PunkTorah

Independent Jewish Spirituality Online

  • Convert to Judaism
  • Online Rabbinical Program
  • Donate

Parsha Vayishlach: “Think for the best or you will go down just like the rest!” (Gen 32:4 – 36:43)

December 5, 2011 by Jeremiah

A couple weeks ago Toldot was approached under the assumption, since Esau and Jacob are twins they are in essence one very deep, complicated, driven individual split between two bodies. This separation of one divine spark creates an unmovable object contrasted by the unstoppable force. Vayishlach is what happens when the inevitable ramming of the horns occurs.

In this week’s portion Jacob returns to his homeland worried, and reasonably so, dividing his estate into two camps in hopes that when he meets his twin brother Esau any revenge meted out will only be felt by one side. Jacob isolates himself during the night to prepare himself for his meeting with Esau. During the night Jacob is confronted by a stranger whom he spends the rest of the evening wrestling with. Some believe this stranger to be Esau others believe him to be an angle, or a manifestation of Hashem, or even Jacob himself. Whoever Jacob wrestled with is not important what is important is how this plays into to the reunification of a Divine spark which happens the next morning.

Esau who was the extroverted half of the two was always physically strong and being that way he never had to look past the present moment to satisfy his needs. Jacob representing the introverted side was intelligent enough to know he needed time to plan and strategize in order to move towards his ultimate goal. The years he spent away working and building a large family with his wives and maidservants afforded him the time to become physically and strategically strong enough to confront Esau.

As the sun slowly rose and the dawn crept up ushering in the ultimate day of reckoning one hurdle remained for Jacob. . .he must conquer the introvert. Jacob physically overcomes the stranger only to be permantly handicapped yet reborn as Israel.

Israel, not Jacob, limps back to his camp waiting to confront the rest of his Divine spark resting within Esau. Israel, not Jacob, bows to his twin brother seven times. Esau is overcome with what he sees and embraces his brother Israel who is no longer his enemy Jacob. What a great end to a heart breaking conflict.

Vayishlach really spoke to me this week, more than I can every remember it doing in the past. Shortly after starting Circle Pit the Bimah I was forced to come to a head with myself. I was at a point were I felt overwhelmed, in other words I felt like the Greek character Atlas on a bad day. One night I had a dream where I’m in a suit walking through a city which always acts as the backdrop for most of my dreams. I’m looking past the  high rise sky line into mountains covered by jungle, and I think to myself I need to walk over there for Shul since today is Friday and the sun is about to set. So I walk and walk and walk never really getting any closer to my goal, finally I get frustrated and give up, rationalizing that there will always be another Shabbat why worry about it. I then walk down a flight of steps into a basement resulting in me waking up.

The entire next day I am not my usual self, more than anything I am mad at my subconscious for giving in so easily the night before. I decided to work from home, didn’t shave or bath, really didn’t do anything except clash with myself. That night I had another dream. A huge floating albino snake slithered up to me. The serpent was approximately 10-12 feet in length and its red eyes just stared at me while its body swayed back and forth behind it. As much as snakes creep me out I just stood there and stared back. Then it happened . . .WHAM!!! the serpent strikes face first into my chest. My body sways like wheat during a breezy summers day but my feat remain rooted to the earth. Defeated the serpent flies off and in my dream reasoning I understand why it lost. During the entire confrontation its mouth was closed so it could not whisper to me and break my resolve. The next morning I reevaluated a lot of the things that where baring down on me. Those I could change I did, those I could influence to a degree I did, and those I couldn’t do anything about I just stopped obsessing over and I have felt great ever since.

The things I was wrestling with while trivial compared to what Jacob had to overcome still forced me to reconcile Jeremiah with Jeremiah. What is your biggest obstacle? How did you find peace within yourself? We want to know. Comment below or message me jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah.

