Deeper Look At The Parsha
477 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 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
MIKKEITZ - THE DANGER OF IGNORANCE
December 18, 2020 00:12 - 5 minutes - 5.45 MBOne of the greatest misnomers of the human condition is the idea that "ignorance is bliss." So much of what affects our lives is hidden from us, and the biggest mistake we can make is to believe that we are cognizant of all the factors that can affect us, and make plans on the basis of what we believe we know. Rabbi Dunner deftly connects the extraordinary story of Joseph and his brothers to the different perspectives of those who know and those who don't, and suggests that there may be a tim...
CHANUKAH - WHEN IS A MIRACLE A MIRACLE?
December 17, 2020 00:39 - 59 minutes - 47.7 MBThere is a well-known question regarding the miracle of Chanuka, most often associated with the “Beit Yosef,” Rabbi Joseph Caro (1488-1575), author of the definitive code of Jewish law (“Shulchan Aruch”). The miracle of Chanuka is described in the Talmud as follows: uncontaminated oil which should only have lasted for one day lasted for eight days, giving the kohanim enough time to get new oil from Tekoa — a 4-day journey from Jerusalem — without the Menorah, which needed to be relit each da...
VAYEISHEV - CELEBRATING A REAL VICTORY
December 11, 2020 00:23 - 6 minutes - 6.01 MBWhy do we celebrate the miracle of the oil on Chanukah, when the military victories seem to be a much greater victory? Why is Joseph called "Hatzaddik," and his brothers are not? Rabbi Dunner ties it all together with some fascinating examples from history.
PIRKEI AVOT 26 - FIVE OF THE BEST
December 10, 2020 01:36 - 27 minutes - 22.1 MBOne of the most remarkable leaders in Jewish history was Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, who took on the responsibility of managing the transition in post-Temple Judea, after the Romans ransacked Jerusalem. Rabbi Dunner shares Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai’s incredible story, and also his thoughts as conveyed in the second chapter of Pirkei Avot. We also hear what Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai thought of his five top students. What were their outstanding qualities? Who was his favorite? What happened to t...
VAYEISHEV - FROM THE DEPTHS, SALVATION
December 09, 2020 21:53 - 56 minutes - 45 MBParshat Vayeishev contains one of the most tragic storylines of the entire Torah -- the breakdown of family harmony among Jacob's sons, followed by the sale of Joseph into slavery by his brothers. And, out of nowhere, we have the story of Judah and Tamar -- out of place, and with seemingly no relevance to the unfolding tragedy of Joseph's transformation from slave to Egyptian powerbroker. Rabbi Dunner turns to the Nesivos Sholom, who quotes an enigmatic Midrash to unpack some meaningful less...
VAYISHLACH - NOT ON YOUR OWN
December 03, 2020 22:30 - 6 minutes - 5.8 MBAccording to one of California's leading self-development gurus, functional self-sufficiency may be okay, but relational self-sufficiency is a disaster for the human condition. Rabbi Dunner reveals the source for this idea in the Torah, from Parshat Vayishlach, which strangely enough is inferred from Esau's third wife, Basemath daughter of Ishmael.
PIRKEI AVOT 25 - LESSON OF THE SKULL
December 03, 2020 02:26 - 23 minutes - 22.4 MBSome final lessons from Hillel the Elder, beginning with him seeing a skull floating on the water. Rabbi Dunner explains this strange incident and suggests its interpretation, and goes on to explain the next mishna, in which Hillel juxtaposes the folly of material obsession with the lofty possibilities of spiritual aspiration.
VAYISHLACH - WHAT'S IN A NAME?
December 03, 2020 00:03 - 1 hour - 57 MBIn Parshat Vayishlach, Jacob’s name is changed by God from Jacob to Israel. But unlike Abraham, whose name changed from Abram -- with that name never being used again -- Jacob remains Jacob, even as he is also referred to as Israel. The continued use of both names is a topic that vexed the sages of the Talmud, and it has also generated many explanations by Torah commentators. Rabbi Dunner shares an eye-opening passage from the Nesivos Sholom, who reveals why both names — Jacob and Israel — ...
