Torah Talk

Friends, Thanks to those who have asked – the podcast is on hiatus for the time being. You can still find the previous 2 years worth of podcasts here (click “older entries” if you need to, or simply search for them in the sidebar). Subscribe by email, if you haven’t already, to follow the writing […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of October 16th, 2022 Deut. 34:6  He buried him [וַיִּקְבֹּ֨ר אֹת֤וֹ] in the valley in the land of Moab, near Beth-peor; and no one knows his burial place to this day. The “him” who was buried is Moses – but who buried him … and how?   This week's […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of October 2nd, 2022 Deut. 32:2   May my discourse come down as the rain [כַּמָּטָר֙],                       My speech distill as the dew [כַּטַּ֖ל],                       Like showers [כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם] on […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of September 25th, 2022 Deut. 31:1  Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel.   Did he really?  He was already speaking to them!  So where did he “go”?  The Dead Sea Scrolls may have the answer.   This week's handout: 52 Vayelech 5782-83 Learn Biblical Hebrew! Donate via […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of September 18th, 2022 Deut. 30:3   The Lord your God will restore your fortunes [וְשָׁ֨ב אֶת־שְׁבוּתְךָ֖] and take you back in love [וְרִחֲמֶ֑ךָ].   What does this grammatically strange expression really mean?  “Take you back in love” may provide the answer!   This week's handout: 51 Nitzavim 5782 My second “Bible […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of September 11th, 2022 Deut. 27:4   upon crossing the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, about which I charge you this day, on Mount Ebal, and coat them with plaster. 5 There, too, you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of September 4th, 2022 Deut. 22:23    In the case of a virgin who is engaged to a man—if a man comes upon her in town and lies with her, 24 you shall take the two of them out to the gate of that town and stone them to death: […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of August 28th, 2022 Deut. 19:8    And when [וְאִם] the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He promised to give your fathers 9 … then you shall add three more towns to those three.   Didn’t […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of August 21st, 2022 Deut. 12:4    Do not worship the Lord your God in like manner, 5 but look only to the site that the Lord your God will choose [הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר] amidst all your tribes as His habitation, to establish His name there … But when did the […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of August 14th, 2022 Deut. 11:6 What He did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab son of Reuben, when the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, their tents, and every living thing [וְאֵ֤ת כָּל־הַיְקוּם֙] in their train, from amidst all Israel. This word yekum is only […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of August 7th, 2022 Deut. 4:41   Then Moses set aside three cities across [בעבר] the Jordan 42 to which a manslayer could escape.   Modern and medievals agree: these words are an appendix – but why is it here?   This week's handout: 45 Va-etchanan 5782 Learn Biblical Hebrew! Donate via Paypal! Click here for […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of July 31st, 2022 Deut. 1:17    You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low and high alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God's [כִּ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט לֵאלֹהִ֣ים ה֑וּא]. The words are simple, in English and in Hebrew – “judgment is God’s” – until you stop […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of July 24th, 2022 Num. 33:5   The Israelites set out [וַיִּסְע֥וּ] from Rameses and encamped [וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ] at Succoth. Sounds very straightforward, but saying that the Israelites “set out” and “camped” is telling us something about them that’s not obvious from the text. This week's handout: 42-43 Mattot-Masei 5782 […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of July 17th, 2022 Num. 26:9  The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, and Dathan and Abiram. These are the same Dathan and Abiram, chosen in the assembly, who agitated against Moses and Aaron as part of Korah's band when they agitated against the Lord. 10 Whereupon the earth opened its […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of July 10th, 2022 Num. 23:7  He took up his theme [וַיִּשָּׂ֥א מְשָׁל֖וֹ], and said: Is a mashal really a “theme”? What does it mean to “take up” a mashal? And why does this phrase pervade the story of Balaam? This week's handout: 40 Balak 5782 Learn Biblical Hebrew! Donate via Paypal! Click here for more […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of July 3rd, 2022 In Num. 20:17 the Israelites say they “will follow the king's highway  [דֶּ֧רֶךְ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ נֵלֵ֗ךְ],” and in v. 19 that they “will keep to the beaten track [בַּֽמְסִלָּ֣ה נַעֲלֶה֒].” Are these two roads or one? What kind of road is a mesillah? And what does this tell us about Jacob’s […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of June 26th, 2022 Num. 16:30 But if the LORD brings about something unheard-of [וְאִם־בְּרִיאָ֞ה יִבְרָ֣א יְ׳הוָ֗ה], so that the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, you shall know