The Torah is an essential text to world culture. Regardless of religious affiliation, it has influenced the formation of law and community life across a variety of peoples since it's conception. The Torah is also a masterwork of literature. In this episode, we unpack the 10 Commandments as an essential piece in the plot of The Bible as a work of literature.

Topics Covered:

• Mountains as Archetypes
• Animal sacrifices as transmutation
• Moses' two trips up and down the mountain
• Shattering of the tables of stone
• Tikkun--rectification and gathering of divine characteristics
• 10 commandments=10 divine characteristics=10 fruits of the spirit.
• 5 loaves and 2 fish=5 worlds and 2 witnesses
• The 5 worlds: Assiyah, Yetzirah, Beriyah, Atzilut, Adam Kadmon
• The 5 corresponding souls: Nefesh, Ruah, Neshama, Yechida, Chaya
• How each command requires 5 layers of revelation and application

In this unit we explore the connections to The Torah and Jesus.

Topics Covered:

-Historical Origins

-The TaNaK, The Christian Bible

-Torah specifically and as a general term for teachings

-Oral traditions

-Influence on major religions and interpretations of major religions.

-Chiasmus, Chiasm, Chiastic structure

-The Gospels as Torah reinterpreted

-Why Jesus is controversial

-Who is Messiah

In this episode we look at some juicy questions submitted by listeners and students.

Topics Covered:

• ​-What is Heaven?
• ​-Western Folk Religion
• ​-Ancient cosmology
• ​-Merging of Heaven and earth
• ​-Motifs of Heaven and earth
• ​-Apocalyptic literature connections to dystopian literature
• ​-John of Patmos, not the same as the Apostle.
• ​-Literal but not literal but also archetypal
• ​-Blind obedience v. Relationship
• ​-Abraham’s sacrifices and connections to Cain
• ​-Mercy v. Sacrifice

In Q and A episode, we delve into some heavy hitters like:

-Is Heaven real? If so, what's it like?

-Why does Jacob wrestle with God.

-Hell, Sheol, Hades, and everlasting punishment.

-Why does God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?

-Why is the woman with an issue of blood such a prominent story?

This Q and A episode was developed from listener and student-generated questions regarding a previous episode on Destruction and Rebirth of Israel in Egyptian captivity. You can listen to that ⁠episode here⁠ if you need to get caught up. Just click the link or scroll.

Topics Covered:

The final section of our Tragic Heroes unit examines the life of Solomon. As with most tragic heroes, Solomon proves to be a controversial character. The semi-bastard son of King David, Solomon is both the son of magnificent promise, but also is one who subverts the traditional order in the world of the narrative.

Topics Covered:

As we delve deeper into Tragic Hero narratives in The Bible, this episode we take a look at Samson. As you could probably guess, this story is much deeper, and much more nuanced than the typical Sunday-school treatment it gets. In fact, it could be said, that his story is a miniature history and foretelling of the fates and fortunes of Israel.

Topics Covered:

Continuing our study on Tragic Hero narratives in The Bible, this episode breaks down the story of Jonah. Listen to our background episode and that of King Saul here. Jonah, as a story in the greater context of The Bible, almost defies classification. As such, the narrative becomes a type of satire and a mirror in which the reader has to wrestle with some tough questions about the nature of God.

Topics Covered:

King Saul is one of the most intriguing figures in the Bible Story. While showing much potential, the first political king of Israel just can't seem to get it right. In this episode we dive into the structure of a Tragic Hero narrative and pull out details from the story which have been forcing readers for generations to consider the following question: Was King Saul doomed to failure from the start? Listen to find out.

Topics Covered:

This episodes traces similarities between the award-winning film WALL-E stories from The Biblical canon.

Topics Explored: