Yom Kippur-Haazinu - Creating a Legacy

Why does the song of Ha'azinu make reference to the Heavens and the Earth? Why is the idea behind this song and the covenant it represents? Why was the gate into the Beis Hamikdash (Holy Temple) called the Nikanor Gate? Who was Nikanor, and what miracles did he experience? Why did Hashem send a storm to ravage the ship that Nikanor was on as he brought the doors to that very gate to Israel for use in the Temple? How can we approach Yom Kippur with the correct focus and ideas?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Rosh Hashana - Holding on to the Throne

 What is the unique power of Teshuva? How does it help a person to reach Hashem's Throne of Glory? What was the importance of what the angels showed Moshe at each level as he rose through the seven heavens? Why is Teshuva-repentance associated with the seventh level and the throne? How was Moshe able to 'hold on' to the Throne despite its transcendent nature? What is the idea behind the three special blessings we say on Rosh Hashana - Malchiyos (Kingship), Zichronos (rememberances) and Shofaros? How does the Shofar's sound transport us in front of the Throne? How do we 'hold on' to the Throne?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 28:37

Nitsavim-Vayelech - Seeking Completion

 What is the idea behind the severity of the punishment of Yehuda for not completing the mitzvah and bringing Yosef all the way home? Why is a mitzvah considered as if it was done completely by the one who finished it, as opposed to the one who started it? Why are the bones of Yosef 'returned' to Shechem? What is the meaning of the place where the bones are buried? How does this relate to concept of completing a mitzvah?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 23:07

Ki Savo - Hearing the Call

 What is the idea of Moshe 'calling' to all of the people of Israel? Why does this phrase appear in our parsha, in speaking about the miracles of the 40 years in the wilderness, and also in the context of the revelation at Sinai? Why is the word 'kriah' - 'calling' also used in the context of reading from the Torah? Why do the 3 verses read correspond to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov; or Moshe, Aharon and Miriam? What is the idea that Hashem only calls to all of the people of Israel, and none can be missing? Why does a teacher need everyone to be there before the class begins? Why did Hashem call to Moshe from the top of the mountain, and why did Moshe emulate this calling, as well?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 23:51

Ki Seitze - Absolute Forgiveness

While praying for his sister Miriam to be healed, why did Moshe Rabeinu imply that if Hashem would not heal her, he would heal her himself? How was Moshe able to pray on her behalf when he was the very one who she had wronged? How did he make use of the fact that he had once had leprosy himself? What is the idea behind the fact that he yelled as he prayed for her? How can we merit that Hashem will pass over our sins and forgive us?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 24:26

Shoftim - Ending the Plague With Peace

Why are we asked to reach out for peace as we go out to war? What ways are we enjoined to seek peace in our personal lives? Why did our sages create a system of who gets honored by being called to the Torah - first Kohen, then Levi, then Yisrael? Why does the Sun never see the Moon's dark side? Why do the constellations face toward their back instead of forward? How was Moshe able to stop a great plague from destroying the Jewish people, thus restoring peace between Hashem and the Jewish people? How can this apply to the current situation we are enduring with the Corona virus?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 25:24

Re'eh - Times of Challenge and Expansion

 What is the idea behind the fact that originally eating meat was completely prohibited unless as part of a korban? Why did Hashem permit it when 'He will expand your borders?" Why would Yosef have been happy enough even if he would have been released without being made into a king? How does this parallel what has happened with the Jewish people? How does it parallel what will be in the future? What is the power of the challenge that, when passed, brings us to a greatly expanded reality?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 24:24

Ekev - Of Horns and Heels

 What is the idea behind the prohibition of assembling the pieces of a candelabra on Shabbos? What is the idea of the first Shabbos that was kept by the entire Jewish people? How does one 'enjoy' the Shabbos? Why do we receive spiritual rewards for physical enjoyment on Shabbos? What does the midrash mean when it says the rewards are 'in the end?' Why is that end also referred to as a 'horn?' Why does Yaakov - whose name is related to the word Ekev-heel - relate both to the concept of beginning and also to the concept of the end?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 23:40

Vaeschanan - With All Your Soul

What is the idea behind the quiet recitation of the second line of Shema - 'baruch shem...' Why is it something that only the angels can say out loud, and that we can also, when we are like angels on Yom Kippur? What is the idea of loving of Hashem with all of our souls? What are the five aspects of the soul? How are we to love Hashem if He is so beyond our comprehension? How can we connect to our soul? When will we ultimately be able to truly connect to our soul?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Moshiach, Tisha B'av and the Fall of Persia (Iran) - Moshiach Podcast 16

Why did Reish Lakish - who lived in Israel - get upset at the Babylonian Rabba bar Bar Chana? Would the Beis Hamikdash have been destroyed if all the Jews returned from Bavel when it was built? What is the prerequisite for the Divine Presence to dwell upon the Holy Temple? Why can't the third Beis Hamikdash be built with the permission of the nations of the world? Why will the Persians be destroyed if they were the ones who allowed the second Temple to be built? Why does the Moshiach ben Yosef process begin with the permission of the Nations, which is not the case with Moshiach ben Dovid? Why did we rebuild in 1948 with the permission of Harry Truman, but in 1967 - we received Judea and Samaria, and the Har Habayis and Jerusalem against the will of the Nations?

We discuss all these things and more in the 16th Moshiach Podcast.