Book of Healing: Nevuchadnezzar: Man, Tree, Beast - Dec 27, 2020 - Part of a "Yom Iyun" day-long program on Tanach: Book of Illness and Healing. Why does G-d condemn brutal Nevuchadnezzar, destroyer of the Beit haMikdash, to wander as a beast (in Daniel 4), instead of outright killing him? And what can we learn from this story for illness today?

Book of Healing: When Eliyahu Cured Shaul - Dec 27, 2020 - Part of a "Yom Iyun" day-long program on Tanach: Book of Illness and Healing. Why does a midrash contend that Eliyahu recycled the altar used by Shaul to sacrifice Amalekite animals, at Mount Carmel? What would have motivated Eliyahu? And why does the text call this an act of "healing" the altar, and what can we learn from this story for healing today?

Be the Menorah's Wick - Dec 17, 2020 - Dvar torah on the use of recycled bigdei kehunah for the wicks of the Menorah, and Yehudah's redemptive arc.

Tefillah 9: Birchot haTorah (Blessings before Torah study), Part 1 - Dec 17, 2020 -

Shemuel #81 - Review of Chapter 17 - Dec 17, 2020 - Highlighting the major themes and questions from our twelve weeks of learning Perek 17. Very briefly introducing Perek 18.

Kabbalists of Safed 3: Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari z"l - Dec 16, 2020 - The life and mysticism of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi, also known as the Ari z"l, adding a little about the influence on Chasidim and on popular Kabbalah today. Geared toward an audience including people without strong background in Torah text study.

Shoftim 19:1-12 - A Concubine, Her 'Husband' and the Beginnings of Sdom - Dec 15, 2020 - Why did the concubine leave? Why did her father want her reunited with her 'husband'? Why are there so many links to Sdom in the text?

Esther, Week 9: Why won't Mordechai bow? Why a Lottery? - Dec 15, 2020 - A second view of why Mordechai won't bow, associating his conduct with examples in the book of Daniel. And why does Haman (a) use a lottery, and (b) adhere to its results when they work against him?

Legal Ethics: Supporting the Emotionally Unstable Client - Dec 13, 2020 - Does an emotionally unstable person lack capacity for litigation if they understand the information and decisions intellectually? What are some boundary issues that come up in supporting such clients? And may one withdraw from representing such a client, because of the strain? Dealt with from the perspective of Jewish law and Ontario law.

Oil or Wax? Does Authenticity Matter? - Dec 13, 2020 - Why might we prefer a particular fuel for lighting on Chanukah? Four approaches. (Upgraded version of a shiur from 2017. And thank you to Rabbi David Ostriker of Koshertube for fixing my audio file!)