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Rabbi David Polsky

@motownrabbi.bsky.social
929 followers 450 following 1.7K posts

Friendly Orthodox rabbi; NYC➡️Nola➡️ Michigan; 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 Torah thoughts and #dadjokes; #blacklivesmatter; he/him/his

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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Soon after the 10/7 attacks, Isaac Herzog stated that all Gazans were responsible for the attacks because they should have protested. This article I wrote for Tisha B’Av responds to that statement by means of a Talmudic narrative: thelehrhaus.com/commentary/r...
thelehrhaus.com
Reading Tragedy in Gittin and Gaza | The Lehrhaus
David Polsky explores the similarities and differences between Hamas and the Jewish Zealots at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple.
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Soon after the 10/7 attacks, Isaac Herzog stated that all Gazans were responsible for the attacks because they should have protested. This article I wrote for Tisha B’Av responds to that statement by means of a Talmudic narrative: thelehrhaus.com/commentary/r...
thelehrhaus.com
Reading Tragedy in Gittin and Gaza | The Lehrhaus
David Polsky explores the similarities and differences between Hamas and the Jewish Zealots at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple.
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
For a post like that we should take his last name and switch the ב to a ו and the ש to a ס. והמבין יבין…
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Stav Zeitouni @stzeitouni.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Congratulations, you managed to drown out a reading of Vivian Silver's last communication with her son, and a testimony of a Gazan describing the bombing of her family. I hope you sleep well at night.
nytimes.com
Live Updates: Protests Disrupt NYC Vigil on Anniversary of Oct. 7 Attacks in Israel
A candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening organized by Israelis for Peace New York to mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 attack as well as those killed in Gaza descended into chaos.
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Sam Brody @samuelhayimbrody.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Facebook: here’s why 10/7 was infinitely worse than 9/11 and you, yes you, are an antisemite Instagram: here’s why 10/7 was the most revolutionary act of the 21st century and Zohran is a zio now
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Need to get these people together with the Ramaz/SAR people who protested Mamdani a few weeks ago.
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Alex @purplechrain.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
tfw you're a professor who writes an OpEd denouncing Jewish students' concerns about antisemitism as "Zionist witch hunts" while also sending anonymous posts to a Jew with pictures of their home address and calling Jews "blood-sucking demons" and calling for "eradicating and expelling Jews".
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Alex @purplechrain.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It takes chutzpah to publish a piece stating antisemitism is unacceptable, then use anon Twitter accounts to say "We started to decline the moment we stopped hating, eradicating and expelling Jews" & "Your family has no future in the US. Give it another 10 years, and you shall see a true Holocaust."
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
youtu.be/BtgnNhLa35I?... (Based on Dshengis Kahn)
youtu.be
Yidden - אידן
YouTube video by Mordechai Ben David - Topic
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Kiruv Rebbe: “This is your brain on Gemara”
static.klipy.com
Terry Crews: Got To Get Those Gains
Alt: Terry Crews: Got To Get Those Gains
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
(Gemara Rebbe trying to sound cool) “do you even learn, bro?”
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
When I was teaching (which was before “Ye” went Nazi), I made a song parody caled “Rabbi Polsky’s workout plan for the brain,” with fake testimonials like “thanks to Rabbi Polsky’s workout plan for the brain I was able to get into U of M on full scholarship.”
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
אסתירא בלגינא כיש כיש קריא Is my second favorite Talmudic insult (though it’s never directed at a particular person.)
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
“Nonnegotiable is for all Jewish Michiganders”-not for this Jewish Michigander.
STOP
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Aluminium Bat @aluminiumbat.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I've seen plenty of people on the left insist that any Jew who attends a Synagogue that takes a pro-Zionist stance should be shunned, but I rarely see that same logic applied to Christians who attend a Church that takes pro-Zionist stances, despite there being more of them numerically.
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
damniel spookradski @self.agency · 05/10/2026
leftists: stop conflating jews and zionists, they aren’t the same thing and it’s antisemitic to act like they are! also leftists: if you go to synagogue and there happen to be zionists there, you’re a nazi in a nazi bar!
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I cannot help but notice that leftist groups do not, for the most part, demand that all lefty Catholics only attend churches that dissent from the teachings of the Church hierarchy on abortion and queer rights. They broadly understand that sometimes one has a cultural link to people with bad views.
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damniel spookradski @self.agency · 04/10/2026
i understand deeming zionism to be racism. but i do not at all understand targeting party members for belonging to synagogues whose politics do not match their own unless your goal is to push jews out of the party generally, which would be odd for a party with a jewish leader.
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Jack @jhol95.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Pretty dark day for the party when the motion looks set to pass despite opposition from MPs and former leaders practically begging not to do this. Crank takeover is complete and the party is lost for now.
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
They specifically voted down an amendment clarifying that the goal of the resolution was *not* to target individual Jews for attending "Zionist" shuls. I found this from multiple people covering the conference. The message that sends seems clear. bsky.app/profile/jhol...
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The reason some Jews are so skeptical of criticism of Israel, (and this is explanation and not defense), is that you start with "the Israeli government is racist" and end with what the Green Party actually adopted, which is, "Individual UK Jews can be punished for attending shuls we deem Zionist."
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((Herschel)) @jaklacroix.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
WE'RE FUNDED!!!! You can still reserve your copy by backing the #Kickstarter now: www.kickstarter.com/projects/ben...
kickstarter.com
Again at a Crossroads
New Jewish Thought for a Better World
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
In light of the Cornell SA case, I am re-posting this piece I wrote a few years ago about bodily autonomy and consent based on a Talmudic narrative: jewschool.com/my-body-my-c...
jewschool.com
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Really annoying that my Subaru uses Starlink, which does Nazi when there are road closures…
