Xai, how are you?

Nov 13 2024 230 ep. 28 mins 77
Xai, how are you? Podcast artwork

Queer Jews Michael Sokolovsky and Rabbi Xava De Cordova play with the multi-millennial dialectic that is the Talmud. Join them as they throw drash, seek prophetic insight and uncover the rabbinic smuttiness inherent in the system.

  Religion & Spirituality
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227. Cannibalism, Vegetarianism, and Origin of Morality

Nov 13 2024 32 mins  
Michael brings us texts that connect Yellowjackets, moral norms, aesthetic values, cannibalism and vegetarianism. Check out Shel Maala in New Haven here: https://bit.ly/beyondrepairNH and in Baltimore/DC here: https://bit.ly/ShelMaalaDMV To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 or email us at [email protected]. Support us on pat

226. The Secret Jewish History of the Etrog

Oct 27 2024 26 mins  
In today's episode, Xava brings some sugyes and history about the etrog (aka the citron aka the Persian apple aka the thing that Rabbis look at with intense love and delight), and how it made its way into our sukkot ritual! Check out Shel Maala's East Coast Tour here: https://bit.ly/shelmaalaeastcoast To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-

225. Brand Loyalty

Oct 13 2024 28 mins  
This time Michael is bringing us a weird, challenging little sugye about business ethics, land deals gone wrong, breakfast food preferences and going above the letter of the law. Sign up to learn with Shel Maala in Western Mass here: https://bit.ly/shelmaalamass To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 or email us at xaihowareyou@gma

224. Get Off My Lawn

Sep 23 2024 27 mins  
Xava's got a sugye about keeping your side of the street clean, zoning ordinance, Rabbinic humility and home improvement. Sign up for Shel Maala in Western Mass at https://bit.ly/shelmaalamass ! To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 or email us at [email protected]. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Music by

223. Secret Stones and Magic Dirt

Sep 09 2024 25 mins  
Michael brings us a few sugyes about special stones, both paving and corner, in the Talmud. This leads to magic dirt and Nazis getting their faces melted off, naturally. To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 or email us at [email protected]. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Music by Ben Schreiber.

222. Protesting Exactly the Right Amount

Aug 14 2024 35 mins  
Xava brings a series of property law sugyes that tell us about how, why, and how much we should protest, halakhically speaking. Sign up for Shel Maala's Alef Bet class here: https://bit.ly/decodingalefbet, Sign up for Sand into Pearls here: https://bit.ly/sandintopearls To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 or email us at xaihowar

221. Mommy Issues

Aug 12 2024 27 mins  
Michael brings us all a text about ascending and descending holiness rules, relocation, divorce, parental abandonment and taking other people's opinions too seriously. Sign up for Decoding the Alef Bet here: bit.ly/decodingalefbet To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 or email us at [email protected]. Support us on patreon at

220. Tales of the Unbound

Jul 15 2024 49 mins  
Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp of Judaism Unbound joins us to talk about incarcerated Jews, the problems with the way we handle conversion, what's next for Judaism and how the Rabbi's themselves responded to potential converts. Check out Tales of the Unbound here: http://www.judaismunbound.com/tales, sign up for Shel Maala at Sadeh here: bit.ly/shelmaalasadeh To ask us questions, text o

219. Everything was Beautiful

Jul 09 2024 29 mins  
Xava brings some kabbalah and xasidut about the transcendent nature of beauty, plus some Talmud and Torah that seems to contradict it by saying that beauty is basically worthless. Sign up for Trancestors and Chalices here: bit.ly/shelmaalasadeh To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 or email us at [email protected]. Support us

218. Weirdos No One Has Heard Of

Jun 24 2024 26 mins  
Michael brings a delightful obscure little Rabbi to the pod: Elijah Benamozegh! We'll learn about his universalist vision for Judaism and the strange and beautiful connections it has to other Jewish thinkers throughout the ages. Sign up for Trancestors and Chalices here: bit.ly/shelmaalasadeh To ask us questions, text or leaves us a voicemail at the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619