Archive for Kislev / Tevet 5774 - December 2013
Are you afraid of the dark? Take comfort, fear of darkness afflicts many. But what if you are afraid of the light? The darkness that enveloped Pharaoh and his Egyptian subjects in the penultimate of the ten plagues was nothing more nor less than their all-consuming fear of the light of G-d’s truth.
Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16)
Parashat Bo is read on Shabbat:
Shevat 3, 5774/January 4, 2014
Temple Institute Links:
Program Link – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us
Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.
This week features:
A Temple Talk Exclusive: The Amazing World of Mr. Magoo
The State Comptroller’s Temple Mount Report, and the Ominous Knock at the Door
Are you listening to this week’s edition of Temple Talk, or have you just entered the Twilight Zone? In this week’s Torah portion of parashat Bo, the ancient Egyptians suffer through the last three plagues: locusts, darkness and the slaying of the first born. Perhaps they asked the same question as they witnessed the substance of their very reality crumbling before their eyes. Here in Israel, we also might be wondering the same: Can this be for real? As the holy month of Shevat, the time of renewal arrives, are we really preparing to release more murderers as a pre-condition for “peace?” Enter a bumbling cartoon character. With apologies to Jim Backus, Rabbi Richman re-introduces the character of Mr. Magoo, nearsighted to a fault, who will now be filling in for the Secretary of State. Mr. Magoo prepares to return to Israel to inflict more damage, and not since Jack Nicholson descended into madness in “The Shining” have the words “Honey, I’m home” sounded so terrifying.
Plus: Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman discuss the banned, highly controversial State Comptroller’s Report on the Temple Mount. Oh, just a sec… someone’s knocking at the door…
Temple Institute Links:
Program Link – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us
The multifaceted message of the ten plagues was to drive home the truth that there is but one G-d in the world, that He is concerned with every facet of His creation, and that He is the master of all that he has created. All the Pharaohs in the world can’t hold a candle to G-d’s great light.
Va’era (Exodus 6:2-9:35)
Parashat Va’era is read on Shabbat:
Tevet 25, 5774/December 28, 2013
Temple Institute Links:
Program Link – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us
Biblical Faith – with Shmuel “Sam” Peak
The acts that, to be perfected, must be wholly devoted to G-d when they are performed are the acts of worship, through which we hope to attain G-d’s favor, namely, all the observable duties, performed with the limbs. In these, one’s aim in doing them might be something other than for the sake of G-d. One’s aim might be to adorn himself with them before other people, and to be honored and praised by people for having performed them.
It is impossible, however, to curry favor or gain honor and praise by fulfilling any of the duties the heart, because people do not know what is in one’s heart. Rather, one intends them for the sake of the One Who observes, namely, the Creator, alone, as it says: “I, G-d, search the heart and test the mind” (Yirmiyahu 17:10); “The hidden things belong to HaShem our G-d” (Devarim 29:28).
Dedicated to Margaret Sue Brown
Program Link – Read the Torah w/Shmuel – Contact – Emunah Channel
Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.
This week features:
Parshat Va’eira: Denial is More Than Just a River in Egypt
The Pharaoh/POTUS App for iPhone, iPad and iPod: It’s All About Me, Me, Me
What are the modern-day implications of Israel’s exile and subsequent redemption from Egypt? What makes a leader ‘evil?’ What’s the connection between Jason Bourne and the righteous Yosef? And why is John Kerry so good at living up to his name? All this and more comes together in this week’s thrilling, passion-filled episode of Temple Talk. Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman bring this week’s Torah portion of Va’eira alive with contemporary understanding and significance as they plumb the depths of today’s geopolitical realities and the same age-old challenges facing the people of Israel. Free Bonus Track: Rabbi Richman’s guide to medieval literature! Don’t miss this Temple Talk!
Temple Institute Links:
Program Link – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us
The book of Exodus is called in Hebrew the book of Names, (Shemot). Why? What’s in a name and why does Torah repeat the names of the seventy souls of Israel who descended into Egypt when their names were already mentioned earlier in the book of Genesis? Torah has come to teach us a deep and essential lesson in self-knowledge.
Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1)
Parashat Shemot is read on Shabbat:
Tevet 18, 5774/December 21, 2013
Temple Institute Links:
Program Link – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us
Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.
This week features:
In Praise of Civil Disobedience: The Righteous Women of Israel
The Perfect Storm and the Divine Promise of “Your Sins Shall be White as Snow”
As the burgeoning Egyptian exile begins to take center stage this week with the reading of the first Torah portion in the book of Exodus, Israel is still covered with the snow of last week’s epic storm that began on the Fast of Tevet. What’s this unprecedented storm got to do with G-d’s Divine promises to Israel – and the book of Isaiah? And what’s John Kerry got to do with anything? Leave it to Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman to find immense spiritual significance in the timing of Israel’s unusual winter weather, tying it directly to the messages of our Torah readings and the spiritual cycle beginning this week. Grab your mug of hot cocoa, snuggle up by the fireplace and listen to a particularly heart-warming edition of Temple Talk!
Temple Institute Links:
Program Link – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us