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, esau, Israel, jacob, jeremiah, online conversion, parsha vayishlach, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parsha Noah: The Remix (Gen 6:9 – 11:32)

October 24, 2011 by Jeremiah

Parsha Noah is known primarily for Noah, the Ark, and Hashem’s promise to never, by His hand at least, destroy the Earth. This Parsha also includes the creation of different languages and the abuse of Noah by the hand of his own son Ham. I doubt if I’m going out on a limb when I say everyone reading this is very familiar with the story of Noah, so what was I able to take away from this reading that I over looked before? Simple it’s Parsha Beresheit the Remix.

Why a remix and not a cover? In a way Noah and Company does everything backwards, basically mixing it up instead of redoing what has already been done. Adam and Eve start out literally rooted in paradise, you know cut off from the rest of world just chilling with plants and animals. Noah and his family like the first family spend a portion of their lives in a controlled separate environment chalk full of animals and seeds. What is so interesting about this is Eden is a fixed point physically and spiritually while the Ark is a sanctuary at the mercy of a turbulent sea. For me the lesson is this, there are times when you will be grounded in life and times when you feel uprooted and not in control BUT Hashem is in both those places providing enough while you figure out what steps to take next.

As I read this week’s portion I initially saw a parallel between the fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil which provided knowledge, forbidden or not it gave something to humanity. After the flood fruit shows up again this time in the guise of wine which when drank in excess takes knowledge away. I think there is a lot we can learn by discussing this, but when I sat down to open that door I kept thinking about Eden being a rooted shelter and the Ark an uprooted shelter. Then I realized why this idea kept creeping into my mind. I’m an easily satisfied guy. I’m happy when I’m not worrying. Like many the current economic and social unrest is definitely making me a Noah and not an Adam. My Ark is knowing that no matter what happens I will always have a home, food, and family. My flood is I like only working 1 job and not 2, I like not being dependent financially on others I prefer being financially independent.

Remember if your battening down the hatches on your Ark Hashem is there with you, and eventually the waters will recede. Its okay to be Noah weathering the storm knowing its temporary and will end at any moment.

Let me know what you think. What came to your mind while you read Noah? Jeremiah@punktorah.org

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, genesis, jeremiah, online conversion, parsha noah, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parsha Beresheit: Salad Days, or why the Demo Tape is always better than the Album. (Gen. 1:1 – 6:8)

October 21, 2011 by Jeremiah

Well here it is the beginning of it all Parsha Beresheit. So much happens in this portion in fact each verse explodes with countless possibilities to delve deeper into. We have the creation of our world and species, the birth of free choice, the start of each nation’s genealogy, and most importantly we are shown the ideal way to live without the Torah!
Sure I’m a little crazy in the head, but if your still reading here is what I mean be that. For as long as I can remember I have felt every commandment in the Torah states the obvious. Think about it, there are some prohibitions most of us can not even imagine breaking. For example: killing, eating another human being, dating your friend’s mom; and yet on the other side of the coin who has always honored their parents, who has told the truth 100% of the time, and who has honored every single Shabbat of their life. When we falter do we know we are doing the wrong thing when we do them? You bet we do and still we do them anyway, regardless of what the Torah says.

As I read this weeks portion what stands out the most, to me, at this point in my life are three core principles we all experience day in and day out. The first principle is striving for the ideal, Adam is created THEN placed within Eden. Later on Adam must toil to provide for his family‘s basic needs. The second is stewardship, Adam and Eve’s purpose in Eden is to keep the garden “dressed” and “kept“, this means keeping the Earth and Animals healthy and unburdened. Yes, Tikun Olam is that old. Last but not least, loyalty which plays the largest role in the early days of mankind. This last one is the heaviest and most complex and for times sake all I’m going to say is Adam and Eve stuck together after eating forbidden fruit, a generation later Cain’s wife stayed loyal to him despite the blood on his hands, and to this day Hashem has never abandoned us despite how much we may take Him for him granted.

