Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchHow to Read a Talmudic Story: Book Talk
The stories transmitted in the Talmud and midrash present contemporary readers with a rich and delightful entry point into the Rabbinic worldview and…
2 months, 2 weeks ago
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Tzav: On Offerings, Wholeness, and Peace
Midrash Vayikra Rabbah offers an extensive homily on the shelamim (peace or well-being offering) based on the linguistic affinity between the Hebrew …
2 months, 3 weeks ago
R. Shai Held: Why Doesn't God Redeem Us Again?: Living With and Without Exodus
The exodus is nothing less than the "orienting event" of Jewish life. But Exodus memory also has another, much more painful side: amidst suffering an…
2 months, 3 weeks ago
R. Avital Hochstein on Vayikra: From Chance to Calling
The Book of Leviticus, Vayikra, begins: “God called (ויקרא) to Moshe and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying” (Leviticus 1:1). Why does Go…
3 months ago
R. David Kasher: Reading Tanakh as Tanakh Reads Itself
What is the value and beauty of Tanakh? And how are biblical texts aware of, and in conversation with one another? In this class, Rabbi David Kasher …
3 months ago
Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei: Being in the Shadow of God
The Torah portions of VaYakhel and Pekudei describe the practical implementation of the construction plans for the tabernacle (mishkan), originally d…
3 months, 1 week ago
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Ki Tissa: When Moshe Leaves
The absence of a leader creates a vacuum, and this vacuum invites a question: What kind of leadership are we seeking? At the beginning of Parashat K…
3 months, 2 weeks ago
R. Elazar Symon on Purim: Does God Sleep?
From a theological perspective, the most striking feature of the Book of Esther is God’s absence. God’s name does not appear anywhere in the megilla…
3 months, 2 weeks ago
R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Tetzaveh: “Who Stays Your Hand?”: On Interdependence
Being in a relationship is both an opportunity and a challenge. Relationships with others have the potential to be life-expanding, but to achieve th…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Searching for the Heart of Tanakh: R. Shai Held and R. David Kasher
Traditional Jewish exegesis and modern academic scholarship often speak in different languages—one theological and reverential, the other historical …
3 months, 3 weeks ago