Kol Ramah

Jacki Honig and Alex Friedman put the "Chug" back in "Chugmash" with this new series. In this episode, they educate each other on their thoughts about this week's parsha, Shelach Lecha.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Sh’lakh, sometimes referred to as Sh’lakh L’kha [Numbers 13-15], is taken up mostly with the story of the Spies [Numbers 13-14], whose account to Moses and the people led to the adults of the generation of the Exodus dying in the wilderness. The only two adults who left Egypt and entered the land of Canaan are Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who saw the land for themselves and were prepared to conquer it. Even Moses and Aaron, both of whom survive into the fortieth year of wandering, die just short of entrance into the land. Each time one reads the story one finds it perplexing. What exactly did the spies do wrong? Was it really such a catastrophic sin? worse even than the Golden Calf? We spent our entire time discussing this enigmatic story, and still felt as if we had barely penetrated its surface. We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israe

Noah Sundel, Lia Davies, Mira Golomb, and Yael Katz talk with Amy Erlanger and Jamie Cosky about Taylor Swift, which leads to Amy realizing that she's getting old (just joking).

Amy Erlanger interviews people as the campers arrive.

The first Kol Ramah show of the Kayitz. Amy Erlanger and Jamie Cosky sit down with the kids of Gan and Chaverim.

Amy Erlanger, of Radio Kol Ramah, waits with her fellow tzevet members in anticipation for the campers to arrive. She also interviews some kids she hasn't seen in years.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Maomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Special Guest Rabbi Eliezer Diamond sitting in for Rabbi Kalmanofsky who is travelling to Israel. Parashat B’ha’alot’kha [Numbers 8-11] is particularly rich, featuring, among other items: the menorah [8:1-4] and the trumpets [10:1-10]; the Second Passover [9:1-14], for those who were unable to observe the First Passover; the bracketed verses [10:35-36],which have become part of the Torah service in synagogue worship; various complaints of the people [chapter 11], and the complaints of Aaron and Miriam about Moses [12]. We focused on the bracketed verses, and chapter 12, in particular the prayer offered by Moses in v. 13. We were fortunate to have with us this week Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, the Rabbi Judah Nadich Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at The Jewish Theological Seminary, who filled in for Rabbi Kalmanofsky, who is in Israel this week. It was a real treat for Eliot and me, who were students of Rabbi Diamond at the Seminary, a

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Among the features in Parashat Naso [Numbers 4:21-89] are the passage about the wife suspected of adultery, the nazir [an individual who wishes to take upon himself additional restrictions, the priestly blessing, and the gifts the tribal chieftains bring for the mishkan. This series of gifts, which differ only in the name of the tribal chief, comprise the longest chapter of the Torah. Since Tuesday night begins the observance of Shavuot, which for the rabbis is the season of the giving of Torah, most of our conversation was about Revelation and Torah, though we did manage to quote and discuss the last verse of the parashah. As Eliot mentioned at the end, you are invited to send us metaphors that you find particularly meaningful. We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and grateful for the rescue of four of them by the IDF this past week, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat B’midbar [Numbers 1:1-4:20] is the first parashah in the Book of Numbers, which deals in episodic form with the 40-year wilderness wanderings. As Jacob Milgrom notes in his JPS Commentary to Numbers, the book’s treatment of this time frame is uneven. The first section [1:1-10:11] takes place over 19 days in the second month of the second year, while the third and final section [21:10-36:15] occurs “within five months of the fortieth year”, leaving the middle section to take place sometime during the intervening 38 years. As befits a book which we call in English Numbers, we spent most of our conversation talking about numbers and how we might make sense of them. We hope you enjoy it! We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shab

