Jewish Life: Plagues, Epidemics, and Quarantines in Jewish Philosophy

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We are living in extraordinary times and facing unprecedented challenges: The coronavirus is upending everyday life in a way that we have never seen in our lifetime. People are scared, people are quarantined, markets are plummeting, schools are off, shuls and yeshivos are shuttered, no one can get toilet paper or bottled water – our equilibrium is off-kilter. In this special episode, we offer a Torah perspective on plagues, epidemics, and quarantines that tries to drill down on the question of, “what does God want from us?”

Why Jews Don’t Proselytize

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G-d gave His Torah to the Jewish people, containing His laws and decrees for them to follow. But what about the Non-Jew? In this episode, I speak with Rod Bryant, who many years ago was a successful Christian Pastor, and left it all behind when his study of Torah opened his eyes to the falsehood of the Church. His epiphany took his life on a course that led him to devote his life to the teaching of Torah to the non-Jew and their role in G-d’s creation. If you ever wanted to know why Jew’s don’t proselytize, then tune in to this podcast.

Parsha: Vayakhel & Pekudei – Sequestered with God

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This week’s double-parsha begins with a stern warning against desecrating the Shabbos in order to build the Tabernacle. Absent the verse, I would have thought that you must even work on Shabbos to erect the Tabernacle. Why would I think so? Also, why indeed does it not override the Shabbos? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we learn about the essence and redemptive powers of Shabbos.

Ethics: Judicial Restraint (4:9-10)

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Justice is one of the three things that perpetuate the world. But should one strive to be a judge? In this very interesting Mishnah, the brainchild of a fascinating Sage, we discover that a person ought to be highly reticent in avoiding serving as a judge.

Shalom Bayit: The Greatest Mitzvah

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The reason Shalom Bayit is the most important mitzvah is because it is ONLY within the dynamic of a marriage that one can achieve their tikkun (soul correction) in this world.   In this podcast we share the rationale for why it is the most important mitzvah and the tools for succeeding in fulfilling this mitzvah.

Parsha: Ki Sisa – Coronavirus: Three Lessons from the Parsha

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The deadly coronavirus (COVID- 19) is dominating the world’s attention. Our Sages teach us that when danger strikes, we must ponder our behavior and search for lessons. We believe that this virus is a message from God. What is the message? What is He telling us? Of course, only prophets can answer that question definitively, but in this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we offer three suggestions gleaned from our parsha regarding what lessons we should take away from this pandemic.

Purim: Toasting your Troubles

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Purim contains arguably Judaism’s strangest custom. On the day that we celebrate our nation’s triumph over Haman and his evil plot, we are required to drink and become so drunk that we forget about Haman’s treachery. What is the meaning behind this unusual custom?