Torah Talk

Bemidbar 5772

2012-05-22T18:31:55Z

When is a tribe not a shevet? When it is a mateh (and vice versa). We begin "the Book of Tribes" this week, and one of the two Hebrew words for "tribe" will play a major role.

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Behar-Behukkotai 5772

2012-05-15T15:34:46Z

It's the section about the jubilee year, so naturally I'm thinking about Mark Twain and Thomas Jefferson…

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Emor 5772

2012-05-08T16:21:18Z

Leviticus tells the priests they must avoid ritual contamination with death -- unless the death is that of a close family member. But the text uses a standard Hebrew word in a very unusual way in order to issue this command.

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Aharei Mot-Kedoshim 5772

2012-05-01T10:44:25Z

This week we are told that the Tent of Meeting "abides" in the midst of the Israelites—something that a tent ought not to be doing.

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Tazria-Metzora 5772

2012-04-24T16:05:50Z

Our text begins by discussing a woman who does the verb tazria before giving birth — but does it mean that she conceives, delivers the baby, or … ?

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Shemini 5772

2012-04-17T15:52:54Z

This week, Aaron gets his first chance to offer sacrifice -- there are too many people making too many offerings. What's going on?

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Tzav 5772

2012-03-27T18:26:17Z

This week, we focus on the unusual word mok'dah — unusual in its rarity, its form, its spelling, and most of all in the central role it plays in divine worship as prescribed in Leviticus.

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Vayikra 5772

2012-03-20T16:04:44Z

Who reads what when? This week we're beginning to read the book of Leviticus. But in the podcast we'll look at a rabbi who walked into a synagogue and found the reading beginning in a surprising place — and we'll see what light that sheds on the tradition of reading the Torah.

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Vayakhel-Pekudei 5772

2012-03-13T18:30:43Z

This week, the Israelites go ahead and build the Tabernacle they were commanded to build 10 chapters ago. But one thing is different: the gold they were commanded to bring is not merely a terumah; this week it is also a tenufah. What's the difference between these two kinds of offerings, and what makes the gold different than it was planned to be three weeks ago?

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Ki Tisa 5772

2012-03-05T00:08:29Z

In Exodus 34, God makes the "Ritual Decalogue" the basis for the covenant between Himself and Israel. What role does the third party to the transaction, Moses, play?

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Tetzaveh 5772

2012-02-28T18:33:39Z

How did Moses make his brother Aaron into the High Priest?

Not "how did he arrange it," but how did he effect it, and what Hebrew verb did he use?

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Terumah 5772

2012-02-19T21:04:20Z

This week I discuss the Hebrew word כסא ("chair" in Modern Hebrew, but not in Biblical Hebrew) and I show why it's important for understanding this week's parashah — even though the word doesn't occur there at all.

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Mishpatim 5772

2012-02-14T16:27:00Z

In honor of Lincoln's birthday on Sunday, we look once again at the biblical laws about freeing slaves — and this time at some biblical history, too.

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Yitro 5772

2012-02-08T02:11:12Z

We'll explore Exod 18:2, about Zipporah's having been sent away -- which turns out to be relevant to her father as well.

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Beshallach 5772

2012-02-01T00:11:57Z

In this week's episode, the Israelites see the Presence of the LORD — and it seems to be no big deal.

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Bo 5772

2012-01-24T19:40:44Z

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

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Va'era 5772

2012-01-16T22:53:54Z

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?

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Shemot 5772

2012-01-08T21:40:06Z

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

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Vayehi 5772

2012-01-03T23:00:03Z

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

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Vayigash 5772

2011-12-27T16:42:59Z

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

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