Strife and divisiveness have challenged humans since the earliest of time. As long as we've had communities we've had divisiveness between people and as long as we've had nations we've had divisiveness between nations. What is the cause for this human tendency of fighting with each other? How can we counter it? A fascinating discussion about the hu…

One of the worst tragedies that befell our people was the ant-Jewish pogroms during the Khmelnytsky uprising in Poland and Ukraine in 1648-1649. The Khmelnitsky Pogroms, known to Jews as Gzayrois Tach Vetat decimated Jewish communities across Eastern Europe and was one of the most cataclysmic events in the history of Eastern European Jewry. Learn t…

According to our tradition, the Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude) were a group of non-Jews who accompanied Israel out of Egypt and caused problems for them during their travels through the desert.. Why were they? Why did they join Israel when they left Egypt? What happened to them? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-g…

One of the most important works in Judaism is the Shulchan Aruch, often called the Code of Jewish Law. Since the Shulchan Aruch was printed in the 16th century it has become the primary source for Jewish law. What is unique about the Shulchan Aruch? Why is it so important to Jewish law? A fascinating discussion about the Shulchan Aruch, how it was …

The Jewish family has been one of the key pillars of Judaism. Jews retained and valued the nuclear family unit along with the extended family even when many around them lost it. A fascinating discussion about the role of family in Judaism and particularly, the role of fathers. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman…

Jews have been persecuted for most of our 3,000 year history. Some Jews responded to anti-Jewish persecution by attempting to assimilate or follow the dictates of those who hate them. Most Jews have responded by displaying pride in their Judaism and in their identity. A fascinating discussion about Jewish pride and its importance as part of a respo…

The Torah has various rules and laws for owning slaves. Throughout the early part of Jewish history, Jews owned slaves. Does Judaism allow for slavery? Is it ever okay for one human to own another? Since the Era of Enlightenment and particularly since the end of the Civil War in the United States, slavery has been viewed as a horrible institution a…

For the first 2,000 years or so of Judaism, Jews were mostly agrarian farmers. Many of the commandments of the Torah involve farming and agriculture particularly in the land of Israel. There are rules about how and when to plant and harvest, tithes, gifts for the poor and gifts for G-d. Most Jews left farming about 1,300 years ago but there have be…

When someone is wronged, it is human nature to feel resentment towards the person who wronged them. Is it okay to feel resentment? Can we do something to express that resentment? Or should we just turn the other cheek? A fascinating discussion about the Jewish view of resentment. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zal…

One of the most amazing events in Jewish history was the miraculous fall of Sennacherib and his massive armies at the gates of Jerusalem. This story is told in detail three times in Tanach (more than any other event) and mentioned countless times as well. A class about this incredible Passover miracle. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.s…

The Haggadah, the book that we use for our Passover Seder is one of the oldest and probably the most widely used Jewish book. It has been printed thousands of times with thousands of commentaries. A fascinating discussion about the Haggadah, it's history and how we got the Haggadah that we use today. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spo…

The Torah prohibits a Jew from owning Chametz on Passover. A common workaround to that prohibition is for Jews to sell their Chametz to a non-Jew before Passover and then purchase it back from them after Passover. A fascinating discussion about selling our Chametz over Passover!Sell your Chametz today (by Sunday, April 21 at noon) at jccmb.com/sell…

One of the earliest works of Kabbalah is the Sefer Yetzirah - The Book of Formation, a very short book that describes the mystical building blocks of creation. The Talmud describes how the book was used by scholars to create a person. A fascinating discussion about Sefer Yetzirah, its history, its impact and its teachings. --- Support this podcast:…

Solar Eclipses are a natural phenomena that fascinated people back in ancient times. With over 3,000 years of history, our people have lived through hundreds of solar eclipses. What do our Jewish traditions teach about a Solar Eclipse? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gordon/support…

Today, we have a set Jewish calendar that has been in use for the past 1700 years. However, for the first 1600 years or so of Judaism, we used a variable calendar that was updated monthly based on sightings of the new moon and calculations made by the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Council of Judaism. A fascinating class about Kiddush Hachodesh, the system…

We have recently seen a huge increase in expressions of the world's greatest hatred antisemitism. Why do people hate Jews? Why has it persisted over so much time, through so many places and cultures? What can we as Jews do about it? A fascinating discussion about the Purim festival and the lessons we can learn from the Purim story to help us respon…

