Jerusalem Lights

Jim Long is back in Israel this week and unites in Jerusalem with Rabbi Chaim Richman for an edition of the Jerusalem Lights podcast that focuses on the holiday of Chanukah. Jim is not on vacation…he’s here to lend a hand as a volunteer, and to help the people of Israel as the IDF's Swords of Iron war with Hamas terrorists continues. Why is Chanukah so beloved to Jews all over the world? And w...

Our sages teach that much of the book of Genesis is symbolic of the future, as expressed in the teaching, 'that which the fathers experienced is a sign for their children.' This is especially true regarding the patriarch Yaakov, whose life and family are highlighted in the Torah portions of these weeks. If we are able to correctly interpret the events of this righteous man's life, we c...

This week's Jerusalem Lights podcast examines the connection between the amazing month of Kislev - a time of miracles and dreams, and yet also a time of courage and heroism - and Israel's war against terror, operation 'Swords of Iron.' This war is Israel's battle for truth, but as our current weekly Torah portions remind us, we live in a world dominated by the spirit of Esav, a...

The unlikely twins Yaakov and Esav are locked in a struggle that began while they were as yet in Rebecca’s womb. What is this struggle all about? What are they fighting over, and how does this effect us today? These children are not children at all, but as G-d informed Rebecca, ‘two nations are in your womb, two regimes from your insides shall be separated.’ This week's episode of the Jerusale...

It was a full month ago that 3,000 Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli communities and murdered 1400 of its citizens with a brutality and cruelty that is beyond human comprehension. This event plunged Israel into a war for its very survival, and nothing remains the same. All over the world Jewish people are under attack by those who celebrate the the inhuman savagery of the terrorists, and turn a...

Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorists who hold Gaza in a stranglehold, now in its third week, is a war that Israel must win – because her very survival is at stake. With each passing day and the skyrocketing, virulent anti-Semitic incidents that are taking place all over the world, it is becoming increasingly clearer that the right of the Jewish people as a whole to exist is once again the rea...

Abraham, forefather of the Jewish people, was the real deal – a true spiritual seeker to whom God revealed himself. Abraham was an iconoclast who risked it all – separation from his family, ostracization and even attempts to kill him – in order to bravely declare and teach to all the world that God is One. How did he become this person, and what profound influence does the template of his life hav...

Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman, together in Jerusalem, recorded this week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast on the 12th day of Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorists that savagely butchered over 1300 people in one day, kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children of all ages to Gaza as hostages, and wounded thousands more. How are we to attempt to understand atrocity that is literally incomprehensi...

A Special Jerusalem Lights Broadcast On Shabbat, Saturday October 7th 2023, during the Festival of Shimini Atzeret, Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists who brutally murdered over 800 people, committed unspeakable, inhuman atrocities, and kidnapped an untold number of Israelis and foreign nationals, bringing them to the terrorist enclave of Gaza. Israel has declared war on Hamas. Rabbi Chaim Ri...

The experience of joyous 'dwelling' in the sukkah manifests a sublime level of faith that has significance for the renewal of prophecy, the messianic era and the ultimate redemption of humanity. Sukkot is a time of celebration -- and testing! -- for all the nations of the world. This week, Jim Long joins Rabbi Chaim Richman in Jerusalem for a Sukkot edition of the Jerusalem Lights podcast....

Yom Kippur, the awesome Day of Atonement, begins this Sunday evening September 24. This week's Jerusalem Lights podcast looks at this amazing day of forgiveness and atonement…. but how does Torah define sin, and what constitutes true and sincere repentance? Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman begin to prepare for Yom Kippur with illuminating insights into this beautiful day, as well as the nature...

The holiday of Rosh HaShana ushers in a new year, bringing a Divine embrace of love, renewal, and a new light for the whole world. But what does it mean for each and every one of us? In this week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman prepare for Rosh HaShana, birthday of Adam and time of momentous judgement - and awakening to G-d’s sovereignty - for all his descendants . Jer...

