Podcast Episodes

#175 | Devarim ch.21 - Murder, Atonement, and Responsibility

Chapter 21 depicts an expiation ceremony after a homicide. The Talmud asks: Why are the leaders, the elders, responsible for a murder they did not co…

3 months ago

#174 | Devarim ch.20 - War and Peace

As Israel prepare to embark on a long military conquest of Canaan, chapter 20 gives us the instructions for waging war. Interestingly, each segment o…

3 months, 1 week ago

#173 | Devarim ch.19 - Shifting Boundaries

Today we discuss an innocuous law - the prohibition of shifting a boundary marker, or a border fence. It seems like a small detail but it respecting …

3 months, 1 week ago

#172 | Devarim ch.18 - Prophecy

What is the role of the prophet?

Why is wizardry, ghosts and spirits forbidden?

Does the prophet know the future?

3 months, 1 week ago

#171 | Devarim ch.17 - Does Judaism Believe in Democracy?

What are the four powers of Judaic leadership according to Sefer Devarim? What is unique about the way these powers are legislated?

And does Judaism b…

3 months, 1 week ago

#170 | Devarim ch.16 - Celebrating Together

The depiction of the three "regalim" - the "pilgrim festivals" - has a particular emphasis on sharing with individuals who are often vulnerable, at t…

3 months, 2 weeks ago

#169 | Devarim ch.15 - Brotherhood, Charity, Dignity.

Devarim turn to economics - the annulment of loans in the Shemitta year, the obligation to finance the poor, and the freeing of slaves with a start-u…

3 months, 2 weeks ago

#168 | Devarim ch.14 - God's Children

Sefer Devarim speaks of Israel as God's children. Today we dwell upon that analogy and discuss the alternative model of the God-Israel relationship -…

3 months, 2 weeks ago

#167 - Devarim ch.13 - Influencers

Our chapter gives 3 instances in which there are malicious forces of persuasion withing society, threatening to spread the culture of idolatry. In ea…

3 months, 2 weeks ago

#166 | Devarim ch.12 - The Place That God Will Choose

Our chapter discusses a ban on sacrificial worship outside a central location - "the place which God will choose" - which 400 years hence became Jeru…

3 months, 2 weeks ago