What is the central theme that underlies all of the stories about Abraham's life? The Torah tells us how Abraham hears God’s call, ventures to Canaan, flees from famine, takes a second wife, gets involved in a war of kings, and more. This series explains the story of Abraham like never before.

Abraham's Journey 2

Jacob, our esteemed forefather, is looked to as a role model… our Sages even call him an ish emet, “a man of truth.” But what about that whole impersonating-his-brother-and-lying-to-his-father episode? Would a man of truth do that? It’s not easy to reconcile these things… but that is precisely what Rabbi Forhman manages to do in this provocative audio series.

We all know the famous story of the binding of Isaac: God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac atop a mountain. But did you remember that just a chapter before, God commands Abraham to disown his son Ishmael? You can’t understand the binding of Isaac without grappling with the story of the “phantom” Akeidah.

The story of Joseph and his brothers is one of the most well-known in the entire Bible. And yet, the story – for all its familiarity and simplicity – is darker than the one we might remember learning as a child. Indeed, a sober reading of the text reveals that this is no child's story at all. What are we to make of this story of near-fratricide? What enduring meaning does it hold out to us?

We're all familiar with the Golden Calf story, but there are some glaring questions we rarely address. For example, how could Israel possibly believe that the calf brought them out of Egypt, after seeing the spectacular ten plagues and splitting of the sea? In this 12-part series, Rabbi Fohrman studies the Golden Calf story in depth to search for answers.

The story of the Exodus reminds us of the experience of our ancestors, the Israelites, and their freedom from Egypt. And the climax, of the story, right before they're all taken out of Egypt, is when the Israelites bring the Korban Pesach, the Passover offering. Today, when we think of that story, we can't help but ask...what is the Passover offering all about? And, Rabbi Fohrman asks, how meaningful can the Exodus be to us today, if we don't understand the Passover offering at all?

All over the Torah, we see a running theme – where water goes, Miriam soon follows. But what is the odd relationship between the life force of water, and Miriam the prophetess?

Antisemitism. Where did it all originate and can we trace it through the Tanahk? Rabbi Fohrman argues that it may have begun with the story of Amelek, which is widely known as one of the most mystifying and difficult episodes in the Torah.

Moses was barred from entering the land because he struck the rock, right? Turns out it's not so simple. Understand why our greatest leader was deprived of the opportunity to step foot in the Promised Land.

Bar Mitzvah Playlist