We're independent, just like you.
The long awaited saga Steampunk Torah continues with Rivkah Raven’s new chapters: Noah, Lech Lecha and Vayeira.
Not familiar with Steampunk Torah? Check out the unfolding saga here at PunkTorah.org.
Click below to download the newest chapters:
At PunkTorah, our most valuable asset is our people. Our dedicated staff and volunteers serve the Jewish community through web based and in-person programs that promote independent Jewish spirituality and culture. Interested in joining us? PunkTorah welcomes all qualified internship applicants, regardless of gender/gender identity, race, age, sexuality, or disability.
Position: Spring Intern, Part Time (6-8 hours/week)
Timeframe: Spring 2012 (March 5th – June 1st, 2012). Additional intern opportunity available in the summer.
Description:
This unique internship opportunity will allow a hard-working, self-motivated, creative individual to work with PunkTorah’s entire network of projects to advance Jewish spirituality and community.
Our goal is to help you learn everything you need to know to start your own non-profit, web company or multimedia project. Be prepared to learn more than any classroom will ever teach you.
Some exciting things include: WordPress website development, podcasting, graphic design, social media, creative writing, non-profit management, business/job skills, and of course, Jewish studies. Experience in these areas preferred, but not required.
Including the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people and to learn job skills, interns will also receive free tickets to Jewish events, merchandise such as CDs and books, and upon completion of internship, letters of recommendation to schools and employers.
Interns will work out of our new office two days a week for four hours each day assisting Patrick Aleph as well as via Skype/phone with volunteers around the world. We honor all Jewish and secular holidays and will work with you to craft a consistant work schedule that is best for you and for the organization. Candidates must have reliable transportation and a commitment to PunkTorah’s values.
Please email a short resume and an email explaining why you are applying for this internship to patrick@punktorah.org.
We’ve started a fun, new Twitter account @JewishLaw. Every day (hopefully!) we will post a line of text or an insights from the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, an abbreviated compilation by Rabbi Solomon Ganzfried (translated by Hyman Goldin). Please follow us and get involved in the dialogue about Jewish law, spirituality and text!
Do you want to support @JewishLaw? Please give a donation of $5.99 to support one month of our tweeting!
It took forever to get the Deleon podcast to happen, not because singer/guitarist Dan Sacks had moved to Mexico City, but because the media computer at PunkTorah HQ crashed twice! Props to Dan for being cool about the long, long, delay. We owe him a cupcake at least.
At any rate, here is Dan Sacks from Deleon on his new album, his move abroad and the perils of the Jewish music industry.
Click here to listen to the Deleon Podcast
More info on Deleon’s Spotify project…
Our first video podcast featuring “Biblegum pop” duo Stereo Sinai. Stereo Sinai’s infectious Europop/electronica sound mixed with “lyrics stolen from God” is at once amazingly beautiful and commanding in message. Watch our first Video Podcast with the band.
I’m thinking about calling this blog Rabbi Without A Cause instead of Tattooed Rabbi. You’ll see why in the video. In any case, this is where I am right now in my rabbinical school journey. Enjoy.
Well PunkTorah family, it looks like we’re growing. We’re starting to get a lot of phone calls and emails from people around the world who want to know more about PunkTorah, journalists who want to write about us, organizations that want to partner with us on projects, and have PunkTorah ambassadors come out to events.
The curse is that you end up answering a lot of the same questions, and getting a lot of the same reactions. Because PunkTorah is your community, it’s only fair that we post the questions we get asked, and the answers we give, which I am calling the 5 Things About PunkTorah That Will SHOCK You…
1. We are not based in New York City. We’re not going to pretend that New York doesn’t have a gigantic Jewish population. But honestly, there are more Jews in the Gush Dan region in Israel than the Big Apple. And Miami has a comparable Jewish population per-capita to New York, since it’s much smaller. And hey, by most accounts, all the Jews of the Northeast and Midwest are moving to the South. Atlanta (where we are) has one of the youngest and fastest growing Jewish populations in the world. But you can read more about that on Wikipedia.
2. We are not affiliated with…anything! All of our funding comes from donations by readers like you and the few grants that we manage to hustle, such as the Jewish New Media Innovation Fund. We are not a part of a larger organization or any movement in Judaism. We love being independent.
