Looking at what it means to be kadosh. The importance of identity and the ease of holding boundaries when that is clear and present.

In this episode that opens the book of Vayikra, we focus on the book's (and parasha's) first word. Famously it is spelled with a small alef in Hebrew. We explore the difference between the word with and without the alef and how central it is to our lives and our service of God and His world.

Pekude closes the book of Exodus and seems a bit anticlimactic. After epic narratives of plagues, splitting sea, and miracles galore, we are left with...accounts. A virtual spreadsheet of materials used in the construction of the Mishkan. In this episode we explore we this is where the great book of Exodus closes and what we might learn from it for our own lives.

Moses has returned with new tablets after shattering the first pair. He has negotiated not only forgiveness for the Children of Israel after the Golden Calf debacle, he has also made an agreement with God that He would dwell amongst the people. So Moses presents the Mishkan project and asks for the people to contribute to it. But this is no ordinary project, it will create the circumstances for God's presence to dwell amongst the people. They will need to bring their very souls, not just their gold and silver. In this episode we explore the nature of this giving and what it entails.

In this episode we look at the Kohen Gadol and explore the attributes of Aaron who served as the first and quintessential High Priest.

We recognise the uniqueness of his heart, and what Hillel the Elder meant when he charged us in Pirke Abot to be students of Aaron.

We discuss, Aaron's love and pursuit of peace, what peace for us is, and how we might find it.

In this episode we explore the concept of a Mishkan - a place in which God's presence resides within the people of Israel. Why this is historically unique and what it means in terms of the God-Israel covenant that has stood for 4 thousand years.

In this episode we consider the effects of the moral code that is presented in Mishpatim. We discuss the development of justice and morality as its result and ultimately its effects on the West through Christianity. We also discuss religious extremism and when religion goes wrong.

At the beginning of this Perasha, Moshe is reunited with his father in law, Yitro. Yitro observes how Moshe is sitting and judging the people from morning until evening with the people waiting to see him that entire time. He advises Moshe to stop it and get others to do it for him. Moshe agrees and does so.

In this episode we explore the implications of this decision and understand what the cost of it was and how it affects our lives today.

it is here where we meet the arch-enemy of the Israelites - Amalek. They are the cousins of the Israelites - grandchildren of our twin brother Esav. And they present Israel early on with a fundamental ideological issue. It is an issue that runs throughout Jewish history and is as pertinent today as it ever was. Indeed, it is an issue we must come to terms with as a people if we are ever to be at peace.

The Children of Israel are finally free, and no sooner does that happen that God gives them commandments (20 in this parasha!). One of the first is the commandment of Matza, imploring us to watch the matzot.

In this episode we consider the meaning behind this charge and how it connects to freedom, responsibility, and our own agency in life.