A Beautifully Jewish Shavuot: Ep. 415

This week on the show, we’re examining the most Beautifully Jewish object of all time: the Torah. In celebration of Shavuot, Beautifully Jewish hosts Stephanie Butnick and Tanya Singer explore creative, unexpected ways of connecting with the Torah. 

Israeli journalist Sivan Rahav-Meir, host of the Tablet podcast Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally, shares how she found her way into the Torah, and the daily wisdom it offers her.   

Dr. Carol Meyers of Duke University, who as Stephanie’s professor inspired her love of Jewish stories, explains why it’s so important to examine women’s lives, in the Bible and beyond. 

Lili Shain tells us about Torah Stitch by Stitch, a project started by the late artist Temma Gentles, in which people around the world cross-stitched panels featuring every verse in the Torah. If you’re as excited by Torah Stitch by Stitch as we are, you’re in luck: We’re going to be hosting a Beautifully Jewish stitch-along where we’ll all learn to cross stitch together. We’ll be stitching meaningful verses selected for us by Lili Shain herself. Join us at tabletm.ag/beautiful to become a member and get access to the pattern and instructional videos (you don’t need any experience in cross stitching, we promise!). 

Daniella Rabbani and Zalmen Mlotek perform “Der Eybershter Iz Der Mekhutn,” or “The Almighty Is The Bride’s Father,” a Yiddish song about the relationship between the Jews, the Torah, and the divine. You can read the English translation here. 

We’re keeping the Shavuot learning going: Join us Tuesday, June 11 from 9 p.m. to midnight for a special event featuring Liel Leibovitz, Tablet critic-at-large Marco Roth, and special guests reading and moderating a discussion of modernist literature in the upstairs lounge of The Russian Samovar at 256 West 52nd Street in Manhattan. In the spirit of Shavuot, expect riffing on passages by Marcel Proust, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf, as well as from the Torah. Register here.

Learn more about becoming a Tablet member at tabletm.ag/uomember. Find out about our upcoming events at tabletmag.com/unorthodoxlive

Write to us at [email protected], or leave a voicemail on our listener line: (914) 570-4869. 

Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Check out all of our podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts.

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Brandeis University offers an online master’s certificate in Jewish Professional Leadership, training creative and compassionate Jewish leaders on a flexible schedule. Learn more at brandeis.edu/hornstein.

Emanu-El Downtown’s Religious School Lab opens this fall in Manhattan for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade, offering a welcoming community, pick-up from local schools, and one-to-one virtual Hebrew instruction. Visit EmanuelDowntown.org for more.

Since October 7, Meir Panim has provided over 2.5 million meals, essential items, and care packages to IDF soldiers and displaced families, as well as organizing events and daily support for thousands. Donate at meirpanim.org/unorthodox. 

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