TINW Torah Study artwork

TINW Torah Study

199 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 10 ratings

A Reform exploration of Torah, ancient wisdom and modern scholarship by Rabbi Jennifer Jaech of Temple Israel of Northern Westchester in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. In this podcast, Tara Keiter creates and presents a quick summary of our weekly Torah Study session. Note: Since April, 2015, this podcast has been ad-free and generates no income. Only 90 days of material is stored for free on our podcasting host. Older content can be read at https://taraskeiter.substack.com/

Judaism Religion & Spirituality jennifer jaech biblical origins torah study tara keiter
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Episodes

343. Antisemitism - December 2, 2023

December 04, 2023 17:00 - 7 minutes - 4.96 MB

News stories about antisemitic incidents, or perhaps even incidents we ourselves have experienced, have many Jews on edge right now. Our Torah portion for today tells the story of one of our patriarchs similarly on edge. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

342. Isaac and Water Rights

November 19, 2023 20:00 - 7 minutes - 4.89 MB

Water is life. This week, Rabbi Janet Roberts led us in an exploration of our patriarchs Abraham, and then Isaac, securing water rights in the arid desert. There are surprising similarities between the two stories, but some real differences. too. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

341. Ishmael - November 11, 2023

November 13, 2023 17:00 - 8 minutes - 6.02 MB

When there are gaps in the biblical tales our Rabbis created stories—or midrash—based on Bible passages that fill in the gaps. One place our ancient Rabbis did that was about the relationship between Abraham and his first-born son, Ishmael, after the death of Sarah. But Jews are not the only people to do that; Muslims have also offered gap-filling stories, the Stories of the Prophets, about their heroes. This week Rabbi Jaech introduced us to the Islamic version about the the relationship be...

340. Collateral Destruction of Innocents - November 4, 2023

November 04, 2023 20:00 - 7 minutes - 4.93 MB

In her comments to our congregation, Rabbi Jaech stated that the terror Hamas unleashed in Israel on October 7 was evil, and that Hamas knew that innocent Palestinians would suffer. This week’s Torah portion, from the book of Genesis, contains the story of devastation of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; places where, Abraham will argue, righteous people lived and will perish.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Ori...

339. Listen! - October 28, 2023

October 29, 2023 18:00 - 5 minutes - 3.86 MB

Today’s gut-wrenching news coming out of Israel, and also here at home, has been difficult for many of us. Rabbi Janet Roberts finds comfort in being part of a community and in studying our ancient text, so today she lead our group in a discussion of Psalm 130. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

338. Repetitions & Inconsistencies - October 21, 2023

October 23, 2023 00:00 - 7 minutes - 4.89 MB

Did Noah bring one pair of all animals on earth, or seven pairs of some and one pair of others? Was Noah and his family on the ark for a year, or for 4 months? Did Noah send out a raven or a dove? Why did God promise never again to destroy all creatures on earth? Our Bible gives us more than one answer to these questions, and this week Rabbi Jaech takes us on an exploration of these inconsistencies. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy...

337. Essence of God - October 14, 2023

October 15, 2023 02:00 - 7 minutes - 4.93 MB

This week's podcast and blog begins with quotes from Rabbi Jaech's Friday night sermon following the horrific attacks in Israel. Rabbi Jeach reminds us that we carry the breath and spark of divine in us, and we cannot let that spark be snuffed out by hate, for if we do, who are we? Even when the task seems insurmountable, we are part of building a better world. That is our sacred mission. This link is to a blog post by Rabbi Wendy Pein that shares tangible actions we can take in this time o...

336. Where's Moses? - October 7, 2023

October 08, 2023 20:00 - 8 minutes - 5.78 MB

But the writer of the Deuteronomy  claims that “no one knows where [Moses's] grave is.” Our guest-leader today, Professor David Sperling, looked at the text of the Bible as well as text from the Mesha Stele—a 9th century BCE stone slab discovered in the 19th century—which may provide additional insight. Is it true that no one knows where the grave is, or if that is just... fake news?! The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Bibli...

335. Happy Sukkot! - September 30, 2023

October 01, 2023 19:00 - 8 minutes - 5.74 MB

References to Sukkot in the Bible date from before the 4th century BCE, and then Jews do not have references again in preserved writings until 500 years later—in the Mishnah in the 2nd century CE. The 1st century CE was a time of great unhappiness. The Roman occupation of Israel at that time included high taxation, forced slavery, and the murder of many citizens.[1] To better understand what was happening in Jewish society at that time, we are fortunate to be able to turn to another set of p...

