Universal Torah Network

Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.

This week features:

Chanukah Revisited: Who’s Afraid of the Mugrahbi Bridge?

The Whole World is a Narrow Bridge, & the Main Thing is Not to be Afraid

This week, as we read the Torah portion of Vayeshev  which gives the account of the righteous Yosef’s  descent into the darkness of Egypt, here in Jerusalem we are combating a darkness as well… despite the fact that next week the world will be illuminated by the hidden light of Chanukah. The darkness we refer to, of course, is the spiritual darkness behind the scenes of the Mugrahbi Bridge controversy. The stark truth, say the hosts of Temple Talk, is that it’s not about the bridge, stupid…it’s about sovereignty. Do you just want to feel good or do you want the truth? Tune into this week’s Temple Talk for rage. Not since Dylan Thomas railed “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”  has such passion and intensity of feeling been expressed. And yes, we too are raging against the dying of the light… the light of sanity, of sobriety, of Jewish pride and heritage, the light of Chanukah, the light of G-d’s honor. If you listen to just one Temple Talk, make sure this is it.

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Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.

This week features:

Yaakov’s Little Flasks: Mysterious Origins of the Chanuka Oil

Yaakov Wrestles an Angel: All the While I Was Alone, the Past Was Close Behind

With Chanuka only two weeks away, this week’s Temple Talk explores the mystery of Chanuka by the light of a little flask of oil… and it was “little flasks” that caused Yaakov  to return back over the Yabok  Pass, where he was confronted by “a man” with whom he struggled until dawn, when the patriarch released his opponent and was awarded the name “Yisrael.” Who was that masked man? Who is Yaakov, and who is Yisrael? Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman are once again joined by the scintillating author and filmmaker Jim Long, and together they express their awe for this week’s Torah portion, Vayishlach.

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Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.

This week features:

Talking Torah with Famed Noahide Author & Filmmaker Jim Long

Temple Talk Confronts the Controversial Question: Who is Esav Today?

Yaakov, our illustrious patriarch, flees from Esav’s  enmity and winds up in the arms of that arch spin-master, Lavan. But on his way to the land of Charan, he stops off at the Temple Mount, there to cement his relationship with the G-d of Israel and all his future generations. In this week’s high-energy edition of Temple Talk, Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman have a special guest in the studio: none other than our good friend Mr. Jim Long, famed Noahide author, Egyptologist, filmmaker and noted lecturer on the Noahide laws… as well as on the Oral Tradition of the Torah. Jim turns his inimitable wit and wisdom to the subject of Yaakov  and Esav, especially as featured in his new upcoming book, Blood Brothers. Together, we ponder the relationships and reality of Yaakov and his nemesis, locked in a multi-level struggle to this very day.

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Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.

This week features:

Of Blessings, Curses, and Destiny Hanging in the Balance

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood: Yaakov & Esav at the Crossroads of Humanity

“The children agitated within her, and she said, ‘If so, why am I thus?’ And she went to inquire of Hashem. And Hashem said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated; the might shall pass from one regime to the other, and the elder shall serve the younger’.”  (Gen. 25:22)

Yitzchak’s  soulmate, the righteous matriarch Rivkah, was baffled by the drama taking place within her womb… a veritable battle of opposing forces that seemed to be pitted against each other in a fight to the death. She was soon to realize that she was host to no ordinary struggle, but rather, bearing the precursor to a reality that would soon shake the very foundations of this world. For Yaakov  and Esav  are diametrically opposed forces, and the fate of all mankind – indeed, the ultimate redemption itself – hangs in the balance of their conflict, a conflict being played out today. Join Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman for a riveting edition of “Temple Talk” as they explore the mysteries of Parashat Toldot, and ponder the universal and contemporary implications posed by the seemingly inexplicable, age-old questions in this mystifying Torah portion.

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Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.