Parashat B’chukotai is the tenth and last parashah of Sefer Va-yiqra [Book of Leviticus]. Its main section is the תוכחה [tokhekhah, “rebuke”; Baruch Levine labels it “The Execration” (26:14-45)]. Preceded by the blessings (26:3-13) that will come to Israel, both the people and the land provided the people observe the mitzvot [commandments], the far larger part is devoted to the details of the punishments which will ensue should the people not observe the commandments. It can be difficult in 2024, given the nature of the text itself as well as all that is going on in the world and the Jewish world today, to make sense of this passage, and it is to this task that we devote most of our conversation. We also discuss chapter 27, which Baruch Levine entitles “Funding the Sanctuary”. It is customary when we finish a Book of the Torah to conclude the reading in the synagogue with the words חזק חזק ונתחזק, chazak chazak v-nitchazek, let us be strong, let us be strong, let us be strengthened. May it be so for the

Parashat B’har [Leviticus 25:1–26:2], at 57 verses, is one of the shortest in the Torah. In his JPS Torah Commentary, Baruch Levine entitles it “Principles of Land Tenure”. The first section deals with the sabbatical year and jubilee year, and the second section deals with laws regarding people in straitened circumstances. We more or less followed this order as well in our conversation. We hope you enjoy it! We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Emor [Leviticus 21-24] is sometimes the penultimate parashah in Leviticus, except in years such as this one, 5784, which is a leap year. As a consequence, there are no double paashiyot. While Leviticus can be read in as few as 7 weeks, this year, with each parashah a separate week, it will take ten weeks. The parashah is best known for chapter 23, which in additional to the weekly reading, is also read on the 2nd day of Passover and the first two days of Sukkot, because of the festival calendar. There are also laws governing the priesthood, some of the perquisities for being a priest, some restrictions on marriage, and disqualifications from service for certain blemishes. The last aliyah, coinciding with chapter 24, includes the curious case of the m’kallel, the blasphemer, one of those rare cases that occur in the Torah where Moses must seek additional guidance from God to determine how to proceed. Since we recorded on

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Kedoshim [Leviticus 19-20] is, according to the rabbis, the central portion of the Torah, falling in the middle of the 5 Books of Moses. Chapter 19 contains a miscellany of laws which are sometimes compared to the Ten Commandments. Our discussion focused on this comparison. We spent some time also talking about the upcoming holidays of Yom Ha-zikkaron and Yom Ha-Atzma’ut [Israel’s Memorial Day and Israel’s Day of Independence]. Let us know what you think either here, below, or at parshatalk@gmail.com. We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Acharei Mot [Leviticus 16-18] consists of 3 chapters, each with its own theme: chapter 16 is devoted to Yom Kippur, with its emphasis on the purification of the sanctuary; chapter 17 treats proper forms of worship, to borrow a phrase from Baruch Levine’s JPS Commentary on Leviticus; and, chapter 18 deals primarily with the biblical incest taboo, which at its heart speaks to the definition of the family. With the end of Passover 5784 taking place yesterday, as I write, we enter a period of the Jewish calendar sometimes called the “yoms” [Hebrew for day], with the upcoming observances of Yom HaShoah [Commemoration of the Holocaust, Sunday night-Monday, May 5-6], Yom HaZikaron [Israel’s Memorial Day, Sunday night-Monday, May 12-13], Yom Ha-Atzma’ut [Israel’s Independence Day, Monday night-Tuesday, May 13-14], and Yom Y’rushalayim [marking the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty in the 6-Dat War [Tuesday night-

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. This Shabbat is Chol Ha-Mo’ed Pesach, the Shabbat which falls during the week of Pesach [Passover]. The Torah Reading is from Parashat Ki Tissa [Exodus 33:12–34:26], which includes the 13 attributes of God as well as one of the earliest festival calendars; it is also read on Shabbat Chol Ha-Mo’ed Sukkot. The haftarah is from Ezekiel, and is the famous vision of the valley of the dry bones [Ezekiel 37:1-14]. Looking ahead to the concluding days of the holiday, the Torah Reading on the 7th day of Pesach [April 27] features Shirat Ha-Yam, the Song of the Sea [Exodus 15:1-19]. It is also customary to read The Song of Songs this Shabbat. Given the turbulence of recent times, our focus was on hope. Are there texts that are part of our liturgical calendar this week, and especially this Shabbat, which point to it? How do we understand the core texts such as the crossing of the Sea; do we see it as the end of a journey or the beginning