334. Community - September 23, 2023

September 24, 2023 19:00 - 6 minutes - 4.54 MB

Our guest leader today, Rabbi Janet Roberts, asked us to think about two questions: 1) Where did the Torah come from? 2) Who was the Torah written for? In an ancient Talmudic midrash, Moses debates with the angels where the Torah should kept. Moses points out that the laws in the Torah do not apply to the angels; they apply to humans. This means that the Torah belongs with the humans. Because the angels are already pure, they cannot imbue the laws of the Torah with meaning. Only humans, who ...

333. Outpouring of the Heart

September 10, 2023 23:00 - 7 minutes - 5.22 MB

Rabbi Jaech explained to us that there is a difference between liturgy and prayer: liturgy is meant to meet the needs of the community, while prayer is an outpouring of the heart that meets personal needs. This week we continued the Hannah story—the story of a woman who poured out her heart in prayer. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar D...

332. A Nice Hug - September 2, 2023

September 03, 2023 23:00 - 6 minutes - 4.4 MB

This week we took a closer look at the Hannah story.  Our story tells us about Hannah's family, which consists of the husband Elkanah, his two wives Hannah and Peninnah, and the sons and daughters borne by Peninnah. Hannah bore no children.  The text tells us that when Hannah is crying and unwilling to eat because she is bereft at being barren, Elkanah says to Hannah, “Why are you so sad? Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons?” Elkanah is basically telling Hannah to get over it; he is d...

331. Blessed With Potential - August 26, 2023

August 28, 2023 15:00 - 6 minutes - 4.18 MB

Some might call Rosh Hashanah the birthday of the world, and a common phrase heard at this time is HaYom Harat Olam, which is frequently translated as “today the world is born.” But Rabbi Jaech told us that a better translation is “today the world is conceived.” Childbirth is a time of unknown potential. But the time of conception contains even more unknown potential! Is it a boy or a girl? Which parent will the baby’s feature more closely resemble? Conception is the time of the greatest pos...

330. God Is Not One - August 19, 2023

August 20, 2023 19:00 - 10 minutes - 7.32 MB

I, Tara Keiter, guest led Torah Study today and presented a wonderful book by Professor Stephen Prothero. In it, he compares the 8 great religions of the world. I have summarized my presented summary, so this is just a taste of what you might find in the book. If you are interested in learning more, you can peruse his books at https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AStephen+Prothero&s=relevancerank&text=Stephen+Prothero&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 The text of this podcast is available o...

329. High Holidays - August 12, 2023

August 14, 2023 15:00 - 4 minutes - 3.41 MB

When the Israelites were traveling through the wilderness, they were a cohesive group which was always close to God. In Deuteronomy, they are about to enter the larger territory of the Promised Land, and the people will spread out. This part of the journey confronts the reality of secular living. The Torah anticipates that people need a way to connect. The synagogue today is our modern version of how we connect with the sacred and with the community. Our connection to the Jewish community co...

328. Abraham - August 5, 2023

August 05, 2023 16:00 - 5 minutes - 3.86 MB

This week's session offers an excerpt from Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers. We will learn background about our patriarch Abraham.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

327. The Making of Heroes - July 29, 2023

July 29, 2023 17:00 - 7 minutes - 4.91 MB

This week's session offers an excerpt from Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers. We will learn that the Exodus tradition of the Bible provides us with a compelling narrative; arguably one of the most compelling narratives in the western world. The Egyptian servitude traditions lead naturally to the triumphant conquest traditions.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Int...

326. Deuteronomy - July 22, 2023

July 24, 2023 01:00 - 7 minutes - 5.08 MB

Rabbi Wendy Pein led us in an overview of the book of Deuteronomy which, she pointed out, almost all of our everyday religion comes from. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

325. Haftarah - July 15, 2023

July 16, 2023 17:00 - 6 minutes - 4.38 MB

Guest-leader Rabbi Wendy Pein shared with us information about haftarah portions in general and detail about this week's haftarah portion, which comes from the book of Jeremiah. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

324. Joseph and Jeroboam (Summer Session) - July 8, 2023

July 08, 2023 18:00 - 8 minutes - 5.69 MB

Following our study of the Joseph and Solomon stories by Rabbi Jaech, this week we took a look at what scholars know about Jeroboam I, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. The information presented was excerpted from Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible’s Writers by  David Sperling and Tara Keiter. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by...

323. Post-Solomon Collapse - July 1, 2023

July 02, 2023 12:00 - 7 minutes - 5.13 MB

This week we conclude our deep dive into the Solomon narrative. The writers who preserved our ancient text knew that the time of Solomon was a golden age, and they knew it came to an end. In the form of a promise of retribution by God, and in the form of prophecy, the Bible offers two possible reasons for its ending.  We should note that it is a whole lot easier to be correct about a threat, or about a prophecy, when it is written after the fact.  The text of this podcast is available on ou...

