Set Apart

Like many of the world’s ancient cultures, Judaism has also developed a number of perspectives on vampires and other bloodsucking creatures of mythology. We’ll continue our series on Jewish folklore by discussing just that.

Tune in this Thursday at 4:30 p.m. or catch it on YouTube.

We’ll be kicking off this October with one of the creepier stories of the Bible: The Witch of Endor.

If you’ve never heard the story (or just feel like revisiting it), tune in this Thursday at 4:30 p.m. or check it out on the show’s YouTube page.

And by the way: who do you say the ghostly apparition was? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

A happy and healthy Sukkot to everyone!

And don’t forget to enjoy that post-fast meal… slowly.

It’s not to late to prepare. If you need help getting set up for the fast, remember that we did a show on it a few weeks ago. Yom Tov!

Wishing everyone a sweet new year!

There’s no way around it: fasting is difficult. This week on the show we’ll talk about ways to make the upcoming Yom Kippur fast more bearable and, thus, more successful.

If you try any of the methods we discuss this year, please comment and let everyone know how it went!

This week on the show we discuss the life and work of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, whom we lost earlier this month.

Rabbi Steinsaltz was best known for his exhaustive work on the Talmud, bringing forth a new translation and commentary that sought to make the study of this essential Jewish text open to everyone. He also lived an incredible life, with many more accomplishments to his name. Tune in this week as we remember one of the great scholars of all time, or catch the episode on YouTube if you cannot hear it live.

If you don’t have access to any of his Talmudic work, you can also purchase his commentary on Tanakh or some of his other great books.

For the next two weeks we will be covering the identity and motivation of the serpent who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Almost everyone has heard the story, but you may not have heard the whole story. Tune in to KEOS 89.1 FM or keos.org Thursday at 4:30 p.m. (CST) to hear it. And if you miss the episodes, just check the show’s YouTube page to get caught up.

This week on the show we speak briefly about what some Jewish groups, such as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and IsraAID, are doing for refugees in light of the global pandemic. If you are interested in helping out, have a look at their websites for ways to get involved, or check out these other refugee relief organizations:

World Jewish Relief
Church World Service
UNICEF USA
Alight
Refugees International

This week on the show we’re discussing Esau, including the time when he traded his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. The Talmud tells us that Jacob had prepared the stew for his father, Isaac, because his father, Abraham, had just died that day, and it was customary to serve lentils to mourners. Why serve lentils on such an occasion? The Talmud explains:

And what is different about lentils that they in particular are the fare customarily offered to mourners? They say in the West, Eretz Yisrael, in the name of Rabba bar Mari: Just as this lentil has no mouth (i.e., it does not have a crack like other legumes), so too a mourner has no mouth (that is, his anguish prevents him from speaking). Alternatively, just as this lentil is completely round, so too mourning comes around to the inhabitants of the world.

Bava Batra 16b

Speaking of this story, if you’re not familiar with Tori Avey, then today you’re in luck. She has a ton of great recipes covering a variety of traditional Jewish dishes, and one she has done herself is an attempted recreation of the stew for which Esau traded his birthright to Jacob. I have no idea how accurate it is, but this stew is wonderful.

Check out the recipe and the story of how Tori came up with it here.