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
Rogues, Rascals, and Rapscallions - Part 1
July 12, 2022 03:44 - 43 minutes - 40 MBRabbi Pini Dunner travels down the side roads and into cul-de-sacs of the Jewish yesteryear with the help of exhaustive research – sharing countless anecdotes and previously unrevealed details. This first episode of "Exploring Jewish History" is titled “Rogues, Rascals, and Rapscallions”, and looks at characters from traditional Jewish society whose personal lives did not quite match up to the norms of the world they were a part of. In Part 1 Rabbi Dunner offers a revealing glimpse into the l...
CHUKKAT - THE POWER OF COMMUNITY
July 07, 2022 23:25 - 6 minutes - 6.19 MBHow would Rashi have responded to the countless scholarly rabbinic critics who leveled objections to his interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Talmud? Rabbi Dunner suggests a solution for Ramban's particularly notorious rejection of Rashi's explanation of Moses' sin during the dried-up wellspring episode in Parshat Chukkat.
KORACH - THE JOKE'S ON YOU
June 30, 2022 23:25 - 6 minutes - 6.35 MBFrom satire to slapstick, and via every available medium, we are constantly surrounded by humor and jokes. But there seems to be a red line that, once crossed, turns humor from funny to harmful, and from innocuous to dangerous. Rabbi Dunner cites a fascinating Midrash that casts Korach as a comedian who used humor to bring down Moses. What lesson can we learn?
KORACH - ARGUMENTS & FIGHTS
June 29, 2022 21:58 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBThe shocking challenge to Moses' authority by his cousin Korach has generated countless explanations and moral lessons. Rabbi Dunner shares some ideas from his grandfather's commentary on the Torah, Mikdash Halevi, which offers some refreshing ideas to explain the flaws in Korach's tactics and character.
SHLACH - THE SILVER LINING
June 23, 2022 22:33 - 8 minutes - 7.38 MBA powerful lesson from the powerhouse success of Thomas Jefferson as a founding father of the United States offers us an inspiring insight into a troubling question at the heart of the spies narrative in Parshat Shlach. Rabbi Dunner explores the Jefferson phenomenon and shares a wonderful piece by Shadal.
SHLACH - A TRUE LEADER
June 22, 2022 20:35 - 58 minutes - 53.1 MBIn Parshat Shlach, Moses changed Joshua's name from "Hoshea" to "Yehoshua". The Talmud teaches that this hinted at a prayer that Moses prayed for God to save Joshua from the influence of the other spies. But why send those other spies in the first place if they were going to be a danger to Joshua, and by extension the Jewish people? And if Moses was willing to pray for Joshua, why not pray for the others too? Rabbi Dunner shares a beautiful piece from the late Lubavitcher Rebbe.
THE GREAT DEBATE WITH DENNIS PRAGER
June 20, 2022 18:48 - 1 hour - 84.8 MBRabbi Dunner debates radio talkshow host Dennis Prager on the topic “Are Humans Inherently Good?” An invigorating discussion, moderated by Rabbi David Baron of Temple of the Arts, at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills. The event was held on June 8, 2022.
BEHAALOTECHA - WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING?
June 17, 2022 00:15 - 8 minutes - 7.47 MBDid you know that complaining is not just annoying, it's actually bad for you? Chronic complaining has been scientifically proven to decrease your brain capacity -- even listening to complaints is bad! Rabbi Dunner delves into the story of the "complainers" in Parshat Behaalotecha, and shares insights that reveal what this ancient story has to teach.
BEHAALOTECHA - A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
June 15, 2022 23:32 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBIf Aaron the High Priest was so upset about being excluded from giving a gift on behalf of his tribe, why didn't he just give it anyway? And what kind of consolation is preparing and lighting the Temple menorah? Rabbi Dunner answers these and various other Behaalotecha-related questions, using his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi.
NASSO - IT'S ALL GOOD
June 10, 2022 00:40 - 7 minutes - 6.63 MBFollowing his debate with Dennis Prager on whether humans are inherently good, Rabbi Dunner ponders the question of the existence of evil, and how it is possible that people can perpetrate evil if they were born good. A beautiful Midrash in Parshat Nasso offers an insight into why part of the rabbinic tradition disparages the Nazirite vow, with the story of the handsome Nazirite and Simeon the Just shedding light on traditional Judaism's view of the human condition.
