Episode 33: From Narrowness to Freedom with Rabbi Minna Bromberg, PhD
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T’fillah and Body Liberation
Today we’re so honored to share our interview with Rabbi Minna Bromberg, PhD. Rabbi Bromberg is the founder and president of Fat Torah, an initiative dedicated to ending weight stigma in the Jewish community and raising up body liberation through a Jewish lens. Fat Torah is also a community with a presence on facebook for Jewish fat folks and allies, a first of its kind. Rabbi Bromberg shares her t’fillah and body liberation journey, what inspired Fat Torah (it involves a song leader and a jelly doughnut), and how to make our prayer spaces inclusive for fat folks.
How can we see all bodies as reflections of the divine image, including our own? How can we move our community from narrowness to freedom?
Follow Fat Torah on instagram here!
Join our new Facebook group to discuss all things T’fillah and T’fillah education here!
(0:22) Learn more about rosh chodesh here.
(0:31) Mar cheshvan – מר חשון – “bitter cheshvan” – this is how some people describe the month because there aren’t any holidays.
(0:57) Chagim – חגים – holidays. Learn more about the holidays we celebrated over the last month here.
(1:17) Learn more about Rabbi Mina Bromberg PhD and Fat Torah here. You can join the Fat Torah Facebook group here and follow them on instagram here.
(4:58) Learn more about Camp Tel Yehudah here.
(5:26) Keva – קבע – fixed quality of the prayers. Learn more here.
(5:31) Shacharit – שחרית – morning prayers. Learn more here.
(9:05) Karov adonai l’chol korav – קרוב ה לכל קוראיו – G?d is close to all who call upon G?d (Minna’s translation). Learn more about Ashrei here.
(13:50) Yetziat mitzrayim – יציאת מצרים – the Exodus from Egypt. Learn more here.
(14:31) Kiddush – קידוש – blessing over wine or grape juice that sanctifies Shabbat and holidays. Learn more here.
(14:37) Mi chamocha – מי כמכה – “Who is like You?” – learn more about the prayer here.
(22:23) Click to learn more about BBW and NAAFA.
(25:31) Listen to our previous episode about Hanukkah here!
(26:30) Sufganiyot – סופגניות – fried jelly donuts. Learn more here.
(30:42) Bima – בימה – the raised platform services are led from.
(32:56) Learn more about Allan Sherman here.
(33:23) Zaftig – זפטיג (Yiddish) – plump.
(33:50) Learn more about Fat Studies here.
(34:42) You can read Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings here.
(35:14) You can read Fat Shame by Amy Farrell here.
(46:12) B’tzelem elohim – בצלם אלוהים – created in the Divine Image. Learn more here.
(46:21) Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
(46:25) Midrash – מדרש – interpretive teaching. Learn more here.
(50:48) Add some fat folks to your instagram feed- this list is a great place to start!
And check out the podcast Maintenance Phase for refreshing and fun deep dives into dismantling diet culture