JOI to the World

📖 Parshat Devarim This Week: When Moses recounts the story of the spies, he says God heard 'the sound of their words,' not just what they said, but how they said it. The spies' actual words weren't wrong; it was their tone that destroyed hope and changed history. This hits differently as we approach Tisha B'Av this Sunday, mourning the Temple's destruction caused by sinat chinam, baseless hatred....

Welcome to Zero Percent, the podcast that explores the outsized impact of the Jewish people! 🌟 Join us as Batya shares her remarkable journey from a non-religious upbringing in small-town Colorado to discovering her Jewish soul through unexpected encounters and deep spiritual questioning. Follow her transformation from a devoted Christian raising three children in the church to finding profound m...

In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I explore how Jewish religious leaders achieve the prestigious title of "Gadol Hador" (greatest of the generation) and explain why this process is fundamentally different from American political campaigns. I discuss how authentic Jewish leadership operates on the principle that the best leaders are often those who don't seek leadership positions but have leadership t...

📖 Parshat Matot-Masei This Week: When the tribes of Gad and Reuben wanted to settle outside Israel for better pasture land, Moses was concerned. Being isolated from the main Jewish community would make them vulnerable to negative spiritual influences. His solution? He strategically placed half the tribe of Manasseh, known for their spiritual leadership, among them as positive influences. Moses un...

In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I address a fascinating question about Moses and humility: if Moses was truly humble, how could he write about himself that he was the most humble person who ever lived? I explain that this question is based on a common misconception about what humility means in Jewish thought. True humility doesn't mean thinking less of yourself or diminishing your abilities - it me...

📖 Parshat Pinchas This Week: What's the most important verse in the entire Torah? You might guess the Shema, or 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' But the Talmud surprisingly chooses the verse about the Korban Tamid, the daily offering brought every morning and evening in the Temple. The message? Grand gestures of love and faith are beautiful, but transformation happens through consistency. It's n...

📖 Parshat Balak This Week: When Bilam's donkey suddenly stopped walking, he immediately assumed it was defying him personally. But the donkey saw angels blocking the path that Bilam couldn't see. 'You know me,' the donkey said, 'do you think I'd do this to you on purpose?' How often do we assume someone's behavior is a personal attack when they're responding to something we can't see? That child...

In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I conclude the analysis of Ellen Gilad's interpretation of the meat and milk prohibition by demonstrating how clear biblical verses help us understand ambiguous ones. While acknowledging that the verses in Exodus might be unclear about whether they refer to cooking or ripening, I explain how the crystal-clear verse in Deuteronomy, which appears among dietary laws, de...

Parshat Chukat This Week: Like walking through a forest where all trees look the same until one falls and reveals its true enormity—that's how we discover greatness. When Miriam died in Kadesh, the very next verse tells us the water disappeared. For 40 years in the desert, one woman's faith and merit sustained an entire nation, and nobody fully realized it until she was gone. How many 'hidden gian...

In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I examine Ellen Gilad's argument that the Hebrew word "bashel" (translated as "seethe") might mean "ripen" or "mature" rather than "cook," potentially changing our understanding of the biblical prohibition against mixing meat and milk. I acknowledge that this interpretation has precedent with fruits maturing and was even considered by the classical commentator Bechor...

📖 Parshat Korach This Week: 'Two Jews, three opinions'—we're famously argumentative people! But this week's story of Korach's rebellion seems to condemn disagreement. So which is it—are arguments good or bad? Jewish wisdom teaches us about 'machloket l'shem shamayim' (מחלוקת לשם שמים)—arguments for the sake of heaven. Korach's rebellion was driven by jealousy and ego, focused on tearing down rath...

Welcome to Zero Percent, the podcast that explores the outsized impact of the Jewish people!  🌟 Join us as Rabbi Moshe Nachbar shares his extraordinary journey from being adopted as a six-month-old baby in Paraguay to becoming an Orthodox rabbi in South Florida. Discover how his path from feeling like he just wanted to "fit in" transformed when he experienced Judaism coming alive during his gap y...

