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
- 766
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Eikhah ch.2 - God's Fury
Chapter 2 focuses on God's fury. Two victims in particular are singled out:
1. The Temple itself
2. The children and babies
This chapter expresses forthright outrage and protest towards God.
Eikhah ch.1 - Sobbing and Solitary
Eikhah gives the human angle to the destruction of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is depicted as a woman, forlorn and in tears, abandoned and humiliated.
Today we focus on many of the repeated phraseology of ch…
Ruth ch.4 - Names, Land, and Redemption
This chapter is quite legal. Today we focus on two key words: the "name" and "geula - redemption" because here in chapter 4, "redemption" is expressed in the restoration of the "name" of the deceased…
Ruth ch.3 - At the Threshing Floor
In this chapter Ruth goes out to the threshing floor at night. Boaz is apparently sleeping there all alone. And she uncovers his feet. The plan, devised by Naomi, seems to have pronounced sexual over…
Ruth ch.2 - In the fields of Bethlehem
What attracts Boaz' attention to Ruth?
What aspect of Ruth's persona is significant to Boaz?
And how does Ruth embody the character of Abraham in contrast to her ancestor, Lot?
Ruth ch.1 - Shoftim and the Lessons of Devotion
This is a story that takes place on the backdrop of the period of the Shoftim. And yet, its message is very different to that book. What is Ruth trying to add that hasn't been said in Shoftim?
Shir Hashirim ch.8 - A seal upon your heart
In Chapter 8 the couple manage to express their love and to experience their togetherness in the fullest manner.
And yet this is a difficult chapter. It is made of sub-units, whose connection is diffi…
Shir Hashirim ch.7 - The Uniqueness of the Jewish People
Chapter 7 begins with the other women beckoning the woman-lover, the "shulamit" as she is called, to return and dance with them. Rashi and the Midrash reads this as a invitation to integrate and accu…
Shir Hashirim ch.6 - You are the One and Only!
After the traumatic separation of the couple, chapter 6 has the "dod", the king proclaiming that the woman is "my only one, my dove, my perfect one."Music. Evyatar Banai. Yafa Ka-levana
Shir Hashirim ch.5 - The Voice of my Beloved Knocks!!
This is a scene of missed opportunities; as after a period of (apparent) separation, the beloved comes looking for the woman, but she fails to understand and appreciate the moment, the opportunity, a…
Shir Hashirim ch.4 - The Land of Israel (personified)
The depictions of the bride are rather strange, when her hair is compared to a flock of goats, her neck to a tower, and her stomach to a pile of wheat. Are we describing the anatomy of a woman, or po…
Shir Hashirim ch.3 - The Wedding
After the lovers' two unsuccessful attempts to realize their love, chapter 3 depicts the grand wedding of the young woman with the king.
Shir Hashirim ch.2 - You Can't Hurry Love
In the first song, the woman is ready to move ahead, the "dod" is more hesitant. In the second song., the "dod" is all excited; the "ra'aya" - the woman - is expressing doubts and excuses. This is th…
Shir Hashirim ch.1 - Meet the Characters
We begin ch.1 by seeing how the lovers - the young woman and the man - are depicted by Shir Hashirim. What might this express about God and Israel?
Shir Hashirim - Introduction
This is a book that needs some framing. We offer a few words of introduction.
Iyov | Job ch.42 - After Suffering
Iyov has a strange conclusion. Does the restoration of Iyov's fortunes and the birth of 10 children mean that his prior troubles and pain have been forgotten? How might we understand the closing chap…
Iyov | Job ch.41 - What can we learn from the Book of Iyov?
Here we draw some conclusions and closing lessons from our reading of the Book of Iyov.
Iyov | Job ch.40 - Monsters!
Our chapter speaks of the mythic "behemoth" and "leviathan" possibly a huge wild hippopotamus and whale or maybe a dragon. Why is God depicting these frightening monsters? And what do Hazal say about…
Iyov | Job ch.39 - What a Wonderful World?
Gid continues to challenge Iyov regarding his lack of understanding of the natural world. Today we speak about the animal kingdom.
Iyov | Job ch.38 - Out of the Whirlwind
Iyov has been asking for an audience with God.
Now God appears.
But rather than answers, he merely poses questions!
What is going on?