322. Solomon's Temple - June 24, 2023

June 27, 2023 12:00 - 4 minutes - 3.36 MB

King David is considered by many to be the greatest king in Jewish history; prominent Jewish leaders and intellectuals throughout history have claimed descent from his line. But, although he had time to build a palace for himself, David did not build the Temple to God—Solomon did. Thank you to Messages of Christ, a site created by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for this beautiful video rendering: https://www.google.com/search?q=video+of+king+solomon%27s+temple...

321. Afterlife of King Solomon

June 18, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes - 5.27 MB

This week, our Scholar-in-Residence, Professor David Sperling, led our group in a discussion of the Afterlife of King Solomon. The books of Proverbs, Qohelet, and the Song of Songs, are known as Wisdom Literature and are attributed to King Solomon, although they were probably written centuries later. But such was the reputation of Solomon that attributing it to Solomon might have given the texts more weight.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you m...

320. Solomon's Administration - June 10, 2023

June 12, 2023 15:00 - 7 minutes - 5.32 MB

When the loosely banded tribes of people who became the Israelites demanded that the prophet Samuel find them a king, Samuel warned that a king would force the people to work for him, and a king would impose taxes. As we continued our look at King Solomon, we find that Samuel's prophecy came true. Solomon imposed forced labor on the Israelites. But what is remembered of Solomon's reign is that it was an idyllic time to be an Israelite. This week, we took a closer look. The text of this podc...

319. Split the Baby - June 2, 2023

June 03, 2023 21:00 - 5 minutes - 4.03 MB

The focus of our session today is the attribute for which Solomon will most often be recalled: his wisdom. The narrative tells us that, in a dream, God asked  Solomon what he wanted. Solomon could have requested riches, or a long life, or to have his enemies vanquished, or any number of other goodies. But Solomon instead requested the wisdom to rule the people of his kingdom. And we learn about the first time his wisdom is put to the test! The text of this podcast is available on our blog. ...

318. Ask the Rabbis - May 27, 2023

May 28, 2023 12:00 - 24 minutes - 16.7 MB

This week we hosted a special Ask the Rabbis session, where our panel of rabbis answered a wide range of interesting questions. This episode is significantly longer than usual, but we hope you will find something of interest. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

317. Beauty and Ugliness - May 20, 2023

May 22, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes - 5.3 MB

The passages we have been reading in the Bible over the past few weeks are unlike any impression we might have of a typical Bible reading. They are more like the 1969 Mario Puzo book The Godfather, which was made into a 1972 movie co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The palace intrigue of the houses of both David and Solomon may leave our minds reeling. Our guest leader this week, Rabbi Janet Roberts, pointed out that human beings can be messy. We can, at the same time, encompas...

316. Hand of God - May 23, 2023

May 13, 2023 20:00 - 6 minutes - 4.84 MB

This week we dig deeper into the steps Solomon needed to make to secure his throne. The Bible’s writers, who are supporters of Solomon, clean up any political discomfort we might feel by claiming this was the hand of God controlling history, and it was God who wanted Solomon to be the next king!  Please email your Ask the Rabbis questions to Tara Keiter, at [email protected], and we will present them to Rabbis Jaech, Pein and Sperling. Their responses will be posted in the May 27th podcast.  ...

315. Loose Ends - May 6, 2023

May 07, 2023 01:00 - 8 minutes - 5.98 MB

The palace intrigue of the heroes of our religion can be disturbing to readers. David is shown to be a flawed hero. Like his father, the stories we will read about Solomon can sometimes be disturbing.  But the writers tell us that God selected these flawed men. We should remember that when we read the passages that say, “God said…” they are written by human hands. Rabbi Jaech would not say that she knows God’s mind today. Likewise, the ancient writers did not actually know what God thought. ...

314, Anointment - April 29, 2023

April 30, 2023 00:00 - 7 minutes - 5.2 MB

With the upcoming coronation of King Charles III, we see a man who patiently waited in the wings for 70 years, until his mother’s death this past September. There was no question that, assuming he outlived his mother, Charles would become king. There was no palace intrigue or concern about fratricide or patricide so that someone else could assume the throne. But that was not always the case. History is riddled with examples of murder in the name of seizing power. And David himself usurped th...

