Rabbi Trump

What happens when a nation becomes its own worst enemy?

In one of the darkest chapters of Tanach, the horrifying story of Pilegesh B'Givah exposes a society coming apart from within. What begins with a troubled relationship ends in an act of unimaginable cruelty that threatens to tear the nation apart.

In this episode of Journey Through Nach, Rabbi Ya'akov Trump explores the disturbing parallels between Givah and Sodom, the consequences of unchecked anger, and what happens when a society loses its moral compass and the leadership needed to hold it together.

Which figures from our past stand behind the festivals, and how do their legacies shape the closing days of Sukkos? Drawing on the Tur, the Sfas Emes, and the teachings of Ohr Gedaliahu, this shiur explores the Avos, Dovid HaMelech, and Moshe Rabbeinu in relation to Sukkos, Hoshana Rabba, and Shemini Atzeres. The sources uncover the power of simple prayer and the shared inheritance that binds every Jew to Torah.

If Sukkos commemorates the clouds that accompanied us out of Egypt, why do we celebrate it in Tishrei? This shiur examines the Vilna Gaon's teaching alongside sources that distinguish the cloud of guidance from a cloud of spiritual illumination. That distinction opens a deeper understanding of what was lost after the Golden Calf and what the return of the clouds means for Sukkos.

What connects the shelters Yaakov built, the first stop after the Exodus, and the sukkah we enter each year? Following the parallels between these three appearances of Sukkos, this shiur explores the first night of freedom as a leap of faith met by Hashem's protection. It offers a fresh understanding of the relationship between Pesach and Sukkos, and why we revisit our vulnerability precisely at the season of the harvest.

How much of the sky should a sukkah let in? Beginning with the halachos of stars, sunlight, and rain passing through the schach, this shiur explores the balance between shelter and openness to Hashem. It connects that openness to the renewed relationship with Hashem after Yom Kippur and the special joy of Sukkos.

Why does water play such a central role in the celebration of Sukkos? Through the water libation, the prayers for rain, and the Midrash of the “weeping waters,” this shiur explores the longing of the earthly world to draw close to its Creator. These sources reveal how Sukkos turns dependence on water into an expression of yearning, reunion, and joy.

This is a source based compilation of "why" questions covering the Elul through Yom Kippur cycle, moving from Erev Rosh Chodesh fasting and shofar blowing in Elul, through Selichos customs, Rosh Hashana practices (simanim, 100 blasts, Tashlich), the Aseres Yemei Teshuva, and the Yom Kippur liturgy from Kol Nidrei to Neilah.

Shoftim 18 opens with five Danite scouts who lodge at Micha's house, recognize the voice of his Levite priest, and ask him for a sign before heading north to Layish, a quiet and isolated city they report back as easy prey. Six hundred armed men then return, strip the shrine of its pesel, ephod and terafim, poach the priest with the offer of serving a whole tribe instead of one household, and leave Micha asking what he has left now that his god and his kohen are gone, after which they destroy Layish and rebuild it as Dan. The shiur presses the question of who the heroes are and concludes there are none, since the only innocent party is the Sidonian population of Layish, and it closes with the dispute of Ralbag, Radak and Rashi over how long the pesel of Micha stood in Dan, from the era of Yavin, to the exile of the aron at the end of Eli's life, to the exile under Sancheriv.

Why does the Torah sometimes demand the harder path when an easier one would achieve the same result? Drawing on the Meshech Chochma's insight into Sukkah, Rivkah's kindness at the well, the principle of mitzvah bo yoter mibshlucho, and Tim Wu's essay "The Tyranny of Convenience," this shiur explores when Judaism asks us to resist the pull of ease. In a world where convenience decides everything, discover how embracing friction builds character, deepens relationships, and shapes who we become.

What does it actually mean to be a beinoni, the person whose fate hangs suspended between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur? Starting from the Gemara in Rosh Hashana 16b and the Rambam's formulation in Hilchos Teshuva, this shiur works through two core questions: why is standing still spiritually so dangerous, and how can anyone's merits and sins truly balance out when the law of averages says a perfect tie is nearly impossible? Answers from the Lechem Mishna, the Alter of Novardok, Pachad Yitzchak, and Nesivos Shalom reveal that the scales measure character rather than a tally of deeds, and that teshuva itself is what tips them