SHAVUOT 2024: VIDEOS, DVAR TORAH & STORY

Shavuot celebrates Revelation at Sinai & the giving of the Torah – but what's so joyful about laws? Is it really worth celebrating a list of things we can't do? Learn more here!

The Torah seems to speak of Shavuot as a harvest holiday, but the Rabbis conceive of it as the time to celebrate the Giving of the Torah. Which one is it? In this series, Rabbi Fohrman shows that the two actually complement each other to bring deeper, relevant meaning to Shavuot.

We don’t often talk about how the story of Lot and his daughters is a little risqué for Biblical literature. But looking back at similar illicit stories, of Yehuda and Tamar and Boaz and Ruth, a transcendent lesson emerges. Instead of sly sensuality defining the story, Rabbi Fohrman finds a redemptive love and kindness within the text, shedding new light and understanding on the concepts of kindness and recognition.

There are several holidays mentioned in the Bible, including the Three Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Sukkot and Shavuot. What makes these days more significant than any other holiday? The Bible seems almost elusive when describing these holy days. Join Rabbi Fohrman as he uncovers the secret theme that permeates these days, allowing a deeper understanding of the holiday cycle to emerge.

In this course, Rabbi David Fohrman examines the meaning of Ten Commandments, why they are important & explores the most fundamental principles of Judaism.

When it comes to the Jewish holidays, we tend to relate to each one on its own. But often, we miss the bigger picture. The Torah actually talks to us in epic, sweeping terms about the very idea of a “holiday,” about how to understand the holidays and find meaning in them. Come into the text and get ready to unravel the Torah's secret about the true meaning of Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot.

Eishet Chayil is the ode to the feminine, written by King Solomon in the final chapter of Proverbs, and sung every week, at the Friday night Shabbat table. For generations, many of us have been singing this song every Friday night at our Shabbat table, singing to the woman of the house and extolling her praises. Rabbi Fohrman recorded this live audio in Alon Shvut, Israel, in which he aims to understand the essence of what a "woman of valor" really means. \n\n For indeed, the very notion is odd. Valor is often thought of as a masculine virtue – signifying bravery, on the battlefront, or otherwise. And yet, King Solomon uses this phrase when describing what he calls the most important of feminine traits. Why? Rabbi Fohrman argues that Solomon, in the song of Eishet Chayil, hides a theory of a vision of unique feminine power and strength.

What is the theme that ties together the seemingly disconnected stories of Lot and his daughters, Judah and Tamar, and Ruth? The obscure Biblical law of yibum, or Levirite marriage, has a lot to do with it. Rabbi Fohrman argues there is an important connection that hints at a generational saga of redemption.

The Eshet Chayil prayer is filled with all kinds of fascinating implications, including an exciting idea Rabbi Fohrman brings to light in this podcast. He looks closely at two verses from the middle of Eshet Chayil, and shows how they actually paint for us a beautiful and complex picture of the meaning of marriage.

We add the prayer service of Hallel on holidays, but what exactly are we saying? Is it just a collection of Psalms? In this course, Rabbi Fohrman argues that not only are we learning what it is to be a servant of God, but we are also discovering the origins of the nation of Israel.

In Parshat Emor, we read through the laws and details of the Biblical holidays. But this section also includes a few other laws – like the Omer offering, and agricultural laws like Pe’ah and Leket. Why are those laws included with the Jewish holidays? Join Rabbi Fohrman and Rivky as they re-examine the Emor text, and discover its subtle shared language with a few other texts of the Torah.

This week’s double parsha, Behar-Bechokotai, focuses on the agricultural cycles of Shemittah and Yovel. Strangely enough, the language here carries echoes of some of the themes of last week’s parsha, and even seems to take us all the way back to Mount Sinai. Are these ideas somehow connected? What could the revelation at Sinai have to do with agricultural laws in the land of Israel? Join Rivky Stern and first time co-host Ami Silver as they explore these fascinating connections and the implications for what it means to live together with God in this world.

Can we ever do something so bad there’s no coming back from it? In this series, Rabbi Fohrman grapples with the nature of atonement through a close reading of the story of Elisha ben Avuya, the famous apostate “Acher,” and his fiercely loyal student, Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Fohrman takes a closer look at the Book of Ruth, uncovering new ways in which Ruth's story is much deeper than it appears.

Join Rabbi Fohrman in his pre-Shavuot learning event and get ready for the holiday.