Matan: One on One Parsha Podcast

In this conversation with Professor Tova Ganzel, we discuss the differences between Yechezkel and Yirmiyahu's prophetic styles and how it can be observed in their prophecies of doom to the Egyptian empire which serves as this week's Haftorah. Professor Ganzel emphasizes the importance of understanding a prophecy's timing in order to properly understand its message. This week's episode has been spo...

In this conversation with Dr. Yael Ziegler, we discuss the possible goals of prophecies directed at other nations, a common genre utilized by most of Israel's major prophets. This week's Haftorah is lifted from Yechezkel's prophecies against Egypt, predicting the downfall of the kingdom by Babylonian hands. This week's episode has been sponsored by Rabbi Michael and Jeri Laxmeter for the Refuah Sh...

In this conversation with Adina Blaustein, who has a forthcoming book on the weekly Haftorah, she walks us through how the Haftorah intertext highlights elements of the parsha in a different light and how we can read the parsha differently in light of the chosen Haftorah. We discuss the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Haftorah for Parshat Shemot. This week's episode has been sponsored by Rabbi Michael and...

In this conversation with R. Zvi Grumet, we study the final requests of Yaakov in this week's parsha and those of King David in the Haftorah. David, seeking to ensure the security of Shlomo's monarchy, asks his son to complete three tasks of unfinished business for David. We explore the backstory of those requests and what they reflect about David's character. This week’s episode has been sponsore...

In this moving conversation with Rabbanit Shani Taragin, we study this week's Haftorah from Yechezkel 37 which describes the grafting of two branches representing the Northern (Yosef) and Southern (Judah) Kingdoms of Israel. This vision, part of Yechezkel's prophecies of comfort, becomes a chilling window into our current moment in which we are still figuring out how to work together and develop t...

This conversation with R. Alex Israel studies the optimistic visions of Second Temple restoration in the book of Zecharia, read as a special Channukah Haftorah. Does redemption come through physical might or the spirit of God? How can the spoken word change reality? These are some deeper questions we consider as we reflect on the way these Second Temple visions still relate to our world today. Thi...

In this conversation with R. Joe Wolfson, we explore Amos' rebuke of the opulent and socially corrupt N. Kingdom of Israel from this week's Haftorah. A.Y. Heschel, political theorist Michael Walzer, and Louis Brandeis all help connect Amos' criticisms with the ways a society can erase people's humanity and how we might mend this. For more info on R. Joe's community visit the JLIC Tel Aviv website:...

This week's haftorah reading is the one-chapter book of Ovadia- a short prophecy of doom predicting the downfall of Esav's descendants at the end of the First Temple period. In this probing conversation with Rabbbanit Nechama Goldman Barash, we explore the gap between Yaakov and Esav's relationship in Breishit with the retrospective depiction of it in later prophetic and midrashic works. This year...

The parsha's Haftorah is taken from the book of Hoshea, a fourteen-chapter work that opens the collection of 'Trei Asar.' Jewish philosophy professor Sam Lebens walks us through significant theological questions regarding the human experience of God as violent and loving, examining the text of the Haftorah and illuminating it through both Talmudic perspectives and modern theologians. This week's e...

This conversation with Rabbanit Dr. Adina Sternberg explores the Haftorah from the book of Malachi, a short prophetic work from the early Second Temple period. The returnees have become jaded with a reality they perceive as lacking divine presence and the prophet rebukes their lackluster worship and subtly encourages them that while the presence of God may not have arrived in the expected guise, H...

In this rich conversation with Torah scholar and Tanakh author Dr. Nechama Price, we explore the complex closing of David's life in this week's haftorah. How is his end both similar and different from Avraham's final chapter? How can we understand the motives of several secondary characters in this complex narrative? How does Divrei Ha-Yamim present these same events and how do we know which versi...

In this beautiful conversation with Matan faculty member Rachel Sharansky Danziger, we discuss Elisha's encounter with two women in the Haftorah taken from II Melachim 4. We discuss the subtle theology laced throughout the two episodes as well as the different ways each woman responds to her distress. Both the impoverished woman and the woman from Shunem have what to teach us about the universal n...

