Back to beginnings. What's so good, that G-d called it so twice? Tuesday, of course! ?$%#! Tune in to the finale of Hasidic Strip's Torah project in this week's episode - Bereshit - to find out what that's supposed to mean.
This is Episode 55 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
It's the end. Only...not. Tune in for the final parsha (portion) in the Torah...in which some things are resolved, and some things are opened anew. Guest narrator, superstar youth writer David Levithan talks about having an ending worthy of a life...and a life worthy of a story. This is NOT the last episode of Hasidic Strip...tune in next week to see how everything starts, again.
This is Episode 54 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
On the last day of Moses's life, he gathers the Israelites before they go into the Promised Land, clears his throat and lets it rip. Parshat Haazinu is his final song, and it's interpreted for you this week by the fiercely funky musician Anthony Rogers-Wright. Haazinu means "Give Ear!" and we hope you will.
This is Episode 53 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Hats off to Mayim Bialik (aka TV's Blossom) for her profound yet totally practical look at Parshat Vayelech! Step right up and learn about how you can live a good life. Walk the walk, talk the talk, and actually write your own Torah! Instructions are in the episode.
This is Episode 52 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Moses lays it out for us this week in Nitzavim. We can choose life, or death. Blessing, or the curse. But, um, what's behind Door Number 3? Dahlia Lithwick knows. Tune in to this week's Hasidic Strip cast and see!
This is Episode 51 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Thinking about the covenant between the People and God can be hard and sometimes alienating...so Rav Raz and Leah Hartman - the Jerusalem couple who narrate this week's parsha - describe it like a joyful marriage. So put on your dancing shoes and celebrate with them in this week's Hasidic Strip!
This is Episode 50 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
A mitzvah is a commandment, and this week's parsha is chock full of them - 70 mitzvahs all told! Jeremy Benstein is an Israeli environmental leader who is our guide into Ki Teitzei this week. Join him, some cats, dogs, oxen, donkeys and more than a few birds to hear what the Torah has to say about preventing the suffering of animals.
This is Episode 49 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Double your justice, double your fun? Why does the Torah tell us "Justice, JUSTICE shall you pursue"?? To beat us over the head with a point, or to tell us something more? Join Rabbi David Saperstein for a lesson in the rules of just being, and being just.
This is Episode 48 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Chanan Rosin, of the Jerusalem band Majuda, sings about life and how to live it in Parshat Re'eh. Blessings in your life and on the land can be yours, a father tells his infant twins...and Moses tells the Children of Israel...if only they will follow the advice of another "parent."
This is Episode 47 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Why on earth would Moses tell the people, to circumcise their hearts? (Like, ouch!) And how do you do that anyway? Check in with what Lindsay Litowitz says in this week's Hasidic Strip...and then start sharpening your scalpels!
This is Episode 46 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
This week's parsha is a sea of reeds, literally! Take the Shema and beatbox it through a harmonica...that's how Yuri Lane kicks off Parshat Ve'etchanan, which teaches us how to love G-d with all our hearts and all our souls. His harmonica is a groovy background to Rachel Havrelock's telling of the whole story of how Moses passes along some serious information to Joshua, who's gonna pick up the torch, er, staff, when Moses dies.
This is Episode 45 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Flash forward! Moses is nearly 120 years old. No one who was wandering in the desert for 40 years is around anymore except a few good men. (Joshua and Caleb.) Moving from Numbers (Bemidbar) to Words (Devarim) means switching gears in the Torah, and Shawn Landres gives us a gentle landing. Tune in to review history and learn how not to repeat historical mistakes in the days to come!
This is Episode 44 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Whether you're a country mouse or a city mouse, it's nice to know where home is. But when the Israelites get to the Promised Land, everyone is going to get home turf...except the Levites! Tune in to learn from city planner Jill Slater about how the Levites get taken care of.
This is Episode 43 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
The best Hasidic Strip ever! (j/k!) No no, it's a great episode, we PROMISE! (As if!) You'll learn a lot! (Psych!) Okay for real though, Parshat Matot is about promises and oaths...and what to do when you just can't keep them. So if you're the type of person who might accidentally have sworn you'd be nice to your little sister this year, or that you'd eat less chocolate, or that you'd curse less, well...listen up.
