The JCast Network Total Feed

In this episode, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky discuss season 2 of the AppleTV+ hit, ‘Shrinking‘! After our first deep dive into the series, we couldn’t help but return to explore even more of the lessons it has to offer about therapy, grief, and the messiness of human connection. As we revisit the characters and their journeys, we ask: what’s changed? What’s still resonating? And how does this show continue to capture the complexity of life in a way that feels both funny and painfully real? Once more, with feeling — join us as we try Shrinking on for size... again!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

The rabbis are back from break and ready to talk Torah! The summer of 2024 delivered epic superhero showdowns, headline-grabbing streaming series, and some family-friendly fare. As the summer heat fades, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky dive into the season’s biggest pop culture moments, exploring their deeper meanings and connecting the dots to Jewish values and stories. Tune in for a fun and thoughtful roundup of the movies and shows that had us talking all summer long!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97, now streaming on Disney+, is a reboot/sequel to the X-Men animated series that was beloved by older Millennials who grew up in the ‘90s. The sequel is smoother and shinier, but still possesses the same spirit that made the original series so popular: mutant melodrama and pulse-pounding action set-pieces, combined with thinly-veiled political commentary that surfaced complicated ethical issues — and an amazing theme song (which Rabbi Knopf tried, but failed, to incorporate into the episode). What did Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky think of the show? What would the Jewish tradition have to say about the X-Men? And what insights and issues do Professor Xavier’s gifted students and their antagonists raise that are worthy of Jewish consideration? Targets identified, Bub. Here come the X-Mensches!

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Jeremy Tabick looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 4.

Too much emphasis is placed too often in the study of midrash on the literary methods our sages use in order derive the halakhah from the Torah. But today’s daf reveals a crucial argument between Ben Azzai and Rabbi Yehudah that shows not everyone thought like this. Rabbi Yehudah seems to think that at least equally important (if not more important) is our reasoning to work out by logical inference what the law should require.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

The new Netflix limited series ‘Inventing Anna’ is a stylish and slick version of the true story of Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, a conwoman who pretended to be a German heiress in order to swindle New York’s elite on her way to fame and fortune. The show raises provocative questions about the roles of xenophobia, misogyny, and racism in a culture that prizes fame and fortune above all, even truth and justice. Join us as our resident VIPs Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky dig deep into these questions from a Jewish perspective.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!