Jewish Quest

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi Ariel Abel explores how Joseph delicately balances his  identity as an Egyptian leader with his Hebrew roots during the reunion  with his brothers. Rabbi Abel lives with his wife  Shulamit and two children together in Liverpool He is a rabbinic  graduate of Midrash Sepharadi in Jerusalem, is a practising solicitor  and a Sandhurst graduated chaplain in the British Army. Rabb...

Send us Fan Mail Professor Gary Rendsburg invites us to understand the Joseph story as ancient literary art at its very best. Prof. Rendsburg serves as the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. His Ph. D. and M.A. are from N.Y.U. Rendsburg is the author of seven books and about 200 articles; his most recent book is How the...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Dov Berel Lerner considers what Joseph's dreams symbolise and their importance within the wider themes of Genesis.  Dr Lerner is currently an associate professor of philosophy at the Western Galilee College in Akko and also teaches at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. He is the author of many articles in philosophy and Jewish studies and of the book Rules, Magic, and...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Alison Joseph asks just who is the victim of the Dinah Story? Dr. Alison Joseph is the Director of Digital Scholarship and Associate Professor of Bible at Gratz College, Assistant Managing Editor of The Posen Library for Jewish Culture and Civilization and an adjunct assistant professor of Bible and its Interpretation at JTS. She holds a Ph. D. in Near Eastern Studies from UC B...

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi Dr Elliot Cosgrove discusses his timely new book:- For Such A Time As This: On Being Jewish Today Elliot Cosgrove is a leading voice of American Jewry and a preeminent spiritual guide and thought leader. The rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue since 2008, he was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and earned his PhD at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He...

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi Dr Naomi Kalish uncovers what Jacob teaches us about listening and how it paves the way for peace. Rabbi Kalish is the Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education and assistant professor of Pastoral Education at JTS. Prior to coming to JTS, Rabbi Kalish taught clinical pastoral education (CPE) at New York–Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) to students from...

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi David Kasher asks just who is the villain in the Toldot story? Rabbi David Kasher is the Director of Hadar West Coast. After graduating from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, he served as Senior Jewish Educator at Berkeley Hillel, a part of the founding team at Kevah, and Associate Rabbi at IKAR. Rabbi Kasher completed a translation of Avot d’Rabbi Natan for Sefaria and is the author...

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi Marc Soloway discusses the legacy of Sarah and the very contrasting responses of Abraham and Isaac to her death. Rabbi Soloway has been Bonai Shalom’s Spiritual Leader in Boulder, CO. since 2004, the same year that he was ordained at The Ziegler School for Rabbinic Studies at The American Jewish University in Los Angeles. His rabbinical training spanned six years in London,...

Send us Fan Mail Professor Kenneth Seeskin discusses the ambiguity and unresolved tension in the Akedah.  Professor Seeskin is Professor of Philosophy and Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor of Jewish Civilization at Northwestern University. He received his Ph. D in Philosophy from Yale University in 1972 and has been at Northwestern ever since. He specializes in the rationalist tradition in J...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Rabbi Joshua Garroway uncovers the importance of the minor character, Melchizedek.  Dr. Rabbi Joshua Garroway is the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judaeo-Christian Studies at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles. He holds a Ph. D. from the Religious Studies Department at Yale and ordination from HUC-JIR in Cincinnati. He is the author of, The Beginning of the Gospel: Paul, Philippi,...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Jeremy Tabick discusses the centrality of God's transformation in the parsha. Dr Jeremy Tabick is the content manager and faculty at Hadar, where he teaches, curates, and edits Hadar’s content – both online and in print – and project Zug courses. Jeremy recently completed a PhD in Talmud at JTS. He graduated from the University of Manchester (in the UK) with a Masters in P...

