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Audio with brief annotations. Let your eyes rest as you learn by listening. Exercise, walk your dog, or just kick back in a comfy chair and listen.

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Build A Mikdash

In Exodus 25, verse 8, Hashem says, veasu li Mikdash veshakhanti betokham – “and they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them.” It struck me that after giving instructions, God charged Israel to build him a Mikdash. He expects them to be able to

Video

Psalm 25 Meditation

This video was inspired by my reading and translation of Psalm 25. As I meditated on the psalm, new words simply flooded my mind and quickly blended with what I read. I hope you enjoy the message of this psalm and my meditation. "To You, ADONAI, I lift my

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Being It

A witness, or a testimony exists to bare the facts of something. It is connected to the idea of empirical accounting, a report, and an audit, a story one can see for himself and decide. Sometimes we need a cloud of witnesses. All the items in the Mishkan (Tabernacle): the

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Coming Clean

In Exodus 35:31, the craftsmen received abilities to do melakha “work” or “labor” or “craft” that was assigned to them. But besides all the knowledge and abilities, the Torah says in Exodus 35:35 ulehoret natan belibo “he put the ability to teach into his heart.” Betzalel was to

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Listen to 4 Chapters of 3 Enoch

The Third Book of Enoch (Hebrew Enoch), or "The Book of Palaces," is an ancient Jewish mystical composition. Though named after Enoch, it was not written by the biblical Enoch himself. He is, however, the main character in a story of Rabbi Ishamel’s ascent to see the

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Missing Out

Torah says that Olah was to be brought to the entrance of the tent. Why? Because not every offering is automatically accepted. The priests carefully examined offerings at the entrance, and only then were they presented to God on the altar. Today, people rarely think that their worship can be

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Fight For Your Future

Sometimes we get tired of fighting for just about everything in life. Moses was at the end of his life, well over a hundred, and yet he was still in a fight. In Numbers 31, Moses was told that he must exact vengeance for what Midian did to Israel, and

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>Seminars

Walking Through the Door of Midrash

For some, reading Midrash is a beloved preoccupation, and others find it frustrating. Midrash can be beautiful and very inspiring, yet for those who lean toward more strict analytical thought, it seems to take way too many liberties in explaining biblical texts. This is exactly why Midrash needs to be

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Fear of the Unknown

In Torah, in parsha Shemot (Exodus 6), we read how a new king arose in Egypt, a king who did not know Joseph. This was not great for Jacob's family. His fear of the Unknown (in his case, foreigners living in his land) led to panic, and panic

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Turning Away Anger

The story of Pinchas can be hard to take in. Pinchas intervened by taking on God’s jealousy, and that changed everything. And in verse 12, God rewards him, and he says, hineni notein lo et biriti shalom “behold I give to him my covenant of peace.” Peace is not

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Around the Merkavah Audio (~1.5 hrs)

Thousands of years ago, ancient Hebrews believed that their God was not tied to a specific place. They called his throne Merkavah (chariot). A throne with wheels and floating Keruvim moved to where He needed to be. The Bible depicted this reality in the visions seen by prophets of old,

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Look to Israel

Exodus 28:29 says, Venasa Aharon et shemot benei Israel “and Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel” bachoshen hamishpat, al libo - “on the breastplate of decision, over his heart.” Aaron’s vestments had a breastplate with 12 precious stones, and the names of the 12 tribes

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Letting Go

In a touching Torah story, Judah offered himself instead of Benjamin to the Egyptian ruler. Judah has come to terms with an intense attachment Jacob had to Rachel's sons. He was not angry with Jacob for favoring Benjamin anymore, not like he was jealous of Joseph earlier. Moments

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Treacherous Offers

In Bereshit, in Gen 34, Jacob and his family settled near Shechem. Dinah was socializing with the local girls when Shechem the Hivite, a town’s nobleman, took advantage of her and violated her. Torah says he was drawn to her and so desperately wanted to marry her. So he

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Between Obedience and Blessing

If you obey my laws, says Hashem, I will maintain a covenant with you, and you will experience a life of blessing. I am sure you have heard this before. We all want a blessing. It’s the obeying part that is not always easy. In fact, the hardest part

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A New King

In Shemot, Exodus 1:8 says that “a new king rose over Egypt” – vayakam melekh chadash al mitzraim. As generations pass, new leaders rise all the time. New leadership often brings changes, and most of us are resilient enough to make adjustments through those changes. But Torah adds one more

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Rest is Trust

Taking a break from cultivating the land for the whole year sounds good in theory, but it can impact people economically in a major way. Most of us are not farmers today, but it is not hard to imagine the implications of such a step of faith. Taking a break

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Embrace Your Kin

In the Torah (Genesis 28), we encounter a story of Jacob meeting his relatives in Haran. Jacob waters Rachel’s flock. He kisses her and breaks down crying. He tells her that he is Rebekah’s son. Rebekah was her aunt. When Rachel realizes that he is her relative from

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When Experts Disappoint

In our weekly reading, Pharaoh was not counting sheep. Instead, he saw disturbing dreams about sets of cows and stocks of grain. The dreams troubled him. He knew they were important but could not make sense of the message they carried. He realized that he himself did not have answers.

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On The Other Side

Every time I go on vacation I need to go somewhere. I can't stay at home. If I stay at home, I will end up doing things around the house. It will not be a vacation. I can't look at things that need to be done

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Milk and Honey

Sticky situations. Standing in front of pivotal decisions is something we all do. Many stories in the Torah inspire us about these very scenarios. This is one of those stories. Some of us face hard decisions quite often, and some of us are facing them right now. We face doubt.

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Promises We Cannot Keep

Why does Torah give fathers and husbands such power over promises their daughters and wives make? It’s unfair. Are women not capable of making good decisions or valid promises? Are they prone to overpromise? Of course, the answer to all these questions is NO. Women are just as capable

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A Wave Offering

Offerings serve a purpose, often a symbolic visual purpose, to express something that words alone cannot. Words are effective most of the time, but sometimes only the actions are adequate. The Torah describes how Levites were shaved, purified by water and sacrifice, and reborn. Does that in any way describe

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God Who Says "No"

How many of us have a hard time saying "No"? How many of us say "No," only to hear back – "Why?" In our modern culture, saying "No" is completely out of style. If you say "No" and insist, you are

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Loving Your Master

The passage called Mishpatim in Torah begins with laws about slaves and slavery. It’s not an easy topic to discuss in America. Colonial slavery most people are familiar with in America, was truly brutal, unjust, and inhumane. The mistreatment of slaves in America in the not-so-distant past