Torah Talk

Torah Talk episodes:

• 10.27.2022

  podcast hiatus

  Friends, Thanks to those who have asked – the podcast is on hiatus for the time being. You can still find the previous 2 years worth of podcasts here (click “older entries” if you need to, or simply search for...

  
• 10.18.2022

  V’zot ha-Bracha 5782-83

  This is Torah Talk for the week of October 16th, 2022 Deut. 34:6  He buried him [וַיִּקְבֹּ֨ר אֹת֤וֹ] in the valley in the land of Moab, near Beth-peor; and no one knows his burial place to this day. The “him”...

  
• 10.04.2022

  Ha’azinu 5782-83

  This is Torah Talk for the week of October 2nd, 2022 Deut. 32:2   May my discourse come down as the rain [כַּמָּטָר֙],                       My speech distill as the dew [כַּטַּ֖ל],...

  
• 09.27.2022

  Vayelech 5782-83

  This is Torah Talk for the week of September 25th, 2022 Deut. 31:1  Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel.   Did he really?  He was already speaking to them!  So where did he “go”?  The Dead Sea Scrolls...

  
• 09.20.2022

  Nitzavim 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of September 18th, 2022 Deut. 30:3   The Lord your God will restore your fortunes [וְשָׁ֨ב אֶת־שְׁבוּתְךָ֖] and take you back in love [וְרִחֲמֶ֑ךָ].   What does this grammatically strange expression really mean?  “Take you back in...

  
• 09.13.2022

  Ki Tavo 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of September 11th, 2022 Deut. 27:4   upon crossing the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, about which I charge you this day, on Mount Ebal, and coat them with plaster. 5 There, too, you...

  
• 09.06.2022

  Ki Tetze 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of September 4th, 2022 Deut. 22:23    In the case of a virgin who is engaged to a man—if a man comes upon her in town and lies with her, 24 you shall take the...

  
• 08.30.2022

  Shoftim 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of August 28th, 2022 Deut. 19:8    And when [וְאִם] the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He promised to...

  
• 08.23.2022

  Re’eh 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of August 21st, 2022 Deut. 12:4    Do not worship the Lord your God in like manner, 5 but look only to the site that the Lord your God will choose [הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר]...

  
• 08.16.2022

  Ekev 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of August 14th, 2022 Deut. 11:6 What He did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab son of Reuben, when the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, their tents, and...

  
• 08.09.2022

  Va-etchanan 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of August 7th, 2022 Deut. 4:41   Then Moses set aside three cities across [בעבר] the Jordan 42 to which a manslayer could escape.   Modern and medievals agree: these words are an appendix – but why is...

  
• 08.02.2022

  Devarim 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of July 31st, 2022 Deut. 1:17    You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low and high alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God’s [כִּ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט לֵאלֹהִ֣ים ה֑וּא]. The words...

  
• 07.26.2022

  Mattot-Masei 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of July 24th, 2022 Num. 33:5   The Israelites set out [וַיִּסְע֥וּ] from Rameses and encamped [וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ] at Succoth. Sounds very straightforward, but saying that the Israelites “set out” and “camped” is telling us...

  
• 07.19.2022

  Pinchas 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of July 17th, 2022 Num. 26:9  The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, and Dathan and Abiram. These are the same Dathan and Abiram, chosen in the assembly, who agitated against Moses and Aaron...

  
• 07.12.2022

  Balak 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of July 10th, 2022 Num. 23:7  He took up his theme [וַיִּשָּׂ֥א מְשָׁל֖וֹ], and said: Is a mashal really a “theme”? What does it mean to “take up” a mashal? And why does this phrase pervade the story...

  
• 07.05.2022

  Hukkat 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of July 3rd, 2022 In Num. 20:17 the Israelites say they “will follow the king’s highway  [דֶּ֧רֶךְ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ נֵלֵ֗ךְ],” and in v. 19 that they “will keep to the beaten track [בַּֽמְסִלָּ֣ה נַעֲלֶה֒].” Are these two roads or...

  
• 06.28.2022

  Korah 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of June 26th, 2022 Num. 16:30 But if the LORD brings about something unheard-of [וְאִם־בְּרִיאָ֞ה יִבְרָ֣א יְ׳הוָ֗ה], so that the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them,...

  
• 06.21.2022

  Shelach Lecha 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of June 19th, 2022 Num. 14:10  As the whole community threatened to pelt them with stones, the Presence of the Lord appeared in the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. This week, two...

  
• 06.14.2022

  Beha’alotcha 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of June 12th, 2022 Num. 11:25    Then the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke to him; He drew upon the spirit that was on him and put it upon the...

  
• 06.07.2022

  Naso 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of June 5th, 2022 Num. 7:89    When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he would hear the Voice addressing [מִדַּבֵּ֣ר] him from above the cover that was...

  
• 05.31.2022

  Bemidbar 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of May 29th, 2022 Num. 1:18 On the first day of the second month they convoked the whole community, who were registered [וַיִּתְיַֽלְד֥וּ] by the clans of their ancestral houses—the names of those aged...

  
• 05.24.2022

  Behukkotai 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of May 22nd, 2022 Lev. 26:23    And if these things fail to discipline you for Me, and you remain hostile to Me [וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֥ם עִמִּ֖י קֶֽרִי],  24 I too will remain hostile to...

  
• 05.17.2022

  Behar 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of May 15th, 2022 Lev. 25:31   But houses in villages that have no encircling walls [וּבָתֵּ֣י הַחֲצֵרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֵין־לָהֶ֤ם חֹמָה֙ סָבִ֔יב] shall be classed as open country. חצרים are villages that have no encircling...