Send us Fan Mail This week for Bereshit, our director Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffet fills in as host as we begin a new year, welcoming Rabbi Jeremy Gordon to discuss some of the ways in which Bereshit defies our expectations and requires new explanations. From the creation of the work to the creation of Adam and Eve - nothing is quite as it seems, 'in the beginning.' Rabbi Jeremy has a first...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Rachel Havrelock uncovers the difference between the Priestly vision and the Deuteronomistic vision for the map of the land of Canaan.  Dr. Rachel Havrelock is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Rachel’s book, River Jordan: The Mythology of a Dividing Line combines biblical studies, literary and political theory, and the...

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi Eliyahu Jian discusses the inner meaning behind Pinchas' act of zealotry. Rabbi Eliyahu Jian is a global thought leader, transformational life and business coach, spiritual coach, relationship coach, author and motivational speaker. He has been transforming thousands of lives around the globe for decades, including some of the world’s most famous and influential people,...

Send us Fan Mail Professor Everett Fox uncovers the unusual features of the Balaam narrative.  Professor Everett Fox is the Allen M. Glick professor of Judaic and Biblical Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He received his M.A. and Ph. D. from the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. Fox is the translator of The Five Books of Moses (Schocken B...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Ely Levine discusses the significance of the Red Heifer and the symbolic meaning behind the serpent of bronze.  Dr. Ely Levine holds a PhD in biblical studies and archaeology from Harvard University. He has taught at Villanova University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Luther College. He has participated in archaeological excavations in Italy and Israel, and is a member of...

Send us Fan Mail Professor Naomi Graetz discusses the connection between Samuel and Korach and the parsha’s pertinence for today.  Naomi Graetz taught English at Ben Gurion University of the Negev for 35 years. She is the author of Unlocking the Garden: A Feminist Jewish Look at the Bible, Midrash and God; The Rabbi’s Wife Plays at Murder ; S/He Created Them: Feminist Retellings of Biblical Storie...

Send us Fan Mail Professor Jacob Wright discusses the origins of the spy story. Professor Jacob Wright is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and the Director of Graduate Studies in Emory’s Tam Institute of Jewish Studies. His doctorate is from Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen. He is the author of Rebuilding Identity: The Nehemiah Memoir and its Earliest R...

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffat discusses radical models of leadership. 

Send us Fan Mail Audio of Session held on Tuesday 21st May 2024 with Simon Eder. 

Send us Fan Mail Rabbi Nelly Altenburger shares how we might read some deeply troubling lines of the parsha.  Rabbi Nelly Altenburger became the new spiritual leader of Congregation Adath Israel in Middletown in the summer of 2020. Rabbi Altenburger was born and raised in Brazil and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Hebrew Language and Literature from the University of Sao Paulo. She receive...

Send us Fan Mail Professor John Collins discusses the meaning of ''Love your neighbour as yourself!'' and how the Golden Rule emerged.    Professor John Collins is Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale University. He received his Ph. D. from Harvard (1972) and holds honorary degrees from the University College Dublin and the University of Zurich...

Send us Fan Mail Professor Elsie Stern shares how Acharei Mot acts as the bridge between the two sections of Vayikra.  Elsie Stern is Professor of Bible at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She received her BA from Yale University and her M.A. and PhD from the University of Chicago. Stern is the author of From Rebuke to Consolation: Exegesis and Theology in the Liturgical Anthology of the...

Send us Fan Mail In a special podcast for Pesach, Professor Berel Dov Lerner discusses the central theme of covenant on Seder night and reflects on Israel’s enslavement and redemption in Egypt as a meditation upon temporality and human agency.  Berel Dov Lerner was born in Washington D.C. and is a member of Kibbutz Sheluhot in Israel’s Beit Shean Valley. He received a BA in social and behavioral s...

Send us Fan Mail Geoffrey Stern asks how Metsorah is connected to evil speech and he discusses the importance of tsar'at in the Torah.  Geoffrey Stern is founder of the podcast, Madlik, a disruptive Torah podcast, which is published on a weekly basis in an effort to insure that the spirit of Judaism continues to grow and flourish. He is a serial entrepreneur in the audio chip and self playing...