This is Episode 42 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Ladies and gentlemen, we're here to talk about five holy women this week who have really cool names. Mahlah, Noa, Holga, Milcah, and Tirza drop in to teach us this week about asking for what you want...and getting it. That's right, it's the badder than bad, cooler than cool, great sisterly legal minds of the Book of Numbers: the Daughters of Tselophechad. Oh word.
This is Episode 41 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
What's a cartoon series without talking animals? Thank G-d the Bible includes a loquacious donkey. Join Rabbi Andy Shapiro Katz for the gutsy, brainy story of a donkey who knew better than its rider.
This is Episode 40 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Enough is enough! We have had it with these #@$%*$! snakes in this #@$%*$! desert!A curious incident happens in Parshat Chukat, when a plague of burning snakes attacks the wandering Israelites...and Moses gets to work on a curious plan to stop the fearful biting. Malki Rose joins us from Melbourne, Australia to talk about the legacy of snakes in the Bible, and what we can do about them.
This is Episode 39 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Ready for a rumble? It's Korach versus Moses ONE NIGHT ONLY! At the TABERNACLE! Who will prevail as the leader....who will face God's fury?
This is Episode 38 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Will the Promised Land be flowing with milk and honey, or giants and battles? This week's guest narrator, Jay Michaelson invites the spies of Parshat Shelach Lecha to look inside themselves and see what the true story behind the challenges to come is: WE CAN DO IT!!
This is Episode 37 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
It's raining chicken! Hallejuah! And trumpets and divine wrath! Lots of stuff happens in Beha'alotcha, the parsha so eventful you can't pronounce its name without going to rabbinical school. So Jon Madof and Charlie Buckholtz strapped on their banjos and wrote a folksong about it.
This is Episode 36 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Hold onto your hats, this is a really crazy Hasidic Strip. One of the oddest, most thorny episodes in the Bible involves a man who suspects his wife of adultery. Inbal Freund-Novick, an Israeli activist for women's rights, tells the excruciatingly difficult tale of the accused wife in Parshat Naso. Hard to believe this stuff is in the Torah, but it's undeniably fascinating.
This is Episode 35 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Just the facts, ma'am. Reporter Helen Chernikoff digs into the statistics of the Israelite census and tells us some interesting stories about the people who were wandering in the desert - much more than just their ages and occupations. Take a look bemidbar - in a desert - and see what you can learn about people.
This is Episode 34 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
You probably already know that the Torah isn't all rainbows and angels. Mirroring the angry tone of this week's Torah story, Hasidic Strip gets kinda dark and cranky for a change. Jeremiah Lockwood sets the scene with moody guitars and a voice that draws you in...to vengeance.
This is Episode 33 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Betcha didn't know that the Torah has lots to say about sustainable farming practices. Organic farmer Emily Freed explains the laws of the land in down-to-earth language. So get your hands, or at least your ears, dirty!
This is Episode 32 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Sometimes, you've just gotta speak up. Texting, blogging, tweeting, Facebooking - they don't count. It's hard for a lot of us, and it was REALLY hard for Moses. So this week, Temim Fruchter steps out in front of the drum kit to give us some advice on how to do it well.
This is Episode 31 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
This week's Torah portion is chock full of rules for living...and the genius of singer/songwriter Elana Jagoda is that she took all those rules and made them rhyme. And rock. Give Kedoshim a listen and we promise, you won't soon forget what's holy and what's not.
This is Episode 30 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Bad stuff goes down in the desert. God demands discipline: sends the Israelites to the corner with a bunch of heavy-duty rules to study. In Acharei Mot, Amichai Lau-Lavie revives his Bar Mitzvah parsha to share what he's learned after 27 years of sitting in the corner with this text.
This is Episode 29 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Picking up where we stopped scratching in the last episode, it's back to infestations in Metzorah. But as Rabbi Steve Greenberg explains, a "tzara'at" rash can infiltrate your clothes and your house...not just your skin. Tune in for tips on staying disease-free.
This is Episode 28 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Tazria is possibly the grossest parsha in the entire Torah, full of scaly skin, sprouting sores and breakouts of Biblical proportions. Join the contagiously comic chronicler of crustiness Jennifer Traig for a tour of Biblical skin disease. Bring your own pimple cream.