VAYEITZEI - THE PROBLEM WITH PROBLEMS
November 26, 2020 22:15 - 6 minutes - 5.66 MBOne of the classic human ways of dealing with problems is to run away from them. Running away often seems so much easier than facing the problems head-on. But running away from a problem never resolves it. So why did Jacob run away from Esau? Why didn't he just deal with the problem right away? Using a novel interpretation on the first verse of Parshat Veyeitzei by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Ferber of London (1883-1966), Rabbi Dunner explains how Isaac's intervention before Jacob left made all the diff...
PIRKEI AVOT 24 - DOOMED TO FAIL
November 25, 2020 23:02 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBRabbi Dunner continues his journey through Pirkei Avot with some wisdom from Hillel the Elder, who offers pithy observations regarding barriers that prevent one from achieving real goals: the ignorant can’t evade sin; the uninformed will never excel; the shy cannot learn; the impatient cannot teach. Rabbi Dunner goes through each of the categories and explains how they are relevant to us in our growth as people of faith who aspire to spiritual growth.
VAYEITZEI - FROM STONES TO STONE
November 25, 2020 20:58 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBThere is a well-known Midrash at the beginning of Vayeitzei that describes an argument that took place between the stones that Jacob had taken to rest his head on the fateful night when God revealed himself during the angels’ ladder dream. According to the Midrash, all the stones wanted the holy man’s head to rest on them. To resolve the dispute, God fused the stones together so that they became one rock, and Jacob rested his head on all of them. Rabbi Dunner examines this curious midrashic p...
TOLDOT - LITTLE MISTAKES CAN REALLY MATTER
November 19, 2020 22:59 - 6 minutes - 5.5 MBWe all make mistakes, and we all learn from our mistakes. So why do we put so much effort into avoiding making mistakes? Rabbi Dunner introduces us to a pithy aphorism from Napoleon and shares some fascinating vignettes from history. He also reveals why one story in Parshat Toldot yields the reason for making every effort in our quest to avoid making even seemingly innocuous mistakes.
TOLDOT - ONE GOOD, ONE BAD
November 19, 2020 02:19 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBPuzzled by the fact that her unborn baby seemed to be attracted to both paganism and monotheism, Rebecca consulted God — only to discover that she would be giving birth to twins. “There are two nations in your womb,” God explained to Rebecca, “and these two nations will go their separate ways once they emerge.” Rabbi Dunner presents a fascinating Nesivos Sholom which tries to make sense of this puzzling vignette. What was Rebecca thinking when she asked the question? What is the eternal mes...
CHAYEI SARAH - THE WISDOM OF AGE
November 12, 2020 22:12 - 6 minutes - 6.4 MBA fascinating New York Times article that charts research into the aging process of dogs, and how this might help us better understand our own human aging process, prompts Rabbi Dunner to reveal a fascinating Talmudic passage that addresses aging, basing itself on a verse in Chayei Sarah.
HESPED FOR HARAV LORD JONATHAN SACKS Z"L
November 12, 2020 17:16 - 24 minutes - 45.1 MBRabbi Dunner shares his thoughts and some fantastic stories about Harav Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l, following his untimely and tragic passing.
PIRKEI AVOT 23 - AVOID BEING A VOID
November 12, 2020 01:52 - 23 minutes - 42.5 MBMore wisdom from Hillel the Elder, who charts the baseline of what one needs to do to become of student of Torah -- don't be a "boor", he says, because a "boor" will never fear sin. Rabbi Dunner defines "boor" and explains why getting to first base requires devoted and focused effort.
CHAYEI SARAH - BE KIND!
November 11, 2020 20:59 - 49 minutes - 91.6 MBWhy does Rashi at the beginning of Chayei Sarah comment that Sarah's life was all good? What was special about her life that made it different than everyone else's? And why was Abraham special? Rabbi Dunner goes through a Nesivos Sholom that discusses and dissects the importance of kindness as a foundational aspect of faith in God.
