Episodes
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Parashat Chayei Sarah Podcast…
Our Torah reading for last week (i.e., Vayera) told how God was faithful to Abraham and Sarah by miraculously giving them a son (Isaac) in their old age. Nonetheless, Abraham faced his greatest test of all by being asked to offer up his promised child as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, the place of...
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Parashat Vayera Podcast…
Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Vayera (פרשת וירא),is very dramatic and extraordinarily prophetic. Among other things (including the miraculous birth of Isaac, the fiery judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the fate of Hagar’s son Ishamel, and so on), the reading includes what I have…
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Parashat Lekh-Lekha Podcast…
Last week’s Torah portion (i.e., parashat Noach) introduced us to Abram (אַבְרָם), the descendant of Noah’s son Shem, who was the great-grandson of the patriarch Methuselah – a man who who personally knew Adam and Eve and upheld the original promise of redemption given in the Garden of Eden. Just...
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Parashat Noach Podcast…
Last week’s Torah portion (Bereshit) showed how the mutiny of Adam and Eve caused humanity to plunge into idolatrous chaos. The subsequent generations lost sight of the LORD and became progressively steeped in moral anarchy and bloodlust, so that “every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart…
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Parashat Bereshit Podcast…
THE VERY FIRST PROPHECY OF THE TORAH concerns the promise of the coming “seed of the woman” who would vanquish the serpent (nachash) that had originally tempted and deceived Eve (Gen. 3:15). This prophecy is sometimes called the proto-euangelion (“first gospel”), since it is the starting point of...
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V’zot HaBerakhah Podcast
V’zot HaBerakhah (“this is the blessing”) is the final portion of the Torah, which records Moses’ last words to the people just before his death. It is always read just after the festival of Sukkot on the holiday called “Simchat Torah.” After reading this portion, we will “rewind the scroll” back...
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Ha’azinu and Yom Kippur (podcast)
In this special “High Holiday” audio presentation, I discuss the holiday of Yom Kippur and its themes, particularly in reference to the atonement given in the Messiah Yeshua, as well as parashat Ha’azinu, the Torah portion we always read between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Ha’azinu is an...
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Parashat Vayeilech Podcast…
In this “Shavuah Tov” audio broadcast I discuss both the Jewish High Holidays — and how they relate to us as followers of Yeshua the Messiah — as well as the weekly Torah portion we will read for Shabbat Shuvah, namely parashat Vayeilech. I hope you will find it helpful. L’Shanah Tovah u’Metukah...
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Parashat Nitzavim Podcast…
Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Nitzavim (פרשת ניצבים), is always read on the Shabbat immediately before the solemn holiday of Rosh Hashanah, and therefore it is the last Torah portion read before the new Jewish year (see Exod. 23:16). In many synagogues, the opening and concluding...
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Parashat Ki Tavo Podcast…
In this audio podcast I discuss the 40 day “Season of Teshuvah” or repentance leading up to the Jewish High Holidays as well as the weekly Torah portion, parashat Ki Tavo, which includes instructions for the people to ratify the Sinai covenant in the promised land by means of a special covenant...
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Why then the Law? – Thoughts on Ki Teitze
Our Torah reading for this week (i.e., parashat Ki Teitzei) identifies 74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments (more than any other), which again invites the question of whether we are obligated to follow the law code of Moses or not… In this Shavuah Tov broadcast, I explore how we are to understand…
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Parashat Ki Teitzei Podcast…
If you’ve been following the weekly Torah schedule, you will recall that in last week’s Torah reading (i.e., Shoftim), Moses defined an extensive system of justice for the Israelites and pointed to the coming Messiah who would be the rightful King of Israel: “The LORD your God will raise up for…
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Guarding Your Heart (podcast)
It is written in our Scriptures: “Above all else guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). The Hebrew text for this verse is emphatic. We are to guard our hearts vigilantly, just as a prison guard or warden might keep watch over a prisoner. The phrase translated “above...
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Parashat Shoftim Podcast…
It may be a far cry from the political realities of this fallen world, but the Torah clearly instructs people to live in godly society based on moral truth and ethical principles. Surely the moribund cultures of anarchy, relativistic chaos, and “radical” politics need to hear the words of Torah...
