Release DATE: May 23, 2023
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.
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 eye sight.
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.
The theme music for Torah Smash! was created by Shawn Fogel. You can check out Shawn's bands and studio work at www.thesleepywest.com.
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