Podcasts

The ritual of washing one's hands before eating bread has a deeper significance beyond cleanliness.

The holiday of Purim is full of dualities, and the mitzvot of the day embody this spirit.

One must say a blessing before performing a mitzvah. Why?

One must prepare for Shabbat as if royalty is about to enter one’s own home.

The Shabbat meal not only provides enjoyment in the present but also summons us back to the covenantal past.

The primate myth.

The Jewish communities of Renaissance Italy were unusual in their interactions with their Christian neighbors.

The eruv is a reminder that those living around us are more than just anonymous neighbors.

The mitzvot of the Shabbat and Hanukkah candles embody the different ways we experience holiness.

If one issues a cherem, an angry declaration, against one's land, the property is given to the kohanim.

How does Laura Ingalls Wilder's famous children's novel connect with Temple rituals?

The rituals of the Temple refer back to the Abrahamic covenant and teach a vital lesson about Jewish time.

The last surviving fighter, Michael Smuss, died last week.

A law that Judaism applies to everyone, not just Jews, helps us better understand Jewish ethical ideals.

For good reason, Shakespeare is one of the most famous and most influential writers of the English language.

The laws of terumah, priestly dues, remind the kohanim of the love they must feel for the people of Israel.

Setting aside a portion of meat for the priests reminds Jews that every meal takes place within a covenant with God.

Eating food used for idolatry is forbidden not just because it is idolatrous, but because it inverts sacred Jewish rites.

The contrasting marriages of Hamlet and Ruth reveal the values of Jewish matrimony.

The children's novel The Phantom Tollbooth helps explain the reasoning for a strange Temple sacrifice.