Kol Ramah

Come join us for Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky's Parsha Talk. Parashat Toldot [Genesis 25:19-28:9] lives up to its opening words וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם אַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת־יִצְחָק, [ve-elleh toldot yitzhaq ben avraham, avraham ho’lid et yitzchak, “these are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham, Avraham fathered Isaac], for it features the crucial events in Isaac’s life after the Binding of Isaac [ch. 22] and the securing of a wife for him [ch. 24]. Our conversation is spirited, focusing on the character of Isaac and the character of Esau, sometimes in comparison with Jacob. Give a listen and let us know what you think at [email protected], where comments and criticisms are always welcome. Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Jeremy Kalmanofsky and Barry Chesler. The parashah this week, parashat Chayyei Sarah [Genesis 23:1-25:18) pretty much covers the life cycle: There are the deaths of Sarah, Abraham, and Ishmael; the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca; the births of Abraham’s last six sons. We spend a lot of time talking about Abraham, it is our last chance this Torah reading cycle, and some time talking about Rebecca. and of necessity, Isaac; according to Jeremy, the three patriarchs are Abraham, Rebecca, and Jacob. I have been assured this show is one of the best, so feel free to respond with your own thoughts at [email protected]. Shabbat Shalom!

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky - Parashat Va-yera [Genesis 18-22] begins with the arrival of the messengers of God to the tent of the recovering Abraham [he circumcised himself and all the males of his household at the end of last week’s parashah] to announce the upcoming birth of Isaac to the elderly Abraham and Sarah. It ends with Abraham sacrificing a ram in the place of his son Isaac on an altar the rabbis will later place on the Temple Mount. But the actual conclusion is a five-sentence coda announcing the birth of Rebecca, who will ultimately marry Isaac, in next week’s parashah. The Torah has a wonderful way of compressing time in the telling of its stories. The three of us, in our conversation, struggled valiantly to compress time so we could get in as much as possible in our allotted time. Please let us know if you think we succeeded! We receive e-mail at [email protected]. Shabbat Shalom!

With Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Lekh L’kha [Genesis 12-17] marks Avram’s entrance into the land that God would show him, identified as the land of Canaan [12:5]. He has left his father Terach in Haran, giving powerful punch to the command to Avram to depart “your land, your birthplace, and your father’s house”. Chizkuni, the medieval commentator, explains that the Torah mentions that Avram was 75 [12:4] in order to teach us that Terach was still alive [145, with 60 more years to live]. Avram, renamed Avraham later in the parashah [17:5], appears in a number of scenes, not all of which portray him as well as one might like or even expect. We had a lively conversation exploring the character of Avraham, and invite you to send us your votes for favorite patriarch or matriarch at [email protected]. Shabbat Shalom!

With Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky - It is parashat Noach [Genesis 6:9-11:32] on Parashah Talk, which always brings back a flood of memories. As we turn over the story of Noah we do not get much beyond his character and the question of how we should evaluate him. Is he the one-eyed man who sees far in the land of the blind but perhaps not even half as well as the one with two eyes, or is even greater than Avraham, who did not have to contend, at least in the Torah, with evil on the magnitude of Noah’s generation? We also talk about the genealogies of the 3 sons of Noah, and the more limited one from Shem to Avram, as he is known when we first meet him. Please let us know how you look at Noah, or anything else, at [email protected]. Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky - Parashah Talk is back for another season! After a couple of weeks to talk about the holidays, we are back to the weekly parashah. This week, the first Shabbat after Simchat Torah, we begin all over again with Parashat B’reshit [Genesis 1:1-6:8]. While the text remains the same, we are a year older, and hopefully wiser, so we look at the text from a slightly different, perhaps more elevated, perspective. We are grateful for the opportunity to talk Torah, and hope you enjoy listening and/or watching! Shabbat Shalom!!

Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky - The High Holy Day season, which began with Rosh Chodesh Elul, the 1st of the Hebrew month of Elul [this year, August 9, 2021], comes to a triumphant climax this week with Shabbat Chol Ha-Mo’ed Sukkot, whose Torah reading features the 13 attributes [which we discussed in the Yom Kippur edition] and the reading of Sefer Qohelet [the Book of Ecclesiastes], Hoshanah Rabbah on Monday, Sh’mini Atzeret on Tuesday, and Simchat Torah on Wednesday. We cover each of these in turn as we wind up the Torah Reading cycle this year and look forward to beginning again on Simchat Torah with the first Creation story, and next Shabbat with the opening Torah portion of 5782! The three of us have had our lives enriched by coming together now nearly every week for the last year-and-a-half. We hope we have enriched your lives as well with our discussion of Torah! מועדים לשמחה is the customary greeting for this time of year. A joyous holiday season and a Good Year.

Parsha Talk: With Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. We are back with a special edition of Parashah Talk devoted to Yom Kippur. We discuss a range of topics: the haunting music of Kol Nidre, the last shofar blast and the Jubilee Year, the 13 Middot of God [Exodus 34:6-7] which are at the heart of the s’lichot [penitential prayers], the confessions of sins, among others. We hope you enjoy it! May we all be sealed in the Book of Life for the New Year!!

We have a special edition of Parashah Talk for Rosh Hashanah, whose conversation focuses mostly on the shofar and what it means to us to blow it and to listen to it. Because of the way Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fall this year we will be back with a Yom Kippur edition in about two weeks. With best wishes for a Shanah Tovah U-m’tukah, a good and sweet year. May we all be inscribed for a year of blessing and Torah study!

Parsha alk with Rabbis Eliot Malmet, Jeremy Kalmonofky and Barry Chesler. The last four parashiyot [Torah Readings] of Sefer D’varim [Book of Deuteronomy] comprise fewer than five chapters, whereas the five before this week [Nitzavim, Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20] span 22 chapters. We address this point this week, exploring what Eliot calls parshaology. We mostly discuss just a few verses, the opening ones, the closing ones, perhaps a few others, including lo bashamayim hi [30:12, ‘it is not in heaven’], though we do not delve into its rabbinic use in the famous talmudic story, The Oven of Akhnai. This morning in minyan [the first staff day for the new school year], the Associate Head of School asked me about the dots over the words in 29:8. I knew they signified something, but could not remember at the time. Jeremy has a fascinating explanation! In the meanwhile, as we get ready for Rosh Hashanah next Monday night, the three of us wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom!