Podcast Episodes

R. Micha'el Rosenberg on HaZikaron/Yom Ha'Atzma’ut: The Religious Sensibility of Hatikvah

Although it eventually won out, it was not always obvious that “Hatikvah” would be the Israeli national anthem.  There were other competitors, and va…

1 year, 1 month ago

R. Tali Adler on Shemini: The Question in the Middle

Vayikra is a book that is concerned with the holy and the profane; the pure and the impure.  Nearly every mitzvah in Vayikra contains these categorie…

1 year, 1 month ago

R. Micha'el Rosenberg on Yom HaShoah: Love in Light of Destruction

It shouldn’t be possible to say such a thing, but I have spent most of my life taking the Holocaust for granted.  My father of blessed memory was a c…

1 year, 1 month ago

R. Tali Adler on Parashat Tzav: Ashes to Ashes

The burnt ashes of the korbanot (sacrifices), piled on the altar, represent the intermingled prayers and dreams, experiences and regrets, of the Jewi…

1 year, 2 months ago

R. Micha'el Rosenberg on Pesah: The Yom Kippur Before Pesah

We are doing a lot of prep work this week.  We are cleaning our homes, kashering pots and cutlery, making sure we’ve got everything on our Seder shop…

1 year, 2 months ago

R. Tali Adler on Vayikra: Blood and Breath

The unspoken drive towards human sacrifice lurks in the background of Sefer Vayikra.  

1 year, 2 months ago

R. Avi Strausberg: Children of Believers

The first Pesah was a leil shimurim, a night of watching, a night of fear and uncertainty.  Amid darkness and screams, the fate of the Israelites hun…

1 year, 2 months ago

R. Tali Adler on Pekudei: Silver and Gold

Human beings love to make idols of our dead.  

Desperate to keep our lost loved ones within reach, we create forms that we can cling to in their stead…

1 year, 2 months ago

R. Shai Held: Psalm for Thursday

The psalms attached liturgically to each day of the week are often mumbled over quickly, without much attention to their meaning. In this series, we'…

1 year, 2 months ago

R. Tali Adler on Vayakhel: Returning to Shabbat

It’s only in the moment when Moshe once again commands the Jewish people to keep Shabbat that we know they are truly forgiven.

1 year, 3 months ago