This is Episode 27 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
A musical in two acts, this week's Hasidic Strip is so catchy that you'll be singing it in the shower for the rest of the year. Just warning you. From dead priests to unkosher feasts, Shemini has got it going on. A great big tip of the matador's hat to Sephardic indie rock outfit DeLeon for the writing and performance.
This is Episode 26 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Sacrificing for your community - it's nothing new. Only, these days we don't usually do it with cows, rams, bulls and crackers! Join legendary indie publisher Jennifer Joseph for a recipe for how to sacrifice in the most "hardcore holiest of holy" ways.
This is Episode 25 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Welcome to Leviticus - in Hebrew, the book of Vayikra. This is where things start to get kinda bloody. Plunge into the wild world of Biblical sacrifice with the spiritual insight of Rachel Kohl Finegold, whose clear and inspiring explanation of animal sacrifice brings all the gory details to life!
This is Episode 24 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
If this week's Torah story is about drawing close to God, then get ready for a ticklish snuggle. Tiny Ninja Theater's Dov Weinstein tells a hilarious tale of love, devotion and building a future together with your Significant Other.
This is Episode 23 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
The Children of Israel brought what their hearts moved them to bring in the building of the first Sanctuary...and this week's Hasidic Strip is brought to you from Alicia Jo Rabins' heart. Tune in for a musical piece - about art - from a consummate musician and artist.
This is Episode 22 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
You've gotta SEE it to believe it - the Israelites are out in the desert, and apparently have nothing better to do than melt down all their jewelry to build a golden calf. What the #$@%#Q@? Award-winning author and speaking trainer Sarah Gershman gives an EYEbrow raising explanation of what went down one hot summer's day at Sinai.
This is Episode 21 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
You're never fully dressed without a smile...or if you're a priest, a tunic made of crimson, gold and purple linen and wool. New York's most sartorially sophisticated Kohein - Berwin Cohen - talks uniforms in this week's Hasidic Strip.
This is Episode 20 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
What would YOU build to house your most precious possessions? Who would you hire as the architect? Furniture designer Rafael Kushick helps us understand the divinely architected blueprints for the holiest - and most confusing - building project ever attempted.
This is Episode 19 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
People of the book, dive in to a video, won't you? Author and professor David Henkin talks about the act of writing in this week's Hasidic Strip...in an attempt to discover what we need books for, anyway.
This is Episode 18 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Overworked? Got no time for friends or family? Take a tip from Yitro. In this week's Hasidic Strip, Leah Jones shares with us some wisdom from Moses's non-Jewish father-in-law that pretty much changes the course of Jewish history.
This is Episode 17 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Red Sea walkers, pull on those wetsuits and hit the rapids of Parshat Beshalach! This week's narrator Eli Winkelman - a foodie with a hunger for social change - takes us on the scenic route out of Egypt, wading out of the Red Sea and into a land of bad food and water.
This is Episode 16 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
Come to Beavis. Er, Pharoah. Sorry.
Welcome to Parshat Bo, in which the three final, dark and murderous plagues fall upon Egypt. Storyteller Joel Stanley takes us INSIDE the head of Pharoah to figure out why G-d tells Moses to COME to Pharoah...rather than GO.
This is Episode 15 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
It's possibly the best known Bible story, period. A rousing "Let my people go" kicks of weeks of frogs and hail and boils, but Rabbi Katie Mizrahi explains that those weren't even the REAL plagues. ?#@$%
This is Episode 14 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
A burning bush that talks would probably make most of us stutter, but Moses had a speech impediment even before his divine shrubbery encounter. Why did G-d ask this shepherd "with a heavy tongue" to be a spokeman? Jason Lieberman, an advocate for the contemporary disabled, takes a stab at the answer.
This is Episode 13 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
After journeys, revelations, struggles and visions, our ancestors take stock of their blessings in this week's parsha, the last one in Bereshit - closing out the book of Genesis. Marcus J. Freed - poet, teacher, playwright and actor - gives voice - or is that voices? - to the whole thing.
This is Episode 12 of the weekly Torah cartoon from HasidicStrip.com. Each week, a different storyteller - some musical, some poetic, some just straight-up, tell the story of the current Torah portion...and then we animate it!
