Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

The Sabbath: Its Meaning for the Modern Man

Part One: A Palace in Time

Audiobook

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

The Sabbath: Its Meaning for the Modern Man

Prologue: The Architecture of Time

Audiobook

In lieu of a shiur, here is a preview of coming attractions. We have 2 series in the works. The first, which I’m calling paterfamilias, is an exciting look at the mishna called Avot.We will be guided by Rabbi Binny Lau’s work the sages, as well as modern scholarship on the poetics and historical context necessary for reading of Mishna.

The second series in an in depth look at Sefer Yechezkel, the book of Ezekiel. This bold and enigmatic prophet has many tantalizing visions and a message that I think resonates asmuch today as it did 2,600 years ago.

Episode 51: The Finale of Sefer Shmuel

In this episode we discuss why David retains the kingship and why Shaul didn’t. We uncover the depths of the concept of repentance and the necessity of suffering as a way to deconstruct the sinner.

Finally we compare David's character arc to that of Eli and find that while David was both a king and a judge at one point, after his sin with Batsheva and Uriah his faculty of judgement became corrupted. It was not until his son was able to judge between the two prostitutes that David's critical errors in judgement could be reversed.

All this and more.

Thanks for joining us.

Please don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.

If you would like copies of the shiur notes please message me.

The (Second) Book of Samuel: chapter 24

Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapter twenty four

Episode 50: The Better Angels of Our Nature

Previously on the book of Shmuel part Bet we read David’s swan song and pointed out the similarities to Chana’s song. We also met David’s mighty men and closed the previous chapter by both awkwardly omitting Yoav and pointing out that the final warrior is intentionally listed as Uriah HaHittie.

In this, our final chapter and penultimate shiur, we are presented with another of David’s tribulations. With Hashem angry for an undisclosed reason, David is prompted to sin by conducting a census. From there David is given a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ of punishments, itself a hidden test. David seems to select correctly but cannot avoid a massive toll on the people. Yet in an effort to stop the carnage he is brought to the precipice of his dream of beginning the building of the temple.

Thanks for listening.

Please help us spread Torah by subscribing, rating and reviewing this show.

The (Second) Book of Samuel: chapters 22 & 23

Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapters twenty two and twenty three

Episode 49: David's Swan Songs

Previously on the book of Shmuel part Bet, we began the coda of the book with two perplexing stories. The first was David’s acquiescing to the killing of nearly the entire remaining family of Shaul by the Give’onim in order to end a 3 year famine. The second was David’s near death experience with one Ishbi B’nob, where he is saved by Avishai. That encounter spelled the end of David’s military career and it seems it precipitated the Batsheva incident.

These chapters contain a poem which concludes with a victory song. There is some clear artistry in that songs begin and end the book, with the song of Chana being mirrored here. Chapter 22 is identical or nearly identical to Psalms 18 which was written when David was saved from Shaul and perhaps other enemies.

The next chapter contains another song and the exploits of David's mighty heroes. Many of the names of the warriors are interpreted midrashically.

Thanks for listening.

Please help us spread Torah by subscribing, rating and reviewing this show.

The (Second) Book of Samuel: chapter 21

Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapter twenty one

Episode 48: Polydactyly

Previously on the book of Shmuel part Bet: We saw the secret life of Amasa who we proposed was in fact the inside man propelling the rebellion of Sheva ben Bichri. We noted That Yoav seemed to be hunting Amasa and explained the poor handling of Amasa’s corpse as part of the fallout of the ongoing war. I know we mentioned the gemara about the halachic question as to whether or not Sheva should have been handed over to Yoav, but we didn’t quite touch on the fact that even if they were allowed to hand Sheva over, who says they could kill him? Meaning even if he was a mored b’malchut, doesn’t he get his day in court in front of David? The only answer I can come up with is that this is a proof that anyone can kill a mored b’malchut at the kings behest.

In this chapter we begin the coda of sefer shmuel by pivoting back in time. David is dealing with a famine that is one again tied to Gibe’on, a place and a people which has outsized impact on our book as a whole. Perhaps now we can see why Shimi ben Gera was so livid at David, David had essentially wiped out nearly the entire remaining family of Shaul, even after he had made an oath to preserve them!

Thanks for joining us.

Please help us spread Torah by subscribing, rating and reviewing this show.

The (Second) Book of Samuel: chapter 20

Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapter twenty

Episode 47: The Secret Life of Amasa

Previously we saw the return of the king, where David meets again with many of the cast of characters he encountered when he had to flee before Avshalom. We spoke about his misjudgement with Mephiboshet and Tzibah and at the end we saw that David’s efforts to reunite the nation, by appointing Amasa as the head of his army, were insufficient to prevent the beginnings of internal strife. The tribes are once again acting tribal, with bickering over who gets to be closer to the king being an example of the simmering unrest that will erupt into another rebellion in this chapter.

Thanks for joining us.

Please help us spread Torah by subscribing, rating and reviewing this show.