Study Tanakh with Rav Alex Israel. 5-10 mins. One chapter a day. 929 schedule.
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Every two weeks, we ponder, riff and consider 4 chapters of the Tanakh, starting in Genesis and finishing in 2 Chronicles. It might take a while. Please be patient.
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Today we discuss 1:7 - "The beginning of wisdom is fear of God"
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We start Mishlei today - Proverbs. What is this book about? Who wrote it? What is a "mashal" or a "proverb"? Today we introduce the sefer.
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We made it! Mizmor 150!Awe, Dance, Breath!Today we speak about how our essence, our breath, reaches out to the Divine in an attempt to transcend our human limits.
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This chapter has 2 stanzas. 1. The victory of the righteous, their joy and dance 2. A battle of justice against the forces of evil and regimes of violence Both are enacted by the "hassidim" - the ethical, pious and righteous.
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We wake up every morning and celebrate the wonderful world we inhabit.
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Chapter 147 is a weave of intersecting harmonious themes that blend to praise God.
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We live in a world where celebrity, status and fame are highly prized. This mizmor challenges that impression and presents other values as central in God's perspective.
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Chapter 145 a.k.a "Ashrei" is THE "Tehilla Le-David. It is the ultimate praise of God. But paradoxically, it doesn't give us earth-shattering depictions of God, but rather the image of a caring, nurturing deity.
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This Mizmor celebrates a country in which wars have ceased, in which children grow up in calm and peace, and in which the economy is booming... "Happy the people who have it so; happy the people whose God is the LORD."
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In this almost classic Mizmor, we draw upoon 3 themes: 1. The character of the "Servant of God" 2. The meaning of the word "nefesh" in Tanakh 3. The posture of prayer - hands extended.
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Here David is on the run, hiding in a cave, and calling to God. we speak about the despair of isolation and loneliness, and the transformation - religious and social - the shift of mindset that such a situation might engender.
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David expresses his concerns and worries that he might succumb to the methods and morals of his adversaries. Today we speak about the virtue of self-doubt.
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This chapter resonates strongly with contemporary events. It is a wonderful example of how Psalms written millennia ago can resonate afresh in other times.
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God knows everything about me. That can be such a crushing burden that at times a person wishes to run away from God. What insights and understandings help a person to find his way back?
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Chapter 138 is filled with gratitude. We stop to think today about the power of appreciation
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Jews never forgot Jerusalem, though they wandered the globe for 2000 years. What was the formula for their survival? This chapter gives us some key tools for the Jewish art of making Jerusalem our home no matter where we lived.
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Tehillim. Psalm 136 - The Universal and the Particular
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나중에 재생
나중에 재생
리스트
좋아요
좋아요
13:12
This is a Hallel, a chant, an opportunity to sing and shout to God. We will draw connections to the themes of the upcoming holiday, Sukkot: 1. The universal and the particulatr 2. Appreciation for the blessing of our daily bread.
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This is a chapter of Hallel. What is the subject of God's praise?
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"Bless God all you servants of God who stand at night in the house of God" There is no Temple service at night! Who are these servants who praise God at night in the Temple?
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"How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together." We explain the dramatic story behind this Psalm, a story of sibling rivalry and reconciliation in five acts.
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David promises that he will make a house, a Temple for God; God promises that he will make a royal house for David and his progeny. Today we discuss the relationship between king and Temple.
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Do we rely on God because we expect everything to turn out okay; or do we rely in God because attachment to God is simply life itself?
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This Psalm is one of the most commonly recited Psalms in times of trouble, sickness, or distress. It is also recited during the Ten Penitential Days between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur.
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In every generation, "since my youth, the haters, the assailants have attacked me, but they will never prevail against me." This is a song about anti-Semitism and Jewish survival.
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This Mizmor offers the Godfearing person individual and national blessings. We discuss the images of the vine and the olive tree, the family and the nation.
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Today we study the chapter with an eye to the year we have experienced. Wishing everyone a Shanna Tova!
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Tehillim. Psalm 126 - Joy and Tears. The Challenge of Return.
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This Psalm sung on Shabbat and festive moments before Birkhat Hamazon. It starts with the joy of the return to Zion. But then it requests of God: "Return our captives! Have we returned or not? And if we are so joyous, why are we crying?
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Tehillim. Psalm 125 - Jerusalem. The Little Hill That Could
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"Jerusalem has mountains surrounding it, and God surrounds His people now and forevermore" We examine this statement both topographically and historically. Has Jerusalem always been protected by God "now and forevermore"?
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This is the song of what might have been, the chorus of Jewish survival, the symphony of thangsgiving to God forhaving our back throughout the millennia and not allowing our enemies to succeed in destroying the Jewish People, in thwarting the designs of anti-Semites and would be destroyers.
