Latest Torah study Podcast Episodes
343. Antisemitism - December 2, 2023
TINW Torah Study - December 04, 2023 17:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsNews 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 podcas...
342. Isaac and Water Rights
TINW Torah Study - November 19, 2023 20:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsWater 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 blo...
341. Ishmael - November 11, 2023
TINW Torah Study - November 13, 2023 17:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsWhen 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 peo...
340. Collateral Destruction of Innocents - November 4, 2023
TINW Torah Study - November 04, 2023 20:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn 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 ...
339. Listen! - October 28, 2023
TINW Torah Study - October 29, 2023 18:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsToday’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 avail...
338. Repetitions & Inconsistencies - October 21, 2023
TINW Torah Study - October 23, 2023 00:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsDid 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...
337. Essence of God - October 14, 2023
TINW Torah Study - October 15, 2023 02:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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...
336. Where's Moses? - October 7, 2023
TINW Torah Study - October 08, 2023 20:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsBut 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 ...
335. Happy Sukkot! - September 30, 2023
TINW Torah Study - October 01, 2023 19:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsReferences 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 inc...
334. Community - September 23, 2023
TINW Torah Study - September 24, 2023 19:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsOur 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 ap...
333. Outpouring of the Heart
TINW Torah Study - September 10, 2023 23:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsRabbi 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 p...
332. A Nice Hug - September 2, 2023
TINW Torah Study - September 03, 2023 23:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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 unwil...
331. Blessed With Potential - August 26, 2023
TINW Torah Study - August 28, 2023 15:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsSome 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 p...
330. God Is Not One - August 19, 2023
TINW Torah Study - August 20, 2023 19:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsI, 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 m...
329. High Holidays - August 12, 2023
TINW Torah Study - August 14, 2023 15:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsWhen 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...
328. Abraham - August 5, 2023
TINW Torah Study - August 05, 2023 16:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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 ...
327. The Making of Heroes - July 29, 2023
TINW Torah Study - July 29, 2023 17:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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 trad...
326. Deuteronomy - July 22, 2023
TINW Torah Study - July 24, 2023 01:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsRabbi 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 W...
325. Haftarah - July 15, 2023
TINW Torah Study - July 16, 2023 17:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsGuest-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 Origin...
324. Joseph and Jeroboam (Summer Session) - July 8, 2023
TINW Torah Study - July 08, 2023 18:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsFollowing 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 ...
323. Post-Solomon Collapse - July 1, 2023
TINW Torah Study - July 02, 2023 12:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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 r...
322. Solomon's Temple - June 24, 2023
TINW Torah Study - June 27, 2023 12:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsKing 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...
321. Afterlife of King Solomon
TINW Torah Study - June 18, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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 l...
320. Solomon's Administration - June 10, 2023
TINW Torah Study - June 12, 2023 15:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsWhen 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 tru...
319. Split the Baby - June 2, 2023
TINW Torah Study - June 03, 2023 21:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe 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 go...
318. Ask the Rabbis - May 27, 2023
TINW Torah Study - May 28, 2023 12:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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 p...
317. Beauty and Ugliness - May 20, 2023
TINW Torah Study - May 22, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe 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 intri...
316. Hand of God - May 23, 2023
TINW Torah Study - May 13, 2023 20:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThis 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!...
315. Loose Ends - May 6, 2023
TINW Torah Study - May 07, 2023 01:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThe 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 re...
314, Anointment - April 29, 2023
TINW Torah Study - April 30, 2023 00:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsWith 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 fratr...
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