📖 Parshat Shelach This Week: The spies returned from the Promised Land with glowing reports, 'It's amazing!' but then came the word that changed Jewish history: 'BUT the people are giants and we can't conquer it.' The Hebrew word they used was 'efes' (אפס), which means 'zero', and that's exactly what it did to everything positive they'd just said. When we say 'but,' we erase all the good that cam...

In this episode of my ongoing response to Elon Gilad's viral video, I explain why Judaism requires both written and oral Torah components. I address the fundamental question of why the Torah wasn't simply written down completely, exploring how the Oral Torah serves as an essential living tradition that cannot be contained in text alone. Drawing on analogies from medical training and modern communi...

📖 Parshat Beha'alotcha This Week: Even while eating miraculous manna from heaven, the Jewish people complained about missing the 'free' fish from Egypt—conveniently forgetting they were slaves at the time! Moses, overwhelmed by their constant grumbling, cried out to God: 'Did I give birth to these people? Why is this all my responsibility?' God's response wasn't 'tough it out'—instead, He appoint...

In this second episode of my series responding to Elan Gilad's viral video, I address his claim that Hebrew's lack of vowels creates uncertainty about the milk and meat prohibition. While acknowledging that Hebrew is indeed written without vowels, I explain how Judaism's Oral Torah tradition resolves this apparent ambiguity. I detail how the Oral Torah - distinct from rabbinic law - represents bib...

📖 Parshat Nasso This Week: Every Friday night, we bless our children with the ancient words of the Birkat Kohanim' May God bless you and protect you' (יברכך ה' וישמרך). But here's the beautiful paradox: we ask for blessing (material success) and protection from that very blessing. True prosperity isn't about what we accumulate, but what we do with what we're given. When we use our blessings to el...

📖 Parshat Bamidbar This Week: When the Torah commands Moses to count the Jewish people, it doesn't use the word for 'counting', it says כִּי תִשָּׂא אֶת-רֹאשׁ, literally 'lift up their heads.' What a profound difference. The Nazis sought to dehumanize by reducing people to numbers, but the Torah does the opposite, it elevates each person's dignity. We're not meant to be counted like objects, but...

 In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I continue to examine the biblical prohibition against mixing meat and milk by analyzing the placement of this commandment in various biblical contexts. I address why the verse "do not seethe a kid in its mother's milk" appears alongside temple sacrifice laws in Exodus, rather than with other dietary laws as in Deuteronomy. Through the lens of classical Jewish comme...

📖 Parshat Bechukotai This Week: Many of us compartmentalize Jewish identity—keeping it for synagogue, Hebrew school, or holiday celebrations. But this week's Torah portion challenges that limited view. When God says 'Im bechukotai teilechu'—'If you walk in My ways'—the language is deliberate. Not 'follow My rules' or 'obey My commands,' but 'walk in My ways.' Judaism isn't a destination; it's a j...

In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I continue our discussion about why Jews don't mix meat and milk, focusing specifically on the biblical sources behind this kosher practice. I respond to claims made by Elon Gilad, examining each argument in detail while explaining how the Torah works with both written and oral components. I clarify how the three repetitions of "do not cook a kid in its mother's milk...

📖 Parshat Emor This Week: We're currently in a rare moment when our Torah reading perfectly mirrors our calendar. As we count the Omer, the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot, we read about this very practice in Parshat Emor. Curiously, we name this period after the 'Omer' a barley offering brought at the beginning of this journey, rather than after receiving Torah at its conclusion. Why? Barle...

In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I address a viral social media video by Elan Gilad claiming Jews can eat cheeseburgers due to a biblical "misunderstanding." I methodically debunk this claim, pointing out that Gilad incorrectly states the prohibition against cooking a kid in its mother's milk appears twice in Torah when it appears three times (Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21). I ex...

📖 Parshat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim This Week: Parents often envision their children will become kind, compassionate individuals, making a difference. But how often do we turn inward and examine our contributions to that vision? Our Torah portion describes the High Priest's atonement ritual, notably instructing him to atone 'for himself and then for the people.' This profound ordering teaches us a tim...

In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I address the common question about why kosher restaurants typically have higher prices than non-kosher establishments. I explain that rather than simple price gouging, there are legitimate fixed costs that contribute to higher prices in kosher dining. These include specialized meat preparation requirements, meticulous inspection of fruits and vegetables for insects...