Pinchas and Superman as our Mirror

Rabbi Irwin Kula reminds us that when we engage deeply with Torah, it can serve "as our mirror" which illuminates our inner complexities, strivings, horizon of significance, so we can better understand ourselves, others, and the world. In this presentation, I note how the Biblical story of Pinchas (who gets his own name on a parashah!) is a little different than most Biblical narratives in that most generate debates that quote textual evidence, but Pinchas usually just has the binary of "you either read it one way or the other." In that, it is our mirror in a more immediate way than usual. I compare the Rabbinic view and legend of Pinchas as the Biblical "Superman" with the recent James Gunn movie, quoting from, among other places, the excellent essay by Will Rahn.

You can listen to Pinchas and Superman as our Mirror online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Pinchas and Superman as our Mirror is an episode from Authentic, Compassionate Judaism for the Thinking Person by Rabbi Nadav Caine.

This episode is 15:56 long.

This episode was published on Jul 24, 2025.

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