Explorations

How is Yom Kippur fulfilled when we invite Moshe Rabbeinu to our Succa? Let's welcome Moshe Rabbeinu and hear how he helps us do Teshuva on the fourth day of Succos.

Heavenly Guests in our succah. Why?

When we welcome Yaakov into our Succah on the third day of Succos, what are we meant to accomplish?

I think that Succos can only be properly celebrated when we can see how it is the culmination of all the Yomim Tovim. I explore that in this podcast. Feedback as usual is needed.

Let's delve a little deeper into the connections between Yom Kippur and Succos!

What do the four days between Yom Kippur and Succos mean? Practically, they are used to prepare for Succos; build the succa, pick up a lulav and Esrog.  But why so little time to get ready? I explore the connection between these two holidays.  

What is the point of this complex poem that describes Jewish History in a new and confusing way?  What takeaways are there that were not found in any of the previous promises of national redemption? 

Why does the whole Yonah drama resolve itself over the life of the Kikayon plant? How does this help us do Teshuva?

Why is the Shofar symbolic of the Akeida? It's not the Ram; it's the ram's horn! The Ram's horn figures as a major player in the Akeida. 

On the first day of Rosh Hashana, the chosen Haftora is the story of Chana and Eli, and the misunderstanding that leads to the birth of Shmuel Hanavi. This class explores the connections between this dramatic story and Rosh Hashana and the blasts of the Shofar on Rosh Hashana. It is based on the pre-Shofar drasha I gave in shul on the first day of Rosh Hashana 5782. Any and all feedback keeps thes...

Every year, we read Parshas Nitzavim on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashana, without exception.  The depth of the connection between this Parsha and this YomTov is explored with the help of an insight of the Lubavitcher Rebbe into the meaning of the word "Nitzavim" - often translated as "standing", but actually much deeper.

How can you have Simcha when life is awful?

How does the necessity to have Simcha fit with the reality and occasional value of sadness?

The difference between Korach and his allies Dasan and Aviram...

Exploring the real-life implications of the idea that Korach and Dasan-and-Aviram were neighbors. 

Parshas Naso, the longest single parsha of the whole Torah, has two mitzvos that seem to have nothing to do with one another: The Mitzva of Sotah, a woman accused of adulterous behavior, and the rules of a Nazir, a unique individual who has taken a vow to abstain from wine and other things.  What do these two people have to do with one another? The Talmud offers a clue. This podcast tries to...

Why celebrate the day we stood at Har Sinai? Most of the things we heard were already part of the Seven Noahide Laws! We didn't hear most of the 613 till later! And why celebrate standing at the mountain and God's giving us the Torah as two events, as the song Dayeinu expresses it. I explore these questions in this podcast.    

Parshas Bamidbar has been one of the more difficult Parshios to grasp. It's not that its mitzvos are not practiced nowadays - it's that there don't seem to be mitzvos at all. There are a lot of numbers, repeated, and names, repeated, that don't seem to be related to any mitzvos or morals at all. In this podcast, I explore the parsha, and find some meaning.