The text in Parashat Ki Tetze states that if one comes upon a bird’s nest, one should send the mother bird away from the nest before taking the eggs. Chaim Tureff explores the values that we are to learn from this set of laws and offers some insight into how an understanding of these laws might affect our interactions with other people.

Rabbi Chaim Meyer Tureff is the Judaic Studies Coordinator at the Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy in Los Angeles and is a student and teacher of martial arts.

 

 Chaim Tureff on Parashat Ki Tetze [9:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The theme of Parshat Shoftim is inherent in its name: in times of uncertainty about how the Torah instructs us on addressing a matter of law or a principle, we turn to the shoftim, or judges, for guidance. Yehuda Geberer uses rabbinic teachings about the underlying qualities of these judges to explore how we approach the roles of our rabbis and teachers today.

Yehuda Geberer is a full-time Talmud student at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, where he currently serves as gabbai (sexton).

 

 Yehuda Geberer on Parashat Shoftim [10:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Parashat Re’eh serves as a quick overview of the different types of laws in the Torah, including those dealing with ritual and the structure of society. Alan Fisher reviews some of the key themes discussed in the Parasha and explores how they relate to the central tenets of the importance of community and the centrality of the land of Israel.

Alan Fisher is an active participant in the Moveable Minyan and is Professor of Political Science at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

 

 Alan Fisher on Parashat Re'eh [10:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In 1855, a young German widow named Fanny Neuda published the first full-length book of prayers by a Jewish woman for women. Using this book and the prayers within as a backdrop, Dinah Berland discusses how prayer can restore faith and help people during their times of need.

Dinah Berland is a poet and book editor whose poems have appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies. Her recent book, “Hours of Devotion: Fanny Neuda’s Book of Prayers for Jewish Women,” a verse adaptation of the first book of Jewish prayers by a woman for women, was published by Schocken Books in 2007. Learn more about her work at http://www.dinahberland.com.

 

 Dinah Berland on What Personal Prayer Can Do [6:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The purpose of animal sacrifice can be difficult to grasp in today’s times. Podcasting from Limmud NY, Leon Morris touches on some of the more complex issues we face when dealing with this issue and suggests ways to better understand the meaning of sacrifices within Judaism today.

Rabbi Leon Morris is Executive Director of the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning in New York. He received his ordination from Hebrew Union College in 1997, served as Director of New York Kollel: A Center for Adult Jewish Study at HUC-JIR, and has taught at Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform synagogues.

 

 Leon Morris on the Meaning of Sacrifices [3:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Golden Calf is not the problem; it was the solution and it presents us a challenge. Moses had disappeared up the thundering mountain and the molten calf soothed the Israelites’ anxiety. It worked - for a brief time. As discussed by Gerry Owen, we are often tempted to soothe ourselves with the nearest old habit. Yet choice is ours. How do we exercise it? And if we do miss the mark, how do we cleanup and prepare ourselves to meet the next temptation? Parashat Ki Tissa offers us some clues.

Seeking wisdom has guided Gerry Owen throughout his life and career. Professionally, he has studied many cultures as a college history professor (now retired). And, as a marriage, family therapist, he helps resolve conflicts, heal wounds and achieve forgiveness. Personally, he is husband, father, grandfather, speaker and wood carver. His writings, blending the science of emotional neurobiology with Torah wisdom and mystery, can be found at his website, Reflections from Above.

 

 Gerry Owen on Parashat Ki Tissa [7:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Torah commands: “And they shall build me a sanctuary, and I will dwell amongst them.” Hassidut asks: the Torah is eternal, what, then, is the meaning of this commandment for us in our time? Ronnie Serr discusses the response of Hassidut, that the Temple has the same structure as the human soul. The commandment to build a sanctuary is a commandment for each individual to continuously prepare their hearts and minds for the dwelling of HaShem. This sanctuary then becomes a place of purity where offerings can be made for thanksgiving, for atonement, and for the ongoing revelation of God’s presence.

Ronnie Serr learns and teaches the love of HaShem, love of Torah and love of Israel in Los Angeles. He leads a weekly study group on Song of Songs , teaches at the Academy of Jewish Religion, Los Angeles, and is a member of the Happy Minyan.

 

 Ronnie Serr on Parashat Terumah [5:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Harold Walt and Abby Fifer, members of the LimmudLA 2008 conference steering committee, introduce conference presenters and participants to LimmudLA core values and ideals that can enhance the LimmudLA experience.

 

 An Introduction to LimmudLA Ideals [7:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

During the revelation at Sinai, Moses alone was chosen by God to receive the Ten Commandments and to transmit them to the new Israelite nation. In this parasha, in addition to Moses, the elders of Israel are instructed to approach God and to share in the responsibility of accepting mitzvot and communicating them to the Israelites. Joshua Hoffman discusses how this represents the recognition that it will take the integration of many different perspectives to resolve inevitable conflicts and to bring peace to the community.

Joshua Hoffman is a member of the rabbinic staff at Valley Beth Shalom, a lecturer in liturgy at the American Jewish University, and Chairperson of the West Valley Rabbinic Task Force. He participates in the Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal (”STAR”) PEER program, a select national leadership program that helps early-career rabbis meet the growing needs of an ever more diverse Jewish population, a population with different expectations than previous generations, while also preserving core practices and values of Judaism.

 

 Joshua Hoffman on Parashat Mishpatim [5:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It is in Parshat Beshalach, after liberation from slavery and crossing through the Reed Sea, that the Israelites first expressed their faith in song. Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea, is one of the oldest biblical prayers and one that connects us to the moment of redemption each time we sing Mi Chamocha during prayer services. Judy Greenfeld reminds us that song is the language of the soul: with words elevated through melody, vibration, rhythm, and kinesthetic energy, singing can elevate our mood and open our hearts.

Judy Greenfeld the spiritual leader and founder of the Nachshon Minyan, a community that reaches out to the unaffiliated. She is the co-author of two books, Minding the Temple of the Soul and Entering the Temple of Dreams, and recently released the accompanying CD, When You Lie Down and When You Rise Up.

 

 Judy Greenfeld on Parashat Beshalach [16:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download