A feminist rapper checks out how women were treated in the Torah. An advocate for the disabled discusses Moses‘s speech impediment. A gay activist (who’s also a Jewish educator) wrestles with the condemnation of homosexual sex. And it’s all animated.
Each week, a cartoon series called G-dcast broadcasts the weekly Torah portion using a simple formula: Narrators–different ones each episode–tell the story in about three minutes. As they speak, bouncy, caffeinated Moseses wander through a cartoon desert. It’s like the bastard child of The Ten Commandments and South Park.
The Torah isn’t all wacky fun, of course, and G-dcast doesn’t shirk from those parts. Some episodes–such as Naso, the chapter in which a woman is accused of having an affair, narrated by Orthodox women’s activist Inbal Freund-Novick–are chillingly poignant.
The G-dcast DVD, released this week, contains all 54 weekly Torah portions. Each episode is only three or four minutes, so you can come to Shabbat dinner sounding like a scriptural genius even if your meal is just moments away.
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