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What can a slave expect from his master? In this podcast we relate chapter 123 to our Rosh Hashanna liturgy.
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This beautiful and colourful chapter describes the excitement of a pilgrims journey to Jerusalem and the sights that they encounter. It ends with a three-fold prayer for peace.
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Tehillim. Psalm 121 - "I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills..."
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나중에 재생
나중에 재생
리스트
좋아요
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"i lift up my eyes to the mountains.From where will my help come?" This is one of the most famous and popular mizmorim. In what context might it have been composed and recited?
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This psalm opens one of the most famous sub-sections of Tehillim - the Songs of Ascent or Shirei Hamaalot. In this podcast we: 1. offer 4 explanations for the term "Shir Ha-Maalot" 2. Study Psalm 120 which speaks about hate speech, peace and war.
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This - the longest pslam - is a paean to Torah, its study, its laws and the meaning it offers those who walk on the pure path of Torah. Its poetry is wrapped in an delightful eightfold alphabetical acrostic.
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Have you noticed the ups and downs of Hallel; how it lurches from elation to the depths of anxious despair in a single line - and then back again? And why do we double certain lines in Hallel?
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Our Mizmor invites the world to appreciate the Jewish people and to acclaim the everlasting truth of God's worldview.
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Are vows important? Why is making a vow like buying on credit, and why are vows so central in this Mizmor? Our answer will take us to the colourful world of the Temple, where people would celebrate in the company of friends after a life-threatening situation.
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This Mizmor is a struggle with those who mock Israel for worshipping a God they cannot see. In return, the Mizmor mocks and belittles the idolaters who serve man-made ineffective gods. In response for Israel's trust in the Divine, the poet promises that God will bless Israel.
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The Exodus is depicted not merely as an historical revolution; there is a revolution in nature - water turns to dry land; dry land turns to water! This joyous Mizmor from Hallel expresses the overlap between the emergence of Israel and God's powerful presence in nature. Music. Intro - Sinai Tor. End - Naftali Kempeh…
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Chapter 113 starts what we know as "Hallel" "Where one finds God's greatness; there you find his smallness and humility" Musical Intro - Mekimi - Yosef Karduner Musical ending - Mekimi - Yonina
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This Mizmor is the mirror image of Psalm 111; but whereas the previous psalm depicted God, now we describe the character of the righteous human individual. We suggest that the combination of Psalm 111 and 112 is encouraging us to model our human actions on God's traits.
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A beautiful alphabetical song of praise. The first half deals with God's creation - his universal covenant with mankind; the second half praises God for his particular covenant with Israel and the laws of the Torah.
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This is a chapter spoken in God's name, seating an unnamed king on a chair at his right-hand side and promising victory over his enemies, priesthood to the nations, and the role of dispensing justice to the world. Who is the king? Abraham? King David? Mashiach? We speak about the Radak's interpretation, refuting the Christian reading of the chapter…
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Today we address two themes: 1. VeAni Tefilla - the whole person meeting God in the prayerful moment. 2. David's curses. David issues a litany of curses that no one would ever want poured on his head. What do we make of this diatribe? Is it befitting of David?
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Psalm 108 is a fusion of segments from Psalm 57 and 60! What do we make of old texts being "recycled" to make new mizmorim?
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Four situations necessitate thanksgiving to God. This is a chapter that speaks of God's responsiveness to human distress, and the human thanks of God's salvation. The heading - "Let the redeemed of God" - indicates that this distress, salvation and thanks are happening under the rubric of Redemption. This is a chapter that we recite on the night of…
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This historical Psalm is written from a position of Exile. It speaks of Israel's constant waywardness and rebellion against God, from the days of the Wilderness, until the Land of Israel, frequently disloyal, and ungrateful to God's manifold gifts and wonders. Why then is this a chapter of praise? Why is this chpater animated by an upbeat mood?…
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At first glance this is a chapter celebrating the Exodus. At second glance this is all about God's loyalty to the covenant made with the Patriarchs and the way that God guided history to fulfill that promise.
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This is a beautiful hymn to the magnificence of our world. We recite "Borchi Nafshi" on Rosh Hodesh, possibly because it mentions the moon, possibly because it speaks of renewal - ותְחַדֵּ֗שׁ פְּנֵ֣י אֲדָמָֽה - and Rosh Hodesh is about the renewal of the moon.
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This chapter celebrates God's capacity and proclivity to forgive his people. Academics have studied the language of this chapter and identify it as a Second Temple Psalm. This gives extra meaning to this celebratory Mizmor as a song of thanks for God having renewed Israel, forgiving us, and giving us a new lease on life - a fresh start.…
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