This week features:

The Roots of a Soul: Yitzchak and the Secret of Resurrection

The Matriarch Sarah’s 127 Years as the Measure of a Life Well Spent

As rains of blessing fall in the Land of Israel, our hosts reflect upon the Torah and prophetic readings and allude to endless depths of meaning, recalling the dew of the future, which will signal the heralded and promised resurrection of the dead. A deeper look into Torah traditions reveals that our patriarch Yitzchak  already experienced this moment, and like the secret contained within Yitzchak’s  very name, in the future all of his progeny, the people of Israel, will indeed laugh at the illusion of death. Tune in to this week’s Temple Talk as Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman reveal that long before James Taylor, Yitzchak was really the man who’s seen fire and seen rain!
In this week’s Torah portion of Chayei Sarah, the matriarch Sarah is laid to rest in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Like the Temple Mount and Joseph’s tomb in the city of Shechem, the full purchase of the double cave of Hebron is witnessed and recorded by the Torah itself, but ironically these very places have become a symbol of the struggle for Israel’s sovereignty in her land. Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman explore the life of Sarah and the significance of why the Torah measures the “years of her life” for the generations to come.

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Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.

This week features:

The Book of Genesis: Road Signs for the Children of Israel

Rachel’s Tears, Abraham’s Tests & Us: Restrain Your Voice From Weeping

“Rachel died, and was buried on the road to Efrat, which is Bethlehem. Jacob set up a monument over her grave; it is the monument of Rachel’s grave until today”  (Gen. 35)

“Thus said Hashem: A voice is heard on high, wailing, bitter weeping, Rachel weeps for her children; she refuses to be consoled for her children for they are gone…Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears… there is hope for your future… and your children will return to their border”  (Jer. 31).

This week marks the passing of our matriarch Rachel, who sheds tears for her children’s exile to this very day. But a visit to the beautiful and moving Rachel’s tomb, just minutes outside of Jerusalem, is a passage into “Palestinian” controlled area, where Rachel’s tomb is now enclosed in a concrete, militarized bunker… for the protection of her children, who come there daily to pray. Who’s crying now? Who’s crying louder, and wailing more bitterly – Rachel, over her children’s exile, or the children, over the degradation, exile and “imprisonment” of their dear mother? Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman reflect upon the character of our mother Rachel, her selfless heroism, and the legacy she passed down to her children.

Abraham passed down a legacy as well… in fact, the entire life of Abraham, as well as the other patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel as recorded in the book of Genesis, form an intricate and detailed plan for their children’s future. The events along the road of Abraham’s spiritual odyssey instruct us in what we must do, as well as what we must expect.

Our hosts are joined in the studio by good friends, our special guests Glen and Kevin Harlan of Snyder, TX, who are also on a spiritual odyssey in the Land of Israel, as they seek to connect with Hashem, Torah and Israel on a deeper level.

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Temple Talk is a weekly internet radio webcast with Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven of the Temple Institute.

This week features:

Abraham & the One G-d of Israel

After Generations of Disappointment, Abraham Begins a Campaign to Save Humanity

From Genesis to Lech Lecha, from creation, through the flood, the dispersion, and the emergence of Avraham, the past few week’s Torah readings have seen the generations whir by, each taking its place and fulfilling its role in G-d’s grand scheme. This week’s special Mazal Tov Edition of Temple Talk finds Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman joyfully watching their own new generations taking their places as well, as each thank G-d for a precious new grandson born to each of them this past week. Rabbi Richman loses his shopping wagon in the market, it winds up in another city 40 miles away – and is returned to him the next morning. What’s that got to do with the generation of the Great Flood and the emergence of our forefather Avraham? Everything, if we understand the transition from selfishness to altruism, and the fact that the world is saved by one selfless gesture at a time. It’s the month of Mar Cheshvan, the month of the Great Flood in the time of Noach  and the month of rains – G-d willing – in the Land of Israel. Every detail of this month is a reflection of Temple-consciousness; even the lack of holidays during this month is just an allusion to the great event of the dedication of the Third Temple which is one day scheduled to take place during this month. This week also marks the 836th anniversary of the Maimonides’ historic ascent to the Temple Mount.

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