This podcast is dedicated to Shlomo Berlin, Shlomo Ben Rachel v’Shimon - שלמה בן רחל ושמעון, with prayers for a refuah shelaymah from Rabbi Hayim Herring and Terri Krivosha.

Nechama Goldman Barash and Alex Israel discuss Parashat Matot and the notion of vows or oaths touching on questions of loyalty, accountability, religious grandstanding, and the strength of verbal commitments.

What is a vow? Why would a person create independently formulated obligations? Are vows legitimate? What is a good vow and what is an inappropriate vow?

And how does this relate to stories such as Jephtah, as well as the vow taken by the Tribes of Gad and Reuben in Numbers 32?

Credits: Rabbi Alex Israel and Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield – Pardes Faculty