Shemuel #70 - 17:1-10 - Introducing Goliath, and His Offer - Sep 10, 2020 - The site of the battle, and the introduction of Goliath's size and weapons. Was Goliath challenging the Jews to a formal duel? And what does Goliath represent?

Socially Distanced High Holidays 2: Yom Kippur - Sep 9, 2020 - Is Yom Kippur meant to be a day for social distancing, or a day which is the antithesis of social distancing? And if it's the former, what can we do to take advantage of this year of COVID-19? Geared toward a group including people who lack a strong background in Torah text study.

Shoftim 15: Ethics and Eved - Sep 8, 2020 - Were the people of Judah right to turn over Shimshon? Do we harm one person to save more people? And how does a midrash view Shimshon calling himself an eved of G-d?

Racism and Rosh HaShanah: Why Was Man Created Alone? - Sep 8, 2020 - Does Judaism believe that some people are created as inferior or superior to others? Does Judaism allow for making assumptions about a member of a race/ethnicity based on their membership in that group? What does Rosh HaShanah have to say about this?

Tishrei in a Day: Shemini Atzeret: Reversing Tisha b'Av - Sep 6, 2020 - Rav Tzaddok haKohen of Lublin posits that there are times that are designated for pain because they involve greater proximity to G-d, and times that are less painful because they involve greater distance from G-d. In this light, the 22 days of bein hametzarim (17 of Tammuz to Tisha b'Av) are parallel to the 22 days from Rosh haShanah to Shemini Atzeret. A most unusual perspective.

Tishrei in a Day: The (Two) Succot of Zerubavel - Sep 6, 2020 - How do we reconcile the accounts of Succot celebrations in Ezra 3 and Nechemiah 8? Lessons in two aspects of Succot: The relationship with Gd and the communal celebration

Tishrei in a Day: Finding the Perfection Within - Sep 6, 2020 - Is repentance a process of Discovery, or Re-Discovery? Looking at teshuvah through the lens of Orot haTeshuvah of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook.

Shemuel #69 - Introduction to Chapter 17 - Sep 3, 2020 - Review of Chapters 1-16, followed by: How much time elapsed between Chapter 16 (anointing David and the decline of Shaul) and Chapter 17 (the Phlistine attack)? And whose is the main story in Chapter 17?

Socially Distanced High Holidays 1: Rosh HaShanah - Sep 2, 2020 - Is Rosh HaShanah meant to be a day for social distancing, or a day which is the antithesis of social distancing? And if it's the latter, what can we do in this year of COVID-19? Geared toward a group including people who lack a strong background in Torah text study.

Shoftim 15:13-20 - Multi-Level Betrayal - Sep 1, 2020 - The people of Yehudah imprison Shimshon for the Philistines; Shimshon cooperates, and G-d enables him to defeat the Philistines. Shimshon pleads with G-d for water, and G-d aids him with a miracle. And he ruled the Jews (still under the Philistines) for 20 years. The key theme of this section: Levels of Betrayal, and Shimson's relationship with G-d.