that these men have spurned […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of June 19th, 2022 Num. 14:10  As the whole community threatened to pelt them with stones, the Presence of the Lord appeared in the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. This week, two (seemingly) simple questions:  Who is “them” that the community is threatening to stone, and why does […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of June 12th, 2022 Num. 11:25    Then the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke to him; He drew upon the spirit that was on him and put it upon the seventy elders. And when the spirit rested upon them, they spoke in ecstasy, but did […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of June 5th, 2022 Num. 7:89    When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he would hear the Voice addressing [מִדַּבֵּ֣ר] him from above the cover that was on top of the Ark of the Pact between the two cherubim; thus He spoke […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of May 29th, 2022 Num. 1:18 On the first day of the second month they convoked the whole community, who were registered [וַיִּתְיַֽלְד֥וּ] by the clans of their ancestral houses—the names of those aged twenty years and over being listed head by head. Hapax legomenon? – you decide.  But what does […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of May 22nd, 2022 Lev. 26:23    And if these things fail to discipline you for Me, and you remain hostile to Me [וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֥ם עִמִּ֖י קֶֽרִי],  24 I too will remain hostile to you [וְהָלַכְתִּ֧י אַף־אֲנִ֛י עִמָּכֶ֖ם בְּקֶ֑רִי]: I in turn will smite you sevenfold for your sins. […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of May 15th, 2022 Lev. 25:31   But houses in villages that have no encircling walls [וּבָתֵּ֣י הַחֲצֵרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֵין־לָהֶ֤ם חֹמָה֙ סָבִ֔יב] shall be classed as open country. חצרים are villages that have no encircling walls – but a חצר (as in Leviticus 6) is an enclosure!  How can this […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of May 8th, 2022 Lev. 24:10   There came out among the Israelites [בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל] one whose mother was Israelite [יִשְׂרְאֵלִ֔ית] and whose father was Egyptian. How do you say “Israelite” in Biblical Hebrew?  Amazingly, the nowadays common adjective יִשְׂרְאֵלִי appears nowhere else in the Bible but in this chapter!  But … why? This week's […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of May 1st, 2022 Lev. 20:9    If anyone insults his father or his mother, he shall be put to death; he has insulted his father and his mother—his bloodguilt is upon him [דָּמָ֥יו בּֽוֹ]. Why does Leviticus 20 seem to repeat Leviticus 18, and how can we explain the […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of April 24th, 2022 Lev. 18:21             Do not allow any of your offspring to be offered up to Molech, and do not profane the name [וְלֹ֧א תְחַלֵּ֛ל אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם]  of your God: I am the Lord. What does “do not profane the name” mean, and why is this the […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of April 3rd, 2022 Lev. 15:1   The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying … But what the Lord says in v. 3 is different in 3 of the ancient versions from what the Masoretic Text tells us. This week's handout: 28 Metzora 5782 Learn Biblical Hebrew! Donate via Paypal! Click here for more links […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of March 27th, 2022 Lev. 13:2    When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly affection on the skin of his body, it shall be reported to Aaron the priest or to one […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of March 20th, 2022 Lev. 9:24    Fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces … 2 And fire came forth from the Lord and consumed them.   Is this […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of March 6th, 2022 Lev. 1:3    If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd … 9 … the priest shall turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire [אִשֵּׁ֥ה] of pleasing odor to the Lord. Lev. 1:10 […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of February 27th, 2022 Exodus 39:2 The ephod was made of gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine twisted linen [שֵׁ֥שׁ מָשְׁזָֽר]. This expression appears nowhere else but in the second half of the book of Exodus.  What in the world is twisted linen, and why does מָשְׁזָֽר […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of February 20th, 2022 Exodus 37:6-9 [Bezalel] made a cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work, at the two ends of the cover: 8 one cherub at […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of February 13th, 2022 Exodus 34:14  You must not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Impassioned [קַנָּ֣א שְׁמ֔וֹ], is an impassioned God [אֵ֥ל קַנָּ֖א הֽוּא]. Or, as others translate, a jealous God.  