On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah

Rabbi Rick Jacobs talks to Rabbi Judy Schindler in front of microphones

Tune in weekly to hear Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union For Reform Judaism, offer divrei Torah d'var Torahדְּבַר תּוֹרָה“Word(s) of Torah.” (pl. divrei Torah). A brief oral teaching to the congregation which explores themes of the Torah portion or other Jewish content. In many communities, a child celebrating bar/bat mitzvah will prepare and deliver an original d’var Torah during the worship service. (insights into the weekly Torah portion) to help open up Jewish thought and its contemporary influence on your life. Subscribe now and find transcripts in the episode pages below.

Subscribe

Apple

Android

Stitcher

Latest Episode

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Where the Mishnah Meets the #MeToo Movement - Naso

May 29, 2020

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. In this episode, though, which originally aired in June 2019, we deliberatly dive into figuring out what it means to us today.

Thr

Recent Episodes

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Our Multiracial Jewish Community - B'midbar

May 18, 2020

The Torah commands us to take a census of the “whole Israelite community” – but who does the counting, and who, exactly, is counted? In this episode, which first aired in June 2019, Rabbi Rick Jacobs reflects on the Jewish community's chronic undercounting Jews of Color, as reported by a recent study.

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Do You Really Care? Bechukotai Behar

May 11, 2020

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. So how do we do it?

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: Following Their Lead - Parashat Tzav

May 7, 2020

Jewish wisdom says a child’s Torah education should start with the Book of Leviticus. As we read its second portion, Parashat Tzav, we share an episode that first ran in 2018, just after a school shooting in Parkland, FL, killed 17 people and injured 17 more.

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: The Laws of Leviticus, Choice, and A.J. Jacobs, the Gratitude Expert - Vayikra

May 5, 2020

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. Jacobs, perhaps best known for his book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally As Possible.

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - What Is Blasphemy, Anyway? - Emor

May 4, 2020

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. (This episode originally aired in May 2019.)

Three Ways to Listen:

Listen

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: Slowing Ourselves to Anger - parashat Ki Tisa

April 29, 2020

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.

Three ways to listen:

Listen to the full podcast below
Subscribe to