This week's Haftorah returns to the beginning section of the second half of Yeshayahu with beloved Tanakh teacher and pedagogue R. Menachem Leibtag. Why do we find ourselves in Yeshayahu again and what does it have to do with Avraham's journey to Canaan? What is unique about the word 'eved' in Tanakh? R. Liebtag's favorite Haftora pasuk is from Yirmiyahu 31:19, 'ha-ben yakir li Ephraim' which spea...

In this probing conversation with Dr. Elana Stein Hain about this week's Haftorah from Yeshayahu 54, we move from discussing the opening image of Jerusalem's surprising fertility to a deeply candid conversation about Yeshayahu's zero-sum theology. What does the post-flood covenant reveal about God's stewarding of the world? How do these sections in Yeshayahu inform the way we process the challenge...

This year the Matan Podcast is focusing its study on the weekly Haftorah, the prophetic portion selected as a complement to each week's parsha reading. We are thrilled to embark on this new journey with you, exploring fresh biblical texts and themes that promise to deepen and enrich our Torah learning together. In this week’s conversation with Dr. Yael Ziegler, we uncover the mysterious origins of...

In this heartfelt conversation with R. Dr. J.J. Schacter, we explore the way the Halacha defines the commandment to feel joy on Sukkot and by extension on all holidays. How can the Torah command us to feel? What does joy look like in the current moment? Sources mentioned in the episode: R. Amital's essay: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/great-thinkers/harav-yehuda-amital/commitment-vs-conn...

This conversation with Rabbanit Dr. Jennie Rosenfeld movingly addresses the preparations for Moshe's death at the end of the parsha. While he initially resists God's punishment, Moshe ends up taking an active role in his death both by physically bringing himself to the place of departure as well as preparing the nation for his absence. This conversation weaves between the parsha, honest musings ab...

This week's conversation with Rabbanit Rachel Weber Leshaw zooms in on the mitzvah of Hakhel and its unique educational philosophy. An exploration of biblical verses and their interpretation ends up creating candid conversation around the gifts and challenges of involving family in spiritual spaces.

In this conversation with Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann Libson, we speak about the significant appearance of Teshuva (repentance) in the parsha as well as the way the idea is molded, personalized, and internalized throughout generations of rabbinic interpretation. This episode offers a thoughtful exploration of the parsha, especially relevant and meaningful as Rosh Hashana approaches. Shana tova!

In this conversation with Rabbanit Dr. Adina Sternberg, we explore how the tithes mentioned in this week's parsha can refine our sense of gratitude. We explore the difference between a 'maaser' mindset and a 'reishit' mindset through an original Torah idea written by Adina. To read more of Adina's Torah, check out her Hebrew book on the holidays here. This week’s episode has been sponsored in hono...

In this fascinating conversation with R. Yitzchak Blau, we discuss the prohibition to let a dead body remain exposed overnight, learned from this week's parsha. We debate the exegetical complexities of the prohibition's phrasing and then explore the way these verses expanded over time to form the most basic legal and ethical guidelines for posthumous care. Our Devarim series highlights important r...

In this nuanced and probing conversation with Matan faculty member Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash, we discuss the breadth and limitations of rabbinic authority. This conversation is an outgrowth of the instruction in our parsha not to deviate from the rulings of judges in Devarim 17:10-11, understood by our sages in the midrash halacha as a prooftext for their authority of interpretation. After e...

We have gone on vacation! But while we are off hiking and breathing, we are bringing you several episodes of a wonderful series we put out in 2021 at the start of this Matan podcasting venture. In this third and final episode Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble sat down with Dr. Yael Ziegler to discuss a host of secondary biblical characters and their significance. They delve into the tool of ‘anonymity’ used...

We have gone on vacation! But while we are off hiking and breathing, we are bringing you several episodes of a wonderful series we put out in 2021 at the start of this Matan podcasting venture. In this second episode of the series, Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble sat down with Dr. Yael Ziegler to discuss how to frame themes and messages surrounding a central character. Moshe, the greatest biblical leader...

We have gone on vacation! But while we are off hiking and breathing, we are bringing you several episodes of a wonderful series we put out in 2021 at the start of this Matan podcasting venture. In this first episode our host, Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble sat down with Dr. Yael Ziegler to discuss several tools of biblical characterization and why they are significant for meaningful Tanakh study.