When we look around us, we see so many things going wrong in our own lives, people around us and the world on a whole. There seems to be endless violence, wars, corruption, disease, crime, natural disasters. G-d's world appears to be unjust and full of problems. Why did G-d create a world with so many problems? Why didn't he create a more perfect w…

Chareidim is a term often used for a segment of the Jewish community that live in their own communities and forgo some western cultural norms. They are often misunderstood, derided and called offensive names such Ultra-Orthodox. Who are the Chareidim? What are their communities like? How do they live? And why they are widely misunderstood? --- Supp…

Shabbat, is one of the central parts of Judaism. From Judaism's earliest days, Jews stopped work on Friday before sundown and didn't resume working until after dark on Saturday. Observing Shabbat was not always easy for Jews. Often Jews found themselves in places that expected them to work on Shabbat. A fascinating discussion about how Jews struggl…

One of the basic Kosher laws is a prohibition of not mixing milk and meat. As a result, Kosher kitchen must have separate ovens, pots, pans and dishes for milk and meat.A fascinating discussion about the kosher rules of not mixing milk and meat and how they impact our kosher kitchens.--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show…

One of the most important periods in Jewish history was the period of the geonim (600-1000 C.E.). During this period, Jewish life was centered in Babylon where there were two great Yeshivot (schools). The heads of these schools were called Ge'onim, The Ge'onim were effectively the leaders of world Jewry during this period. A fascinating discussion …

In Judaism we believe that every person is entrusted with a life-mission by G-d. How can you find your life's mission? How do you know if you are on the right track? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gordon/support

Jewish communities throughout history have always had their own court systems called Beth Din (or Batei Din) for Jewish ritual, family and legal purposes. These courts often served in parallel to local Christian, Muslim or secular courts. Today, there is a developed system of Batei Din in Israel, the US and other countries with Jewish community tha…

Judaism began when Israel stood at Mount Sinai and heard the Ten Commandments. Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai where G-d taught him all the commandments and gave him the Torah. Mount Sinai is also the spot of an earlier revelation to Moses and a later revelation to Elijah the Prophet. Where is Mount Sinai? Why was it chosen as the place for…

Jews have lived in Yemen for well over 2,000 years until they were almost all forced to flee to Israel in 1949-1950. The Yemenite Jews who were somewhat isolated from other Jewish communities developed their own unique Jewish customs and traditions. A fascinating discussion about the Jews of Yemen. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spoti…

A central Chassidic teaching is that our thoughts control our destiny. When we think positively, it makes good things happen to us. But how do we get ourselves to think positively? Are we expected to be naive and ignore the challenges that we face? A fascinating discussion about thinking positively, how to get ourselves to think good and how that w…

Jewish sources speak extensively about evil angels and spirits that exist in our universe and sometimes impact humans. Do Jews believe in demons? What are demons? How can they impact us? Should we be afraid of them? A fascinating class about the Jewish belief in demons --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gordon/…

Overcoming challenges and hardships is central to the Jewish ethos. Before Judaism began, our ancestors worked hard as slaves in Egypt preparing our people for a history filled with challenges and hardship. Why did G-d make life so hard? Why do we have to face so many challenges and hardships? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.co…

Special episode with guest speaker Rabbi Mendel Mintz In 1967, just before the outbreak of the Six Day War, the Rebbe started a Tefillin campaign, to encourage all Jewish men to wrap tefillin every day. In the years since, millions of Jewish men have been stopped on the streets by Chabad students and were asked to put on Tefillin. Many put on Tefil…

Jewish history is over 3,000 years old and therefore often confusing. For much of our history, Jewish scholars divided our history into broad historical periods. Understanding these historical periods is the key to understanding Jewish history. Listen to fascinating overview of the primary periods of Jewish History --- Support this podcast: https:/…

The Big Chanukah Riddle, best known as "The Question of the Bet Yosef" is probably the most famous and most discussed question in all of Jewish literature. It has been discussed by countless scholars since it was first raised for the wider public by Rav Yosef Kairo in the 16th Century. More than 1,000 known answers have been given for this riddle. …

Honoring and respecting parents is one of the most important commandments in the Torah. It is included as one of the Ten Commandments. Why is honoring parents so important in Judaism? How do we honor our parents? What is the difference between honor and respect? Do we need to honor parents who have harmed us? A fascinating discussion about the Mitz…

Kosher butchers don't usually sell the animal hindquarters but are they kosher? It's complicated. Here's why --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gordon/support

Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, better known by the name of his book, Chasm Sofer, was a Hungarian Rabbi in the late 18th and early 19th century whose brilliance and leadership helped shape religious Judaism in modern times. Confronted with the early attempts at religious reformation, modernity and secularism in central Europe, Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, became…

With so many things today demanding our attention and so many things to do, how can we stay on top of our time without getting overwhelmed or frustrated? Jews have always been high achievers. We have an old Jewish technique to allow us to maximize our time without stressing. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-g…

he Torah tells us about ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that stood where what is now the Dead Sea. The people of these cities were evil so G-d destroyed the cities in the days of Abraham almost 4,000 years ago. A fascinating discussion about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, their destruction and the implications for us today. --- Support this…

As a young man our ancestors Abraham discovered G-d through his own philosophical investigation. This week we will follow Abraham's analisis to answer the most fundamental questions of Judaism; how do we know there is a G-d and that he created us? We will also take a look at the big question of who created G-d. A fascinating discussion addressing t…

Adam & Eve, the first humans initially had two children Cain and Abel. When Cain was jealous of his brother, he killed him. This first story of sibling rivalry, of jealousy, of murder and of repentance is one of the first and most dramatic stories in the Torah with countless important lessons for our lives. Listen to the fascinating story of Cain a…

One of the central roles of the High Holidays Service is the Chazzan, the cantor who leads the prayers singing melodies and tunes to the words of the prayers. Chazzanim (cantors) have been part of Jewish liturgy from the earliest times and many of the tunes have been used for hundreds of years or longer. A fascinating discussion about Chazanim and …

It is a fundamental Jewish belief that G-d created us. But why? Why did he create the universe? What did he expect to get out of creating us? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gordon/support

One of the central parts of Jewish services in the synagogue is when the Torah scroll is taken out of the ark, placed on the Bima. Various men are called up to say blessings and then the Torah is read. Learn all about the Torah reading in the synagogue. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gordon/support…

People often think of G-d in the Torah as being angry, vengeful and punishing. The Torah tells us of the plagues brought against the Egyptians and others who disobeyed him. The Torah warns a number of times of punishments that we will get for not listening to G-d's instructions. Is G-d vengeful and angry? How does that fit with the description of a…

What happens when a spouse disappears and cannot be traced. Could they have died without anyone knowing? Could they be alive but have taken on a new identity? What should the remaining spouse do? Are they still married? Are they widowed? The question of a missing spouse, called Agunah, has been one of the most troubling scenarios that Jewish schola…

One of the more intriguing mitzvahs in the Torah is the ceremony of the eglah arufah (decapitated calf), performed in ancient Israel when a murdered stranger was found out in the field and the killer was unknown. A fascinating discussion about the Eglah Arufa ceremony, why and how it was performed and how it impacts us today! --- Support this podca…

The Torah says that for fish to be Kosher they have to have fins and scales but what exactly are the scales that make a fish Kosher? Do fish that drop their scales or have a handful of scales count as kosher? What about fillet where the skin has been removed? How can we know if the fillet is kosher? A fascinating discussion about what makes fish ko…

Ever wonder if we really exist or perhaps we are just figments of someone else's imagination? Chassidus (Jewish mysticism) teaches that indeed we are simply figments of G-d's imagination. Discover how we know we are figments of G-d's imagination and what that means for us. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gor…

One of the central parts of Judaism is the Holy Temple in Jerusalem where our ancestors brought sacrifices and served G-d fulfilling many of the commandments. Our second Temple was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago. Since the destruction of the Second Temple, we have prayed, hoped and waited for the building of a Third Temple. We firmly believe the …

One of the most important prophets of the Jewish people was Yeshayahu ben Amotz - Isaiah who served as the spiritual leader of our people during the Assyrian invasions of Israel and some of the most traumatic times our people experienced. His prophecies were immortalized in the book that bears his name. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.…

Should there be limits on people's ability to purchase and safely use weapons? Should we have the freedom to arm ourselves as we feel necessary to protect our family and property? A fascinating discussion about the Jewish view on the gun control / gun rights debate. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zalman-gordon/sup…

At a young age we discover that life just isn't fair. If we believe that our universe and our lives are controlled by G-d then why does G-d make life so unfair? Some people do really well, some struggle. Often our challenges are due to circumstances beyond our control. Can't G-d level the playing field? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.…