The beloved month of Elul is the last month of the year and during these special days, charged with a unique spiritual energy, we focus on preparation for the upcoming Days of Awe. These are days of special Divine mercy, designed for repentance and deep spiritual work. Elul stands for ‘I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me,’ and rapprochement with our true Beloved – our Creator – is the theme...

This week's Jerusalem Lights podcast is in honor of the ancient, unsung Biblical holiday of Tu B'Av, the fifteenth day of the month of Menachem Av, called by our sages 'the happiest day of year.' What is the source of the great joy, and customs of matrimony, associated with this day? Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman share Torah wisdom and insights that illuminate the inspiring and...

This week the house of Israel observes Tisha B’Av, the day of national mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple and the tragic template of suffering throughout Jewish history. With so much upheaval in Israel and all over the world, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman examine Tisha B’Av from a fresh perspective that emphasizes the Temple’s role in social justice, human compassion, and the spiri...

This week’s Torah reading cycle begins the book of Deuteronomy, and Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman ponder the transition to this unique book of Torah in this week’s podcast. Our hosts discuss the essential and indispensable Oral Tradition, misunderstood by some as ‘traditions of men’ but in reality, G-d’s own authoritative, sacred wisdom as revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai and passed on through...

In this week’s rousing episode, hosts Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman focus on the trailblazing work of Biblical archaeologist and Torah scholar Vendyl Jones, Jim’s mentor of blessed memory. Vendyl brought many non-Jews to a recognition of the G-d of Israel and a love for Torah, and Jim reports his experiences after attending an inspiring conference that was recently held in his memory. Rabbi Ric...

In this week’s Torah portion of Pinchas, we meet the High Priest Aaron’s grandson, for whom the portion is named. Pinchas suddenly emerges as a bold new leader for this new generation of the Children of Israel, and his unprecedented strike against the heinous immorality calculated by the wicked Bilaam and King Balak to destroy Israel, earned him a Divinely-appointed 'Covenant of Peace'… an...

(Due to technical issues, this week's podcast is available in audio format only) The Torah portion of Balak introduces Bilaam, the infamous heathen prophet. In addition to being a sorcerer of darkness, he was also a great philosopher and humanitarian, and a glib spinmaster who fancied himself to be a close confident of G-d. This week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast examines the nature of this ancie...

The Hebrew month of Tammuz has now begun, and this week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast looks at some of the mystical, as well as practical dimensions of this month, whose main spiritual challenge is associated with the healing of our vision. Things are not always as they appear to be in this life, a theme also expressed in the Torah readings in the book of Numbers. Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman exa...

The Torah portion of parashat Korach introduces us to the first rebellion mentioned in Torah (or was it the second?) – the insurgence against Moshe led by the illustrious Levite, Korach. Who was this man and what life-lessons does Torah impart to us through this remarkable episode? Why Did Korach’s showdown with Moshe feature 250 Talitot of pure sky-blue color? In this week’s Jerusalem Lights podc...

This week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast looks at the enigmatic Generation of the Desert, that generation of Israelites who participated in the Egyptian exodus, were present at the transformative Sinai experience, and rose to a great level of holiness, yet ultimately failed dismally, as we learn from the sin of the spies. How do we understand the extreme dichotomy of people who could be so righteous a...

Now that we have completed the spiritual goals of the Omer and experienced the re-giving of Torah at Mount Sinai on Shavuot, how can we keep up our zeal and enthusiasm in serving G-d all the time? In this week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman share practical advice, wisdom and insights on the Torah’s concept of living with intent, and how important it is that we learn t...

Jerusalem Day, coinciding this week with Friday May 19, marks the 56th anniversary of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem in the miraculous Six Day War. This week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast looks at the trajectory between this emotionally-charged day of prophetic promise, and Shavuot, the upcoming Festival of Weeks. Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman reflect on the dual nature of this powerf...

This past week, we celebrated ‘Lag B’Omer,’ the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, a day of great joy which is traditionally observed as the anniversary of the passing of the holy 2nd century sage, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Rabbi Shimon is credited with authoring the Zohar, the book of mystical teachings that illuminate the deepest wisdom of Torah and the secrets of creation, and G-d’s interacti...