Into the Verse - A Parsha Podcast Aleph Beta

We’re starting Sefer Vayikra this week! But if we’re honest, Leviticus isn’t the easiest book to be excited about. Genesis and Exodus have so much drama: the family stories of our patriarchs and matriarchs, the liberation from Egypt, the great encounter with God at Mount Sinai. Whereas Vayikra... so much of it is about animal offerings, or how the priests need to do their jobs in the mishkan, the tabernacle. It’s got a lot of laws that don't even apply to us any more. So how do we find meaning in this central book of the Five Books of Moses?
In this episode, Imu Shalev brings that exact question to Rabbi Fohrman, along with a suggestion about how Vayikra is actually a connected, embedded part of the Torah’s overall story. And their conversation shows that this isn’t actually an isolated book of laws. Instead, it’s a key part of our national mission statement. Vayikra is about learning to live a life of closeness with God.


What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.


Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org.

Observing the Sabbath involves rules about a long list of actions, from cleaning to writing to making things with our hands, and more! Right before the start of construction on the mishkan, the Tabernacle, Parshat Vayakhel reminds us to observe Shabbat. Building the mishkan was a huge project, one that required all kinds of creative activities. So keeping Shabbat must require us to refrain from those activities. That’s a logical explanation, but it also sounds pretty technical. Are the blueprints for the mishkan really a spiritually satisfying reason for having so many laws? We’re talking about Shabbat, one of the most central, most precious parts of Judaism! Shouldn’t these rules lead us straight to some deep knowledge of God?
This week’s episode is something special, a two-part format that we haven’t tried before. First, Rabbi Fohrman shows why Shabbat laws are linked to the mishkan, what that connection teaches us about God’s creating the world, and how we fulfill our human destiny as “little creators.” In the second half, Ari Levisohn and Beth Lesch dig deeper into Rabbi Fohrman’s ideas. They consider what Shabbat teaches us about God’s plan for humanity, and what we can learn from that about being parents… one way in which we emulate God’s role as Creator.


What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.


Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org.

Parshat Ki Tisa has one of the all-time low points in the Torah. The Israelites just received the Torah back in Parshat Yitro. All they need to do now is wait for Moses to finish up a bit of paperwork with God. But when he doesn't come back right away, they go to Aaron and ask him to...  make them a golden calf.
It's a disaster. God sends Moses back down the mountain and punishes the people for worshipping this idol. But there are some big questions we can ask about this story. Such as: What do the Israelites want an idol for? They just heard God giving them the Ten Commandments, speaking directly to them! But also... why would anyone take a golden idol seriously? It seems so obvious that if you made it, then it's not a god. So how are we supposed to understand what's really happening in this story? How can we know what message to take away for our own lives?
This week, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu Shalev tackle the tough questions about the sin of the golden calf. As it turns out, this story has a lot to say about our human struggles with responsibility. And about why it can be so hard to feel close to God. 
Rabbi Fohrman's course on trying to change God's will: Moshe's Benevolent Chutzpah


What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.


Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org.

There's a saying that Purim has a lot in common with a certain other Jewish holiday. But unlike Purim, that other holiday isn’t exactly known for parties, costumes, and sweet treats. No, it’s Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and atonement. So where’s the similarity? 
In this week’s episode, Rabbi Fohrman and Rivky Stern go back to the Torah’s description of the Yom Kippur service and uncover a whole list of parallels with the Book of Esther. One of those parallels is sorrowful: When Vashti is banished for refusing to come before King Ahasuerus, the Megillah’s language seems to send us back to the deaths of Aaron’s sons in Leviticus. But as it turns out, both stories include a more hopeful “replay.” God teaches Aaron how to come safely into the Holy of Holies once a year, on Yom Kippur. Meanwhile, Queen Esther takes a significant risk to approach her King’s inner courtyard… and becomes the savior of her people.


What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.


Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org.

Parshat Terumah kicks off the "not so exciting" section of the Torah all about the detailed construction of the mishkan (tabernacle). But what if those details contain the secret key to understanding one of the greatest questions facing any 21st-century believer: How do we reconcile the creation story in Genesis with everything we know about modern physics and the Big Bang?
Glossary of Hebrew terms


For Rabbi Fohrman's long-form version of this material, click here.


Subscribe to our new podcast, A Book Like No Other, wherever you get your podcasts. To listen on Spotify click here, to listen on Apple podcast click here, and to listen on Aleph Beta click here. 


What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.


Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org.

Parshat Mishpatim tells us what should happen if people get hurt because of someone else's actions – fighting, stealing, keeping dangerous animals around the house. In each case, the Torah explains what should happen to the offender, but what's interesting is that the same injury doesn’t always carry the same penalty. Sometimes it depends on the person's intentions: Were they actually planning to cause the harm or not?
In this week's episode, Rabbi Fohrman points out that one of those laws in Mishpatim looks like a clue to something he’s wondered about for a long time: a mysterious unsolved death back in Genesis. So he and Ari Levisohn dig into that case and share the evidence they discover, along with a theory about how it all fits together. Come along as Rabbi Fohrman uses his detective skills to explore a curious case of divine justice.
For a limited time, you can get a free copy of Rabbi David Fohrman’s renowned book The Queen You Thought You Knew when you sign up for an annual Aleph Beta premium subscription.
Interested in hearing the fuller version of Rabbi Fohrman's theory about Rebecca, Jacob, and the blessings? You can find it here.

Subscribe to our new podcast, A Book Like No Other, wherever you get your podcasts. To listen on Spotify click here, to listen on Apple podcast click here, and to listen on Aleph Beta click here. 


What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow. You may even be featured on the show!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.


Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. For our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, please visit www.alephbeta.org.