Deeper Look At The Parsha
471 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsIn the late 1990s Rabbi Dunner presented his own daily 2-hour radio show on London’s multiethnic station, Spectrum Radio. Tens of thousands of listeners – Jews and non-Jews alike – tuned in every day to hear Rabbi Dunner’s take on current events. In 2011 Rabbi Dunner relocated to the US and became the senior Rabbi at Beverly Hills Synagogue.
Weekly the Rabbi holds a parsha shiur that delves deeper into the Parsha of the week.
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Episodes
MATOT MASSEI - CITIES OF REFUGE
July 31, 2019 18:27 - 58 minutes - 53.6 MBAlthough the plan was to conquer the Land of Canaan so that the nation could settle there, as promised covenantally to the patriarchs and then reiterated to Moses, two-and-a-half tribes decided to settle across the Jordan River, on the plains of Moab. As part of the process of setting the groundwork for Jewish life on the east side of the Jordan, Moses set up three ‘cities of refuge’, a mirror image of the three ‘cities of refuge’ that would be set up on the west side of the Jordan. These cit...
PINCHAS - THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT
July 24, 2019 17:22 - 1 hour - 67.4 MBAt the end of Balak and beginning of Pinchas we are given details of an episode involving the Israelites and the daughters of Moab that angered God, and resulted in a deadly plague. Only after the intervention of Pinchas — until then an obscure grandchild of Aaron, Moses’ brother — was the crisis finally averted. There are many elements of the story that are puzzling and require unpacking, not least of which is the decision taken by Moses to ignore a direct order from God that would have ende...
CHUKKAT - BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
July 10, 2019 17:31 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBThere are many interpretations as to what Moshe did to be refused entry into the Promised Land, but nonetheless, a number of questions still remain. What exactly was Aaron's sin? According to the vast majority of commentators, Moshe was the one who sinned and Aaron’s sin is never mentioned, so why was he punished? In Devarim, Moshe blames the nation for the punishment he has received, mentioning it three times. How is it possible that Moshe blamed the nation for his failure? Surely the very e...
KORACH - THE SCOURGE OF CONTROVERSY
July 03, 2019 16:57 - 1 hour - 64.6 MBThe discord caused by Korach’s rebellion resulted in horrific repercussions for him and his supporters. And yet, there are those who suggest that many of his supporters were not evil, and may have even respected Moses as the leader. So why did they suffer such dreadful consequences for their actions, and why does the Talmud infer that those who cause or even support controversy are guilty of the worst possible sin? Rabbi Dunner examines the source verses in Parshat Korach, as well as the Talm...
BEHAALOTECHA - SEVENTY WISE MEN
June 19, 2019 17:20 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBAs part of the process of organizing the leadership of the Jewish nation, Moses is instructed to form a council of seventy sages. The Talmud struggles to understand the number 70 - the nation was divided into 12 tribes, and 70 is not divisible by 12. Rabbi Dunner reveals the significance of both 12 and 70, offering a remarkable view of how these numbers relate to the destiny of the Jewish nation, embedded into narratives that long predate the Exodus from Egypt. Once the elders were chosen, ...
NASSO - REPETITION, REPETITION
June 12, 2019 17:14 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBThe seventh chapter of Bamidbar, at the end of Parshat Nasso, is the longest chapter in the Torah. It records the gifts given by the princes of each tribe at the inauguration of the altar. Curiously, each prince gave exactly the same gift, and even more curiously each gift is recorded in exacting detail, so that we are furnished with a record of twelve identical gifts. The Torah is known for being very sparing in its use of words, and even individual letters are used by the Talmudic sages to ...
BAMIDBAR - THE WILDERNESS AS A METAPHOR
June 05, 2019 16:50 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBThe fourth book of the Torah is traditionally called “Bamidbar”, which translates as “wilderness” or “desert”. Bamidbar records the travails of the Jewish nation over almost forty years, as they meandered through the Sinai desert until they were fully ready to conquer and populate the Land of Israel. But the word Bamidbar occurs in the very first verse, and has no real connection with the many narratives contained in the rest of the book. The Midrash picks up on this point, and suggests that ...
BECHUKOTAI - WHERE'S THE REWARD?
May 29, 2019 17:40 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBParshat Bechukotai contains the first intensive discussion in the Torah of what appears to be God’s scheme of reward and punishment for those who observe or reject the His commandments. But the first verse of the portion contains a superfluous phrase which Rashi struggles to explain, while the Talmud struggles with the whole notion of reward and punishment during one’s mortal lifetime, suggesting that the benefits of mitzvot only become relevant in the “world to come”. Rabbi Dunner highlights...
BEHAR - HONESTY & INTEGRITY THE TORAH WAY
May 22, 2019 17:12 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBThere are a couple of verses in Parshat Behar relating to honesty in business, instructing us not to overcharge others for goods and services, and not to underpay those who provide us with goods and services. But the Talmudic sages read much more into these verses than simply honesty and fairness in business, extending the directive to how we conduct ourselves overall with our fellow human beings. Rabbi Dunner focuses on a fascinating statement regarding this ideal in the Talmud, and its conf...
EMOR - THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME AND TIMING
May 15, 2019 17:08 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBParshat Emor famously includes the full list of festivals for the Jewish calendar. Curiously, the list begins with Shabbat, which is not actually a festival. The commentaries struggle to find the common theme between Shabbat and offer a number of observations that themselves demand explanation. Rabbi Dunner examines a range of approaches to this jarring biblical anomaly, offering a range of eye-opening ideas which cast light on the ancient secrets of time and timing in the Jewish faith.
THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN REBUKE AND HATRED
May 08, 2019 17:45 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBThe Torah instructs us not to hate our kinsfolk and in the next breath tells us to rebuke our fellow when they do something wrong (Lev. 19:17). Immediately afterwords the Torah adds the ambiguous statement: “and do not bear sin on his account.” What exactly is the connection between hatred and rebuke? Why are they combined in one verse? What sin could we be guilty of by offering rebuke to our fellow? What are the dynamics of rebuke? What are our obligations if we see someone do something wron...
PESACH - THE REMARKABLE REVELATION OF BEN ZOMA
April 10, 2019 17:30 - 1 hour - 84.7 MBAt the beginning of the Seder, we recall the story of five Talmudic sages who passed an entire night discussing the Exodus from Egypt, after which they needed to be reminded that dawn had broken so that they would recite the Shema. One of the five, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azarya, remarked that he had never known about the obligation to mention the Exodus each night until he heard an interpretation from a man called Ben Zoma, who derived it from an extra word in the verse. But the rabbis offer a ...
TAZRIA - TRYING TO UNDERSTAND “TUM’AH”
April 03, 2019 18:30 - 1 hour - 69.9 MBThe Torah portion of Tazria introduces the concept of “tum’ah”, usually translated either as impurity, or ritual impurity. But these translations do not do this concept justice. In fact, they are quite misleading, even off-putting, as they make “tum’ah” sound as if it means dirty or unclean. In this shiur Rabbi Dunner dispels the idea that tum’ah means unclean or impure, and offer various perspectives on this central tenet of Judaism, which, even though it is no longer actively practiced, h...
SHEMINI - THE ROW OVER AARON'S BLESSING
March 27, 2019 17:20 - 1 hour - 69.1 MBIn recording the final moments of the Mishkan’s dedication, the Torah informs us that Aaron blessed the nation (Lev. 9:22). The verse omits the words of the blessing, merely telling us that Aaron gave a blessing. Rashi, basing himself on Midrashic and Talmudic sources, suggests that the blessing he gave was identical to the Birkat Kohanim formula found in Parshat Nasso. But Ramban is uncomfortable with this idea, and comes up with a suggestion of his own -- although he acknowledges that his s...
THE ETERNAL FESTIVAL OF PURIM
March 20, 2019 18:04 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBThe Midrash in Mishlei declares that when the Messiah comes, while the festival of Purim will continue to be celebrated, all the other festivals will be canceled. The Midrash adds that although all the other festivals will become obsolete, Yom Kippur will endure. But why is Purim so unique so that it will live on once the Messiah comes? And what is the correlation between Purim and Yom Kippur? Rabbi Dunner delves into the sources and offers some compelling insights into Purim, and into the fu...
THE ABSENCE OF GOD'S NAME IN MEGILLAT ESTHER
March 13, 2019 18:10 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBMegillat Esther is a record of the Purim story written contemporaneously and later included in TaNaCH (Hebrew Scriptures). Unlike any other biblical text, Megillat Esther contains no reference to God or Divine Providence, an omission that is beyond puzzling. How is it possible that the miraculous events that resulted in the Jews being saved from genocide don't warrant any mention of God’s name in the religious scripture we have that describes these very events? What is the message of God’s ab...
URIM VETUMIM, THE JEWISH ORACLE
March 06, 2019 18:36 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBThe "Urim" and “Tumim" were a means of divination for the Jewish nation created together with the Mishkan. While they are never actually described in the Torah, they must have been a material object, as they were physically located in the breastplate of the High Priest, as recorded in Tetzaveh (Ex. 28:30). Used at critical moments in Jewish history whenever divine guidance was required, the Urim Ve’Tumim played a central role during our formative years as a nation. What were they, and why ...
VAYAKHEL - THE MISHKAN PROJECT GETS UNDERWAY
February 27, 2019 18:45 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBParshat Vayakhel begins with Moshe's instructions to the nation about the construction of the Mishkan sanctuary. There are numerous aspects of this passage that make little sense. Why did Moshe need to ‘gather’ ("vayakhel") everybody? Why did he need to refer to the weekdays when informing the nation that no construction work could be done on Shabbat? Why mention Shabbat at all? Rabbi Dunner explores these and other puzzling aspects of this momentous project launch, revealing details of the M...
VAYAKHEL - A WARNING ABOUT SHABBAT
February 24, 2019 04:05 - 56 minutes - 49.6 MBWhy does the warning at the beginning of Vayakhel about Shabbat observance mention work that is done on weekdays? And why is the prohibition against kindling fire on Shabbat specificlly singled out in that warning? Rabbi Dunner introduces a lively and quite hilarious debate between Ibn Ezra and an unnamed Karaite, concerning the Karaite view regarding the use of fire on Shabbat. And he also discusses why it was inappropriate to construct the Mishkan on Shabbat.
KI TISSA - IT’S ONE FOR THE MONEY
February 20, 2019 18:15 - 1 hour - 76.1 MBThe portion of Ki Tissa begins with a strange set of verses that appear to describe a process by which Moses could count the Jewish nation. The wording used is extremely ambiguous, and if you turn to Rashi for help you will come away more confused, not less. What is going on in these verses? Did God command Moses to take a population census, or was this something Moses wanted to do himself? Why does Rashi cite King David’s experience as a cautionary tale of what can happen when things go wr...
TETZAVEH - AND FINALLY, THE ALTAR OF INCENSE
February 13, 2019 19:53 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBAt the end of Tetzaveh, after every other aspect of the new sanctuary has been described and discussed, including the priestly vestments, God instructs Moses to construct a small altar for incense, to be placed inside the sanctuary. But why wait until the end? Why not include this instruction in its correct place, with the Ark of the Covenant and the Menorah? Rabbi Dunner explores this curious anomaly, offering insights into this unique Temple vessel, and the secret of its purpose and function.