Rabbinic Bibliomancy with dr. rafa kern

About this episode

Dr. Rafa Kern critiques Martin Buber's playwright skills and discusses the significance of text study and chevruta learning.

dr. rafa kern joins the pod to offer his critique of Martin Buber's skills as a playwright, but more importantly to share poignant insights on making meaning of text study and of the multiple elements that make up the phenomenon of chevruta learning. We do bibliomancy in this ep - spontaneously opening up a rabbinic text and seeing what meaning we can make of it! Primary source: Mishnah Shevuot 4:6 , 4:3: Other sources mentioned: Martin Buber's play Elijah , staged at Yale University in 2011 The ritual of the "decapitated calf / Egla Arufa," Deuteronomy 21:1-9 To donate to the Yesod Fund, a mutual aid fund coordinated by Shir Tikvah Synagogue in Minneapolis: https://www.yesodfund.org/

People in this episode

Hosts: Avidan Halivni, Rabbi Avigayil Halpern

Guest: dr. rafa kern

Topics covered

• bibliomancy
• text study
• chevruta learning
• Martin Buber
• rabbinic texts

Keywords

• bibliomancy
• Martin Buber
• chevruta
• Mishnah
• text study

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Martin Buber's play Elijah, Mishnah Shevuot 4:6, Mishnah Shevuot 4:3, the ritual of the 'decapitated calf / Egla Arufa,' Deuteronomy 21:1-9

More episodes of Can't Stop Scrolling

• Chavruta Geometry with Rabbi Avigayil Halpern and Avidan Halivni · March 30, 2026 · 35 min
• Dancing With Torah with Leah Kahn · March 23, 2026 · 1h 16m
• The Expansiveness Inside the Mountain with Dr. Tova Hopemark · March 16, 2026 · 37 min
• "The God of Becoming" with Rabbi CB Souther · March 2, 2026 · 37 min
• “The Whole World is Torah” with Rabbi Matthew Ponak · February 23, 2026 · 44 min
• The Sea of Torah with Rabbi Joel Goldstein · February 16, 2026 · 47 min