SHAVUOT - AN ANTIDOTE TO LONELINESS
June 03, 2022 20:11 - 9 minutes - 7.54 MBIn a world full of challenging problems, one of the most difficult challenges is loneliness. Rabbi Dunner focuses on this difficult topic, and connects it both to Shavuot and to the Yizkor service that we say on yomtov.
BAMIDBAR - MESSAGE FROM A DESERT
June 02, 2022 22:10 - 8 minutes - 7.44 MBRabbi Dunner shares some remarkable facts about deserts, and the life they support, offering us a glimpse into why the Book of Bamidbar begins with the desert reference that gives it its name. An incredible insight into the power of Torah also offers us a message for Shavuot.
BECHUKOTAI - SECRET OF OUR SUCCESS
May 27, 2022 00:50 - 7 minutes - 6.54 MBThe history of Manhattan Island in New York is both intriguing and revealing. Before emerging as one of the world's urban economic engines, it was a swampy island principally populated by beavers. Sold to the Dutch for a pittance in 1626, and then exchanged with the British for a spice island in 1667, it seemed destined for continued oblivion. Rabbi Dunner considers how New York would react if the original owners would demand it back, and how this question relates to the Jewish claim to Israe...
BECHUKOTAI - COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
May 25, 2022 22:08 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBTucked away at the end of Sefer Vayikra, Parshat Bechukotai is known for the litany of "curses" listed for those who won't observe the Torah's commandments. But rather than focusing on the negative, Rabbi Dunner instead focuses on the blessings that kick off the parsha. Using his grandfather's Mikdash Halevi commentary, Rabbi Dunner reveals the incredible messages contained in the opening verses of Bechukotai.
EMOR - A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
May 12, 2022 23:11 - 6 minutes - 5.59 MBHow do we know if a "cohen" is a "cohen"? The answer is we can't know and we don' know. And yet, if someone self-identifies as a "cohen" we accept him as one. Rabbi Dunner charts a course through this fascinating halakhic topic, shedding light on a variety of related issues.
KEDOSHIM - THE GREATNESS OF MENACHEM BEGIN
May 05, 2022 22:53 - 6 minutes - 5.75 MBRabbi Dunner recalls a foundational memory of his early childhood, involving the late Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin. Inspired by an omission in the new documentary about Begin's life, Rabbi Dunner ties in a unique aspect of Begin's personality with a core ideal of Jewish identity found at the beginning of Parshat Kedoshim.
KEDOSHIM - THE SACRED AND THE ORDINARY
May 04, 2022 20:33 - 46 minutes - 43 MBWhy was the instruction to "be holy" deliberately given to the entire Jewish nation? Why do the directives that follow this instruction relate to the most ordinary aspects of civil and religious life? Rabbi Dunner shares some wonderful ideas from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, on the opening verses of Parshat Kedoshim
ACHAREI MOT - NEVER AGAIN SHOULD MEAN NEVER AGAIN
April 29, 2022 22:12 - 7 minutes - 6.96 MBWhat does the heinous genocide atrocity, The Rape of Nanking, have to teach us about current genocides and the world's reaction? Rabbi Dunner, fresh from his participation at the Yom Hashoah event in Yad Vashem, offers his own perspective, particularly as the world watches unfolding atrocities in Ukraine. The opening verse of Acharei Mot contains a powerful lesson for us all.
PESACH - PHARAOH AND HIS PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
April 14, 2022 23:10 - 7 minutes - 6.47 MBOscar Wilde's most famous novel is The Picture of Dorian Gray, about a hedonistic, handsome young man pursuing all the pleasures of life. Gray wishes for his perfect appearance to remain unaffected by this lifestyle, and instead for a portrait image of him to age and wither. Rabbi Dunner uses this remarkable narrative to illustrate a moral lesson regarding the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, in a message that resonates for us all today.
