Vayelech - Song of Return

Why does Hashem invite Moshe and Yehoshua to the entrance of the Tabernacle? What is the song that He teaches them? What is the idea of the song? Why is the 'stiff necked' nature of the Jewish people the very reason Hashem chose us? What is the power of a song? Why are the Jewish people meant to learn this song? What purpose does it serve? Why is there a melody without words that is interspersed throughout the song?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 18:11

Haazinu-Rosh Hashana - Affirming Commitment

Why do we always read the parshios related to the transition when we are standing at the new year? Why does Moshe call the Heaven and Earth as witnesses to Hashem's covenant with the Jewish people? How does Hashem express the covenant? How do we express that covenant? How does this relate to our crowning Hashem our King on Rosh Hashana? What are the different types of motivations for our actions?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Running time: 21:05

Vayera - Chamber of Exchanges

Why does Hashem reveal Himself to Avraham in the fields of Mamrei? Who are Aner, Eshkol and Mamrei? Why do they join Avraham in his fight to retrieve his nephew Lot? Why do the people of Canaan occupy the land of Israel before it is promised to Avraham and his progeny? What is the concept of the chamber of exchanges?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Running time: 24:36

Pinchas - Zealous Patience

What are the two approaches to guiding the Jewish people? When is it appropriate to be zealous? When is it appropriate to be patient? What is the significance of the fact that the stories of both Pinchas and Eliyahu center around the concept of the Bris, which alternately represent the covenant with God, as well as the concept of circumcision?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 23:27

Vayera - Revealing God's plan

Why does Avraham's meeting with the angels occur in conjunction with Pesach? Why does the destruction of Sodom occur concurrently? Why is Yitzchak born on Pesach? Why does the binding of Isaac occur on Pesach? Why does Lot's conception with his daughters occur then, as well?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 23:08

Esav, the pope, and the president

Just a quick thought, which is based on a similar idea that the Rabbis Kessin have said.

Esav is the fallen Moshiach ben Yosef, who is jealous of Yakov and Yosef who have replaced him in his job. Moshiach ben Yosef's job is connection - tikkun habris - rectifying the place of connection between the male and female forces of creation. The three cardinal sins that Esav transgressed on the day that Yakov bought the first-born rights all represent the destruction of points of connection. Idolatry - destroys the connection between man and God. Adultery - destroys the connection between man and wife. Murder - destroys the connection between man and his soul. Through these transgressions, Esav showed that he could not fulfill his mission, and thus, Yakov bought it from him.

Whenever Esav is weakened, one can see it in the area of the bris. As we discussed previously, the bris of the world is Jerusalem, which connects Heaven and Earth. Thus, it is extremely painful for Esav to see the Jewish people building in Jerusalem. But not only does the West and its president seek to control what occurs there, the Vatican also attempts to purchase as much of Jerusalem as it can, through the aid of the Erev Rav. But at the very moment that the West's great president stands up to protest the Jewish people's building in Jerusalem, a great blemish is found in the bris of the church. The scandal rises up to the very top of Esav, to the pope himself. The fact that these two events are coinciding is not happenstance. It represents a further weakening of Esav and the West, and it is a sign that Yisrael is rising up in its spiritual power. This is an important point, because on the surface it would seem that the Jewish people are weak, and the world at large views us as if we are the perpetrators of evil atrocities in our relationship with the Arabs who occupy our Holy land. Is there any greater emotional pain for the Jewish people, whose moral caliber is the highest of any nation in the world, than to be accused of being as bad as the nation of Amalek who destroyed six million of our people only seventy years ago? This very pain and righteous indignation that every Jew senses is itself a certain type of יסורין (infliction of pain) that serves to lift the sparks of holiness out of the side of Evil. Thus, the very attempt of Esav to hurt us, to embarrass us, and to humiliate us by accusing us of being the side at fault in the Arab-Israeli conflict, actually serves to usurp their power from them, to raise the sparks out of their dominion. This results in a weakening of their power, which only feeds off the side of Holiness, and is reflected in the scandal that is plaguing the church. It is a sign that the Jewish people's suffering is effecting a great rectification. As we get closer to the final redemption, the Jewish people will look more and more like the offenders, like the evil ones, but this itself sets the scene for the Geulah to take place, for all the sparks to be brought back to the side of Holiness, and for arrival of the day when all the world will see the true status and honor of the Jewish people.

Miketz - Clothing, the bris, food and speech

There are four themes that run through the entire story of Yosef, from beginning to end. They are the concepts of clothing, the covenant, food and speech. We explore the different places each of these themes appear in the story, and what the deeper significance of each theme is.

To listen to this eye-opening Parsha pocast, please click here.