Tefillah 6: Write in Your Siddur, Part 2 - Nov 19, 2020 - Why write in your siddur? The fixed and non-customized text, the blobs of text printed in most siddurim, and familiarity. And insights into Ashrei.

Shemuel #77 - 17:3-47 - David Faces Goliath - Nov 19, 2020 - David comes face to face with the Philistine Goliath. Looking at the final preparations and speeches, followed by a critical review of Malcolm Gladwell's version of this story. Were slings truly dangerous? Was Goliath vulnerable due to acromegaly?

Is There a Jewish Political Identity? - Nov 18, 2020 - Does Judaism fit into a left-wing/liberal/progressive or right-wing/conservative formulation?

Shoftim 18:1-6 - Dan's Motivations - Nov 17, 2020 - First interactions between Dan and Michah's Levi. And was Dan wrong in their northern push, and in their request for guidance?

Esther, Week 5: Does Achashverosh really want a new queen? - Nov 17, 2020 - Chapter 2 - Does Achashverosh want a new queen? Why? And the beginning of a discussion of how Chapter 2 presents the Jews as a nation in exile.

Can Orthodoxy Respect Non-Orthodoxy? A Panel Discussion - Nov 15, 2020 - Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner interviews Rabbi Daniel Korobkin and Rabbi Chaim Strauchler on whether Orthodoxy can respect non-Orthodoxy. Specific questions include Jewish unity, educating children about non-Orthodoxy, and the difference between Israel and the Diaspora.

Ketuvot 4a - The Bereaved Marriage - Nov 15, 2020 - The circumstances in which a wedding would be rushed for a bereaved chatan (groom) or kallah (bride), before the burial and shivah, r"l. Is an onein permitted to have sexual relations?

Tefillah 5b: Write in Your Siddur, Part 1 - Nov 12, 2020 - Why use a siddur at all? And why write in it?

Tefillah 5a: "For His Name", and Posture - Nov 12, 2020 - "For His Name's sake, with love", and the role of physical posture in davening. Abbreviated.

Shemuel #76 - 17:31-39 - David Convinces Shaul - Nov 12, 2020 - What were David's arguments when we tried to convince Shaul to let him fight Goliath? Why did Shaul offer David his armour - and why did David decline it?