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Healing of the Self…
“Wherever you go, there you are…” You can’t escape from yourself; you can’t run away from who you are, and therefore your relationship with yourself is as inescapably eternal as your relationship with God. Indeed how you relate to yourself expresses your relationship with God (Luke 15:17). If you...
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Parashat Korach… (podcast)
Shavuah tov, chaverim. Last week’s Torah portion (Shelach Lekha) told the tragic story about the “sin of the spies” and the divine decree that the generation rescued from Egypt was sentenced to die in the exile of the desert. In this week’s portion (Korach), the hard truth of their condition…
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The Warning of Korah… (podcast)
Our Torah portion this week (i.e., Korach) centers on the rebellion of Korah, a man who questioned God’s authority and who arrogantly sought to “intrude” into the office of the priesthood. It is noteworthy that his rebellion is explicitly mentioned only once in the New Testament – in the Book of...
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Parashat Bamidbar (Podcast)
Our Torah portion for this week, parashat Bamidbar (בְּמִדְבַּר), begins the Book of Numbers, where the narrative begins precisely where the Book of Exodus left off, with the glory of the LORD hovering over the Mishkan (Tabernacle) as the Israelites were stationed at Sinai. On the first day of…
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Torah and Tradition… (podcast)
In this audio podcast I discuss the role of tradition in our understanding of the Torah and the Holy Scriptures. Though this is a somewhat complex subject, it is comprehensible if we take the time to carefully think through some of the issues. Among other things I consider the philosophical idea…
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Behar-Bechukotai Podcast…
Shavuah Tov, chaverim! This week we will read the last two portions of the great Book of Leviticus (ספר ויקרא), namely, parashat Behar and parashat Bechukotai (בהר־בחקתי). May God our Heavenly Father help us draw near and take hold… Like a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD is...
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Parashat Emor (podcast)
Our Torah portion this week (parashat Emor) lists the eight main holidays revealed in the Holy Scriptures. In the Torah, these “holidays” are called “appointed times” (i.e., mo’edim: מוֹעֲדִים), a word which comes from the Hebrew root meaning witness (עֵד). Other words formed from this root…
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Acharei Mot Podcast…
For the Torah portion Acharei Mot I will discuss Yom Kippur and its themes, particularly in reference to the atonement given in the Messiah Yeshua, as well as parashat Ha’azinu, the Torah portion we always read between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This audio is also applicable for those studying...
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Parashat Kedoshim Podcast…
Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Kedoshim, begins with the call for us to be “holy” or “set apart” on account of our relationship with LORD God: “Be ye holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2). Holiness is perhaps best understood as a sense of the awe and sacredness inherent…
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The Yoke of Messiah…
What is the goal of our relationship with God? What is the point? Is it some form of escapism from the suffering we all experience, as Karl Marx cynically wrote, the “opiate” of the masses (”hopium”) intended to insulate us from the truth of our mortal and ultimately hopeless condition? Or is…
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Yom HaShoah Podcast…
In my audio podcast for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) I discuss some of the philosophical influences that led to the atrocities of the attempted genocide of the Jewish people, including the rise of the Idealism of G.W. Hegel and the pragmatic concept of the “dialectic” that was used to...
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Tazria: Confession and Healing…
It is written in our Torah (Tazria): “When a person (i.e., adam: אָדָם) has on the skin of his body a swelling (שְׂאֵת) or a scab (סַפַּחַת) or a bright spot (בְּהֶרֶת)… he shall be brought to the priest” (Lev. 13:2). Here the sages note three common afflictions that befall the “children of…
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Parashat Shemini Podcast…
This week’s Torah reading, called Shemini (“eighth”), continues the account of the seven-day ordination ceremony for the priests that was described earlier in parashat Tzav. During each of these “seven days of consecration,” Moses served as the first High Priest of Israel by offering sacrifices…
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Parashat Tzav Podcast…
In our Torah reading for this week, parashat Tzav (פרשת צו), we learn how the priests of ancient Israel were consecrated for service by the blood of the lamb. First Aaron and his sons were washed with water, arrayed in priestly garments, and anointed with holy oil. During this ordination…
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Introduction to Leviticus (Vayikra)…
In this shorter audio podcast I provide an introductory overview of Sefer Vayikra (the Book of Leviticus) as well as a brief introduction to parashat Vayikra. For more information about the details of the Torah portion, see the audio podcast for parashat Vayikra…. Audio Podcast: The post...
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