313. Succession - April 22, 2023

April 22, 2023 22:00 - 6 minutes - 4.79 MB

The steps that David took to bed Bathsheba were underhanded, leading the prophet Nathan to rebuke David and to declare that, “the sword shall never depart from your house . . . I will make a calamity rise against you from within your own house” (2 Samuel 12:10-11). This week we looked at the birth of Solomon and the power plays that went behind his rise in succession. Note: On May 27 we are hosting an Ask the Rabbis session. Do you have questions about Judaism, or about religion in general...

312. It's Good to Be King - April 15, 2023

April 16, 2023 00:00 - 7 minutes - 5.1 MB

Our Torah Study today, guest-led by Rabbi Janet Roberts, focused on a later David story. The details of this particular tradition are disturbing, and show us how our biblical heroes are deeply flawed humans. But, perhaps because of this, we can relate to them and see reality in them.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperl...

311. Promises - April 8, 2023

April 08, 2023 19:00 - 4 minutes - 3.33 MB

Right now, Jews around the world are eating matzah as they celebrate Passover. Included in the text we read at Passover are passages about covenants, or promises, we make with God and what is expected in return. Knowing that members of our community fall on a wide spectrum of beliefs when it comes to tradition and ceremony, and even in the belief in God, our Torah Study leader, Gerry Peet, pondered how we are bound together as a community. How do we say, yes this is what I believe, and yes t...

310. Radical Acceptance - April 1, 2023

April 02, 2023 22:00 - 9 minutes - 6.42 MB

The human spirit is strong. It is not uncommon for people to say, after a bad experience, that we don’t regret what happened; everything has a purpose, and it was all for the good. As the Joseph narrative comes to its conclusion, we see that it could have been hard for Joseph to let go of a desire for revenge. But this story represents a radical acceptance by Joseph that what happened is exactly as it should be. This type of acceptance can also be a way to bring peace into life. The text of...

309. After Death - March 25, 2023

March 26, 2023 21:00 - 6 minutes - 4.59 MB

Although Jews do not have a clear concept of an afterlife, or a heaven like Christians do, there is a tradition of a shadowy realm that a person continues to exist in after death. It is nice to think that, after we die, we will be together with loved ones.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bible scholar Dr. S. David Sperling.

308. Reuben, Simeon, Levi & Judah - March 18, 2023

March 19, 2023 19:00 - 9 minutes - 6.53 MB

In a continuation of our deep dive into the Joseph narrative, we look at the passages know as the Blessings of Jacob—which seem to be words to Jacob's son, but are more likely words about the history and politics of the twelves tribes of the Israelites. Human behavior has not changed very much over the millennia, and just as our political landscape today is rife with tribal politics, so are the passages of the Torah.   The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this pod...

307. Chief Strategic Officer

March 12, 2023 21:00 - 5 minutes - 4.01 MB

Rabbi Janet Roberts led our group in looking at the role of Joseph in Egypt. As readers today, we may think that Joseph is acting like an American, 19th century robber baron, who made himself rich through ruthless business dealings. Or we may think that Joseph was proactive in adopting a feudal system that resulted in lives begin saved. Whether we, as modern readers, like what Joseph did or not, the fact is that the story was kept in our Bible. And Joseph is OUR guy!  The text of this podca...

306. Living in Exile - March 4, 2023

March 06, 2023 05:00 - 7 minutes - 5.42 MB

As we see around the world today, living in exile is an ongoing and painful part of the human condition. Many of us have parents or grandparents who emigrated to America from Europe/Eurasia before or during World War II. Recently at our synagogue, Ukrainian immigrants have shared their experiences of leaving their homeland. They are people facing a traumatic experience. An experience with which our ancient writers were well aware. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you li...

305. Letting Go of Past Hurts - February 25, 2023

February 26, 2023 21:00 - 6 minutes - 4.72 MB

This week, we returned to the Joseph story. Even though his brothers treated him abysmally when he was young, Joseph is able to come to terms with the past mistreatment and leave his childhood trauma behind. We need to understand the past, but we should not dwell on it. Only through understanding can we move toward achieving peace.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writ...

304. Women in Power - February 18, 2023

February 19, 2023 20:00 - 10 minutes - 7.31 MB

A person, man or woman, cannot stay in power unless they make strong alliances with other men and women who support the situation. It may have been easier for a man to have that kind of support. However, history shows that there have been extraordinary women who have been able to rise to the top of what has traditionally be considered a male realm. This week, Professor David Sperling led us on a survey of some of these remarkable women. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If ...