PESACH - THE MYSTERIOUS MEMORY LAPSE OF BNEI BETEIRA
April 13, 2022 02:32 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBIn 1775, Rav Yaakov Emden published his Shabbat Hagadol Drasha originally delivered in 1730, when he was the rabbi in Emden, Germany. Why did the B'nei Beteira forget a basic halakha relating to Korban Pesach? And why did this episode result in the appointment of Hillel Habavli as head of the Sanhedrin? Rabbi Dunner summarizes Rav Yaakov Emden's tour-de-force Talmudic discourse in this fabulous shiur, full of incisive insights and fascinating historical vignettes.
Drush Pesach Gadol.mp3
April 13, 2022 02:32 - 1 hour - 68.2 MBDrush Pesach Gadol.mp3 by Rabbi Pini Dunner
PESACH - VANQUISHING KHNUM THE RAM GOD
April 07, 2022 21:10 - 6 minutes - 6.18 MBAncient Egypt dominated world culture for millennia before being confined to history, with no contemporary traces. Rabbi Dunner explores this curious phenomenon, and offers a wonderful insight as to why the Passover lamb was such an important part of the process of driving a wedge between the Jewish nation and its pagan inclinations.
PESACH - A NIGHT OF FAITH
April 06, 2022 20:17 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBRabbi Dunner shares a wonderful piece from Nesivos Sholom describing the power of faith - "emunah" - and its close association with the month of Nissan in general, and with Seder night in particular. Find out why the first night of Pesach is the "Rosh Hashana of Emunah."
TAZRIA - NO NEED FOR AN APP
March 31, 2022 20:52 - 6 minutes - 5.52 MBWith alarms, devices and apps to monitor every aspect of our lives, and to warn us when we are straying off target, it comes as no surprise that the Torah describes an illness known as "tzara'at" that was triggered by a spiritual deficiency. Nowadays "tzara'at" no longer exists, but, as Rabbi Dunner explains, the message of "tzara'at" lives on.
TAZRIA - A PATH TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH
March 30, 2022 23:20 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MBParshat Tazria describes the malady known as "tzara'at" in great detail. Rabbi Dunner shares some inspiring ideas regarding "tzara'at" in particular, and ritual impurity in general, all drawn from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash HaLevi.
SHEMINI - MY ADVENTURES IN UTAH
March 24, 2022 22:53 - 7 minutes - 6.85 MBRabbi Dunner describes the unique experience of harvesting snow for a mikvah. His trip to Utah to collect snow for the new mikva in Beverly Hills is an inspirational moment, and Rabbi Dunner reveals every aspect of his incredible journey -- not just to Utah, but going back many years. But it is no accident that this journey ended in the week we read Parshat Shemini.
SHEMINI - THE EIGHTH DAY
March 23, 2022 23:34 - 59 minutes - 54.5 MBOn the "eighth day", the Mishkan, which was the first-ever Jewish Temple, was inaugurated in the wilderness, under the leadership of Moses, and the priestly guidance of his brother Aaron. The Torah doesn't specify what "eighth day" it was, and the Midrash steps in to fill in the gap. Rabbi Dunner shares inspiring and insightful insights from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, shedding light on this ambiguity, and on other aspects of this auspicious day in Jewish history.
PURIM - DAY AND NIGHT
March 16, 2022 21:08 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBThere is an interesting disagreement between Rabbi Moshe Sofer and Rabbi Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk regarding the festive meal for Purim that makes up for the seudah one has to miss on a Purim that falls on Shabbat. According to Rabbi Meir Simcha one can have the Seudah on Saturday night, while according to the Chatam Sofer one has to wait until Sunday, as the Purim feast must be during the day. Rabbi Dunner explains why the Chatam Sofer’s view is so significant, and how it relates to broa...
PARSHAT ZACHOR - FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED
March 10, 2022 23:45 - 7 minutes - 6.04 MBThe military and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has shocked the world. But could it have been avoided? Rabbi Dunner has some interesting lessons from history for you to consider, including the first battle fought by the Jewish nation after they left Egyptian slavery.
VAYIKRA - THE PINNACLE OF FAITH
March 09, 2022 23:13 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBThe book of Vayikra, beginning with Parshat Vayikra, focuses on the ritual sacrifices that were a central feature of Jewish life starting with the Sinai revelation, right up until the destruction of the second Jerusalem Temple some 1,500 years later. Rabbi Dunner delves into the concepts behind ritual sacrifice, honed and refined by the sages of the Talmud in the years after the destruction, here revealed through the eyes of the Mikdash Halevi, written by Rabbi Dunner’s grandfather, the rever...