  
• 05.10.2022

  Emor 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of May 8th, 2022 Lev. 24:10   There came out among the Israelites [בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל] one whose mother was Israelite [יִשְׂרְאֵלִ֔ית] and whose father was Egyptian. How do you say “Israelite” in Biblical Hebrew?  Amazingly, the...

  
• 05.03.2022

  Kedoshim 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of May 1st, 2022 Lev. 20:9    If anyone insults his father or his mother, he shall be put to death; he has insulted his father and his mother—his bloodguilt is upon him...

  
• 04.26.2022

  Aharei Mot 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of April 24th, 2022 Lev. 18:21             Do not allow any of your offspring to be offered up to Molech, and do not profane the name [וְלֹ֧א תְחַלֵּ֛ל אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם]  of your God: I...

  
• 04.05.2022

  Metzora 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of April 3rd, 2022 Lev. 15:1   The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying … But what the Lord says in v. 3 is different in 3 of the ancient versions from what the Masoretic Text tells...

  
• 03.29.2022

  Tazria 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of March 27th, 2022 Lev. 13:2    When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly affection on the...

  
• 03.22.2022

  Shemini 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of March 20th, 2022 Lev. 9:24    Fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and...

  
• 03.15.2022

  Tzav 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of March 13th, 2022 Lev. 6:1    The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2  Command Aaron and his sons thus:      This is the ritual of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall...

  
• 03.08.2022

  Vayikra 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of March 6th, 2022 Lev. 1:3    If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd … 9 … the priest shall turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a...

  
• 03.01.2022

  Pekudei 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of February 27th, 2022 Exodus 39:2 The ephod was made of gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine twisted linen [שֵׁ֥שׁ מָשְׁזָֽר]. This expression appears nowhere else but in the second half...

  
• 02.22.2022

  Vayakhel 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of February 20th, 2022 Exodus 37:6-9 [Bezalel] made a cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made...

  
• 02.15.2022

  Ki Tisa 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of February 13th, 2022 Exodus 34:14  You must not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Impassioned [קַנָּ֣א שְׁמ֔וֹ], is an impassioned God [אֵ֥ל קַנָּ֖א הֽוּא]. Or, as others translate,...

  
• 02.08.2022

  Tetzaveh 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of February 6th, 2022 Exodus 29:38 Now this is what you shall offer upon the altar … 42 … at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting [אֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֖ד] before the Lord. For there I...

  
• 02.01.2022

  Terumah 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of January 30th, 2022 Exodus 25 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary [מִקְדָּ֑שׁ] that I may dwell [וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י] among them. 9 Exactly as I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle [הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן]...

  
• 01.25.2022

  Mishpatim 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of January 23rd, 2022 Ex. 21:1 These are the rules that you shall set before them: …  Ex. 23:19 … You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.   These are the beginning...

  
• 01.18.2022

  Yitro 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of January 16th, 2022 Ex. 20:21 [24]  Make for Me an altar of earth … 22 And if you make for Me an altar of stones …   Is this anticlimactic paragraph the end of the...

  
• 01.11.2022

  Beshalach 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of January 9th, 2022 Ex. 14:1  The Lord said to Moses …  3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are astray in the land [נְבֻכִ֥ים הֵ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ]; the wilderness has closed in on them.”...

  
• 01.04.2022

  Bo 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of January 2nd, 2022 Exodus 12:42 That was for the Lord a night of vigil [שִׁמֻּרִ֥ים] to bring them out of the land of Egypt; that same night is the Lord’s, one of...

  
• 12.28.2021

  Va’era 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of December 26th, 2021 Exodus 6:4 I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners [‏אֶ֥רֶץ מְגֻרֵיהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥רוּ בָֽהּ]. In...

  
• 12.21.2021

  Shemot 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of December 19th, 2021 Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me,...

  
• 12.14.2021

  Vayehi 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of December 12th, 2021 Gen. 50:1 Joseph flung himself upon his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and...

  
• 12.07.2021

  Vayigash 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of December 5th, 2021 Gen. 47:1  Then Joseph came … 2 And selecting a few of his brothers [וּמִקְצֵ֣ה אֶחָ֔יו לָקַ֖ח חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֑ים], he presented them to Pharaoh. “A few” is literally five (it’s an Egyptian thing).  But...

  
• 11.30.2021

  Miketz 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of November 28th, 2021 Gen. 43:29      Looking about, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and asked, “Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he...

  
• 11.23.2021

  Vayeshev 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of November 21st, 2021 Gen. 37:2  This, then, is the line [אֵ֣לֶּה ׀ תֹּלְד֣וֹת] of Jacob. What does תֹּלְד֣וֹת mean, and why does Rashi’s grandson wait until this verse to explain his methods? This week’s handout: 09...

  
• 11.16.2021

  Vayishlach 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of November 14th, 2021 Gen. 35:18  But as Rachel breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her baby Ben-oni [בֶּן־אוֹנִ֑י]; but his father called him Benjamin [בִנְיָמִֽין]. What do these names mean, and what does...

  
• 11.09.2021

  Vayetze 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of November 7th, 2021 Gen. 31:14 Then Rachel and Leah answered him, saying, “Have we still a share in the inheritance [הַע֥וֹד לָ֛נוּ חֵ֥לֶק וְנַחֲלָ֖ה] of our father’s house?” What are Rachel and Leah...

  
• 11.02.2021

  Toledot 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of October 31st, 2021 Gen. 26:1   There was a famine in the land—aside from the previous famine [מִלְּבַד֙ הָרָעָ֣ב הָרִאשׁ֔וֹן] that had occurred in the days of Abraham—and Isaac went to Abimelech, king...

  
• 10.26.2021

  Hayyei Sarah 5782

  This is Torah Talk for the week of October 24th, 2021 Genesis 24 tells the story of Abraham’s servant going back to the old country to get a wife for his master’s son.  But in v. 65, the son gets a...