Bible Raps joined Hakhel in the summer of 2018, and looks to fuse the two rarely overlapping worlds of Hip Hop and Torah. Here is how they do it…
Rappers and Rabbis: An Unreasonable Obsession With The Word
by Matt Bar
I know there is some obvious concern to be raised when bringing hip hop into sophisticated adult Torah study. I mean, the one is lewd, misogynistic, full of killers and concubines and the
other is hip hop. Ba-dum-bum-CHING!
Over the past 18 months, Bible Raps has been facilitating retreats, podcasts, and curriculum that bring together a diverse group of rappers (street-wise lyricists who have honed their craft rap-battling on subway trains) and rabbis (book-wise teachers who have cut their teeth dueling it out in the Beit Midrash).
Bible Raps has been serving as the anvil upon which these two word-loving communities let
their lyrical hammers loose against the yellow-hot steel of Torah. And boy have the sparks been flying! Our podcasts and events are turning out razor-sharp-edged analysis amid
steam-explosions of laughter.
The hammer blows coming out of the Bible Raps Smithy have been hitting some powerfully
deep frequencies. The rumblings are already being felt throughout the Jewish Adult Education world. I am blessed that in this pursuit I’ll have the support of the experts at Hakhel to help me co-lead this dream and this community, bursting at the seams with potential, into unchartered Jewish territory under the brand Rappers and Rabbis as others take the reigns along with me.
So what does a Rappers and Rabbis event, retreat, curriculum, podcast actually look like?
See for yourself! Creating ill Torah content is the outcome of everything we do. If it looks like your scene, holler at me and let’s drop some Dbar Torahs in the Beat Midrash with some other Rapping Rebbes for the next Mussar Mixtape!
Bible Raps is a member of Hakhel. Learn more about Hakhel – the first-of-its-kind Jewish Intentional Communities Incubator