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Ben Yehuda Press, Jewish books here & everywhere @benyehudapress.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
—Rabbi David Polsky, "Detroit Water Access: A Halakhic Analysis" Again at a Crossroads: New Jewish Thought for a Better World
kickstarter.com
Again at a Crossroads
New Jewish Thought for a Better World
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Ben Yehuda Press, Jewish books here & everywhere @benyehudapress.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"There is no hint that shutting off water for lack of payment would ever be justifiable. [One can argue] that the city has a greater responsibility towards its own citizens, who have a greater sense of entitlement to the water."
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Liz Shayne @lizshayne.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There are 8 days left and we are so close to meeting our goal! If this (or any excerpts from any of the other essays) speaks to you, please consider supporting!
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is also why leftists should support Mamdani’s plan to fight antisemitism, even aside from the morality of it. If you criticize Mamdani for caring about antisemitism at all, you tell wavering American Jews that the most committed pro-Israel advocates are the only ones who care about them.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
These American Jewish advocacy organizations are actually more threatened by Mamdani releasing a comprehensive anti-antisemitism plan than they would be by him being openly antisemitic, because it forces them to admit that one can be an anti-Zionist without being antisemitic.
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Ben Yehuda Press, Jewish books here & everywhere @benyehudapress.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"This would make shutting off their water even more egregious."
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
static.klipy.com
It's Raining Men Pixel Art Animation
ALT: It's Raining Men Pixel Art Animation
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Halachic Left @halachicleft.org · 28/09/2026
"In both cases, the protective-presence activists, who did not know each other, had their passports photographed by a soldier or settler. These are the first known cases in which Israeli authorities appear to be violating the Law of Return" www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Israel freezes aliyah for two Jews over activism protecting Palestinians
In both cases, the protective-presence activists, who did not know each other, had their passports photographed by a soldier or settler. These are the first known cases in which Israeli authorities ap...
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Guy Grossman @guygrossman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Israel's Election Committee disqualified all Arab parties today from running in the Knesset elections. I expect the decision to be over ruled by the Supreme Court. Still, shameful vote. "only democracy in the middle east"
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Eliyahu Stern makes this same pun here: arcmag.org/destroy-isra... I lefty Jewish Facebook group I’m a member of was up in arms about it, but, gotta admit, he does come across as a bit of a Moser.
arcmag.org
Destroy Israel, Repair the World | ARC: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera
He appears on the world stage as a whistleblower, an informer, divulging to ruling authorities the deep, dark political machinations and unsavory behaviors of the Jews. The Jews, he charges, are a peo...
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Not a good idea to do a double Purim. Miracles don’t happen every year…
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Going to take this opportunity to re-post my article arguing against Qualified Immunity from the perspective of Jewish Law: thelehrhaus.com/timely-thoug...
thelehrhaus.com
“Justice has not Been Done”: Officer Immunity and Accountability in Jewish Law (Part 2) | The Lehrhaus
David Polsky meticulously explores officer immunity in Halakha and compares it with the American legal standard of qualified immunity.
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.73...
sefaria.org
Sanhedrin 73a:5 | Sefaria Library
Now, the mention of murder came in order to teach a halakha about the betrothed young woman, and it turns out that, in addition, it derives a halakha from that...
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
פינחס יוסף מונד @pymundgenealogy.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Machine learning l'shem matzos mitzvah
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Re-posting this article I wrote for @truahrabbis.bsky.social with a conceptual Halakhic analysis of voting and democracy: truah.org/resources/fr...
truah.org
VOTING AND DEMOCRACY: One Possible Halakhic Approach | T'ruah
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Reposted by Rabbi David Polsky
Ben Yehuda Press, Jewish books here & everywhere @benyehudapress.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"We live in troubled times, with war a constant state of the world. With failing governmental structures and questions about the world’s ongoing habitability, questions of the eschatological end times easily arise."
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Ben Yehuda Press, Jewish books here & everywhere @benyehudapress.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
—Dov Pfeiffer, "Two Worlds" Again at a Crossroads: New Jewish Thought for a Better World Back the campaign to reserve your copy, support the contributors, and help bring this new collection of Jewish thought into print. www.kickstarter.com/...
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“Pardon me, but would you happen to have any Grey Poupon?” (I still say this whenever I see someone has Grey Poupon.)
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“Now I know!” “And knowing is half the battle!”
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שלמה לוי @shelbyarr.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
One thing Macklemore getting kicked off Ed Sheeran’s tour demonstrates is how combatting antisemitism has never been the point of these responses to pro-Palestine displays. If it were, Kanye would have been similarly ousted for his Hitler fandom.
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I got a number of compliments about my Shofar blowing, if you permit me to toot my own horn.
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Rabbi David Polsky @motownrabbi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
As a Dad AND a rabbi, I am making sure to fulfill my duty of making as many “next year” jokes as possible.
static.klipy.com
Dad Joke Activated: Man's Reaction
Alt: Dad Joke Activated: Man's Reaction
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Akiva Weisinger @misfittorah.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Hey my friend Jordan has been working super hard on this collection for years and it's got a bunch of essays by cool people in it so you should throw money at him so that the book can get printed
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((Herschel)) @jaklacroix.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
You know what you should do? Back our Kickstarter and get an amazing book full of beautiful pieces from some outstanding contemporary Jewish voices!
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Josephine beckbook.com Riesman @josie.zone · 03/09/2026
I'm in this! You should donate!
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The Autistic Rabbi(nical Student) | Mati [he/they] @autisticrabbi.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Our book is nearly ready - come support us get it over the line!
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