Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Where our lives of Jewish learning collide with our love of Nerd Culture. Join us as we explore Jewish texts, history, and values and the apparent and invisible connections to your favorite movies, characters, and hobbies. www.torahsmash.com
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 29 - Anniversary Special: A One-Shot of Biblical Proportions!
May 24, 2023
Torah Smash! The Podcast for Nerdy Jews
Episode 29 - Anniversary Special: A One-Shot of Biblical Proportions!
To celebrate one year of being Jewish and Nerdy, we invited our previous guests back to the show for a Torah Smashed version of Dungeons & Dragons. Each player chose a biblical character to portray (character descriptions below) and joined together for an adventure 5,783 years in the making.
00:02:27 Interrogating the slave master
00:06:26 MacGuffin’s compass
00:11:08 Noah: the seafarer and his mysterious ship
00:20:33 “Kuo toa! Defend Yourselves!”
00:52:02 This calls for a celebratory meal
00:54:17 Our hands are tied
01:07:13 What’s in the chest?
01:13:59 Maybe now it’s magical
01:18:13 The Temple atop Mount Sinai
01:30:00 Rabbi Fixler’s dreams come to life!
01:33:06 Who wakes Lilith?
01:51:39 It is not that easy
02:09:49 The helping friendly book
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Character Backgrounds:
JONAH - played by Barak Malkin
Level 15 Halfling Druid - Jonah comes from his eponymous book of the Tanakh, which we read on Yom Kippur. Jonah is asked by God to travel to Nineveh, tries to get away, gets swallowed by a whale (“big fish”), and eventually does as God asks.
JOSEPH - played by Ethan Lane-Miller
Level 15 Half-Elf Monk/Fighter/Warlock - Joseph comes from the book of Genesis (also featured in the musical written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber), where his adventures take him on a roller-coaster ride from favorite child to slave to head of house to prisoner to Egyptian vizier. His placement in Egypt leads to the salvation of his family, which in turn leads to his people being enslaved in Egypt.
TAMAR - played by Rabbi Leah Berkowitz
Level 15 Changeling Paladin - Tamar’s story is from Genesis 38, where she starts married to Judah’s eldest (making her Joseph’s niece-in-law). He dies while they are childless, so she marries Judah’s second. He dies while they are childless, so Judah keeps his third son away from her (which is against the custom of the time), and Tamar, in turn, tricks Judah into sleeping with her to provide a child. She uses Judah’s staff, cord, and signet to prove that the child is his.
ISAAC - played by Rabbi Josh Fixler
Level 15 Elf Warlock - Isaac’s story comes early in Genesis. He is the only son of Abraham and Sarah, the half-brother of Ishmael, and the father of Jacob and Esau. He spends his biblical story being guided by his family rather than making his own decisions, and eventually gets tricked by his wife and son Jacob because of his dimming eyesight.
RAHAV - played by Rabbi Elisa Koppel
Level 15 Half-Elf Rogue Assassin - Rahav comes from the book of Joshua, which tells the story of the conquest of Canaan. When Joshua sends spies into Jericho to scout the city, Rahav (the town prostitute) gives them a place to hide and a route of escape out of the city. Her sign of loyalty to the Israelites was a red cord tied to her window.