Rabbi Moshe Kurtz, the assistant rabbi at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, Connecticut, is not your ordinary Modern Orthodox rabbi.
He grew up in a more yeshivish environment, and attended Yeshiva Darchei Torah, which is situated within the right-wing spectrum of Orthodoxy. But when he decided to become a rabbi, he pivoted towards Yeshiva University—and obtained his semicha there.
He has a sizable number of accomplishments for someone so young. He is the author of “Challenging Assumptions” (Mosaica Press, 2023), and has published extensively on contemporary halachic issues in forums such as the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society (RJJ Journal), Tradition, OUTorah, The Lehrhaus, and Torah Musings. Rabbi Kurtz also hosts the “Shu”T First Ask, Questions Later” podcast, which explores the responsa of our past and their relevance for today.
However, what might be most remarkable is how he has been able to integrate pop culture into Torah learning—and attract a following in the Stamford community with unique programming that’s both substantial and fun.
Next week, at the weekly men’s chabura that he co-organizes with Sam Sroka, Rabbi Kurtz has planned a classic rock kumzitz, in which various presenters will speak about rock songs from a Torah perspective. After each presentation, Daniel Wallis—a member of the chabura—will play the song on his guitar. The songs that will be on the program are “The Sound of Silence” (I am presenting that one), “Yesterday,” “Dust in the Wind,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Quinn the Eskimo” and “Born to Run.”
How did Rabbi Kurtz come up with this idea? “I like Torah and I like classic rock. That’s all there is to it.”
This isn’t the first time that Rabbi Kurtz has married pop culture with Torah learning. Last year he organized a “Torah in the Twilight Zone” series at the shul, in which attendees watched an episode from the original TV show. “I prepared some basic sources to flesh out the ethical dilemmas viewed through the prism of Torah,” he explained. “It was very well received.”
Rabbi Kurtz is particularly interested in popular songs that have a biblical connection. “I wish there was something equivalent to the Bar Ilan search engine for music. In the absence of such a tool, I have found that the word ‘God’ is invoked with greater frequency in the genres of Southern rock and metal compared to some of the more typical popular songs you might hear. For example, there is Metallica’s ‘Creeping Death,’ which is about the 10th plague in Egypt, and Avenged Sevenfold’s ‘Chapter Four,’ which is about the fourth chapter of Bereishit and the tragic feud between Kayin and Hevel. What I find fascinating about these two songs is that neither looks to inspire or leave the listener with a contrived sugar-high. They both boldly lean into the darker themes of the Torah narratives that you would not find in most mainstream religious Jewish songs.”
Rabbi Kurtz has had success in attracting 20- and 30-somethings to attend Torah classes, a demographic that has traditionally been difficult to reach when it comes to weekly shiurim. Using nontraditional methods, he has been able to convince many young men in the community to come out and participate in Torah classes.
“The formula for getting people to attend seems to be: Good Torah + Good Company + Good Food = Success. With that said, I think one needs to have some baseline appreciation for Torah learning. We learn real content … real sources. Oftentimes I teach shailot u’teshuvot, with a focus on Igros Moshe. Yes, there is a discussion component, but there is a true shem Talmud Torah. I do enjoy changing things up on occasion like we will be doing with the Classic Rock Chabura … but as a rule the learning is the ikkar.”
Rabbi Kurtz grew up in a community where virtually all pop culture was frowned upon. Nevertheless, he became interested in sci-fi and fantasy … and he was able to marry his interests with a Torah lifestyle.
“Growing up, virtually all secular pop-culture was assur without equivocation,” he explained. “And I understand this. A thoughtful yeshivish person realizes that there are positives to gain from secular culture but makes the cost-benefit analysis and determines that the potential gains are outweighed by the real risk.
“My pop-culture interests were an aberration compared to most of my peers growing up. I would often be amused by my rebbeim lambasting the Super Bowl, seeking to dissuade us from watching it. They had won me over before they opened their mouths. However, what they didn’t realize was that I was involved in watching a ‘Lord of the Rings’ marathon during that time instead. They also criticized the pop and rap music popular among high schoolers. Again, I was totally in agreement with them. But I was listening to Johnny Cash and Fleetwood Mac instead!”
Rabbi Kurtz wrote an essay, “Torah u-Madda or Torah u-Movies,” for Lehrhaus, in which he elaborated on this subject (https://bit.ly/3WPYhjo). He concludes that combining Torah and popular culture can be entertaining, and on occasion, even enlightening. But for the most part, it remains nothing more than a hobby and general area of interest.
“I learn Torah, and I happen to engage in geek culture. When something in geek culture gets me to think seriously about a moral issue or provides me with a moment of inspiration, I am thrilled. Nonetheless, the religious pursuit of Torah and the non-Jewish genre of geek culture need not intersect, just as I believe for the humanities writ large. I am happy to live a life of Torah and geekdom, but I am not convinced that it necessarily needs to be Torah u-Geekdom.”
