KMTT - the Torah Podcast

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #14 Go Beyond Apple Pie Comfort, by Rav Gidon Rothstein When we think about how to deserve full redemption, do we always reach for the same answer, while ignoring other important answers?

Talking About Eicha and More with Dr. Yael Ziegler, with Kol Deracheha host, Rachel Weber Leshaw. In this special Pre-Tish'a Be-Av episode we talk to Dr. Yael Ziegler about her new book "Lamentations: Faith in a Turbulent World" and her experience writing on such a seemingly sad topic. We also discuss her new appointment as Rosh Beit Midrash of Matan, and her career path until today. Buy the book here: https://korenpub.com/products/lamentations-faith-in-a-turbulent-world

Shir HaShirim | Understanding the Last 10 Pesukim, by Rav Moshe Taragin Shiur given in the Tanakh Study Days 5782 of Herzog College Source sheet >>

Megillat Eikha 6 - Chapter 5, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom This final chapter of Megilat Eikhah brings the entire text to its necessary and desired conclusion and opens the doors for us to mourn... Source sheet >>

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #13 Mourning Jerusalem Beyond Tisha B'Av, by Rav Gidon Rothstein The lasting ways we are supposed to mourn Jerusalem, in our ordinary lives, as ways to merit redemption and consolation.

Dena in Shekhem: A Reevaluation, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The tragic events of Bereishit 34, conventionally understood as a case of Shekhem's rape and abduction of Dena, is a narrative replete with internal and broader difficulties. Along with introducing and demonstrating a methodology which encourages the reader to be a "fly on the wall" in the story, we propose, based on both contextual and textual clues, that Shekhem's behavior was far less vile than presumed and that Yaakov may have felt quite differently about the events - until his sons took things into their own hands and forever altered the course of our history. Ahh...what could have been...This shiur was given at the Herzog College Yemei Iyyun in Tanakh 5782. Source sheet >>

Masei | What Did Tzelofhad's Daughters Really Want? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The request of Tzelofhad's daughters is generally seen as a desire to maintain their deceased father's name by having his land stay within the family. However, a closer look at the 2 main stories in Bamidbar - and their odd "split" into two separate sections - along with the relevant passage in Yehoshua 17, leaves us with a number of questions about their real motivation. The shiur suggests a different approach to their initiative. Source sheet >>

Thoughts on Mori veRabbi Harav Amital zt"l upon his 12th Yahrzeit, by Rav Moshe Taragin

Megillat Eikha 5 - Chapter 4, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Chapter 4: Apparently unsuccessful in his attempt to inspire reflection and a glimmer of hope through his autobiographic sketch, the mekonen pulls out all the stops and describes, in devastating and graphic detail, the tragedy of the loss of independence, sovereignty, "favored nation" status and...life. Presenting the apposition of the formerly royally garbed princes of Jerusalem with the starving youth of the streets of the besieged city seems to finally pull some of the desired emotion from the city. By the time this painful chapter comes to a conclusion, the cry for vengeance - at least the beginning of hope - and the promise of eventual victory and solace is heard. Even if it is the voice of the mekonen, the people can finally hear and internalize this message, the beginning of hope, the engine of return.

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #12 The Lessons in Finding the Reason for Jerusalem's Destruction, by Rav Gidon Rothstein A plethora of reasons for Jerusalem's destruction, and their lessons for finding our way to consolation.