Religion in Pop Culture
What can pop culture contribute to our understanding of religious issues? Each week, join Rabbi Uri Cohen a to discuss how a Torah topic is touched upon in different media (television, music, and film). Examples include the Yetzer HaRa in Star Trek, Kohelet in Simon & Garfunkel, and Teshuvah in Groundhog Day.
Religion in Pop Culture: Teshuvah in Pop Culture: Darth Vader, A Christmas Carol, and Groundhog Day
Darth Vader: The Greatest Villain Ever to Do Teshuvah
Nineveh = The Empire
Ebenezer Scrooge: The Most Famous Jerk-to-Nice-Guy
Phil Connors: Stuck in Groundhog Day Until He Changes
Religion in Pop Culture: What If God Was One of Us? Bruce Almighty, Joan of Arcadia, and Oh God!
What If Mashiach Were Right Here?
God’s Multiple Images
A Voice Customized to You
Anthropomorphism is Necessary
Visual Representation of God, Though, Is Never Allowed
We Can Still Learn Much From Portrayals of God:
Tzimtzum
La-Shem Ha’aretz Umloa’ah
Tzaddik Ve-Ra Lo
Ein Tzayar K’Elokeinu
Grappling With How to Portray God
A Form Customized to You
Bruce Almighty
Oh, God!
Religion in Pop Culture: The Yetzer HaRa in Pop Culture: Star Trek, Willy Wonka, and The Screwtape Letters
The Yetzer is Necessary: A Star Trek Episode
A Special Drug Can Amplify the Yetzer: Dr. Jekyll and Captain America
The Yetzer Hara is on the Side of Good: Willy Wonka and the Zohar
The Psychology of the Yetzer Hara: The Screwtape Letters
Appendix:
What Does Charlie Do to Deserve Winning the Chocolate Factory?
Religion in Pop Culture: Galut in Pop Culture: The Pre-Film Versions of Bambi, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Little Mermaid
What’s Worse Than Being in Galut? Getting Used to It
Antisemitism and Bambi the Book
Intermarriage and Fiddler on the Roof
Assimilation is Like Being a Fish Out of Water
Assimilation and The Little Mermaid Giving Up Her Voice
The Four Children and Four Generations in America
Religion in Pop Culture: Songs in the Key of Kohelet
A Time for Everything: “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
We’re Like Dust: “Dust in the Wind”
The Sun Stays the Same: “Time”
Have Fun, But There’s a Price to Pay: “Somewhere Along the Line”
The Bottom Line is to Fear God: “Meaningless”
Everything is Fleeting: “Leaves That Are Green”
Appreciate the Time You Have With Your Loved Ones: “Do You Realize??”
Rabbi Uri Cohen has been teaching at Midreshet Moriah since 2005. He learned at Yeshivat Shaalvim and Yeshivat Hamivtar, and received Semikhah from RIETS (YU) and Yeshivat Hamivtar. He also holds Masters degrees in Medieval Jewish History and Jewish Education from Yeshiva University. For two years, he was an ATID Fellow. Through Torah MiTzion, he and his wife Dr. Yocheved Engelberg Cohen served as the first members of the Syracuse Kollel, and later as the first couple of the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) at Princeton University. They now live in Ramat Beit Shemesh. His eclectic lecture topics have included Talmudic Misogyny in Context, Harry Potter and the Value of Fantasy, Contemporary Orthodox Responses to Homosexuality, and How Not to Do Outreach.