The Portion

Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, comes to a close with a harrowing account of G-d's vengeance if the Children of Israel fail to adhere to the vision and build the society described throughout the earlier sections of the book. In this week's episode, we talk about the role of punishment, how to relate to something so frightening, and why the book closes on a strange note.

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In this week's portion, Behar, the Torah teaches the laws regarding the sabbatical year and the jubilee year. In the sabbatical year, farmers must let the land lie fallow for one out of seven years. And every fifty years, in the jubilee year, all real estate sales are canceled and the land goes back to its original owners. In this week's episode, we talk about how these laws present an approach to politics and economics that tie the Jewish people to G-d and to the land.

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In this episode, we discussed the Torah portion's exclusion of priests with disabilities or physical blemishes from serving in the Tabernacle or Temple. It was a difficult discussion but it was good to talk about the Torah's different models of leadership and how we respond when specific laws do not conform with our sense of fairness (or what we might see as the Torah's own system of values). We hope that we approached this topic with sensitivity. Also, we both turn out to be pretty big Zionists. 

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This week's Torah portion is a bit of a grab bag, filled with all different kinds of laws that somehow comprise "holiness." But what does it mean to be holy? We talk about the differences between holiness and purity, a famous interpretation by the Ramban, and whether shmura matzoh should be described as artisanal. Join us! 

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After a short break for Pesach, we're back discussing the weekly Torah portion. In this week's portion, Acharei Mot, we see how the laws we studied earlier in Sefer Vayikra are applied by the High Priest on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. We talk about the mysterious scapegoat, its possible relationship to demon worship, and what it means to wipe the slate clean. Also, how does the end of the Torah portion - on Jewish sexual ethics - relate to the Yom Kippur ceremony? Join us.

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What is the story with the two birds that the healed leper needs to bring to the Temple as part of their process of healing and purification? Are they supposed to identify with the one that is slaughtered as a sin offering, feeling that the bird goes in their place? Or should they feel more like the other bird, the one that gets dipped in the blood of its fellow and then flies to freedom? We take on these and other questions in this week's episode. Join us.

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In this week's episode, we talk all imprecise translations. Does tameh really mean impure? Does tzara'at really mean leprosy? And what is a discussion of a spiritual skin disease doing in the aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu? Perhaps of greatest relevance, how does this Biblical skin affliction impact our view on sickness and health?

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In this week's episode, Aaron makes the case that the Torah portion of "Shmini" has all the suspense and tension of a submarine movie with an intense drama that largely takes place between the lines of the Torah's text. We talk about Aharon the High Priest's silence and Moses' humility and discuss whether the transition from the story about the Tabernacle's inauguration to the laws of kosher food is as jarring a segue as it first appears. 

Maybe it's because this episode is coming out on Purim 2019, or maybe it's because we digress a bit when talking about animal sacrifice, but either way, this week's show feels a little looser. There are a few moments we talked about editing out... but then we left them in, including when Rabbi Bienenfeld's printer started printing mid-episode. This conversation yielded a lot of good Torah, including ideas about why the priests get to eat sacrifices that atone for sins and why the flour offerings cannot be leavened. Check it out. Plus, Aaron uncharacteristically makes a sports reference. 

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We pop into the Book of Leviticus with some unconvincing champagne sound effects and then we're off, with a discussion of what the institution of animal sacrifice is all about. Is it about achieving closeness with G-d? Reconciliation? Keeping G-d's presence in the Israelite camp? We explore all these avenues and Rabbi Bienenfeld brings some illuminating analogies, drawing from board games, barbecue and a recent article in the New York Times about unplugging from social media.

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