Latest Biblical origins Podcast Episodes
313. Succession - April 22, 2023
TINW Torah Study - April 22, 2023 22:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe 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 bir...
312. It's Good to Be King - April 15, 2023
TINW Torah Study - April 16, 2023 00:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsOur 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 ...
311. Promises - April 8, 2023
TINW Torah Study - April 08, 2023 19:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsRight 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 com...
310. Radical Acceptance - April 1, 2023
TINW Torah Study - April 02, 2023 22:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe 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 desi...
309. After Death - March 25, 2023
TINW Torah Study - March 26, 2023 21:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAlthough 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...
308. Reuben, Simeon, Levi & Judah - March 18, 2023
TINW Torah Study - March 19, 2023 19:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn 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 o...
307. Chief Strategic Officer
TINW Torah Study - March 12, 2023 21:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsRabbi 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 ...
306. Living in Exile - March 4, 2023
TINW Torah Study - March 06, 2023 05:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAs 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 experienc...
305. Letting Go of Past Hurts - February 25, 2023
TINW Torah Study - February 26, 2023 21:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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 understandin...
304. Women in Power - February 18, 2023
TINW Torah Study - February 19, 2023 20:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsA 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...
303. Brother Judah - February 11, 2023
TINW Torah Study - February 11, 2023 22:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsRabbi 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:...
302. Learning from Past Mistakes - February 4, 2023
TINW Torah Study - February 05, 2023 23:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAs 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 s...
301. The Reckoning - January 28, 2023
TINW Torah Study - January 29, 2023 22:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsFor 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 t...
300. Interfaith Marriage - January 21, 2023
TINW Torah Study - January 22, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsA 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 ...
299. Assimilation - January 14, 2023
TINW Torah Study - January 15, 2023 13:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsGuest 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 rem...
298. Dreams - January 7, 2023
TINW Torah Study - January 08, 2023 18:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn 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 inform...
297. Seduction - December 31, 2022
TINW Torah Study - December 31, 2022 22:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe 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...
296. Family Dynamics - December 24, 2022
TINW Torah Study - December 25, 2022 20:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsWe 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 ...
295. Four Horses - December 17, 2022
TINW Torah Study - December 18, 2022 21:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe 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 ...
294. The Rape of Dinah - December 10, 2022
TINW Torah Study - December 11, 2022 21:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAt 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 meaning...
293. Rachel and the Idols
TINW Torah Study - December 04, 2022 15:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe stories in the Torah may seem to be stories about families, but they are actually political and polemical stories. They are used as arguments against what other people are doing in their worship. When we hear disparaging stories of people who worship differently than we do, we should careful...
292. Angels - November 26, 2022
TINW Torah Study - November 27, 2022 21:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsHe had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. (Genesis 28: 12) This week our guest-leader, Rabbi Janet Roberts led us in an exploration of angels in the Hebrew Bible. The text of this podcast is available on our...
291. Palace Intrigue - November 19, 2022
TINW Torah Study - November 19, 2022 22:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis week we looked at the story of David & Bathsheba. Some people may remember Bathsheba as an innocent woman, lusted after by David. But today we story we read about her role in gas-lighting David while on his deathbed. She proves herself to be a powerful woman who knows how to play at palace...
290. Vital Lessons - November 12, 2022
TINW Torah Study - November 13, 2022 21:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsBible scholar James Kugel (born: 1945) says of the biblical tales: ". . . if they were written down in the Bible, it was not so as to record what has occurred in some distant past, but 'for our instruction, so that . . . we might learn some vital lesson for our lives." This is an understanding o...
289. Hope While Suffering - November 5, 2022
TINW Torah Study - November 05, 2022 22:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAll of humanity suffers, but hope can help keep humans strong. Many biblical stories tell us that perhaps there is a purpose for suffering, and that our suffering may be a path to something better. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcast, you might enjoy ...
288. God: Male and Female - October 29, 2022
TINW Torah Study - October 30, 2022 18:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsDoes it make a difference if we think of God as a bearded man on a throne, or as a nurturing woman? This week our guest Torah Study leader, Rabbi Janet Roberts, showed us passages where the gender of God is ambiguous or—using a term in use today—genderfluid. The text of this podcast is availab...
287. What's Your Story? - October 22, 2022
TINW Torah Study - October 23, 2022 15:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe stories we tell reflect an understanding of the world we live in, and the way we tell the story reflects something about ourselves and our audience. We might imagine writing the story of our own life, and the aspects we might highlight, at the age of 20 vs. 40 vs. 60 vs. 80. The same is true...
286. Enjoy Life, Wisely - October 15, 2022
TINW Torah Study - October 16, 2022 21:00 - 3 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsEnjoy life while we have it, and don’t deny yourself pleasure. Know that some pleasures will have consequences, but life is to be enjoyed and lived fully! (a lesson of Ecclesiastes 11:8; paraphrased by Rabbi Jaech) The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you like this podcas...
285. Strength - October 8, 2022
TINW Torah Study - October 09, 2022 19:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsProfessor David Sperling guest-led our session today and showed us how the text of the Bible changed with the times: From polytheism to monotheism. From strength in military might to strength in studying Torah and following God's laws. The text of this podcast is available on our blog. If you l...
284. Jonah - October 1, 2022
TINW Torah Study - October 02, 2022 19:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe book of Jonah—which is the haftarah reading for Yom Kippur—is one of the books found in The Prophets, but it stands apart from the other prophetic writings: The book of Jonah is written as a narrative story, and not as a harangue. Also unusual is the fact that Jonah is given a mission to sav...
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