The Tanakh Podcast

In our chapter, David requests to build the Temple, a "house" for God. God defers the request. No David cannot build the House, says God, but "I will build YOU a house" - your son will succeed you and "He will build ME a house. Today we discuss this reciprocal relationship between the Divine and the Worldly, and we talk about the theology of Divrei Hayamim - that the Thron...

David installs the Aron in Jerusalem. What type of worship will take place there? If we take our cue from Divrei Hayamim it is music, song! This is the first time that a fixed liturgy has been instituted to be recited daily. This prayer is actually in our daily siddur!

Chapter 15 depicts the (successful) procession of the Aron to Jerusalem. The account in Sefer Shmuel (Book of Samuel ch.6) is so passionate. Our chapter is so technical, filled as it is with names and roles of the Levitical families. Beyond Chronicles' seeming obsession with names, what drives our chapter differently to the narrative in Shmuel?

In this chapter, David discerns that God is with him, by means of foreign recognition of his rule, and by his victory over the Philistines.

David tries to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. But there is a tragedy which brings the celebratory national procession to an abrupt end. What is the place of this episode in the broader storyline of Sefer Divrei Hayamim?

Reading the details of this chapter we encounter some unique features of the tribes of Binyamin, Gad and Yissachar.

Divrei Hayamim is a master of rewriting history, and ch.11-12 is a masterpiece. On the backdrop of David's coronation in Hevron, Divrei Hayamim gives us the perfect unity of Israel, all rallied around David, Jerusalem - and all designated by God. In practice, history was far more messy, but there is a difference between history and collective memory.

The narrative segment of Divrei Hayamim opens with Shaul's tragic death. This is the only story of Saul's life. why does Div Hayamim choose to begin at this exact point? Since the author of Div. Hayamim is a very discerning historian, highly attentive to his task, the choice of a beginning must be deliberate and meaningful. What is he trying to communicate?

Our chapter is concerned with: 1. The inhabitants of Jerusalem... especially the Levitic role 2. The genealogy of King Saul. We will focus on the particular responsibilities of the Levitic guilds, holding traditions which stretch from Samuel and the Tabernacle in Shiloh until the end of the Second Temple.

Does Divrei Hayamim venerate the tribe of Benjamin or see them somehow as defective? The answer is complex as we shall see.

Why is there so little information on the settlements of the tribes Yissachar, Naftali and Asher? The key information is a military roster from David's army, not a register of villages and towns. And we shall visit verse 21 and a curious Midrash about the Tribe of Efrayim who left Egypt too early and who were massacred.

Chapter 5-6 depict the tribe of Levi. Divrei Hayamim introduces the musical flair of the Levites and the introduction of music into the arena of the Temple, it would seem by King David.

The genealogy of Reuven contains many classic theological features of Divrei Hayamim. We bring these into focus.

Divrei Hayamim I ch.4 is filled yet again with names. Whereas much of teh detail here seem incosequential to us, Midrash uses these texts as a commentary about some of the familiar heroes of Tanakh.

This genealogical list gives us the family tree of the House of David. It is amazing what one can learn from a simple list of names.

From the universal we turn to the family tree of Yehuda and we meed personalities like Achan, Hur, Betzalel, Calev and ... David, later to be king. Today we describe how several of the chapter's features match the agenda of Divrei Hayamim.

In this podcast we offer an introduction to the structure and themes of Divrei Hayamim.

Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem and finds that Toviah has a office in the Temple (- he throws him out -) , that Shabbat is being widely broken in Jerusalem, and that intermarriage continues among the elites of the city. We discuss the manner in which the rabbinic tradition took these areas of weakness and enacted new laws to bolster religious observance. It might be that Judaism has only survived du...

The walls of Jerusalem are dedicated with pomp and circumstance in a double procession, concluding with a feast at the Temple. Why are the walls not merely ...walls? Why do they have religious significance?

In this chapter, a lottery is made and one out of ten families are "volunteered" to live in Jerusalem!

At the end of the national "happening" in Jerusalem, Ezra and Nehemiah have the people sign a covenant committing themselves to Torah and religious observance. What are the implications of this moment?

Before the people disband, they dress in sackcloth and confess their sins before God. The Levites lead a heartfelt prayer reviewing Jewish history - the people's rebellious nature, and God's forbearance and mercy.

It is the 1st of Tishrei - what we call Rosh Hashannah. Ezra and Nehemiah join hands and arrange a huge gathering in which the Torah is brought out of the Temple and read and translated. The text emphasizes that Ezra took special measures to have the people understand the sacred text - he translated and explained it - and that the people did indeed comprehend. This is the beginning, the first step...

The bulk of ch.7 is roster, a list of the community, which is essentially identical to Ezra ch.2. So we will take this opportunity to speak about the Samaritans and explain how they fit in to the world of Shivat Zion - the Return to Zion.

Sanvallat and Toviah and Geshem try to use everything in their power to frame Nehamiah, to defame him, possibly even to assassinate or physically attack him, as they engage in conspiracy and lies to see if they can deter the building of Jerusalem's walls.