Torah Talk
Thoughts on the weekly parashah from Center City Philadelphia
Torah Talk

Bo 5772


What does it mean for the locusts to "cover the eye of the earth"?

Download | Duration: 00:11:41


Va'era 5772


God tells Moses His "real" name — as if He hadn't already told it to Abraham and Jacob in Genesis 15.  Why the big announcement?

Download | Duration: 00:11:41


Shemot 5772


As we begin the book of Exodus, there sure are a lot of Israelites.  What are we supposed to think about it?

Download | Duration: 00:10:45


Vayehi 5772


Not the most neglected of Jacob's 12 sons ... but he's close!  This week we will look at the blessing of Issachar.

Download | Duration: 00:12:00


Vayigash 5772


Judah "reminds" Joseph that he wanted to lay eyes on Benjamin — an unusual thing to say, for TWO reasons.

Download | Duration: 00:10:52


Miketz 5772


We take time out from the Association for Jewish Studies conference in Washington, D.C. to take a look at Joseph's method of dream interpretation — using a verb and noun found nowhere else in the Bible.

Download | Duration: 00:11:01



(Click here for source sheet.)

Vayeshev 5772


How Jacob subtly alters Joseph's dream, and what it tells us about him.  All indicated not by the Hebrew words but by the punctuation.

Download | Duration: 00:10:53


Vayishlach 5772


Jacob hopes his wives and children will not be killed — a hope that resonates strongly with Torah law.  Plus, the unusual expression he uses to say so, and how his actions conflict with his words.

Download | Duration: 00:10:20


Vayetze 5772


Jacob makes a deal with God.
Does he get what he was promised?

Download | Duration: 00:10:14


Toledot 5772


Rebecca tells Jacob he must run away to Mesopotamia to avoid being killed by Esau, whose blessing he has stolen.  But the word she uses brings up a host of associations that connect us back to Abraham -- by way of the Song of Songs.

Download | Duration: 00:10:00