PEKUDEI - THE MISTAKE WE MADE WITH RUSSIA
March 04, 2022 01:02 - 7 minutes - 7.09 MBA full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was a remote possibility even as recently as a couple of months ago. And yet, we are now a week into the most devastating war in Europe since the Second World War, with a refugee crisis to match. How are we to make sense of it all. Rabbi Dunner cites an insightful interpretation of the first verse in Pekudei to shed light on the mistake the world made with Putin's Russia. To donate money for the Odessa Tikvah orphanage now in hiding in Northwest Ukrai...
VAYAKHEL - MORE THAN A DAY OF REST
February 22, 2022 22:48 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBOnce again Rabbi Dunner focuses on his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, addressing the strange wording in the first verse of Parshat Vayakhel. If this is the verse that is the source for the 39 prohibitions associated with Shabbat observance, why does it end with an instruction to "do them"? As you will discover, this verse contains an important message that transcends the prohibitions, cutting to the core of what Shabbat is about.
KI TISSA - WHAT YOU DO IS WHO YOU ARE
February 17, 2022 22:14 - 7 minutes - 6.95 MBAs a result of the atonement process for the Golden Calf, the Jewish people were given the thirteen attributes of mercy as a formula for repentance. Rabbi Dunner shares a fascinating idea from the Netziv, who has an insight into the dangers posed by a lifestyle that is ignorant of sin.
KI TISSA - LESSONS OF THE GOLDEN CALF
February 16, 2022 21:02 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBIt is surely one of the most confounding stories in the Torah - the Jewish nation, fresh from the Exodus and the Sinai revelation, create a Golden Calf to replace Moses, who has tarried longer than they expected. Rabbi Dunner shares insights from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, shedding light on this jarring episode from the dawn of Jewish history.
TETZAVEH - THE BEST CURE FOR DEFIANCE
February 11, 2022 00:28 - 7 minutes - 6.81 MBDefiance, brazenness, and iconoclasm are traits that are both derided and admired. Are they good or are they bad? Rabbi Dunner delves into this fascinating topic, and poses a revealing lesson from the tzitz hazahav -- the golden frontlet worn by the Jewish high priest that was engraved with the words Kodesh L'Hashem.
TETZAVEH - THE PUREST LIGHT
February 09, 2022 22:39 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBWhy did the Temple Menorah require the purest olive oil? And why was such pure olive oil not required for the meal offerings? Rabbi Dunner shares a beautiful interpretation from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi.
TERUMAH - FILLING IN THE GAPS
February 04, 2022 00:26 - 7 minutes - 6.53 MBWhat is the meaning of "self-worth"? Rabbi Dunner reveals a curious reference in Terumah that has the answer.
TERUMAH - BEYOND FORM AND FUNCTION
February 02, 2022 21:44 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBThe whole of Parshat Terumah is devoted to instructions relating to the construction of the "Mishkan" - the first Temple sanctuary of Jewish history. But although the instructions begin with the Aron HaBrit ("Ark of the Covenant") and end with the instructions for constructing the building, when it came to putting it all together, the Mishkan was built first, and then the Aron. Focusing on a curious Gemara in Berachot that deals with the order reversal, Rabbi Dunner shares his grandfather's b...
MISHPATIM - THE SACRED AND THE MUNDANE
January 27, 2022 21:10 - 6 minutes - 5.78 MBRabbi Dunner shares a wonderful insight from Harvard professor of psychology, Tal Ben Shahar - an insight which resonates perfectly with Rashi's interpretation of the first verse in Mishpatim. The sacred and the mundane may be different, but they can also be the same.
MISHPATIM - ALL FROM ONE SOURCE
January 26, 2022 21:01 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MBWhy does Mishpatim follow on from Parshat Yitro? Rashi points out that Mishpatim is a continuation of the previous parsha: "Just as the Ten Commandments were given at Mt. Sinai, so too were these civil laws given at Mt. Sinai!" Using his grandfather's Mikdash Halevi commentary as a foundation, Rabbi Dunner offers a full backdrop to this idea and what it means in terms of the Jewish faith.
