How Sound Shapes Jewish Identity

Madlik Podcast – Disruptive Torah Thoughts on Judaism

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The Dangers of a world seen on a screen: What Judaism Knew All Along

In our visually-dominated world, we're raising a generation that can see but not hear. This week's Madlik episode challenges us to reconsider the primacy of listening in Jewish tradition and its profound impact on our spiritual and emotional lives.

Key Takeaways

Deuteronomy emphasizes listening 92 times, highlighting Judaism's unique focus on auditory over visual experiences.
Memory and Music: We explore how sound and music are deeply connected to memory and emotion, even in cases of dementia.
High Fidelity Judaism: From the shofar to Torah chanting, we discuss how sound preserves traditions across millennia.

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Seeing vs. Hearing – The Deuteronomy Perspective
[00:01:33] Why “Just Listen” Matters in a Screen-Obsessed World
[00:03:01] The Word “Ger” – Stranger and Convert
[00:05:11] Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on the Radical Act of Listening
[00:08:42] “Nothing But a Voice” – The Mount Sinai Moment
[00:11:04] Video Killed the Radio Star – A Spiritual Parallel
[00:14:28] How Screens Impact Language and Social Development
[00:16:14] Music, Memory, and the Jewish Tradition
[00:20:37] Mnemonics, Oral Torah, and Memory Devices
[00:26:19] Maimonides and the Loss of Oral Tradition

Links & Learnings

Safaria Source Sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/668904

Transcript here: https://madlik.substack.com/ https://sapirjournal.org/chosenness/2025/the-paradoxes-of-conversion/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3fdQnTi6N3rG7MQfwFdy7H?si=bFHgMvQ3ShWc6-5J7x506A

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