The Torah dedicates a grand total of two words to the prohibition of not murdering. Seems straightforward. Cut and dried. Yet the Talmud contains voluminous content regarding this mitzvah. What are the various types of murder, what are some of the unusual scenarios discussed in the literature, and in what area is this law adjudicated differently than any other?
A metzora is someone who is striken with the tangible illness of tzaraas caused by a variety of sins, most notably the sin of lashon hara, evil talk and slander. Last week we read about two varieties of this illness: when it strikes a person’s garment or body; the bulk of our parsha orients around tzaraas remediation and a third type of tzaraas that afflicts the sinners house.
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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in the merit of the speedy and complete recovery of Meier ben Feitl v’ Shayneh Yente. May he merit a refuah sheleimah
One of the highlights of the Haggadah is the four different discussion that parents have with the four different sons, the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son, and the son who does not know how to ask. In this podcast a novel approach is suggested wherein these four sons are not four different children, rather the same child at four different, successive, stages, that collectively construct a template for all kinds of growth and transformation.
This podcast attempts to reconcile a knotty philosophical dilemma: The First Principle of the Thirteen Principles of Faith teaches us that God, Creator of heaven and earth, is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Perfect. If God is Perfect and lacks nothing, then why did He create the universe? Intellect only acts when seeking a certain outcome. There was a desired outcome that God did not have; how does that not conflict with this principle of completion, not lacking, sufficing with Himself? Why create angels and galaxies if you don’t need them? Why indeed did God create the world?
There are no people to whom we owe a greater debt of gratitude than our parents. If not for them we would not exist. They tended to us as children; fed us; drove soccer practice – they raised us into becoming the person we are. Even if a person feels like his parents did not do a great job, the Torah mandates that a child respects and honors them. In this podcast we outline the parameters of this mitzvah.
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The final Judge to lead the people in the Book of Judges was the most unique one of them all – a mighty warrior who single-handedly faced a formidable enemy, a controversial man with a miraculous beginning and a tragic end – Samson the Mighty. During this nearly 400 year history, the nation did not have the centralized authority of a king, and was in effect self-governed, ruled by God and punished by Him. When they adhered to Torah, their enemies vanished as if by divine edict, when they strayed, their enemies arose to persecute them as a function of divine chastisement. The role of the Judges was to nudge the people back to their fidelity to God, but not to compel or enforce as a monarch. This system worked nearly flawlessly for the duration of the Era of the Judges. The Book of Judges ends with two glaring exceptions; two tragic instances where the nation would have greatly benefited from a strong centralized authority of a king.
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Rabbi Elazar from Modi’in shares a list of five very different things that disqualify its doer from Olam Haba. What is the connection between these five things and why would one who does them be locked out of eternity?
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Today, TORCH needs your help!!
Today YOU can support the thousands of Jewish Houstonians who learn and get inspired at TORCH Torah classes every year!
Today YOU can support the 18 Houston area Congregations spanning from The Woodlands to Clear Lake and from Cypress to Sugar Land who have weekly TORCH Shalhevet Classes!
Today YOU can help us send local Young Jewish Professionals and students on life-changing trips to Israel!
Today YOU can partner with us in the largest and most downloaded Jewish Podcast Network (The Jewish History Podcast, This Jewish Life, The Parsha Podcast, TORAH 101, Eternal Ethics)!
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A very large percentage of Torah is dedicated to the laws of purity and impurity. Parshas Tazria deals exclusively with these laws, first with respect to the impurity of a new mother, and second with the impurity of tzaraas a skin disease that comes as a result of sin. What is purity and impurity and how can we make these difficult concepts more relevant to modern life.
After months of preparation and building, and a week of inauguration, the nation was anticipating the climax of the Tabernacle experience: When God finally rested His Presence upon the people’s handiwork. On the eighth day the Tabernacle was erected for good, and a Heavenly fire consumed the various sacrifices offered upon the Altar and the nation experienced the euphoria and intense trepidation of having God in their midst. But a second divine fire marred the joy when Aaron’s two sons were consumed for bringing a foreign and improper offering.
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The Parsha Podcast is dedicated by my dear friend Mike Fisher, in loving memory of his mother Doris, Breindl bat Yosef v’ Miriam. May her soul be elevated in Heaven!