Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchR. David Kasher on Parashat BeHar: The Fragrance of Freedom
One of the hallmark Rabbinic interpretive techniques is the identification of parallel wording in two different sections of the Torah. In legal inter…
2 years ago
R. Avi Strausberg on Pesah Sheini: Demanding a Seat at the Table
I am lucky to live a life with no food sensitivities. I can eat what I want and I’m happy to be an “easy guest,” quick to assure hosts that I have n…
2 years, 1 month ago
R. David Kasher on Parashat Emor: Recounting the Omer
Every year, by good calendrical fortune, we read in Parashat Emor the commandment of Sefirat ha-Omer, the “Counting of the Omer,” during the period i…
2 years, 1 month ago
R. Avi Strausberg on Yom HaZikaron/Yom Ha'Atzma’ut: At a Distance
I have always found it difficult to find an observance of Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’Atzma’ut that feels meaningful and authentic as a Jew living in th…
2 years, 1 month ago
R. David Kasher on Parashat Kedoshim: Codes in Conversation
The style and content of Parashat Kedoshim remind us immediately of an earlier reading: Parashat Mishpatim—back in the Book of Exodus, just after the…
2 years, 1 month ago
R. Avi Strausberg on Yom HaShoah: Power and Powerlessness
For many of us, the past six months have been an education in powerlessness. From where I sit in America, I felt powerless hearing about the brutali…
2 years, 1 month ago
R. David Kasher on Parashat Aharei Mot: The Goat Man
With the mishkan operational and the priesthood now in place, Parashat Aharei Mot begins with a description of the service that will be the pinnacle …
2 years, 1 month ago
R. David Kasher on Parashat Metzora: Like a Leper Messiah
We Jews, who have been perennial outcasts, ought to read the Torah’s account of the leper with particular care.“Leper,” we should note from the outse…
2 years, 2 months ago
Dr. Jeremy Tabick: Why Are There Four Cups at the Seder?
Ever wondered why we have to drink four cups of wine at our Seders? This class explores the history and the symbolism of this idea and how it transfo…
2 years, 2 months ago
R. David Kasher on Parashat Tazria: Covenantal Numerology
From the very beginning, the Torah imbues certain numbers with great significance. The first chapter of Genesis carefully divides Creation into seve…
2 years, 2 months ago