PunkTorah Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to independent Jewish spirituality. We believe that you matter, and you matter to Judaism. We are here because you are important to us and to God. Simple as that.
In the Beginning
PunkTorah was founded in April 2009 as a simple YouTube video blog. It was an online community helping people who have fallen through the cracks of Jewish life. Our multimedia network spread a message of love, inclusion, and hope to thousands of people around the world. No matter what shape you are, at PunkTorah you fit. And that’s where the punk in PunkTorah comes from.
PunkTorah.org
PunkTorah started as a media organization. We self-published seven books, an album of Jewish meditation music, launched the first live streaming havurah (12 years before Covid), a series of YouTube videos, and presented at conferences and synagogues. The early days were fun and challenging, mostly because we had absolutely no idea what we were doing.
In 2012, PunkTorah recognized what it was not really a content organization, but an engine of fearlessness. Realizing that social media content would one day polarize the Jewish community, and that there would be too many competitors for peoples attention, PunkTorah chose to reimagine what promoting independent Jewish spirituality would look like, and realized that what made PunkTorah punk was the willingness to build the kinds of projects no one else would. We embraced fearlessness. And that’s when PunkTorah had an amazing rebirth.
Darshan Yeshiva
The first product of our newly realized ethos is Darshan Yeshiva, the distance-learning based conversion to Judaism and lay leadership training program.
To date, Darshan Yeshiva has conversion mentors all over the world, averages 70-100 conversions to Judaism per year, and has thousands of students utilizing our Judaism for beginners programs.
But wait, there’s more.
Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary
In 2018, realizing the way distance-learning based rabbinical education fell short of its capabilities, PunkTorah began incubating Project Yeshivat Machar, eventually called Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary.
The goal as always was a bold one: how do you use the tools of the internet to train up the best rabbis possible, and by diverse Jewish educators broadly spanning the religious spectrum?
PRS began accepting students in 2019 for a 2020 cohort. Four months into our first year, Covid-19 began. PRS was positioned perfectly to provide distance-learning based rabbinical education, and our two-year cohorts range from 6-12 students, to date ordaining 18 students with another 18 on the way.
Rabbi & Son
In the fall of 2024, we launched a fun new project to engage Jews and non-Jews alike: the Rabbi & Son podcast. Hosted by Rabbi Patrick Beaulier and his son Javon, weekly episodes feature hot takes on news, pop culture, and religion with a spiritual, irreverent, and always fearless attitude. Listen on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Overcast.
The Future
While PunkTorah is focused on DY and PRS, we are always looking for blue sky projects that only PunkTorah could manage to do. What will they be? Only time will tell.
FAQ
So what is “punk” about “PunkTorah”?
Punk, like hippie, rapper, beatnik or whatever, means outsider. It means independent, DIY, pluralistic, forward thinking. It also means someone who is marginalized. If you feel like that, then you’re PunkTorah, too.
What is the relationship between PunkTorah, Darshan Yeshiva and Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary?
PunkTorah Inc. developed and launched DY and PRS. While being sister organizations, they share different leadership. This is a model developed from our days as a media organization: one creative and economic engine serving multiple machines. This efficiency allows us to operate at a fraction of the cost of most Jewish non-profits.
Are You Hiring?
Visit DarshanYeshiva.org which is currently the only site accepting resumes.