Podcast Episodes

Extreme Measures (4:4)

Season 1

My wise grandmother, of blessed memory, used to quip, “Everything in moderation.” That sagacious advice is, in fact, the backbone of Rambam’s understanding of proper character. In every trait, there …

Published on 6 years ago

The Critical Hour (4:3)

Season 1

How valuable is an hour of time? How much of a person’s life can be changed in one hour? In this mishna, Ben Azzai teaches us the power of a single hour.

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Published on 6 years ago

Miracle Drugs and Superfoods (4:2)

Something dramatic happens when the Soul is fed. It is empowered and its place in a person’s identity is augmented, and concurrently the Yetzer Hara’s influence is weakened. A virtuous cycle results …

Published on 6 years, 2 months ago

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise (4:1)

Does it make sense to take pride in one’s intellect, fitness, or wealth? Our Sages teach us that those things are determined before someone is born, and therefore it would be ludicrous for us to take…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

Complex Calculations (3:23)

What is the relationship between Torah and secular disciplines such as astronomy mathematics? In a pithy and cryptic teaching, Rabbi Elazar Chisma – a Sage who excelled in both – offers an insightful…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

Preconditions to Torah (3:21-22)

Torah is unlike any other discipline. Every other discipline can be acquired without preconditions; Torah can only be unlocked by someone who has successfully primed himself for that lofty status. In…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

Advanced Conflict Resolution (3:21)

Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaria got an unusual and controversial promotion at a very young age. Due to an escalating dispute between two of the great leaders of the era, the Nasi Rabban Gamliel was deposed a…

Published on 6 years, 5 months ago

Hotel Incidentals (3:20)

In his fourth and final teaching, Rabbi Akiva shares a powerful and serious parable that is designed to shake us up and take life seriously but also contains the undertones of a very inspirational an…

Published on 6 years, 5 months ago

Divine Foreknowledge and Free Will (3:19)

In this pithy teaching, Rabbi Akiva addresses some of the knottiest questions of Jewish philosophy: If God knows what we do ahead of time, do we have free will? If God is control of everything, is th…

Published on 6 years, 6 months ago

World Building (3:18)

In an astonishingly profound teaching, Rabbi Akiva informs us of the special role that humans have in completing the objective of the Almighty’s creation; and the amplified role that our nation has i…

Published on 6 years, 6 months ago