Jerusalem Lights

Within the framework of this healing month of Iyar, and smack dab in the midst of these days of the counting of the Omer – days of great potential for spiritual growth – this week we encounter the unique and unsung holiday of ‘the second Passover,’ called by our sages the Holiday of Second Chances. In this week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman reflect on the theme of th...

This week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast, recorded on the eve of Israel Independence Day, is in honor of Israel’s 75 birthday! Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman share their perspectives and give their personal thanks to G-d for the State of Israel, discussing its significance in prophetic fulfillment, and its unique mission in the saga of human history. Our hosts reflect on Israel’s role in the life of...

This week’s double Torah reading of the portions of Tazria and Metzora focuses on the mysterious ailment known as ‘the affliction of tzarat,’ which the Torah sages understand to be a consequence of the widespread sin of ‘lashon hara,’ evil speech in its various forms. In this week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman focus on the Torah’s outlook on gossip, talebearing, and...

This week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast welcomes the Festival of Passover. Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman discuss the eternal covenant of the Passover offering, the seder night, the unique prohibition against chometz (leaven) – and the significance of Passover for all mankind. Passover is a uniquely Jewish holiday but at the same time, it is the birth of freedom for all mankind and is of great impo...

This week, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman host special guest Dr. Bernie Kastner, a Jerusalem-based psychotherapist, rabbi and author of numerous books about life after death and the journey of a soul. What is the Torah's view on the immortality of the soul, life after death, and reincarnation? Are there parallels between ancient Torah knowledge and modern research? Tune in to this fascinatin...

This week, we prepare to welcome the month of Nisan, time of the Exodus from Egypt as well as the promised future Redemption. International headlines are focused on Israelis demonstrating against the government’s proposed ‘judicial reform,’ and all the while, devastating terror attacks against Jews continue unabated. What is really going on in the midst of this upheaval and who is behind it? In th...

The book of Exodus comes to a finale this week with the reading of its last two Torah portions, Va’yakhel and Pekudei. The grievous sin of the Golden Calf resulted in the first Yom Kippur: the expression of the Creator’s eternal love and forgiveness for His people. On the day following Yom Kippur, Moshe instructs all those ‘who have heart’ to come forward and donate towards the building of the tab...

In recent weeks, multiple terror attacks have been perpetrated in the Land of Israel against the Jewish people.  Families are being destroyed by these murderous attacks. This week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast looks to set the record straight and examine the root and cause of what Israel is currently facing. Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman present a reality check of current events transpiring i...

This week marks Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the new Hebrew month of Adar, whose apex is the holiday of Purim. This is a time of year especially associated with joy – but what is the secret of Adar joy, and how can we tap into it all year long? Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman explore the unique spiritual dimensions of the month of Adar and its confluence with the Torah portion of Terumah, featu...

Jim Long’s current visit from Arkansas to Israel gives our hosts an opportunity to broadcast the Jerusalem Lights podcast face to face. United in the rabbi's studio in Jerusalem, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman discuss the close-to-home pain of a recent terror attack, and examine the urgent events of the day... trying to make sense of Israel’s current imbroglio of ‘judicial reform’ on the backdro...

Yitro, father-in-law of Moses, was once an advisor to Pharaoh, and went on to become the world’s foremost expert on idolatrous beliefs and false gods. But then he found the One G-d of Israel, and became a devoted follower of Torah. This week’s Torah portion in which the glorious Sinai Revelation and the Giving of the Torah takes place is named after this courageous iconoclast. In this week’s Jerus...

This week’s rousing edition of the Jerusalem Lights Podcast is up-close and personal, as Rabbi Richman shares his recent experiences in the context of this month of Shevat and its theme of constant renewal – as well as the Redemption from Egypt, and the freedom it brings from the fear of human vulnerability. Join our hosts for a lively discussion on Torah’s unique concept of the sanctity of time,...

The ten plagues that were visited upon Pharaoh and all of Egypt, as they unfold in this week’s Torah portion of Va’era, testify to the true meaning of G-d’s name: The One who brings all of reality into being, and the One who can rock the very foundations of creation by changing that reality. These plagues were not a punishment for Egypt; they were a tool for the revelation of G-d’s presence in a w...

