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Free Mishnah Classes at Darshan Yeshiva

April 13, 2015 By punktorah

Talmud_set

Talmud study is ridiculously intimidating. But not anymore.

Darshan Yeshiva is now offering a seven-part Intro to Mishnah class, a great way to get started in Talmud study. With seven podcasts and thirteen handouts, students will gain a sense of what the Mishnah is all about, thanks to the thoughtful approach by Lex Rofes, who provided the content for this class series.

Best part? The Mishnah class is part of Advanced Jewish Studies which is only $5/month and has a 14-day free trial. So yeah, you can basically take this class for free if you cancel before 14 days.

Sign up here and start learning some Mishnah.

Filed Under: Rants Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, free online jewish, free talmud study, mishnah, online conversion, online talmud study, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, talmud, talmud study

PunkTorah’s Virtual Mishloach Manot

March 3, 2015 By punktorah

hamentashen

Every Purim we give mishloach manot, little goodie bags filled with cookies, candies, airplane bottles of booze…you know, whatever you are into.

Unfortunately, an online community doesn’t have virtual mishloach manot. And while 3D printers can do amazing things, we haven’t managed to find one that can bake the perfect poppyseed hamentaschen from digital schematics.

So instead, we offer you this grab bag of of favorite Purim treats on PunkTorah. And since giving tzedakah is part of the Purim experience, we hope you’ll give a suggested $18.00 donation to support all our hard work providing Jewish community to over 300,000 people every year.

Recipes

Almond Hamentaschen Recipe

Learning

Kid Friendly Feminist Purim Lesson Plan

Adar: Food As Transformation

For Kids

Paper Plate Hamentaschen and Purim Masks

Other Fun Stuff

Purim Shpiel with Ketzirah

If You Only Come To Shul Twice A Year

Filed Under: Purim, Rants Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, hamentaschen, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, Purim, purim kids, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parsha Tetzaveh – Back to the Past?

February 25, 2015 By Russell McAlmond

NO3N2

This week’s parsha of Tetzaveh is about temples, sacrifices and priests – oh my! Seriously, we who live in the 21st Century have a hard time understanding the reasons for all of this.  Regarding kohanim, it goes against our modernity and and sense of egalitarianism that people should be given power for reasons of heredity. After all, look at what happened in North Korea.  And animal sacrifices? In the day of PETA looking over our shoulders, do we really want to read about how to sacrifice bulls and rams and spread their blood on altars?  Should we look to this ancient past for inspiration and help in our time?

The answer is, “Yes, we should!”

It is important to keep the Torah in modern perspective.  It was written by men many years ago who were primarily concerned about how to maintain the cohesiveness of a tribe and people.  It was also about how our people viewed G-d and their place in the world.  It worked!  Jews still identify as Jewish after thousands of years based on a shared heritage and respect for the wisdom of the Torah.  But is the Torah all wisdom?  No.  There are things written, such as in this week’s parsha (Exodus 27:20 – 30:10), that had significance in that day and age, but simply don’t fit into the 21st Century.

Judaism evolves, as all religions and ideologies should evolve, to keep up with modernity.   As human beings reach higher levels of moral maturity, we will naturally discard ancient ideas that conflict with these new realities.  The wisdom of the Torah is mutable – and this is a good thing.  As Jews, we need flexibility in our lives as well as our religion to adopt to new circumstances.  If there is a lesson here for us in this week’s parsha it may be that we should learn how to discern true wisdom from ancient practices.  Being careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water, as modern-day Jews, we still have a need to read the Torah with discernment.

Back to the past, yes, but firmly in the present as well.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief, Rants Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, judaism evolving, modernity, online conversion, Parsha, Parsha Tetzaveh, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, tetza, Torah, torah mutable

40% off all classes at Darshan Yeshiva #HanukkahGift

December 15, 2014 By punktorah

Darshan Yeshiva Cover copy

Our sister website Darshan Yeshiva is giving an awesome 40% off discount on Torah Study, Intro to Judaism and Darshan Training as a Hanukkah gift to the PunkTorah community. This is on top of the 14 day free trial that you already get just for signing up.

Just use discount code GELT2014 today through December 25th to receive the discount.

While you’re there, check out Darshan Yeshiva’s new conversion to Judaism program and new rabbis.

Happy Hanukkah!

Filed Under: Rants Tagged With: conversion to judaism, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, darshan yeshiva discount, intro to judaism, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, torah study

Join Rabbi Patrick + PunkTorah Community @ LimmudFest 2014

July 18, 2014 By punktorah

limmudfest

I hope you will join me at Limmudfest, this Labor Day weekend (August 29th-September 1st) at Ramah Darom in Clayton, GA.

LimmudFest is like a Shabbaton meets summer camp for all ages. A multi-day retreat organized by a community of volunteers: Jews from all walks of life, all Jewish backgrounds, all lifestyles and all ages, Limmud is one of the most dynamic organizations (and events) I have ever seen.

So what’s Limmud like? It’s about hanging out with incredible Jewish scholars from around the world teaching sessions on everything from Kol Nidre to whether or not Jews are white. It’s about hanging out on the porch of the cafeteria, listening to hippies play acoustic guitar while drinking a cold beverage of your choice. It’s about making new friends…and making friends who become more than “friends”.

You can stay indoors for Jewish learning, trek around the hiking trails, swim, stroll through the Jewish library, hang out in the shuk (a store featuring books/cds/Judaica and other stuff from the Limmud community). Of course, if you come to this year’s Limmud, you’ll get to hang out with Rabbi Patrick and a few other awesome members of the PunkTorah community.

For more information and to register, just visit the Limmud Atlanta website. And when you register, make sure to tell them your friend Patrick sent ya.

Warmly,

Rabbi Patrick

Filed Under: Rants Tagged With: blonde jews, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, limmud, limmud atlanta, limmudfest, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

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