The Tanakh Podcast
Study Tanakh with Rav Alex Israel.
10 mins a day.
One chapter a day.
929 schedule.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 11 minutes
- Episodes
- 767
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Mishlei ch.10 - Tzaddik and Rasha
We open the second segment of Mishlei which shifts the entire tempo and character of the book. Today we offer a short introduction.
Mishlei ch.9 - Three Personality Types
Mishlei contains several sterotypes or archetypal characters. Our chapter offers three personality types and charts 3 varying ways to engage them.
Mishlei ch.8 - Wisdom. The World's Foundation
In our chapter, "wisdom" speaks in the grammatical first person, telling us her autobiography - how she advises kings, and how she was present prior to the founding of the world.
Mishlei ch.7 - Attraction, Distraction and Avoidance
Mishlei chapter 7 brings us back to the temptress. It issues a stern warning to avoid contact with this woman and to steer clear of her path.
How are we to deal with distractions and addictive habits…
Mishlei ch.6 - Life Lessons from an Ant
Today we speak about making our time count. Do we want to spend our days relaxing or working?
Mishlei ch.5 - The Temptress
Mishlei returns time after time, to the imagery of an attractive, seductive woman who leads the "son" astray from his pursuit of wisdom.
Mishlei ch.4 - The Joy of Torah
Today we deal with 3 themes
1. 3 Generations. The speaker, possibly King Solomon, speaks of messages that he heard from his father that he is passing down to his son. This is a deeply touching imag…
Mishlei ch.3 - Tree of Life
Today we discuss several features of Mishlei:
1. The engagement with a Judaism that is far wider than ritual moments and encompasses all avenues of life
2. That Mishlei incentivizes the path of Torah
…
Mishlei ch.2 - Life-Choices and Consequences
We address two themes:
1. The notion of parent and child; wisdom which comes through the family, through sage adavice rather than direct divine revelation
2. The presentation of choices and consequen…
Mishlei ch.1 - Wisdom and Ethics
Today we discuss 1:7 - "The beginning of wisdom is fear of God"
Mishlei. An Introduction
We start Mishlei today - Proverbs.
What is this book about? Who wrote it? What is a "mashal" or a "proverb"?
Today we introduce the sefer.
Tehillim. Psalm 150 - With Every Breath
Tehillim. Psalm 149 - Justice, Victory, and Joy
This chapter has 2 stanzas.
1. The victory of the righteous, their joy and dance
2. A battle of justice against the forces of evil and regimes of violence
Both are enacted by the "hassidim" - the eth…
Tehillim. Psalm 148 - Celebrating Creation
We wake up every morning and celebrate the wonderful world we inhabit.
Tehillim. Psalm 147 - History, Nature, Revelation
Chapter 147 is a weave of intersecting harmonious themes that blend to praise God.
Tehillim. Psalm 146 - The Futility of Fame
We live in a world where celebrity, status and fame are highly prized. This mizmor challenges that impression and presents other values as central in God's perspective.
Tehillim. Psalm 145 - The Good God
Chapter 145 a.k.a "Ashrei" is THE "Tehilla Le-David. It is the ultimate praise of God. But paradoxically, it doesn't give us earth-shattering depictions of God, but rather the image of a caring, nurt…
Tehillim. Psalm 144 - A Happy Nation
This Mizmor celebrates a country in which wars have ceased, in which children grow up in calm and peace, and in which the economy is booming...
"Happy the people who have it so;
happy the people whos…
Tehillim. Psalm 143 - Body & Soul
In this almost classic Mizmor, we draw upoon 3 themes:
1. The character of the "Servant of God"
2. The meaning of the word "nefesh" in Tanakh
3. The posture of prayer - hands extended.
Tehillim. Psalm 142 - The Prison of Loneliness
Here David is on the run, hiding in a cave, and calling to God.
we speak about the despair of isolation and loneliness, and the transformation - religious and social - the shift of mindset that such …