Gematria Refigured ‪+‬ Elie Feder

The Torah tells us that Miriam spoke about the isha kushis that Moshe took. Rashi says the Gematria of kushis (736) is the same as yefas maareh - beautiful. Just like nobody doubts the blackness of a kushis, so too nobody doubted the beauty of Tzippora - and yet Moshe divorced her. This episode analyzes these and other strange Rashis on this matter and probes the significance of using Gematria to teach them.

Ever wonder why we make rows after burial for the mourners to walk through? Listen to this episode to find out what it’s all about.

Rashi (Bamidbar 6:23) says that the passuk writes an extra vav to teach the kohanim to give their beracha slowly and with proper intent. This episode discusses four different ways to relate to birchas kohanim and the relationship of these ways to the speed at which the kohanim enunciate their beracha.

Rashi tells us that if we give maaser, then we’ll have a lot of money and if we withhold it, then we’ll only have a little. This episode considers how this works.

The Torah has two mitzvos to write a Sefer Torah: one for a regular person (learned from the passuk in Devarim 31:19 commanding us to write shiras ha’azinu) and one for a king (learned from Devarim 17:18). This episode analyzes the character of each of these mitzvos.

The Gemara in BK 38a describes Ulla’s remarks to Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda upon the loss of his daughter. His words are shocking and seem very insensitive to a grieving father. This episode analyzes this story and derives a message about giving nechama.