
Xai, how are you?
Queer Jews Michael Sokolovsky and Rabbi Xava De Cordova play with the multi-millennial dialectic that is the Talmud. Join them as they throw drash, seek prophetic insight and uncover the rabbinic smuttiness inherent in the system.
Latest episodes

Jul 11, 2023 • 29min
177. Oh, Honey!
This episode is the bee's knees...and that is only one of the many horrible bee puns you'll be subjected to! Xava brought a talmudic cornucopia about bees and their place in the world, both metaphysically and culinarily. Sign up for The Flavor of Text here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-flavor-of-text-a-deep-dive-into-melody-in-the-beit-midrash-tickets-657305076177
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

Jul 3, 2023 • 22min
176. Failing Upwards
Michael brings us some delicious drash on the Torah's most cringe stories where the bad guys are good and the good guys are not what they seem. Sign up for The Flavor of Text here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-flavor-of-text-a-deep-dive-into-melody-in-the-beit-midrash-tickets-657305076177
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

Jun 18, 2023 • 25min
175. Truth or Consequences
Listener questions return! This week, we explain some Rabbinic apocalypse ramblings, little white lies, moral absolutism and the Messianic age. Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

Jun 12, 2023 • 48min
174. A Matter of Taste
Jonah Mac Gelfand of Gashmius Magazine joins us to talk about neo-xasidut, the transcendent nature of taste, sacrifices and a wonderful text from the Me'or Einayim! Check out the source sheet from this episode here: https://rb.gy/hza6e and check out Gashmius at https://www.gashmiusmagazine.com/
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

Jun 5, 2023 • 59min
173. Politics of Disgust
Professor of philosophy and law Martha Nussbaum joins us to talk about her life, her journey with Judaism, emotional politics, agnosticism and a bunch of other cool stuff!
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

May 28, 2023 • 57min
172. Interpreting Solomon's Temple
Sam Biagetti of “Historiansplaining” comes on the show to discuss Solomon’s Temple – both the real historical building as it can be reconstructed from ancient texts and archaeology, and the symbol that has been endlessly appropriated to represent humankind’s relationship to the cosmos, from Jewish mysticism, to Christian theology, to early Islam, to medieval magic, to Renaissance humanism, to the rituals of Freemasonry, to modern Jewish and evangelical fundamentalism.
Check out Sam's lectures on Freemasonry:
soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/the-freemasonry-its-origins-its-myths-and-its-rituals
soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/freemasonry-its-growth-and-spread-before-1789
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

May 22, 2023 • 30min
171. Space Oddity
What did the Rabbis know about the stars? Was the moon a bossy bottom? Can we remember facts from previous episodes? Find out all the answers in this epi!
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

May 17, 2023 • 24min
170. Dazzling Beauty
Turns out our favorite trans feminine rabbi literally glows in the dark! Which turns out to be surprisingly relevant to Rabbi Elazar's existential crisis. All that and more in this week's epi!
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

May 9, 2023 • 28min
169. The Secret Jewish History of Ordination
You've heard of smikha, but did you know that Jews have had different thoughts and opinions about it over time? Listen to this episode to hear them, and the petty dramas that gave us the system we have today. Sign up for Alefbet Soup here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alefbet-soup-for-the-soul-a-crash-course-in-the-magical-letters-of-judaism-tickets-621639680017
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.

May 1, 2023 • 21min
168. Plane Jane
What can a nazirite shave with and who cares? A listener wanted to know and we did our best to find out! Discover the hair raising results on this week's episode. Sign up for Revealing God's Face here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsduqurzIoGtT0NLAyioV8UaEBajNXMGV8
Visit our website to ask us questions at xaihowareyou.com and call or Text the Talmud Hotline at 401-484-1619 and leave us a voicemail. Support us on patreon at patreon.com/xaihowareyou. Follow us on twitter @xaihowareyou and @miss_figured. Music by Ben Schreiber.