VAYEIRA - A HORRIBLY BITTER ELECTION
November 05, 2020 22:44 - 8 minutes - 16.6 MBAs the 2020 election counting process drags on with no clear winner in sight, and no one conceding defeat, Rabbi Dunner recalls another knife-edge presidential election - the contentious presidential contest of 1800. Thomas Jefferson called it the "Second American Revolution", and it resulted in profound changes to the nascent United States democracy project. And just like the 2020 election, in the period before and after the election feelings ran high, and at times threatened the country's f...
LECH LECHA - WE NEED MORE ABRAHAMS (PODCAST)
October 29, 2020 22:59 - 9 minutes - 8.8 MBThree weeks before he died, the late Novominsker Rebbe released a 2-minute video offering sturdy guidance for the Haredi community reeling from the early ravages of the coronavirus pandemic. But rather than follow in his footsteps, following his death from COVID-19, the leadership that replaced him has been notably absent and remarkably out-of-touch with their leadership responsibilities. The result has been tragic: the wholesale rejection of basic lifesaving measures, far too many unnecessa...
LECH LECHA - ABRAHAM'S FIRST TEST
October 28, 2020 23:35 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBA very curious aspect of Abraham’s introduction into the Torah’s narrative is the fact that almost immediately after reaching Canaan – or, as God had called it, “the Land that I will show you” – he leaves for Egypt. Having discovered that Canaan is in the midst of a famine (Gen. 12:10), he abandons the Promised Land and heads for the fleshpots of Egypt, to ride out the storm elsewhere. Before arriving in Egypt, he instructs his wife, Sarah, to lie about her identity, to save him from certain ...
NOACH - THE TRUTH ABOUT INDUSTRIOUS ANTS
October 22, 2020 21:56 - 6 minutes - 6.14 MBRabbi Dunner shares a piece of wisdom from his late grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dunner (1913-2007), regarding King Solomon's statement in Proverbs that lazy people should take note of the industrious ant, using this energetic creature as a role model. But why would one use a creature that operates by instinct as a guide for humans that have freedom of choice? A passage in the Talmud about the dove that returned to Noah's Ark with an olive branch becomes the cipher to unlock this puzzle, and...
PIRKEI AVOT 22 - SAGE ADVICE FROM HILLEL THE SAGE
October 21, 2020 22:40 - 22 minutes - 10.6 MBIn the fourth mishna of the second chapter, Avot returns to Hillel Hazaken, founding patriarch of the rabbinic family whose inspirational leadership was the foundation of the Talmud. His sage advice is simple and pertinent for every age, as Rabbi Dunner explains using stories and personal experiences to illustrate. Human nature plays a role in who you are, and being a good person is not just a matter of staying out of trouble.
NOACH - TOWERING OVER HUMANITY
October 21, 2020 19:28 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBRabbi Dunner discusses the strange episode in Noach known as 'The Tower of Babel’. Recorded in just 9 verses, the traditional version of the story seems at odds with the plain understanding of the text, and whatever way you look at the story, it makes very little sense. What was the sin of those who built the Tower? In fact, the word sin is never mentioned, so who says they sinned at all? Why would God have taken any notice of a bunch of clowns trying to reach ‘heaven’ via a tower? And what i...
BEREISHIT - A LESSON FROM SALMON STARTERS
October 15, 2020 21:34 - 7 minutes - 6.62 MBIn the mid-1990s, an elderly grandfather randomly attended a pre-Bar Mitzvah celebration dinner food tasting at a five-star London hotel, and shared a profound life lesson with Rabbi Dunner. It is a lesson that resonates with Rabbi Dunner to this day, particularly when reading the portion in Bereishit describing the episode of the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil' in the Garden of Eden -- as he explains in this poignant podcast.
SHMINI ATZERET - FINDING YOUR BURIED TREASURE
October 08, 2020 21:05 - 6 minutes - 5.65 MBWhat is Shmini Atzeret really about? Why do we need an extra day of yomtov? The Midrash offers a wonderful suggestion -- Rabbi Dunner recalls the Midrash, and goes on to offer his own unique interpretation for the requirement of an extra festival day after Sukkot is already over, a day that offers us all the opportunity to find our very own buried treasure.