303. Brother Judah - February 11, 2023

February 11, 2023 22:00 - 6 minutes - 4.21 MB

Rabbi Janet Roberts led our group in a study of the political implications of the Joseph narrative, which may be more than a compelling story about siblings. This could instead be a story about the ancient tribes of people who were drawn together by Saul as a defensive mechanism against enemies: people who came to form the Israelite people. According to the ancient rabbis, Judah, the brother who all Jews are named for, is the brother who takes responsibility for all his brothers, he acts her...

302. Learning from Past Mistakes - February 4, 2023

February 05, 2023 23:00 - 6 minutes - 4.2 MB

As modern readers we  know that the past is never completely the past. When we gather at holidays times, we fall into old, established patterns. Joseph and his brothers did not have good relations when Joseph was young, and his brothers were heartless when they threw Joseph into a pit and then sold him into slavery. Joseph does not immediately trust his brothers. Could we do any better when confronted with someone who had transgressed against us in such a way? The text of this podcast is av...

301. The Reckoning - January 28, 2023

January 29, 2023 22:00 - 6 minutes - 4.26 MB

For the 20 years that Joseph resided in Egypt and climbed the ladder to prominence, we do not hear about Jacob’s father or his brothers. We do not know if the brothers thought about him or about what they did to him. This week, Rabbi Jaech led us in an exploration of the wide range of emotions that Joseph, Joseph’s brothers, and Jacob experience.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of t...

300. Interfaith Marriage - January 21, 2023

January 22, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes - 3.26 MB

A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that the intermarriage rate among all American Jews was 58%, and among non-Orthodox American Jews was 71%. Since the mid-1980s, the Reform Jewish Movement has been welcoming of interfaith families. This week we looked at the interfaith marriages of two of our most important biblical heroes: Joseph and Moses. And we looked at how the ancient Rabbis spun those ancient stories to tell the narrative they wanted to tell. The text of this podcast is ...

299. Assimilation - January 14, 2023

January 15, 2023 13:00 - 7 minutes - 5.33 MB

Guest leader, Rabbi Janet Roberts, continued our exploration of the Joseph story by comparing it to another biblical tale: the story of Daniel. While sharing a lot of similarities, unlike the Joseph story, the Daniel story emphasizes that Daniel stayed true to his roots. The Joseph story may remind us of our own lives in America today. As Reform Jews, we may feel a pull toward the dominant culture. Each of us must decide how we adapt. How far are we willing to go toward assimilation, and whe...

298. Dreams - January 7, 2023

January 08, 2023 18:00 - 7 minutes - 5.08 MB

In biblical times, interpreters of dreams were consulted because people believed their dreams contained omens about the future. Even today, people do not like to live with uncertainty, which is one reason that some homes keep cable news on all day long. People are hoping to gather as much information as possible in order to feel some sense of control. But in reality, we often have no control over what the future will bring.   The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like t...

297. Seduction - December 31, 2022

December 31, 2022 22:00 - 7 minutes - 5.44 MB

The story of Joseph includes a scene where his boss's wife tries to seduce him, but he rebuffs her advances. Manufacturing a story of rape, the wife manages to have Joseph thrown into prison. From this low, Joseph will rise in prominence, eventually becoming second only to Pharaoh in Egypt. This story was inspired by an older, Egyptian story with a similar scene of attempted seduction, followed by a rise to great heights in Egypt.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you l...

296. Family Dynamics - December 24, 2022

December 25, 2022 20:00 - 7 minutes - 4.86 MB

We have not had a deep dive into the Joseph story in several years, so Rabbi Jaech thought the time was right! At 13 chapters, Joseph’s story is the most complete literary narrative in the Bible. Like so many other biblical tales, although this can be viewed as a story about family dynamics, it is also a stand-in for the larger concerns of the ancient Israelites.    Note: Torah Study member Lauren pointed out that this story is an illustration of family estrangement, which can be difficult e...

295. Four Horses - December 17, 2022

December 18, 2022 21:00 - 7 minutes - 5.2 MB

The New Testament book of Revelation is a frightening story about the End of Days; also known as The Apocalypse. But that story has its origin in older stories from the Hebrew Bible that remind the audience of bad times. A power of religion is that, even in bad times, it brings us rays of light that we will prevail. As we light the Hanukkah candles, our guest leader today, Rabbi Janet Roberts, reminds us that the candles are also rays of light that remind us that we will prevail. Happy Hanuk...

294. The Rape of Dinah - December 10, 2022

December 11, 2022 21:00 - 7 minutes - 4.99 MB

At Temple Israel of Northern Westchester, we do not insist that the text in the Bible should direct our way of thinking today, or that it is in line with our modern values. We recognize that the text can run from sublime to abhorrent, and it is up to us to determine what, if anything, is meaningful to us today.  The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy the book Biblical Origins: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, by renowned Bibl...