Enjoy educational seminars organized in a series of add-free educational videos. Most are exclusive to pshir.com, so click on a topic to see the full series.
The book of Acts mentions the church, which is a translation of the Greek word "ecclesia." This Greek term is ancient, but the word "church" is actually not. Where does this new word come from? What does it mean? How did the early Christ-followers see and...
As an educator, I experiment with different types of teaching. Most often, in my videos, I present all sorts of academic, historical, biblical, and religious information in lecture format. Occasionally, I lead spiritual discussions, which are also educational, but they are meant to be a learning of a different sort....
This multi-part seminar, "The World of Hebrew Prophets," explores the ancient messages by seeking to understand the world, the events, and the circumstances that surround the lives of prophets and their audiences. These recordings are segments of an undergraduate class I taught at a Christian college. These are...
This multi-part seminar, "The World of Hebrew Prophets," explores the ancient messages by seeking to understand the world, the events, and the circumstances that surround the lives of prophets and their audiences. These recordings are segments of an undergraduate class I taught at a Christian college. The entire...
In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses each of his sons. The words he speaks are beautiful but could be hard to understand. When he gets to Dan, he compares his son to a serpent. A strange blessing for a child. Thus, commentary on this imagery has brought forth some very curious...
These videos are inspirational talks and teachings about love. It is not an academic topic but an interactive conversation about the meaning of love and how we should make sense of it. The talk was recorded in front of a live audience, and a number of interactions with the audience...
The lectures presented here were recorded with live audience participation and many of the questions and comments from the auditorium are included in the videos. The full Shema consists of Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:13–21, and Numbers 15:37–41. Its words communicate an entire set of deeply...
In Jewish life, Shema is not exactly a typical prayer. It's a recitation of 3 paragraphs from the Torah: Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:13–21, and Numbers 15:37–41. What stands behind these sentences, however, communicates an entire set of deeply held spiritual beliefs, practices, and...
This is a shiur, a recording of short thematic live and interactive teaching (broken up into 3 segments, about 50 minutes long in total). The lesson surveys the commandments and customs of the Festival of Tabernacles and examines some ancient texts that possibly reflect on the Sukkot customs practiced during...