Mining The Riches Of The Parsha

Rabbi Michael Whitman
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Updated Daily

On this podcast we think carefully, admit what we don’t know, and learn from wherever truth shows up. Here we explore how Torah works for living seriously, joyfully, and truthfully in real life. I am Michael Whitman, rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, a Modern Orthodox synagogue community, and adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. Contact me (michael@adath.ca) to receive a daily email, Study with Rabbi Whitman Today, with current and past insights for that day — video and audio, all in one easy-to-access place, sent directly to your inbox. Contact me (michael@adath.ca) for any questions, suggestions, or feedback.

  1. 9h ago

    You Cannot Mourn Jerusalem Until You See Her Beauty | 10@9 | 2026.07.23

    Tisha B'Av is the day we mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish People. But Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik taught that mourning alone is incomplete. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, the great 12th-century poet and author of the Kuzari, composed one of the most beautiful Kinnot we recite on Tisha B'Av. In it, he does not dwell on destruction. Instead, he paints a breathtaking picture of the beauty of Zion and the Land of Israel. According to a famous legend, he sang these words as he finally reached Jerusalem, the destination he had longed for his entire life. In this 10@9, we explore why Rabbi Yehuda Halevi's Kinah is indispensable to Tisha B'Av. Before we can truly mourn Jerusalem, we must first remember her greatness, her beauty, and what was lost. Only then can our grief be worthy of the past - and become the foundation of hope for the future. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

  2. 1d ago

    Why Did Moshe Change the Ten Commandments? | 10@9 | 2026.07.22

    One of the Torah's biggest surprises is that the Ten Commandments appear twice - and they aren't identical. Why did Moshe change them? Rabbi Ezriel Tauber suggests that the difference between "Remember the Sabbath" and "Guard the Sabbath" reveals something profound about our relationship with God. We begin as recipients of God's gifts, but we are meant to grow into partners who protect, build, and take responsibility for His world. That same journey defines Tisha B'Av. We begin by mourning the tragedies that happened to us. But Judaism refuses to let us remain there. The purpose of mourning is to transform grief into responsibility - to become active partners in rebuilding what was destroyed and bringing redemption closer. As Jalen Brunson put it: "You are allowed to think about the worst possible scenario, but then you gotta go out there and do something about it." Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

  3. 2d ago

    Every Story Has More Than One Ending | 10@9 | 2026.07.21

    The Book of Devarim is full of stories we've already heard. Yet Moshe tells them again, choosing carefully what to emphasize. He isn't changing the facts. He's teaching us that the meaning of our lives depends on the story we choose to tell about them. A child falls while learning to ride a bicycle. Is that a story of failure, or the first step toward independence? Moshe tells us how God refused his request to enter the Land of Israel, yet he also shows us how to see the blessing he was given instead, and how to understand his life's mission in a new way. As Tisha B'Av approaches, the Talmud offers us two models to remember the destruction of Jerusalem. We use both. We begin by mourning with the rabbis who weep over what was lost. We end with Rabbi Akiva, who laughs because he sees in those same ruins the certainty of redemption. The facts have not changed. But the ending has. And the story we choose to tell shapes the people we become. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

  4. Jul 15

    Peace Begins Before We Agree | 10@9 | 2026.07.15

    I expected "The Future Is Peace" by Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon to challenge me. I didn't expect it to make me uncomfortable. The book asks something extraordinarily difficult of every reader: listen carefully to another person's story, even when every instinct inside you wants to argue, correct, or reject it. You don't have to agree. You don't have to abandon your convictions. But if we cannot hear one another's deepest experiences, we will never build anything beyond endless conflict. Peacemaking is not naïve. It is demanding. Those who pursue it are often mocked, dismissed, or accused of betraying their own people. Yet, as the authors write, "Ultimately, every conflict ends. It's up to us to decide how much blood must be spilled first." This episode explores the courage that peace requires - and why listening may be its hardest first step. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

  5. Jul 14

    The Classroom That Gives Me Hope for Israel | 10@9 | 2026.07.14

    I recently visited Professor Ben Mollov's Jewish-Arab Dialogue class at Bar-Ilan University, and it left me more hopeful about Israel than almost anything else I experienced during my trip. The class begins with something unexpected - conversational Arabic. From there, Jewish and Arab students learn, laugh, argue, and build genuine relationships. For many, it is the first time they have truly come to know one another as people rather than as representatives of opposing groups. Professor Mollov has spent years measuring the impact of this work, and his research shows that these encounters have a lasting impact long after graduation. He has created an environment in which stereotypes become impossible because real relationships replace them. I had the privilege of speaking to the students myself. Their openness, curiosity, and warmth convinced me that peace is not built only through diplomacy or political agreements. It is built one classroom, one conversation, and one relationship at a time. If Israel is ever to know lasting peace - and I am convinced it will, it will need courageous initiatives like this one - and they deserve far more attention than they receive. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

  6. Jul 13

    The Woman Who Gave October 7th Its Words | 10@9 | 2026.07.13

    Rachel Goldberg-Polin has become more than the grieving mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. She has become the voice and vocabulary of October 7th and its aftermath. In her remarkable new book, "When We See You Again," she gives language to grief, faith, hope, love, and resilience with a precision that helps us understand not only what happened, but what it has done to us. In this episode, I share why I believe this is one of the most important books to emerge from October 7th. Rachel does not offer easy answers or comforting clichés. Instead, she offers something rarer: words that help us carry pain without surrendering to it, search for God without pretending to understand His plan, and embrace her daily conviction that "hope is mandatory." This is a book to read slowly, to underline, and to return to again and again. It deserves to be read not only because of Rachel's story, but because of the extraordinary way she tells it. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

  7. Jul 12

    What is the Purpose of a Synagogue? | 10@9 | 2026.07.12

    This morning we discuss three models of what a synagogue's purpose is. The model that is common in North America has a surprising origin. It was conceived and initiated by Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan at The Jewish Center in 1918, who later founded the Reconstructionist Movement. We at ADATH build on that model but with a critical difference. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

  8. Jul 10

    The Torah Cares About More Than What You Do | 10@9 | 2026.07.10

    One of the most surprising details in this week's Parsha is easy to miss. Moshe doesn't simply tell the tribes of Gad and Reuven to fight alongside the rest of the Jewish people before returning to their own land. He tells them to go as Chalutzim - pioneers at the front of the army, leading the charge and strengthening everyone else's resolve. Why? Because serving the Jewish people means thinking not only about what is best for you, but also about the effect you have on those around you. Through this Torah insight, together with a story about Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook and an unforgettable encounter at a bank, I explore a lesson that reaches far beyond the battlefield. Our responsibility includes more than our actions and words. It includes our attitude, our presence, our body language, and the atmosphere we create for others. Sometimes the greatest act of leadership is simply helping the people around us become stronger. Most of us think responsibility ends with doing the right thing. The Torah says responsibility also includes the spirit in which we do it. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

See All (519)

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

On this podcast we think carefully, admit what we don’t know, and learn from wherever truth shows up. Here we explore how Torah works for living seriously, joyfully, and truthfully in real life. I am Michael Whitman, rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, a Modern Orthodox synagogue community, and adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. Contact me (michael@adath.ca) to receive a daily email, Study with Rabbi Whitman Today, with current and past insights for that day — video and audio, all in one easy-to-access place, sent directly to your inbox. Contact me (michael@adath.ca) for any questions, suggestions, or feedback.

Information

You Might Also Like