On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Acharei Mot and Kedoshim - "Loving the Stranger" Isn't Always Intuitive
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - What Is Blasphemy, Anyway? - Emor
In ancient times, crimes of blasphemy were punished by stoning - but what does it really mean today to blaspheme? Rabbi Rick Jacobs explains the biblical prohibition against Chilul HaShem, desecrating God's name, and talks about what we are called to do to combat it.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Do You Really Care? Bechukotai Behar
How much do you care about the environment? Yourself? Other people? Rabbi Rick Jacobs talks about our fundamental responsibility to care for God’s earth and attend to the neediest among us. It’s not a newfangled, 21st-century idea; it’s literally what our age-old biblical text calls for.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Our Multiracial Jewish Community - B'midbar
The Torah commands us to take a census of the “whole Israelite community” – but who does the counting, and who, exactly, is counted?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Where the Mishnah Meets the #MeToo Movement - Naso
Parashat Naso includes a passage about the sotah, the "errant woman" who is accused of adultery. It's a complex and problematic part of ancient Judaism, says Rabbi Rick Jacobs, so sometimes it's deliberately avoided.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: Three United Faiths, One Divine Presence - parashat Vayak’heil-P’kudei
In Vayak’heil-P’kudei, we see that God was so pleased with the Israelites’ sacred space (the Tabernacle) that God’s own presence descended upon them as they wandered through the desert.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: Slowing Ourselves to Anger - parashat Ki Tisa
What is the Jewish approach to anger? How do we deal with it in a way that’s healthy? This week, Rabbi Rick Jacobs explores Parashah Ki Tisa and explores God’s anger toward the Israelites for their idolatry as well as the impact that our own anger can have on ourselves.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Using Our Words to Heal, Not Hurt - Parashiyot Tazria and M’tzora
For many Jews, Parashiyot Tazria and M’tzora are perhaps the most nerve-inducing of all the Torah portions.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: The Laws of Leviticus, Choice, and A.J. Jacobs, the Gratitude Expert - Vayikra
How can we find modern meaning in ancient rituals? From our "greatest hits" collection comes this episode from March 2019, featuring Rabbi Rick Jacobs in conversation with acclaimed author A.J.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: Go Ahead, Be an Innovator - Parashat Sh'mini
Parashat Sh'mini tells of the deaths of two men who are though to have been punished for the sin was innovation - but today, don't we look at innovation as a positive thing?