3. We’re not a band. We’re a non-profit organization (tax exempt and everything) that promotes independent Jewish spirituality. We have full time and part time employees, some freelance help and a bunch of awesome volunteers. So why PunkTorah? Well, we do get a lot of flack about our name. And that’s cool with us! The word punk means rebellion and that’s what we are doing here: rebelling against the mainstream, McDonalized approach to Jewish life we’ve been spoon fed.
4. Most people who visit PunkTorah are not punks. At least, not in the musical/fashion sense. But one thing we all share is that we’re a little bit off center, dancing to the beat of our own drummer, who we believe to be the Source of Creation. What can we say? We love the fringes! When asked what our “demographic” is, we say, “people who like Judaism.” Doesn’t seem like an irrational thing to say, but it does illicit some weird remarks from people in business suits.
5. We’re in this for life. We’ve seen our friends jump from one organization and job to another, climbing the ladder of success, chasing after bigger money and more glorious positions. And that’s fine for them! But all of us here at PunkTorah: staff, volunteers, teachers, guest rabbis…we’re in this for life. PunkTorah is the welcoming wagon for people entering into their own understanding of the Jewish Experience. And no pay check is worth losing the opportunity to be here everyday with you awesome people.
6. We love you. Seriously, we do! And we hope that you love us, too. As Mr. Rogers said, “please won’t you be my neighbor?”
We’re psyched to announce our new podcaster, Jeremiah Satterfield, will be DJing a bi-weekly Jewish music show. Anything special you want to hear in the podcast? Send him an email!
Click the button below to play.
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Playlist:
DeScribe ft Matisyahu – Pure Soul – Shemspeed
Kosha Dillz – Garage Sale – Gina and the Garage Sale EP – Shemspeed
Ephryme – Life Sentence – Dopestylevsky – K Records
White Shabbos – Rav Avraham Kook – Shabbos Holy Shabbos – Shabasa Records
8th Day – It’s Shabbos Now – Chasing Prophecy – Aderet
The Mongrel Jews – Starving in the Belly of a Whale – Songs For A Minor
Matisyahu – Got No Water – Shake off the Dust . . . Arise – JDUB
Levi Mordechai – Ani Maamin – Sephardic Music Festival Vol 1 – Shemspeed
Gangsta Rabbi – The DiKtatoR – DiKtatoR17 – JDUB
Sabbapath – The Sabbath Bride (Lecha Dodi) – JDUB
NOFX – The Brews – Punk in Drublic – Epitaph
We’re pleased to announce that Ahava Rabbah: The 5772 OneShul Community Siddur is now available online on Barnes and Noble, Amazon and in print at ModernTribe.
The siddur is gender inclusive, LGBT friendly and showcases the many, varied ways that Jews can connect to prayer, both traditional and contemporary. The siddur includes the three daily prayers, prayers for Shabbat and Havdalah, holidays, meditations, poems and more! As a bonus, the prayer book includes a full Haggadah and Birkat Hamazon (blessing after meals). A great beginner siddur for someone interested in Jewish prayer who needs a place to start.
The book was written by the volunteers at OneShul.
We are excited to announce the launching of PunkTorah Radio, our new radio station through 8tracks.com. You can find us on 8tracks at 8tracks.com/punktorah. Here, every mix we publish on PunkTorah Radio can be accessed, not just the mix you find on the PunkTorah homepage.
Our station will promote music from Jewish artists all over the spectrum: rock, pop, indie, commercial– with or without Jewish subject matter.
This week’s 15-track mix features music from JDub artists Girls in Trouble, DeLeon, CAN!!CAN, Sagol 59, and The Sway Machinery. Other artists/bands include Matisyahu, Mirah, Rilo Kiley, Animal Collective, and more.
Do you make music? Are you in a band? If so, send it our way and we’ll review it to be added to the station. Have any ideas or suggestions of artists or songs for us to include? Let us know! Have questions about the radio or 8tracks.com? Send your mp3s, suggestions and inquiries to ashton@punktorah.org.
PunkTorah Radio is funded by generous donations. Support us by donating at punktorah.org/donations.