Even now in modern times we all to some degree strive and make our life and the lives of those we love better, whether its working long hours, volunteering, or just always being there for someone that ideal of a balanced perfect world or Eden fuels our actions, and while no one is perfect and without fault we stick together, we forgive, we heal, and we grow.

I would love to know your thoughts please post below or drop me a line jeremiah@punktorah.org

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: Adam, Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Eve, jeremiah, online conversion, Parsha Beresheit, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Tikun Olam

PunkTorah Podcast: Girls In Trouble, Y-Love, Darshan, Wailing Wall and More!

July 28, 2011 by Jeremiah

Jeremiah is back spinning everything from Indie Rock, Hip Hop, and Punk.

Click here to play.

Playlist:

1. Girls In Trouble – DNA – Half You Half Me – Jdub
2. Deleon – Mansevo Del Dor – Jdub
3. Y-Love – This is Unity – See Me – Shemspeed
4. Diwon & Dov – Hatikvah – Hatikvah – Shemspeed
5. Darshan – To Zion – To Zion – Shemspeed
6. Moshiach Oi! – This World is Nothing/Got Nothing on Me – This World is Nothing – Shabasa
7. Gangsta Rabbi – Obama Rama Yeah – DiKtatoR17 – Jdub
8. Can!!Can – G~d Lives in New York City – Monsters & Healers – Jdub
9. The Sway Machinery – All the People – The House of Friendly Ghosts Vol. 1 – Jdub
10. Wailing Wall – Dear Mother – Hospital Blossoms – JDub

Filed Under: Jewish Media Reviews, Podcasts & Videos Tagged With: Can Can, Darshan, DeLeon, Diwon, Dov, Gangsta Rabbi, girls in trouble, jdub, jeremiah, moshiach oi, punktorah, Shabasa, shemspeed, sway machinery, Wailing Wall, Y-Love

Circle Pit The Bimah: Moshiach Oi!

July 11, 2011 by Jeremiah

Circle Pit the Bimah: Moshiach Oi!

Way back in the day, you know the late 90s early 00s. I was one of those guys who only liked obscure hardcore punk bands who sounded like they time traveled from pre-1986 Washington DC, New York City, or the sun bleached beaches of SoCal.  Not a lot has changed for me music wise since then.  Sure, I’m “respectable” I pay my taxes, vote, and even have a desk job,  but one thing remains the same I have never stopped being a Hardcore Kid. So what does this have to with PunkTorah and Judaism as a whole?  The answer is simple New York’s best kept secret Moshiach Oi!

This World is Nothing is the second release from the Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman chant infused hardcore band Moshiach Oi!  While still keeping it musically fast and lyrically simple (face it when your circle pitting its best to keep the sing alongs simple) T.W.I.N. is slightly more polished and musically diverse than their debut Better Get Ready.

Where Better Get Ready shuckles more towards the early Washington D.C. sound This World is Nothing tips the Kippah more to the Cali sound of the early 80s. Despite being a “Punk Buffet” of style and influence T.W.I.N. has the perfect balance between fast thrash riffs, Oi, and a dash of Reggae and Ska splashed in here and there.

Curious for more check them out below.

Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/moshiachoi613)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/#!/MoshiachOi)

Video for Got Nothing on Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVlCahhogv8)

by  Jeremiah Satterfield

Filed Under: Jewish Media Reviews, Random (Feelin' Lucky?) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, jeremiah, moshiach oi, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punk rock, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7

PunkTorah Inc.
PO Box 1641
Midlothian, VA 23113

questions@punktorah.org
YouTube
Facebook

Read our DMCA notice

Search the PunkTorah Blog Archive

What We Do

Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary: Online Rabbinical Program

Now Hiring: Rabbis, Educators & Creatives

Become a Jewish Spiritual Leader

  • Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud)
  • Judaism & Belief
  • The G-d Project Videos
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • NewKosher (Recipes)
  • Converting To Judaism
  • LGBTQ & Women
  • Shabbat & Holidays

Copyright PunkTorah Inc.© 2023