Exploring Jewish Thought

In this one-off episode we explore the Maharal's theology as it pertains to the natural order and that which is beyond.

We are continuing our series on Am Yisrael by investigating how we are meant to represent God in the world. It has been a difficult week for Am Yisrael. We sustained several attacks from Hezbola in Israeli territory. Our learning together should be for the Refuah of those who were injured in the attacks, Leilui Nishmat those we lost, and for continued Siyata Deshmaya for our soldiers fighting a two-front war.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the tragedies of October 7th. Our learning together is in honor of those we lost and in the merit of our hostages and our soldiers whom we pray return to us safely.

In the merit of our soldiers now down south and up north and for the safe return of our hostages, we will be learning about Am Yisrael and the biblical origins of Jewish Identity. In addition, I hope our learning about this topic will help strengthen us and our bonds as a nation.

The question of whether mercy has any place in war is a very sensitive one, and it has life and death implications. Mercy is a clear Torah value, but the precedent set by our forefathers in wartime paints a more complex picture.

One of the most difficult religious struggles to grapple with is unanswered tefilot. We can pour our hearts out to God for days or weeks, but when we aren't answered it's extremely difficult to keep going. And sometimes, when the answer comes it's not what we were hoping for. We're going to look at precedent in the Torah for unanswered prayers and how to handle them.

We spoke last week about the seeing wars as connected to the redemption. If this is part of the Geulah what we should we be expecting now? Where is Mashiach? Where is the Beit Hamikdash?

It's a frighting and uncertain time for Klal Yisrael. We are being threatened on multiple borders and are awaiting an imminent ground invasion. The Torah tells us very clearly not to be afraid in these circumstances. But Why? What is so bad about such a natural emotional response and what, if anything, can be done about it?

As Tzahal continues to eliminate the terrorists responsible for last week's attack, some complex questions arise regarding the appropriate response to death of our enemies.

We've all felt in the past week how in times of great difficulty Am Yisrael joins together in a way that knows no bounds. The roots of our interconnectivity run deep and are hinted to in the very first encounter that Hashem has with Avraham Avinu. Today we explore those roots in depth.

War is not a foreign concept in the Torah. We have countless stories of war on their heroes as well as Halachot that pertain specifically to wartime. Today we discuss the Hashkafa of war and its role in the context of Hashem larger plan.

My goal with these videos is to spread Torah to all of Klal Yisrael. I believe that learning Torah is the most powerful tool we have to impact the world around us. In this video we discuss how that works.

Today we discuss the Torah perspective on a practical vision for unity. I've heard several people over the past few days express the sentiment that perhaps the devastating situation we're in is in someway related to the recent growing fracture in our nation. I'm in no position to diagnose the situation neither from a practical-political perspective not from a divine-spiritual perspective. However, having been in Israel during Operation Protective Edge, I saw first hand how war has the power to bring us together.

Many of us have increased our Tefillot in the past couple days, but some of us may be grappling with the fundamental questions of Tefilla. Hashem Know what we need. If He wanted to the to change the circumstances he would, and if He doesn't want to why would asking make a difference? Today we'll take some time to discuss purpose and utility of prayer.

In the aftermath of the tragic events that have unfolded over the past couple days, we may be experience many difficult emotions and struggling with many difficult questions. I thought we should start our learning for the protection and well being of Israel and its occupants by addressing the appropriate religious response to tragedy.

Avraham- A revolutionary theological figure who altered the course of history with his unique relationship with God... Or so we were told. In this episode we jump into the Avraham stories without our preconceived notions and we find a different narrative. Then we bridge the gaps.

We're given almost no information about Avraham before he was chosen for perhaps the most important mission in History. This week we begin analyzing the rise of Avraham, his mysterious history, and how he revolutionized the way that we interact with God.

This week we examine the story of Noach --Noach is described as a completely righteous individual, as having found favor in God's eyes, and as someone who walks with God. Chazal insist on comparing him to Avraham, and, on every metric Noach falls short. This may seem harsh, and overly judgmental, but Chazal are hinting to us the main theme of Noach's story.

Today we explore the events of Gan Eden and illuminate how each detail gives us insight into the religious nature of human beings.

In this episode we begin a new series analyzing the major themes and main characters in Bereishit in a way which is both true to the text and consistent with the traditional interpretation of our Sages.