YITRO - A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION
January 21, 2022 00:26 - 7 minutes - 7.09 MBAs he watched the incredible Nach Yomi siyum last Sunday, more than anything else Rabbi Dunner was struck by the fact that a generation ago it simply would not have been possible. Why is our generation so lucky? Rabbi Dunner has the answer.
SORRY DENNIS, YOU'RE WRONG
January 13, 2022 23:42 - 7 minutes - 7.11 MBRabbi Dunner responds to Dennis Prager's attempt to dismiss his article about the goodness of human nature. Both from a Jewish perspective, and on the basis of scientific knowledge, Prager's critique is wildly off the mark, argues Rabbi Dunner, and he cites chapter and verse to prove his point.
BESHALACH - A SONG OF FAITH
January 12, 2022 21:42 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBFollowing their miraculous delivery from certain death via the miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea, the Jewish People, led by Moses, burst forth into song, expressing their faith and gratitude to God. The opening lyric of "Az Yashir" describes how Egypts riders and horses were engulfed by the waters of the sea. Seemingly this is a minor aspect of the extraordinary supernatural events that had occurred. Why mention it at all? Rabbi Dunner cites his grandfather's commentary, Mikdash HaLevi,...
BO - THROUGH THICK AND THIN
January 07, 2022 01:39 - 6 minutes - 6.03 MBRabbi Dunner reflects on his recent trip to Chicago, and particularly on his visits to three local social welfare organizations. Overwhelmed by the incredible range and breadth of chesed that he encounters, Rabbi Dunner cites a little-known Haamek Davar on Parshat Bo that reveals an instinctive chesed that has been at the heart of Jewish identity since time immemorial.
VAERA - BEING GOOD IS IN OUR NATURE
December 31, 2021 00:10 - 5 minutes - 5.49 MBWhere does Judaism stand on the debate between Thomas Hobbes and John Locke? Rabbi Dunner charts the history of how humans have regarded the intrinsic nature of humanity, and finds the different views evident in a blundering strategic error by Pharaoh, in his assessment of the tribe of Levi and the character of Moses.
VAERA - IT WILL NEVER WORK
December 29, 2021 21:48 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBBefore going in for a second meeting with Pharaoh, Moses feared that his mission was doomed, and that whatever he said would never work. After all, he told God, if the Jewish people won't listen to me, how is it possible that Pharaoh will take me seriously? This, says, Rashi is one of ten examples of a "kal vachomer" in the Torah. In this fascinating shiur, Rabbi Dunner unpacks Moses' "kal vachomer" argument, and explains what Moses was saying to God, and why.
SHEMOT - A SHEPHERD TO HIS FLOCK
December 23, 2021 23:37 - 6 minutes - 5.92 MBA confounding idea proposed by two lifestyle gurus, a remarkable letter from Maimonides about his daily schedule, and a startling statement in Midrash Yalkut Shimoni all come together, as Rabbi Dunner explains why Moses' greatness was derived from his abilities as a shepherd.
SHEMOT - WHY ME?
December 22, 2021 21:38 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBIn Parshat Shemot, when God appeared to Moses at Horeb from the burning bush and asked him to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt as their liberator – Moses categorically and emphatically refused. Rabbi Dunner explores this extraordinary encounter with the help of a fabulous piece from the Nesivos Sholom. Not all is as it seems.
VAYECHI - THE VALUE OF INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP
December 16, 2021 21:03 - 6 minutes - 5.89 MBWhat is so important about inspirational leadership, and why does being inspirational eclipse every other leadership attribute? Rabbi Dunner uncovers an incredible inference from Jacob's blessing of Reuben in Parshat Vayechi, explaining why Judah replaced Reuben as leader of the family, and not Joseph.
BLESSINGS AND REBUKE
December 15, 2021 21:01 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBWhen Jacob called his sons together at the beginning of Parshat Vayechi, it would appear that the idea behind this final family gathering was for Jacob to bless his sons. But not all of Jacob’s pronouncements convey a blessing vibe; on the contrary they seem rather harsh and severe. Rabbi Dunner delves into the correlation between rebuke and blessing, citing a fabulous piece by the Chasam Sofer about Reuven’s “blessing”, as well as an amazing insight into the gathering of Jacob’s sons by the ...