Parsha in Progress

This week, we conclude the full cycle of parshas with a candid reflection on the end of the podcast, and a consideration of what makes poetry a powerful vehicle for divine messages.

This week, we discuss the poetic insistence of the Bible that every Jew should be able to feel ownership over the Torah's message.

This week, we have a lot of questions and few answers as we read some of the Bible's more unsettling passages, and consider what we could learn from situations we hope never actually happen.

This week, we debate what it means to "not shut your heart" against the needy, and why compassion is no substitute for justice when it comes to righting social wrongs.

This week, we discuss the importance of Mount Sinai in collective Jewish memory, and why Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, even though he led the people out of Egypt.

This week, we discuss whether it was a betrayal to make the Exodus generation die in the desert, and debate whether their sin of doubting the goodness of the land earlier in the Bible is similar to Jews hesitant to move to Israel today.

This week, we consider whether one can ever take the law into their own hands, and the pitfalls of vigilante justice.

This week, we look at the rebellion of Korach, who tried to oust Moses as leader by claiming he was no holier than the rest of the Israelites, and consider Moses' unique reaction.

This week, we look at one of the Bible's most severe punishments, that of being "cut off" from the people, and consider what actions today might separate someone from the Jewish community.

This week, we return to Mount Sinai to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, and debate what it means to say that every day, Jews must recommit to the contract.

This week, we look through the seemingly endless lists of names, numbers, and detailed descriptions of camp formations in the desert, and ask why the Bible felt this information was so important for us to know.

This week, we consider the sacrifices that go alongside growth and renewal, and how the commandment to let the earth rest impacted Biblical society, with insights into how those same implications play out today.

This week we argue about whether ethical acts are equal to ritual ones, and if it’s more admirable to act because God commanded it, or because it’s simply the right thing to do.

This week we revisit the rituals of reentry, and how the metzorah (expelling the infected) feels cruel, but maybe—especially in light of today’s pandemic—it was prescient.

This week, we discuss the eternal flame lit in the Temple, and whether the miracle of Jewish endurance is a good reason to stay Jewish.

This week we discuss why the Israelites so freely donated their time and money to build the Tabernacle, and whether volunteer work is best focused on one's community or those outside it.

This week we discuss the Bible's detailed descriptions of the High Priest vestments, and why clothing is such a powerful site of identity for many people.

This week, we ask who really counts as the stranger and whether the answer upends the idea of compassion.

This week, we discuss the final plague of Egypt, and the impulse to provide bad answers to good questions.

This week, we discuss the purpose of the Ten Plagues, and why God didn’t expedite the whole Exodus-from-Egypt thing.