SUKKOT - WE ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE
October 01, 2020 20:44 - 9 minutes - 8.54 MBImagine. It is John Lennon’s most iconic song. But what has it got to teach us about being The Chosen People? Is the world featured in Imagine really a utopia? Rabbi Dunner focuses on a familiar festival prayer that focuses on the chosen-ness of the Jewish nation, showing that chosen-ness and uniqueness are not bad or elitist, rather they are the ultimate realization of God's plan for creation.
YAMIM NORAIM - SAD TIME OR HAPPY TIME?
September 25, 2020 21:37 - 53 minutes - 25.7 MBWhy do we fast on Yom Kippur? Why don’t we fast on Rosh Hashana? Should we fast on Shabbat Shuva? Shouldn’t we fast every day of Aseret Yemei Teshuva? Why is any Yomtov happy? What does happiness mean in practical terms? Can we be happy and fast at the same time? Rabbi Dunner addresses these and many other questions, as he explores the importance of joy on Jewish festival days and contrasts with the very serious nature of Yamim Noraim.
YOM KIPPUR - TO BE KNOWN AS A JEW
September 24, 2020 22:21 - 7 minutes - 7.01 MBRabbi Dunner reflects on a fascinating mini-conference he attended a year ago at the invitation of Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin. The conference agenda: to find something that unites every Jew, rather than focus on everything that divides us. Weaving this idea into the purpose of Yom Kippur, Rabbi Dunner reveals details of the upcoming first-ever International Succah Hop -- a project with the primary aim of uniting Jews all around the world during the festival of Sukkot. (For details of ...
ROSH HASHANA - WILL YOU PASS THE TEST?
September 17, 2020 21:13 - 7 minutes - 7.14 MBOn Rosh Hashana, we read the story of the Akeida - the 'almost' sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham. Traditionally, the reason given is the connection between the ram sacrificed at the end of the story, and the ram's horn that we blow as the shofar on Rosh Hashana. Rabbi Dunner challenges this tenuous connection, and delves into the very disturbing child-sacrifice elements of the Akeida story. What are we really to learn from this disturbing narrative and why do we read it on Rosh Hashan...
PIRKEI AVOT 21 - FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
September 16, 2020 23:01 - 15 minutes - 7.25 MBRabbi Dunner continues with the advice offered by Rabbi Gamliel III, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi, who focuses his attention on offering pointers for those in public service and doing work for the benefit of the community. Be careful of your friendships with people in power, as such relationships are always on the basis of benefiting those in authority, and not the reverse. Make your needs and desires identical with those of God, but not -- as the mishna seems to imply -- because it will wor...
NITZAVIM - THE VALUE OF ONE AND ALL
September 10, 2020 21:23 - 6 minutes - 5.76 MBRabbi Dunner cites Maimonides from "hilchot teshuva", who describes 24 different types of people for whom the Teshuva process will not be effective. One of them is someone who is not part of a community. Rabbi Dunner offers a classic explanation, but adds an explanation of his own, based on the theories and research of the pioneering social psychologist, Leon Festinger.
PIRKEI AVOT 20 - TORAH AND DERECH ERETZ
September 09, 2020 20:59 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBRabbi Dunner finishes up the first mishna of Chapter 2 in Pirkei Avot, with the wise warning of Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi to constantly be aware of "three things". In the second mishna, Rabbi Gamliel the son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi focuses on the crucial importance of combining Torah study with real-life work, earning a living even as you prioritize Torah. The alternative, he says, is too dire to contemplate. The mishna concludes with advice for those who want to volunteer for public service and c...
VAYEILECH - HIDE AND SEEK
September 09, 2020 19:09 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBIt would appear that God had the measure of the Jewish people. Despite choosing them to be His nation, He nevertheless recognized that without the inspired leadership and guidance of Moses they would quickly drift “off the reservation”. He said as much to Moses, and warned that He would hide His face from the Jewish people when it happened. But the commentaries all struggle to understand this idea, and particularly with why God repeated that He would hide Himself — twice in two verses, one fo...
KI TAVO - LET THERE BE LIGHT
September 03, 2020 21:14 - 6 minutes - 5.89 MBWhat does it mean to be 'a light unto the nations'? Rabbi Dunner comes up with a novel interpretation after witnessing the stunning phenomenon that is the Ashalim Solar Energy Plant in Israel's Negev desert. A 2500-year-old prophecy found in the Haftara for Parshat Ki Tavo comes to pass in a most unexpected way.