The Book of Exodus begins with severe climate change: A ‘new king’ arose who did not acknowledge the debt of gratitude that Egypt had to Joseph, and with the passing of Joseph, his brothers, and that generation – the bondage and exile of Israel in Egypt began. Pharaoh’s goal was to destroy the nation even before it’s creation, and to that end he embarked upon a campaign to destroy the family unit...

This week’s Torah portion of Miketz opens as Joseph quickly rises to power in Egypt. His purity and righteousness will endow him with Divine guidance, and enable him to provide sustenance during the years of famine that Pharaoh foresaw in his dream. This week’s episode of the Jerusalem Lights podcast celebrates Joseph and his connection to Chanukah, the beloved Festival of Lights that we are obser...

This week’s Torah portion of Va’yeshev begins the story of the righteous Yosef, maligned, misunderstood and betrayed by his brothers and brought down to Egypt, where he will rise to the pinnacle of power. The life of Yosef, replete with exile and redemption, and touched by the Divine providence of personal miracles, shares many themes with the upcoming Festival of Chanukah, and foreshadows our own...

The Torah portion of Vayishlach depicts the patriarch Yaakov’s struggle with a mysterious figure understood to be the archangel of Esav…a struggle that lasts ‘until dawn…’ – alluding to Israel’s eternal struggle with the spirit of Esav until the dawn of Redemption. In this week’s episode of the Jerusalem Lights Podcast, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman explore the multiple dimensions of the face-o...

A palpable tension forms the backdrop of this week’s Torah portion of parashat Vayeitzei, ‘And he went out’ – Gen. 28:10 ), as the patriarch Yaakov (Jacob) and his wives begin to have children, and establish the foundation for the nation of Israel. Everything about bringing these children into the world is marked by struggle. In this week’s edition of the Jerusalem Lights Podcast, Jim Long and Rab...

In this week’s Torah portion of parashat Toldot we witness the beginning of the saga of Yaakov and Esav, two non-identical twins who are polar opposites. From their earliest age, these two individuals represent diametrically opposing world views. This week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast introduces their story, which manifests throughout world history as they seek to achieve their goals. It’s a story w...

This week’s Torah portion of Chayei Sarah opens with the death of the matriarch Sarah, and a detailed accounting of the painstaking arrangements that Abraham made for her burial. Why the great detail? What does Torah teach about death, and what happens to the soul when we leave this world? How do we deal with the subject of death while remaining ever joyous about life? This week’s eye-opening Jeru...

The patriarch Abraham was a true man of kindness, emulating that Divine attribute and teaching the value of doing good for others unconditionally…a trait that Torah urges us to strive to achieve. In this week’s Jerusalem Lights podcast, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman reflect upon how a simple act of hospitality can be an experience of holiness…. literally becoming the road that leads to paradise...

In this week's episode of the Jerusalem Lights podcast, our hosts discuss some of the deeper spiritual dimensions of this Hebrew month of Marcheshvan. Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman are also intrigued by the Tower of Babel, which was the flagship project of Nimrod, the world's first king, a master manipulator whose goal was total mastery over everyone...even over G-d Himself. The 'Dark Tower' of...

Blessings for this new month of Marcheshvan! During this month we look forward to the beginning of  the much-anticipated rainfalls of blessing in the Land of Israel. Water is life itself, and the most basic manifestation of faith rewarded. Yet water is also the instrument of Divine retribution, and the great flood in Noah’s time began during this month of Mar Cheshvan. How does that work? In...

This week's Jerusalem Lights podcast celebrates the restart of the yearly cycle of weekly Torah readings this Shabbat, with the first portion of B’reishith, the Book of Genesis. Exploring the remarkable confluence of Torah knowledge and scientific discovery, Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman’s fascinating discussion touches upon everything from the elusive mystery of G-d’s name, to the Torah’s view...

The powerful spiritual experience and cathartic relief of Yom Kippur propels us into the Sukkah! The Festival of Tabernacles is the crescendo of the Tishrei holidays and dwelling in the temporary booth of the sukkah provides an opportunity to spend some intimate quality time with G-d during this formative time of the year. Jim Long and Rabbi Chaim Richman look forward to Sukkot in this week's Jeru...