Sprung On Torah

When the elders of Israel confront an aging Shmuel demanding a king "like all the nations," God’s reaction is strikingly personal: "They haven't rejected you; they've rejected Me from reigning over them." In this chapter study of Shmuel I, Chapter 8, we unpack the tumultuous and deeply flawed transition from the era of the Shoftim (Judges) to the creation of the monarch...

After twenty years of the Ark sitting quietly in Kiryat Ye’arim, Israel undergoes a tectonic spiritual shift. In Chapter 7, Samuel steps onto the stage not as a distant politician in an ivory tower, but as a relentless, grounded leader—ancient Israel’s own "Merlin"—who dismantles superstition, faces down an imperial Philistine army with a single nursing lamb, and crisscrosses the map in...

Seven months after capturing the Ark of the Covenant, the Philistines are desperate to get rid of it. Ravaged by plagues of tumors and rodents, they devise an elaborate "acid test" to determine whether their suffering is divine retribution or pure coincidence: hitched to an untamed wagon, two nursing cows are separated from their calves to see if an unseen hand will steer them straight i...

In this episode, we dive into Shmuel 1, Chapter 5 , examining the chaotic aftermath of the Philistines capturing the Ark of the Covenant. Expecting a trophy, the Philistines instead find themselves holding a divine "radioactive potato" as the Ark asserts God's ultimate sovereignty in pagan territory. From the comical double-fall and dismemberment of the fish-god Dagon in Ashdod to th...

What happens when a nation substitutes genuine spiritual alignment with mechanical, "magic box" religion? In this episode on Shmuel I, Chapter 4 , we dive straight into one of the darkest, most pivotal chapters in Tanakh: the total collapse at Even HaEzer. After losing 4,000 soldiers in an initial clash with the Philistines, Israel's elders ask the right question— why did we lose? —but jump to the...

What happens when the Creator of the universe bypasses the highest religious administration to speak to a child sleeping in the dark? In this episode, we explore Shmuel I, Chapter 3, tracking the quiet, tragic passing of the torch from a fading establishment to a young, unmapped prophet. Eli's eyes are growing dim, his leadership is static, and a late-night misunderstanding unfolds as he assum...

In this episode, we tackle the massive structural and spiritual shifts of Shmuel I, Chapter 2. We open with Shirat Chana (Hannah’s Song), tracking how classical commentaries transform a mother’s personal prayer into a sweeping prophetic roadmap of world history—predicting the rise and fall of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Greek empires, and charting the ultimate cosmic battle lines. Then, the narr...

Welcome to the first episode of a chapter-by-chapter journey through the Books of Shmuel. We begin our deep dive with a look past the simple translations to find a primordial soup of character traits, divine politics, and raw human emotion. Chapter 1 introduces Elkanah, a master marketer single-handedly trying to put God's Mishkan back on the map against a backdrop of institutional corruption....

Rabbi Sprung explores the significance of the throne of King Ahasuerus.

Who are you related to?

Deep dive into the tactics of the enemy of the Jews through history.

episode 6

Episode 5

Esther, Chapters 4 & 5

Esther Part 3.

Esther Part 2

Esther Part 1 of a new weekly series.

Israel and its enemies. Then and now. And always.

Israel and its enemies.

Succos squared.

PG-13 Disclaimer: this episode contains some material that may be inappropriate for children. The best day of the year. The Righteous, the Wicked, and Everything in Between.

Curses. Absentee Covenants. Hakhel. Shmita. Replicating Cells.

Bikurim. Tefillin. Pairs.

Marrying a captive woman. Two wives. Rebellious son. Hanging. Returning lost possessions. Cross Dressing. Noticing.

Justice, judges, and officers. Carved altars, ashera trees, and idols. Corruption. Redundancy. Seat (location) of Sanhedrin.