35

From Moses to Hamilton

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/07/01

What if the Founding Fathers didn't invent American democracy, but actually lifted its most crucial laws directly from the Torah? Did the Founding Fathers borrow from the Torah? As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Madlik explores one of the Bible's most remarkable constitutional moments. Before Israel enters the Promised Land, the Torah conducts a census—not simply to count people, but to constitute a nation of tribes, clans, families, and citizens. Then, five extraordinary sisters—the

en

28:46

A Midsummer Nightmare

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/06/24

Why did ancient rabbis look at the longest, brightest day of the year and feel a sudden sense of impending doom? As archaeologists uncover evidence of ancient solstice celebrations near Stonehenge, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz explore a provocative question: Why does Judaism greet the longest days of the year not with celebration, but with mourning? Key Takeaways 1. Judaism Never Ignored the Sun—It Reinterpreted It Although the Jewish calendar follows the moon, it is anchored to the solar

en

29:55

Creation and Re-Creation

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/06/17

What happens when an ancient religion that forbids any new rules gets caught secretly reinventing itself in plain sight? Can God still create something new? At the climax of Korach's rebellion, Moses declares: "If God creates a new creation..." (Numbers 16:30) But that single phrase opens a theological fault line running through all of Jewish thought. Did creation end after the six days of Genesis? Or does God continually recreate the world every day? Key Takeaways 1. Judaism Contains Two Opposite

en

36:14

Hasbara - Inside and Out

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/06/10

There's a terrifying line between having unwavering faith in your homeland and blinding yourself to a reality that is tearing it apart. Did the spies lie? For generations, Jews have read Parshat Sh'lach as the story of a faithless generation that listened to ten pessimistic scouts instead of Joshua and Caleb. The rabbis saw their tears as a "bechi shel chinam"—a gratuitous cry whose consequences echoed through Jewish history. But what happens when history forces us to reread the story? Key Takeaways

en

32:26

Entitlement Reform Cont.

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/06/03

For thousands of years, who your father was determined your entire life—until the Torah decided to tear that system down to the ground. For most of us, the defining moments of Jewish history are obvious: the Exodus from Egypt and the Revelation at Sinai. But what if we've overlooked another revolution hiding in plain sight? Key Takeaways The Torah's hidden revolution was the attack on birthright. We tend to think of the Exodus as a liberation from slavery and Sinai as the birth of law. But running

en

37:04

Splitting Hairs

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/05/28

If you've ever wondered why your observant grandmother didn't cover her hair, you're about to discover a hidden truth that changes everything about how Jewish law actually works. What if the way your grandmother practiced Judaism no longer matches what contemporary Orthodoxy claims Judaism always required? This week on Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz sit down with Professor Michael Broyde to discuss his groundbreaking new book Splitting Hairs — a deep dive into women's hair covering that

en

32:23

We The Tribes

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/05/13

We usually think of the ancient world as being ruled by dangerous, power-hungry kings, but the Torah actually commanded a radical, unified democracy thousands of years before America. What if the Book of Numbers is not really about numbers? What if the census in the wilderness was actually the birth of the first constitutional government? Key Takeaways Bamidbar is not just a census — it is a constitutional moment. The Torah counts the Israelites not as isolated individuals but as tribes, clans,

en

29:25

Made on Sabbath

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism ·

2026/05/06

What if the Jewish secret to creating your best work is actually learning how to do absolutely nothing? Is Shabbat really about rest… or is it about creation? Is it about ceasing from activity—or a unique form of production? The Torah says something strange: during the Sabbatical year, you don't eat crops—you eat "Shabbat." And when we are commanded to keep the Sabbath—we are told to make it. Key Takeaways Shabbat Isn't Passive — It's Creative. The Torah doesn't just say observe Shabbat—it says

en

302 results

Similar Podcasts

UsmanGee Islamic Universe | Quran: Tilawat & Tarjuma

usmangee-productions

Noches Con Dios

Leonardo

SunWest Church Weekly Sermon Podcast

SunWest Church

Quilcene Bible Church

Quilcene Bible Church

Patchogue United Methodist Church

Jaqueline Santos