TINW Torah Study

Rabbi Jaech explained to us that there is a difference between liturgy and prayer: liturgy is meant to meet the needs of the community, while prayer is an outpouring of the heart that meets personal needs. This week we continued the Hannah story—the story of a woman who poured out her heart in prayer.

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

This week we took a closer look at the Hannah story.  Our story tells us about Hannah's family, which consists of the husband Elkanah, his two wives Hannah and Peninnah, and the sons and daughters borne by Peninnah. Hannah bore no children.  The text tells us that when Hannah is crying and unwilling to eat because she is bereft at being barren, Elkanah says to Hannah, “Why are you so sad? Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons?” Elkanah is basically telling Hannah to get over it; he is deaf to Hannah’s grief. At this time of year, when we are supposed to think about our interactions with other people, we can pause and think about Elkanah’s reaction to Hannah. He may have done the best that he could do. But maybe Hannah just needed to be listened to and given a nice hug.

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

Some might call Rosh Hashanah the birthday of the world, and a common phrase heard at this time is HaYom Harat Olam, which is frequently translated as “today the world is born.” But Rabbi Jaech told us that a better translation is “today the world is conceived.” Childbirth is a time of unknown potential. But the time of conception contains even more unknown potential! Is it a boy or a girl? Which parent will the baby’s feature more closely resemble? Conception is the time of the greatest possibility. And, as we come closer to Rosh Hashanah, we may revel in the possibility that the new year brings.

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

I, Tara Keiter, guest led Torah Study today and presented a wonderful book by Professor Stephen Prothero. In it, he compares the 8 great religions of the world. I have summarized my presented summary, so this is just a taste of what you might find in the book. If you are interested in learning more, you can peruse his books at https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AStephen+Prothero&s=relevancerank&text=Stephen+Prothero&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

When the Israelites were traveling through the wilderness, they were a cohesive group which was always close to God. In Deuteronomy, they are about to enter the larger territory of the Promised Land, and the people will spread out. This part of the journey confronts the reality of secular living. The Torah anticipates that people need a way to connect. The synagogue today is our modern version of how we connect with the sacred and with the community. Our connection to the Jewish community continues with the rituals we observe, such as observing the High Holidays.

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

This week's session offers an excerpt from Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers. We will learn background about our patriarch Abraham. 

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

This week's session offers an excerpt from Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers. We will learn that the Exodus tradition of the Bible provides us with a compelling narrative; arguably one of the most compelling narratives in the western world. The Egyptian servitude traditions lead naturally to the triumphant conquest traditions. 

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

Rabbi Wendy Pein led us in an overview of the book of Deuteronomy which, she pointed out, almost all of our everyday religion comes from.

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

Guest-leader Rabbi Wendy Pein shared with us information about haftarah portions in general and detail about this week's haftarah portion, which comes from the book of Jeremiah.

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

Following our study of the Joseph and Solomon stories by Rabbi Jaech, this week we took a look at what scholars know about Jeroboam I, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. The information presented was excerpted from Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible’s Writers by  David Sperling and Tara Keiter.

The text of this podcast is available on our blog.
If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.