PIRKEI AVOT 19 - WHAT'S EASY? WHAT'S DIFFICULT?
September 02, 2020 20:47 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBRabbi Dunner continues with the first mishna of the second chapter in Pirkei Avot, as Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi offers sage advice to those who think that have it all worked out. Never treat a simple mitzva like a complex mitzva, he says -- but he doesn't define either. Rabbi Dunner steps in to offer a backdrop to Rebbi's ambiguous statement -- a backdrop that will turn your worldview upside down.
KI TAVO - WRITTEN IN STONE
September 02, 2020 19:12 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBTowards the end of his life, as Moses began to address the upcoming conquest of the Promised Land, he instructed the Jewish nation to inscribe a set of stones with the text of the Torah. Rabbi Dunner offers a number of fascinating explanations as to what exactly was written on these stones, as well as a range of intriguing ideas to explain the purpose of the inscribed stones, both practical and spiritual. Once again, a seemingly obscure mitzva that seems largely irrelevant to the modern age i...
KI TEITZEI - LOST, BUT NOT IGNORED
August 27, 2020 20:52 - 7 minutes - 6.58 MBRabbi Dunner surveys the fascinating phenomenon that is the Lost Property office of London's extensive transport network, and connects the comments of one journalistic observer to a particular phrase in the Torah's instruction to return lost items to their owners. It's not just about doing the right thing, it's also about why you're doing it, and having the right attitude towards those who are in distress.
PIRKEI AVOT 18 - FINDING THE MIDDLE GROUND
August 26, 2020 20:54 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBRabbi Dunner introduces the second chapter of Pirkei Avot with a detailed biography of "Rebbi" - Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi, the redactor of the Mishna, whose influence on Jewish life cannot be overstated, and reverberates to this day. In the legacy recorded in his name for Pirkei Avot, Rebbi instructs us to do that which is good for us and good for others. Rabbi Dunner explains the deeper meaning of this idea, explaining the profound wisdom of Rebbi's statement.
KI TEITZEI - IT NEVER HAPPENED, AND IT NEVER WILL
August 26, 2020 19:15 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBOne of the strangest mitzvot in the Torah is the commandment to execute a “wayward son”. Found at the beginning of Parshat Ki Teitzei (Deut. 21), this mitzva instructs that if someone's son is a glutton and a drunkard, he must be reported to the authorities, and after a public trial, the authorities will take care of the problem by sentencing the young lad to death by stoning. Frankly, it all seems quite out of proportion and out in tune with everything we know about justice in Judaism. The T...
SHOFTIM - THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE
August 20, 2020 22:41 - 7 minutes - 7.18 MBRabbi Dunner describes the extraordinary career of Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Mendel Hacohen Singer of Warsaw, a forgotten rabbi whose diligent leadership and patience with litigants and those seeking his counsel were faithfully recorded by his son many years after his death. Using this amazing narrative record, and iting a Sefat Emet commentary on the verse in Shoftim: "You must surely pursue justice," Rabbi Dunner explains why the pursuit of justice and peace -- even if at first glance 'pursuit...
PIRKEI AVOT 17 - TOO MANY WORDS
August 19, 2020 20:52 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBRabbi Shimon, the son of Rabban Gamliel, warns against exaggerated piety, because it always leads to sin. Rabbi Dunner explains what this means, using the Bartenura commentary to present a path in Judaism that understands extra boundaries in context, based on the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In the final mishna of the first chapter of Pirkei Avot, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel enumerates the three foundations of the world's existence, in which justice and truth don't always neces...
SHOFTIM - THE ROAD TO PERFECTION
August 19, 2020 19:19 - 1 hour - 55 MBIn one of his final addresses to the Jewish nation, Moses exhorts them to remain true to God: “You must be perfect with God your God.” The medieval commentaries debate whether this is an actual commandment issued in the context of the preceding verses, or whether it is simply a warning that the Jewish nation should remain true to themselves, and not contaminate their perfection with foreign ideas and concepts. Rabbi Dunner shares these early interpretations, but also offers a range of more re...
