ParshaNut Podcast

How does a nation descended from immigrants treat its own foreigners? The Torah provides us with some guidance - both explicitly, and between the lines.

Let My people go!

The battle cry of the Exodus. But wait a minute? Why do we have to ask Pharaoh at all?

An answer by the 17th-century rabbi, the Kli Yakar, suggests that the freedom we are seeking may be far greater than we thought.

What do we do when a wicked king arises? This week's parsha presents us with that question, and the rabbis have some answers.

"Should our leaders be wise?"

A verse from this week's parsha provides a complicated answer.

The torah tells us that 70 of Jacob's descendants travelled together on the way down to Egypt. But if we count the names on the list, we only get 69. Who was that last traveller?

The woman between the walls.

Parshat Mikeitz, the story of Joseph’s rise to power in Egypt, is almost always read during Chanukah. But is there any real connection between the two stories?

This week, we take a longer journey than usual, in order to explain the surprising placement of Chapter 38 of Genesis. It is the story of Judah and Tamar, which, while quite well-known, seems to have little to do with the larger narrative of Joseph in which it is embedded. With some help from Rashi, we attempt to put Chapter 38 into its much larger context, and discover in it a far greater importance than first read would indicate.

On the road home, Jacob suddenly bursts into tears. We are told that it is because Deborah, his mother's nursemaid has died. But, as always, there is more to the story than that.

This week, Jacob innovates a new religious ritual: the stone monument. They seem to be received favorably, at first. But later in the Torah, God suddenly appears to disapprove. What went wrong?

Esau - The Red One. He emerged from the womb, bearing the traits of a killer. But what made him so bad? Did he choose his fate or was he just born that way?