Shoftim 6:17-32 - First Miracle, First Strike - Dec 10, 2019 - Gidon requests and receives a sign, and executes his mission to destroy his father's idolatry and use the materials for an offering to Gd. Yoash, Gidon's father, defends him.

Yeshayah, Week 39: Perek 24 - The Techiyat haMeitim (Resurrection) Layer, and Midrashim - Dec 10, 2019 - The approach of Radak and Abarbanel to Perek 24: a description of Techiyat haMeitim. And midrashim which analyze the text of the chapter, its place in Tanach in general, and halachic issues which relate to the chapter.

Legal Ethics: Advising a Risk-Tolerant Client - Dec 8, 2019 - What are the halachic and legal pitfalls in advising a client who insists on a particular path, such as litigating instead of settling? How do we evaluate people whose risk-tolerance may reflect incapacity? May a lawyer withdraw from representing a risk-tolerant client who rejects a lawyer's more cautious approach?

Leah: Hated? Selfish? - Dec 5, 2019 - Did Yaakov actually hate Leah, as it sounds in Bereishit 29:31? And how could Leah say to Rachel, "You took my husband," as it seems in Bereishit 30:15? Insights into Leah's identity, and her relationship with Yaakov and Rachel, as well as into Sefer Bereishit as a whole.

Shemuel #45b - 14:17-24 - Shaul's War - Dec 5, 2019 - Starting to look at how Shaul capitalized on Yehonatan's move against the Plishtim. To be continued...

Shemuel #45a - 14:6-16 - Yehonatan's Sign - Dec 5, 2019 - Three explanations for why Yehonatan's sign was acceptable and not nichush, even though the Talmud uses it as a template for prohibited nichush. And the question of what the sign tells us about Yehonatan himself.

Life After Death, Week 5: Limbo, Dybbuks and Gilgul (Reincarnation) - Dec 4, 2019 - Are dybbuks and gilgul (reincarnation) Jewish topics? Where is their basis in Jewish text or tradition? Geared toward a group including people without strong background in Torah text study.

Maoz Tzur: Rock of Ages for the Modern Age - Dec 3, 2019 - Music is fundamental to Chanukah; what is the message of Maoz Tzur regarding the miracles of Chanukah? Geared toward a group including people who lack strong background in Torah text study.

Yeshayah, Week 38b: Perek 24 - The End of the World is Coming - Dec 3, 2019 - The start of a new unit in Yeshayah (Chapters 24-27) - long-range punishment and an eschatological vision of Messianic times. Three views of the arc in Chapter 24.

Yeshayah, Week 38a: Perek 23 - An Anti-Commerce Polemic - Dec 3, 2019 - Yeshayah uses Perek 23 not only to inveigh against Tzor (Tyre), but to label commerce a form of znut (promiscuity).