RE'EH - THIS IS NOT NORMAL
August 13, 2020 23:30 - 7 minutes - 7.23 MBWhat are we to make of the fact that Urban Dictionary, a crowd-sourced website set up to define slang words and phrases, has become a hotbed of hate-speech, racism, and sexism? With offensive definitions of Auschwitz and anti-Zionism just two recent examples, Rabbi Dunner dwells on the fact that what is found on the fringes soon winds its way into the mainstream, a point presciently made by Moses in his stark warning regarding false prophets and the dangers of idolatry for those about to emba...
PIRKEI AVOT 16 - NO TIME FOR INDECISION
August 12, 2020 20:45 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBRabbi Dunner continues with Mishna 16 in the first chapter of Pirkei Avot, discussing the great Rabban Gamliel, who advocates decisiveness and clarity, even if it occasionally leads to mistakes. In Mishna 17, his son Rabbi Shimon notes the importance of silence and circumspection, adding that ultimately "actions speak louder than words".
RE'EH - CHILDREN OF GOD
August 12, 2020 19:16 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBBefore instructing the Jewish people to desist from self-injury as part of the mourning process for dead departed relatives, Moses informs the nation that they are all the “children of God”. He goes on to say: “you are a people consecrated to God: He chose you from among all other peoples on earth to be His treasured nation.” Addressing this fascinating topic, Rabbi Dunner first talks about ancient pagan mourning rituals, sharing recent academic research that explains the strange practice of ...
EIKEV - THERE IS NO BARRIER
August 06, 2020 17:59 - 8 minutes - 7.72 MBIn later life, Sir Roger Bannister was the perfect gentleman, a retired neurologist living in the suburbs. But in 1954 he shocked the world when he broke through the four-minute-mile barrier, running a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. Beloved and respected, he played down his achievement, often saying that as far as he was concerned the barrier had been psychological, not physical, as many had said. Rabbi Dunner connects this humble idea to a question posed by Moses in Eikev, and the remarkabl...
PIRKEI AVOT 15 - APPOINT YOUR RABBI
August 05, 2020 20:41 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBRabban Gamliel the Elder was a towering personality, grandson of Hillel who led the Sanhedrin in the very difficult late-Second Temple period. The first to be quoted in Pirkei Avot neither as part of a pair, nor as a "recipient" of previous generations, he advises every person "asei lecha rav" -- to find a rabbinic mentor for themselves. Rabbi Dunner gives the background to the change in format that begins with this mishna, explaining the unique nature of Rabban Gamliel and the role of his f...
EIKEV - IT’S ALL IMPORTANT
August 05, 2020 19:10 - 57 minutes - 52.6 MBIn Parshat Eikev, Moses instructs the nation to “faithfully observe all the instruction that I command you today, that you may thrive and increase and be able to possess the land that God promised on oath to your fathers.” Puzzlingly, Moses seems to refer to only one mitzva, not many? But to which mitzva is he referring, or is he in fact referring to more than one? The commentaries are divided over the interpretation of this phrase, and Rabbi Dunner takes a look at a variety of explanations f...
VA'ETCHANAN - IN DANGER OF MASK HYSTERIA
July 30, 2020 22:01 - 7 minutes - 6.47 MBMedical experts and financial experts both agree that wearing a mask during a pandemic significantly reduces the risk of deaths and economic collapse, and yet there are still many people who refuse to bow to government regulations regarding mask-wearing, citing their fundamental rights to individual liberty. Rabbi Dunner weaves the mitzva of mezuzah that is found in Va'etchanan into this discussion, using a gemara and a midrash to show why the mitzva with no name teaches us one of the most fu...
PIRKEI AVOT 14 - MAKE YOUR TORAH PERMANENT
July 29, 2020 21:25 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MBThe great Shammai offers his view as to how one should conduct one's life as a superlative Jew: "make your Torah permanent; speak less, do more; and treat everyone in the nicest possible way." But how does one make Torah "permanent"? What does "permanent" mean in the context of Torah? Rabbi Dunner explains the fifteenth mishna of the first chapter in Pirkei Avot, and offers numerous insights into Shammai's sage wisdom.