Parashat M’tzora [Leviticus 14-15] coincides with Shabbat Ha-Gadol, the Shabbat before Pesach which features a special haftarah [Malachi 3:4-24], but no special maftir [additional Torah reading]. The subject matter of Metzora is a continuation of the skin disease taken up in last week’s Torah reading [in particular Leviticus 13], which can also afflict a house, as well as various discharges which might happen to men and women, and their treatment. Although acknowledged as another amazing parashah, we focused our conversation on the upcoming Passover holiday, and in particular passages in the haggadah we find especially relevant in these days of war. Perhaps you will find some of what we say useful at your seder. Please let us know! Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the hostages, may they be returned to their homes safely, and the soldiers defending Israel, may they be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Tazria [Leviticus 12-13] flies solo this year because it is a leap year in the Jewish calendar. Most years it is paired with Metzora [Leviticus 14-15], which will be the Torah Reading next week. The double portion is preferred by most people because it is not so easy to derive personal and spiritual meaning from a text devoted to childbirth and skin afflictions. The rabbis themselves identify the sin of lashon ha-ra [often translated as slander] as the responsible agent for the disease, which can be fruitful for discussion and derivation of meaning. We did the best we could with some of the features that captured our fancy, but also spent a good chunk of time on a consideration of some texts from the Haggadah as preparation for Passover. Please let us know what you think, either below or at parshatalk@gmail.com. With the war now in its seventh month, we are ever mindful of the hostages, may they be restored to their fam

Parsha alk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Sh’mini [Leviticus 9-11] coincides this year with Parashat Ha-chodesh [maftir: Exodus 12:1-20; haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18]. This is the last of the four special shabbatot before Pesach, which is now officially just over the horizon. Ha-chodesh is the first commandment given to the Israelite people, understood to mark Nisan as the first of the months; it takes place on the Shabbat before or coinciding with Rosh Chodesh Nisan, so that we are finally, or too soon, depending on your cleaning schedule, about to enter the month in which Passover is celebrated. For those of you keeping score at home, the first seder is Monday evening, April 22. The text from Leviticus, which is the weekly Torah reading, concludes the inauguration of the Tabernacle and priesthood with the tragedy of Nadav and Avihu, which was the focus for most of our conversation. Near the end, we took up Ha-chodesh and the upcoming Passover holiday, which w

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Tzav [Leviticus 6:1-8:36] coincides with Parashat Parah [maftir: Numbers 19:1-22; haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38], the third of the four special shabbatot before Passover. Tzav presents the priestly view of the sacrifices which were covered in last week’s parashah from the Israelite’s point of view. Our conversation touched upon a writing feature found in the second verse, the word moq’dah beginning with a small mem [equivalent to English m]. From there our conversation caught fire as it were! We hope you enjoy it! Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the hostages, may they be returned to their homes safely, and the soldiers defending Israel, may they be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Va-yiqra [Leviticus 1:1–5:26] coincides this year with Shabbat Zakhor [maftir, Deuteronomy 25:17-19; haftarah 1 Samuel 15:2–34] in anticipation of the holiday of Purim, which begins Saturday night, upon the conclusion of Shabbat. Parashat Va-yiqra, the opening parashat of Sefer Va-yiqra [Book of Leviticus], introduces the principal sacrifices of the Israelite Temple cult. We ourselves made a sacrifice this week, by devoting our conversation to the Book of Esther, read as part of the Purim observance on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Many have noted that the story of Esther reads very differently this year, given the particular course of Jewish and Israeli history since the war began on October 7th. Our heartfelt wishes for a freiliche Purim [a joyous Purim], perhaps more important this year in a world where Israel is at war and hostages continue to be held captive. Sometimes we have to take what the calendar gives us