Yom Kippur: It’s one of the most significant days of the whole year. We go into this day hoping for some weighty things… forgiveness, a chance to be a better version of ourselves. So it’s confusing that the Torah doesn’t give Yom Kippur any big buildup at all. Instead, we get a long description of the High Priest’s service in the holiest parts of the Tabernacle… and only at the end do we find out when this service is supposed to happen: Every year on Yom Kippur. Oh, and by the way, “on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you of all your sins.” Wait a minute, that sure sounds like the main point! So why didn’t that come first? Why does the Torah seem to introduce Yom Kippur in such a topsy-turvy way? 

In this episode, Rabbi Fohrman digs into the Torah’s presentation of this day. It’s about forgiveness, all right… but before that, it’s about something else. Something that brings us to the true source, the ultimate way to achieve atonement and a new beginning.

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Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

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Rosh Hashanah – it’s Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgment, right? God is going to judge the whole world and decide its fate for the coming year. And our job is to search our hearts, confront our misdeeds from the past, and do teshuvah, repentance. Sounds like a big responsibility! But as it turns out, the Torah itself doesn’t say anything about Rosh Hashanah’s being Judgment Day. So how does the Torah explain what Rosh Hashanah is about, if it’s not about judgment? And what did the Sages see in the Torah’s take on Rosh Hashanah that led to the idea of Yom Hadin? 

Listen in as Imu and Rabbi Fohrman explore the question of what Rosh Hashanah really is primarily about. We’ll get some clues from the prayers that we say on this day, and we’ll see how we might be able to stand before God and ourselves, truly celebrating and even looking forward to this holiday.

Here’s the course Beth recommended on relating to God through the Rosh Hashanah prayers: How Do I Get Closer to God? 

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Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

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Parshat Ki Tetzei tells us that if we find a nest with eggs or baby birds in it, we have to send away the mother bird before we’re allowed to take her young. That certainly sounds as if the Torah wants us to treat animals humanely… but how exactly does it help the mother bird? Rabbi Fohrman explores different approaches to this question and explains why the Torah connects this mitzvah to the Fifth Commandment, “Honor your father and mother.”

Interested in hearing more about the Ten Commandments idea Imu mentioned? You can find Rabbi Fohrman’s course here: The Ten Commandments and Their Meaning

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

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How can we live a meaningful life? In this episode of Into the Verse, Rabbi Fohrman finds an answer in an unlikely section of Parshat Shoftim: the Israelites’ pre-battle protocols, when the officers exempt various soldiers from fighting. Join Rabbi Fohrman as he explores these military exemptions, their fascinating parallels to elsewhere in the Torah, and what they show us about leading a life worth living. 

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message - just click here, click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

Want to explore the meaning of life even more? Listen to Rabbi Fohrman’s podcast entitled “The Meaning of Life.” Click here to enjoy this multi-part series. 

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

Follow us on your favorite social media.

How can we live a meaningful life? In this episode of Into the Verse, Rabbi Fohrman finds an answer in an unlikely section of Parshat Shoftim: the Israelites’ pre-battle protocols, when the officers exempt various soldiers from fighting. Join Rabbi Fohrman as he explores these military exemptions, their fascinating parallels to elsewhere in the Torah, and what they show us about leading a life worth living. 

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message - just click here, click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

Want to explore the meaning of life even more? Listen to Rabbi Fohrman’s podcast entitled “The Meaning of Life.” Click here to enjoy this multi-part series. 

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org. 

Everyone knows it’s not kosher when you cook meat and milk together, but the Torah in this week’s parsha only says you can’t cook a baby goat in its mother’s milk. This law gets extended to all cooking of milk and meat in the Oral Law. Rabbi Forham considers why the oral laws from the rabbis end up looking so different than the written Biblical laws - and the fact that law often feels like it has nothing to do with God and spirituality. He argues that thought without action can wither away, and that law is about finding spirituality in the mundane.

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

Follow us on your favorite social media.

Everyone knows it’s not kosher when you cook meat and milk together, but the Torah in this week’s parsha only says you can’t cook a baby goat in its mother’s milk. This law gets extended to all cooking of milk and meat in the Oral Law. Rabbi Forham considers why the oral laws from the rabbis end up looking so different than the written Biblical laws - and the fact that law often feels like it has nothing to do with God and spirituality. He argues that thought without action can wither away, and that law is about finding spirituality in the mundane.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org. 

In Parshat Eikev, Moses boils down, into a short, sweet list, what God really wants from us in this world. But, when the prophet Micah comes along and offers a different version, the clarity in God’s expectations gets muddied…or does it? Join Rabbi Fohrman in this episode of Into the Verse as he explores the different “cliff notes” versions of what God asks of us and helps us gain clarity on how we can be the good person God wants us to be. 

Want to explore more about what qualities Micah identifies as making us good people? Check out Rabbi Fohrman’s original Parshat Eikev video here. 

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

Follow us on your favorite social media.

In Parshat Eikev, Moses boils down, into a short, sweet list, what God really wants from us in this world. But, when the prophet Micah comes along and offers a different version, the clarity in God’s expectations gets muddied…or does it? Join Rabbi Fohrman in this episode of Into the Verse as he explores the different “cliff notes” versions of what God asks of us and helps us gain clarity on how we can be the good person God wants us to be. 

Want to explore more about what qualities Micah identifies as making us good people? Check out Rabbi Fohrman’s original Parshat Eikev video here. 

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click here, click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org. 

Parshat Va’etchanan tells the story of receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. But wait… Haven’t we heard this story before? Why does the book of Devarim repeat this story along with so many others?

In this week’s episode, Ari Levisohn uncovers some subtle clues in Moses’s retelling of this story that open up a new dimension to the book of Devarim. Moses isn’t just telling us what happened. He is telling us how he experienced it and the unique lessons we can learn from his perspective.

Leave us a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/AlephBeta

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

Follow us on your favorite social media.