VaYera | Elmad Online Learning Torah Podcasts, Online Jewish Learning: Recent Episodes
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
What does it mean to choose sacrifice—and to hear God in the silence?
In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Mike Feuer explore Parshat Vayera through the story of the Akeidah, reframing it not as Avraham’s test, but as Yitzchak’s … Read the rest
The post Vayera 5786: In Service of Faith first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
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Why might kindness be perceived as weakness, and what does Avraham’s response teach us?
In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Leon Morris examine Avraham’s moral decisions in Parshat Vayera, focusing on the qualities that led to the downfall of … Read the rest
The post Vayera 5785: Justice and Mercy first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
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Do we allow our pursuit of spirituality to get in the way of true divine connection?
In this week’s episode of Pardes from Jerusalem, Yiscah Smith and Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield discuss Parshat Vayera through the lens of human and divine … Read the rest
The post Vayera 5784: An Imminent and Transcendent Connection first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
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Are we blinded by our reading of the text? When we read about characters that are often portrayed negatively, such as Ishmael, are we truly giving them a chance? And what about our heroes? Are we allowing figures, such as … Read the rest
The post Parashat Vayera 5783: Examining Our Own Narratives first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
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Parashat VaYera 5782: Human Sacrifice – Problematic or Profound?
Description: Why would Avraham’s 10th and final test be to participate in a cruel and despicable act of human sacrifice which blended him with the polythe,istic and immoral world that surrounded … Read the rest
The post Parashat VaYera 5782: Human Sacrifice – Problematic or Profound? first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
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This week’s parasha contrasts two acts of hospitality: Avraham welcomes three strangers to his tent at Elonei Mamrei, and Lot later welcomes two of them to his home in Sodom. Superficially, the episodes are similar but we will discover that… Read the rest
The post 5781 — Vayera: Life’s Concentric Circles first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
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This week, I share a short passage from a book by Uriel Simon, one of Israel’s leading Modern-Orthodox bible professors. I have found his reading of the Akeida quite powerful and it resonates with me.
This week we read the … Read the rest
The post The Parsha Discussion with Alex Israel — Vayera. The Akeida’s Contrary Commitments first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
Continue reading The Parsha Discussion with Alex Israel — Vayera. The Akeida’s Contrary Commitments at Elmad Online Learning.
In this podcast we will re-read the Akedah and wonder whether the story might have ended differently, for Abraham, Isaac, Sarah and even for God, if Abraham had chosen to protest or challenge the command.
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Please … Read the rest
The post 5780 — Vayera: Did Abraham Pass the Test? A Different Look at the Akedah first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
Continue reading 5780 — Vayera: Did Abraham Pass the Test? A Different Look at the Akedah at Elmad Online Learning.
Bob Dylan’s dark song, Highway 61, is actually an extended midrash on the story of the binding of Isaac. In this podcast, Rabbi David Levin-Kruss explicates the biblical roots of the song and connects it to what was happening in … Read the rest
The post Vayera: Highway 61 and Mount Moriah first appeared on Elmad Online Learning.
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