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.

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 here, click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

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. 

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.

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!

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.

Rabbi Fohrman, Imu Shalev, and Tikva Hecht reflect on ten years of Aleph Beta Tisha B’Av videos. They discuss the lessons they have learned over the years about the meaning and nature of Tisha B’Av, and also review their personal favorite videos, and where to get started if you are new.

How do you succeed in a tough negotiation? At the beginning of this week’s parsha, the tribes of Gad and Reuben come to Moses with a really big ask. Just as the nation of Israel is about to enter and inherit the Land – in other words, at a moment that calls for the utmost unity and cooperation – these two tribes have a totally different plan for themselves! And perhaps even more surprisingly, Moses consents to their request. Rabbi Fohrman analyzes their exchange to pinpoint the reasons for this successful outcome: honest communication, true listening, and the establishment of trust.

In Parshat Pinchas, we read about the daughters of Zelophehad, who seek to inherit their father’s land. God declares that their claim is correct, not only granting their request but also codifying it into law. This story isn’t just heartwarming – it’s also intriguingly similar to the Pesach Sheni story from earlier in the Book of Numbers. But what could land inheritance and the Passover offering have to do with each other? Join Rabbi Fohrman and Daniel Loewenstein as they explore this question, uncovering insights into the hidden structure of the Book of Numbers and the true meaning of nationhood.

Shiva Asar B'Tammuz is a fast day that marks the beginning of the Three Weeks, a period of intense mourning that culminates with Tisha B'Av, the day the Temple was destroyed. Twice in our national history foreign armies broke through the walls of the holy city of Jerusalem on this day. Yet, it is much more than the start of an extended mourning period for the Temple. The Mishna lists five separate calamities that took place on the 17th of Tammuz. In this episode, Rabbi Ami Silver takes a closer look at one of those catastrophes which seems to break the mold, and he identifies a common theme running through the tragedies of this day. Join Ami as he explores the eternal relevancy of these ancient events.