Jewish Matters

Holiday Series # 3 Revealing the Hidden: Megilat Esther. Overview & Insights

Revealing the Hidden: Megilat Esther.  Overview & Insights on Jewish Matters Podcast with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman

The Megilat Esther, set in ancient Persia is a story of court intrigue and heroes who risk their lives for the Jewish people. It is the only book of the Torah/Tanach that G-d’s name is not mentioned.  Yet as the story is woven we see that the confluence of event points to a deeper plot that is unfolding which will determine course of Jewish History.

Sunset Series # 17 Focus on the Elections with MK Idan Roll, Yesh Atid

The Next Generation of Social Entrepreneurship: A Conversation with MK Idan Roll on Jewish Matters Podcast 

About the topic:  A Conversation with MK Idan Roll about the future of high tech, LGBTQ rights, social equality, and the situation of young professionals in Israel

About our speaker. MK Idan Roll has served in Knesset since 2019 on the Yesh Atid list. In the outgoing Knesset, he was a member of the Economics Committee, the Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, and the Subcommittee on the Treatment and Assistance to Victims of PTSD. He also chaired the Innovation and High-Tech Lobby, the Cannabis Lobby for Medicine and Leisure, the Lobby for the LGBTQ Community, and the Lobby for Sports and Fitness.  He served in the IDF in a technology unit within the Intelligence Corps. Roll holds a bachelor's degree in law and a master's degree in public law from Tel Aviv University. He lives in Tel Aviv with his partner Harel, with their son.

Exodus Unveiled # 7 Raiders of The Lost Ark. Overview & Insights on Parshat Terumah

Exodus Unveiled # 7 Raiders of The Lost Ark.  Overview & Insights on Parshat Terumah with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

What was the ark of the covenant and where is it today?  What did the original Menorah look like and how is different than the one we use on Chanukah?   After the giving of the Torah the Jewish people are directed to build a sanctuary, a portable center of worship, like a synagogue where the Jewish people would gather and bring offerings.  The directions for building this center of worship will span the five next parshiot, and today’s focuses on Menorah, the Ark and the implements. 

Sunset Series # 16 Focus on the Elections -An Oleh in Politics with Jeremy Salatan, Yamina List

Experiences of an Oleh in Israeli Politics: Being an Address For the Anglo Community 

with Jeremy Saltan, Yamina Party List and Director of English Operations

on Jewish Matters Podcast 

About the topic:  As Israel gears up for elections on March 23, Yamina is positioned to play a key pivotal role in which party will be able to form a government.  As an oleh, Jeremy Saltan is particularly well-placed to be an voice and an advocate for the olim community.  Join us as he speaks about life in Israeli Politics, the special interests of olim, and Yamina’s special positioning in the upcoming elections.

About our speaker:   Jeremy Saltan is on Yamina’s list for the 24th Knesset and serves as Director of English Operations. Jeremy is a regular commentator for diplomatic and political panels on international networks. He serves as Acting Chairman of Mevasseret Tzion’s Immigration and Absorption Committee and as a member of the Harel Planning and Construction Committee. He made Aliyah from Skokie, Illinois, USA.

Exodus Unveiled # 6 Part II The Oral Law: What is the Talmud? In-Depth Insights on the Parshat Mishpatim

Exodus Unveiled # 6 Part II The Oral Law: What is the Talmud?  In-Depth Insights on the Parshat Mishpatim with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman

The written Torah is arguably the most influential document in the history of mankind.  However in order to understand and apply the Torah there was an additional body of teachings called the Oral Law.  Why was the Torah structured this way, and how does the system work?  What is the Talmud and how is it related to the written law?   

Exodus Unveiled # 6 How Do You Create a Society Built on Jewish Values? Overview & Insights on Parshat Mishpatim

Exodus Unveiled # 6 How Do You Create a Society Built on Jewish Values?  Overview & Insights on Parshat Mishpatim with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

After the giving of the Torah at Mt Sinai this week’s parsha presents a sampling of the laws, the mitzvoth of the Torah.  Most of them deal with societal laws, for since this is the moment of the formation of the Jewish people, they now need to know how to build a just society based on higher values. 

Exodus Unveiled # 5 Part II. The Ten Commandments: Foundation of Morality: In-depth Insights on Parshat Yitro

Exodus Unveiled # 5 Part II. Foundation of Morality: The Ten Commandments. In-depth Insights on Parshat Yitro with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

What is special about the Ten Commandments, why were these ten chosen to be highlighted?  What is the significance of their order, and are they all commandments?  Can one command belief in G-d?  Insights into one of the greatest documents in human history.

Exodus Unveiled # 5 Becoming A People. Overview & Insights on Parshat B’shalach

Exodus Unveiled # 5 Becoming A People. Overview & Insights on Parshat B’shalach with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast

This is a seminal parsha which presents the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the event that concretized the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people.  We will try to understand the significance of the ten commandments, the concept of a chosen people, and the experience of Divine revelation. 

Exodus Unveiled # 4 Trust in G-d & The Splitting of the Red Sea. Overview & Insights on the Parshat B’shalach

Trust in G-d & The Splitting of the Red Sea. Overview & Insights on the Parshat B’shalach with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast 

This parsha will chronicle the final chapter of the defeat of Pharoh and the Egyptians at the Red Sea.  The Jews’ trust in Moshe and G-d is internalized by the miracles they experience, and the reliance on G-d in the desert who will sweeten that water and provide them with manna, wonder bread.  It is a message that even if we do not experience miracles, the Almighty is providing for us and protecting us every day. 

Sunset Series # 15 Jewish Tree Huggers: Tu B’Shvat, & Environmentalism with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman

Jewish Tree Huggers: Tu B’Shvat, & Environmentalism at the Sunset Series with Rabbi Jonathan Feldman on Jewish Matters Podcast.

What is the significance of Tu B’Shvat, the New Year for Trees in Jewish tradition?  In modern times it has been identified as a ‘Jewish Arbor Day’, but has been expanded beyond that as a ‘Jewish Earth Day.  Was that its original intent?  Is there a Jewish ethics of ecology that emerges from the Torah, and does it align with our modern ecological sensitivities?