Collection
At Madlik we light a spark or shed some light on a Jewish Text or Tradition. Created by Geoffrey Stern, an ex-Yeshiva student and life-long student of the Torah along with Rabbi Adam Mintz; the premier orthodox conversion Rabbi, we publish the Madlik Disruptive Torah Podcast on your favorite podcast platform, on Youtube and on Substack.
madlik.substack.com/Sheets
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Abraham Master of Mussar and Industry
Parshat Vayera - From Abraham’s haste to Franklin’s industry: exploring zerizut, thoughtful action, and Mussar’s art of self-improvement.
Abraham the Outlier
Lech Lcha, biblical, rabbinic, and philosophical texts envision Abraham variously as iconoclast, philosopher, dissenter & migrant.
And the Earth Will Be Cleansed
Parshat Ha’azinu - Texts exploring creation, stewardship, eviction, and kapparah and its stark message for humanity and Israel as we approach Yom Kippur.
Forgive Me, for We Have Sinned
This source sheet explores why we confess, “We and our ancestors have sinned,” and how inherited memory can become a source of collective responsibility, repentance, and repair.
A Rabbi a Pope and Babel
Noach - The Netziv and Pope Leo read the Tower of Babel as a warning against conformity. Their alternative is a community of individuals.
Shared Beginnings
Parshat Bereshit - The Hebrew Bible is the Jewish People's patrimony to the world and many members of other faith communities study our Scripture. As we begin reading the Torah anew we are joined by a leading Christian scholar of the Hebrew Bible to get fresh insight into our text.
In the Beginning Was a New Idea
We focus on what is missing from Bereshit—and how those omissions suggest a radical new ideation of God and humanity.
We the Tribes
Parshat Bamidbar: We the Tribes explores the census as constitutional politics, tribal federalism, and covenantal nationhood.
Nachson
Parshat Barmidbar - We visit with a man called Nachshon ben Aminadav with only a insignificant walk-on role in the text of the Torah but an iconic presence in Jewish religious and secular culture and mythology
Living Legacy
Parshat Pinchas - An innocuous reference to Serah, the only granddaughter amongst Jacob’s 53 referenced grandsons leads the Rabbis to ascribe to this woman immortality and make of her an example of a living legend. We explore those who touched those who touched our past.
Wake up and Rejoice
An exploration of haftarah Parashat Shoftim Isaiah 51-52 and the Sabbath Eve hymn Lecha Dodi and the Unetaneh Tokef of Rosh Hashanna
Liberation: Personal and Recurring
This source sheet explores how one of the Torah’s few prescribed oral declarations transforms ancestral history into a first-person script, while widening the Exodus from a single historical moment into a recurring pattern of threat and deliverance
Sing without a Song
Rani Akara - We explore how Isaiah does more than console: he reintroduces creation, Noah, Abraham and Sarah into Israel’s story, preparing us for Rosh Hashanah’s universal celebration of creation.
Becoming Good
Parshat Re'eh - Is blessing a reward for obedience or does obedience create blessing? Sources from the Torah, Rabbis to modern philosophy
History That Rhymes
Parshat Eikev - Beginning with the word eikev, this source sheet explores the Jewish view that history moves forward while echoing the past.
Independence Day on the Plains of Moab
Parashat Pinchas from the daughters of Zelophehad to America's Founding Fathers
Hasbara - Inside and Out
Parshat Sh'lach - The Torah's first Hasbara crisis? From the spies' report and "bechi shel chinam" to modern battles over narrative, media, and public diplomacy.
Deuteronomy and the Art of Attention
We explore Devarim as Judaism's master class in review, repetition, and the art of paying attention—from Moses' retelling of the spies to the rabbis, Seneca, and modern cognitive science.
Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer and the Haredi Draft Issue
Parshat Matot - A frank conversation with a leading Haredi thinker about the draft exemption, shared responsibility, and the changing relationship between the Haredi community and the State of Israel.
Made on Shabbat
Parshat Behar–We explore the Sabbatical year and Shabbat itself where resting is not a passive negation but a positive act of creation.