RYBZ escapes Jerusalem by faking his own death. Faking your own death is an important thing to do from time to time.

Vespasian invites Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai to ask for what he needs in order to ensure the well-being of the Jewish people. RYBZ procures the tools that will keep us going for millennia.

There are 3 wealthy men who will provide enough food to feed the people of Jerusalem for 21 years. But the local thugs have other ideas. And even the rabbis have something to say!

The emperor sends a general to destroy Jerusalem, but this general - Nero - has a sudden realization, and turns his life around. Shouldn't we follow suit?

I rerecorded the second half of episode 2 because I realized I was perpetuating my own negative assumptions about the Jewish people. Around 10 minutes in, I took a deep breath and started again toward a recognition of how big some moments are, and wondering what it takes to face them.

What should Rabbi Zecharia and his friends have done? Well, we see places in our tradition in which leaders figured out when and how to step out of the black and white text. But are they good precedents? Do they, in fact, have something that these rabbis don't have?

Having been kicked out of the party while the rabbis did nothing, Bar Kamtza goes to the emperor and tells him the Jews are rebelling. He suggests a test - send an offering to the Temple, they won't bring it! - to show that what I am saying is true. He blemishes the animal, rendering it unfit for offering, and presenting the rabbis with an enormous challenge

There is an incredible story in the Talmud about a party that leads to the destruction of the Temple. It offers ample food for thought about over-responding and under-responding, about response-ability and courage, about money and food, honor and shame. It's got a bit of everything.

Looking at the four paragraphs inside the tefillin, and the many amazing stories they tell. This is just an intro for a class I am giving, but I think it's worth sharing anyway.

The Shema tells us to bring the mind - cold, scientific, selfless - and the heart - warm, ego, self, personal - into accord with one another, using both to find and bring oneness in the world