But what does it mean to say that God’s name is Jealous? This week's […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of February 6th, 2022 Exodus 29:38 Now this is what you shall offer upon the altar … 42 … at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting [אֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֖ד] before the Lord. For there I will meet with you [אִוָּעֵ֤ד], and there I will speak with you, 43 and there I […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of January 30th, 2022 Exodus 25 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary [מִקְדָּ֑שׁ] that I may dwell [וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י] among them. 9 Exactly as I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle [הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן] and the pattern of all its furnishings—so shall you make it. What is a mikdash … what […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of January 23rd, 2022 Ex. 21:1 These are the rules that you shall set before them: …  Ex. 23:19 … You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.   These are the beginning and ending words of the Covenant Code. [Or are they?  For more on this, listen […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of January 16th, 2022 Ex. 20:21 [24]  Make for Me an altar of earth … 22 And if you make for Me an altar of stones …   Is this anticlimactic paragraph the end of the Ten Commandments?  Is it the beginning of the Covenant Code?  And why does it matter? This […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of January 9th, 2022 Ex. 14:1  The Lord said to Moses …  3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are astray in the land [נְבֻכִ֥ים הֵ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ]; the wilderness has closed in on them.” What does נבוכים really mean?  Why does Pharaoh not say this, as God expects?  And why […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of January 2nd, 2022 Exodus 12:42 That was for the Lord a night of vigil [שִׁמֻּרִ֥ים] to bring them out of the land of Egypt; that same night is the Lord's, one of vigil [שִׁמֻּרִ֛ים] for all the children of Israel throughout the ages. What is/are שִׁמֻּרִים and why is […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of December 26th, 2021 Exodus 6:4 I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners [‏אֶ֥רֶץ מְגֻרֵיהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥רוּ בָֽהּ]. In Hebrew, you can “live” using lots of different verbs.  Translations often obscure the difference between settling […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of December 19th, 2021 Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is His name?' what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of December 12th, 2021 Gen. 50:1 Joseph flung himself upon his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 It required forty days, for such is the full period […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of December 5th, 2021 Gen. 47:1  Then Joseph came … 2 And selecting a few of his brothers [וּמִקְצֵ֣ה אֶחָ֔יו לָקַ֖ח חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֑ים], he presented them to Pharaoh. “A few” is literally five (it’s an Egyptian thing).  But why does he select them from the end of his brothers?  (That’s what קצה literally means.) […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of November 28th, 2021 Gen. 43:29      Looking about, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and asked, “Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he went on, “May God be gracious to you, my boy.” 30 With that, Joseph hurried out, […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of November 21st, 2021 Gen. 37:2  This, then, is the line [אֵ֣לֶּה ׀ תֹּלְד֣וֹת] of Jacob. What does תֹּלְד֣וֹת mean, and why does Rashi’s grandson wait until this verse to explain his methods? This week's handout: 09 Vayeshev 5782 Learn Biblical Hebrew! Donate via Paypal! Click here for more links or to contact me.

This is Torah Talk for the week of November 14th, 2021 Gen. 35:18  But as Rachel breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her baby Ben-oni [בֶּן־אוֹנִ֑י]; but his father called him Benjamin [בִנְיָמִֽין]. What do these names mean, and what does Benjamin’s name imply? This week's handout: 08 Vayishlach 5782 Learn Biblical Hebrew! Donate via Paypal! Click here for […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of November 7th, 2021 Gen. 31:14 Then Rachel and Leah answered him, saying, “Have we still a share in the inheritance [הַע֥וֹד לָ֛נוּ חֵ֥לֶק וְנַחֲלָ֖ה] of our father's house?” What are Rachel and Leah complaining about, and where else does that phrase direct our attention? This week's handout: 07 Vayetze […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of October 31st, 2021 Gen. 26:1   There was a famine in the land—aside from the previous famine [מִלְּבַד֙ הָרָעָ֣ב הָרִאשׁ֔וֹן] that had occurred in the days of Abraham—and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Why must the story of Isaac tell us that this was […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of October 24th, 2021 Genesis 24 tells the story of Abraham’s servant going back to the old country to get a wife for his master’s son.  But in v. 65, the son gets a remarkable promotion.  Why? This week's handout: 05 Hayyei Sarah 5782 Learn Biblical Hebrew! Donate via Paypal! […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of October 17th, 2021 Gen. 18:22   The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. The Bible says Abraham remained standing before the Lord — but the Masorah (the rabbinic tradition that accompanies the Bible) says it was originally the other way around. […]

This is Torah Talk for the week of October 10th, 2021 Gen. 15:12 As the sun was about to set [וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ לָב֔וֹא], a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great dark dread descended upon him … 17 When the sun set [וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ בָּ֔אָה] and it was very dark, there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming […]