ParshaNut Podcast

There is a principle in rabbinic interpretation my friend calls "The Economy of Characters," which takes two separate figures in the Torah and folds them into one. This week, we look at how this works in one story in our parsha, the marriage of Abraham, in his old-age, to a woman (seemingly) named "Keturah.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is horrifying for all kinds of reasons. But the worst of it is what Lot does to his daughters. Why does he do it? Where did he get the idea? 

The answer may surprise you.

How can the Egyptians be held responsible for forcing the Israelites into slavery if God set this all in motion hundreds of years earlier? Two great Medieval rabbis debate this question, and their answers give us two very different ways of thinking about history - and participating in it.

This week we look at the story of the Tower of Babel, and ask what it's doing here between the Noah narrative and the introduction to Abraham. We find some surprising interpretations of the project, and some surprising characters in the crowd of builders.

In our inaugural episode, we look at the classic story of the Garden of Eden, to explore a curious detail: the special clothes God makes for Adam and Eve on their way out of paradise.