Yehoshua Pfeffer and the Haredi
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
Release Date: 07/09/2026
And the Earth Will Be Cleansed
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
What if we have the story of creation exactly backwards, and the world wasn't made for humans at all? We usually assume that God created the world for humanity and gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish people. But what if we have it exactly backwards? What if humanity was created to serve and protect the earth—and Israel was chosen to serve and protect the Promised Land? Key Takeaways Israel Recapitulates Adam Ha’Azinu describes Israel’s creation in language borrowed from the creation of the world. Adam was placed in Eden; Israel was placed in the Promised Land. Israel’s national...
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Forgive Me, for We Have Sinned
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
On Yom Kippur, we lovingly honor our parents' memories during Yizkor—so why does the climax of the confession force us to stand up and blame them for our sins? On Yom Kippur, we strike our own chests—but confess the sins of people who are no longer alive. אֲבָל אֲנַחְנוּ וַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ חָטָאנוּ “But we and our parents have sinned.” Why bring our mothers and fathers into our confession? Are we blaming them, asking forgiveness on their behalf—or admitting that their unfinished business lives on in us? In this episode of Madlik Disruptive Torah,...
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The Strange Exodus Story Hidden in Ki Tavo
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
Why did the Rabbis tell the Exodus through the words of a farmer—and leave Mount Sinai out of the story? What if the Torah’s shortest version of the Exodus leaves out the most important moment? The story of the Exodus without using the Book of Exodus? In Parshat Ki Tavo, an Israelite farmer enters the Temple carrying a basket of first fruits and recites a compact history of his people: “My father was a wandering Aramean. The Egyptians oppressed us. We cried out. God brought us forth and gave us this land.” Those words would eventually leave the Temple, enter the Jewish home and become...
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The Barren Woman’s Song
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
Isaiah didn’t just offer passive comfort to a broken nation—he hijacked the oldest stories in the Book of Genesis to force them to survive. What do you do when there is no reason to sing? Isaiah answers with a startling command: Rani akarah lo yaladah—“Sing, O barren woman who has not given birth.” Sing before the child is born. Sing before the promise is fulfilled. Sing while the future still appears impossible. Key Takeaways Isaiah reads—and rewrites—Genesis. He brings Abraham and Sarah, Eden and Noah into his own moment, transforming Israel’s foundational stories into a...
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Shake Off the Dust and Dance
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
We usually associate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with judgment and fear, but a closer look at the texts reveals a completely different, shocking command: rejoice. Wake up. Shake off the dust. Put on your finest clothes—and rejoice! The haftarah for Parshat Shoftim delivers an urgent wake-up call to a defeated and demoralized people: Hit’oreri, hit’oreri—Awaken, awaken! Uri, uri—Wake up, wake up! Isaiah calls upon Zion to rise from the dust, cast off the identity of a captive, dress herself in garments of splendor, and reclaim her place as God’s beloved. Key Takeaways ...
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Becoming Good
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
What if Judaism has been misunderstood all along, and the real reward for doing good isn't what you get, but who you become? Is Judaism really about reward and punishment—or is it about becoming? Parshat Re'eh begins with a tiny grammatical anomaly. Instead of saying, "if you obey," the Torah says "that you obey." Could one unexpected Hebrew word change the way we understand blessing, virtue, and even human nature? In this episode of Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz follow that question from the Bible through the Rabbis, Maimonides, the Sefer HaChinuch, Aristotle, and...
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The Torah's Theory of History
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
We’ve all heard the old cliché that "history repeats itself," but the Torah actually reveals a massive flaw in that idea. The Greeks believed history repeats itself. Enlightenment thinkers believed history marches relentlessly forward. The Torah suggests they're both missing something. In this episode, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz begin with a single Hebrew word—eikev—and uncover a uniquely Jewish philosophy of history. Through the insights of Ramban, Giambattista Vico, Johann Gottfried Herder, Isaiah Berlin, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, they discover a vision of history that is...
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From Moses to Modern Populism
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
If you think your flaws and failures automatically make you a better, more "authentic" leader, you've completely misunderstood the lesson of Moses. Most civilizations turned their founders into saints. The Hebrew Bible does the opposite. Abraham falters. Jacob deceives. David sins. Moses—the greatest prophet in Judaism—is denied entry into the Promised Land. This isn't a bug in the Torah. It's one of its most revolutionary ideas. In this episode of Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz explore why Judaism insists that greatness and imperfection can coexist—but never confuses...
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The Lost Art of Paying Attention
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
What if the greatest cure for our distracted, scroll-addicted minds was written over 3,000 years ago? Deuteronomy isn't just repeating the Torah. It's teaching us how to pay attention. The fifth book of the Torah—Deuteronomy (Mishneh Torah)—is often dismissed as simply a review of what came before. But what if Moses' final retelling wasn't repetition at all, but one of the Torah's deepest lessons about how human beings learn, remember, and grow? In this episode of Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz explore how the Torah transforms review into a transforming discipline. From Ben...
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Yehoshua Pfeffer and the Haredi
Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism
From the ancient words of the Torah to the modern frontlines, a hidden shift is taking place that will redefine what it means to be an Israeli. Is the Haredi draft crisis really about military service—or about the future of the Jewish people? As Israel struggles with one of its most divisive public debates, Geoffrey Stern sits down with Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer—founder of the Iyun Institute, editor of Tzarich Iyun, and one of the leading intellectual voices emerging from within the Haredi community—for a thoughtful and surprisingly hopeful conversation. Key Takeaways Brotherhood Before...
info_outlineFrom the ancient words of the Torah to the modern frontlines, a hidden shift is taking place that will redefine what it means to be an Israeli.
Is the Haredi draft crisis really about military service—or about the future of the Jewish people?
As Israel struggles with one of its most divisive public debates, Geoffrey Stern sits down with Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer—founder of the Iyun Institute, editor of Tzarich Iyun, and one of the leading intellectual voices emerging from within the Haredi community—for a thoughtful and surprisingly hopeful conversation.
Key Takeaways
- Brotherhood Before Politics
Moses doesn't ask, "Who should be drafted?" He asks, "Shall your brothers go to war while you remain here?" The Torah frames the issue not as one of politics or legal rights, but of achdut—brotherhood, shared destiny, and mutual responsibility.
- A Quiet Revolution Is Already Underway
Behind the headlines, profound changes are taking place within Haredi society. Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer argues that a new generation is rediscovering Tanach, engaging questions of citizenship and public responsibility, and seeking ways to integrate Torah values with participation in the life and defense of the Jewish State.
- Judaism Is Ultimately a Religion of Hope
Despite the tensions surrounding the draft, Rabbi Pfeffer remains remarkably optimistic. Like the tribes of Reuben and Gad, both Israeli society and the Haredi community are still evolving. The future will not be shaped by slogans or coercion, but by honest conversation, mutual respect, and a renewed commitment to seeing one another as brothers.
Timestamps
[00:00] Meet Rabbi Pfeffer
[01:32] Parsha Sets the Stage
[02:40] Draft Law Update
[05:53] Achichem in War
[07:20] Meraglim and Courage
[09:38] Incubation and Tension
[15:44] Sponsor Break
[16:47] Israel and Haredim Evolve
[23:39] Back to Tanakh
[29:02] Brotherhood After Oct 7
[36:08] What Tzorich Iyun Does
[40:45] Hope and Closing
Links & Learnings
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Transcript here: https://madlik.substack.com/
Yehoshua Pfesser Website: https://iyun.org.il/en/