God’s Role in Our Lives
Why Does God Let Us Suffer?
If God loves us, why does God let bad things happen to us? This question may be impossible to answer, but on Tisha b’Av it’s just as impossible to ignore.
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 6 • 11 min
Why Did God Create Me?
It’s one of life’s biggest questions. A surprising verse in Parshat Bereishit may hold the key to uncovering our true purpose.
Animated Video • 12 min
What Is The Meaning Of Life?
The most fundamental question we all want to answer is this one: What is the meaning or purpose of our lives? Rabbi Fohrman argues that the answer lies at the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis.
Deep Dive Course • Part 1 of 7 • 34 min
Why Does The Omnipotent God Need To Rest?
At the end of the story of creation, the Torah makes a big deal of telling us that God rested. Have you ever wondered why God needed to rest? Sure, creating the world in six days was a lot of work, but that’s not going to tire out an omnipotent God!! And it is not just God’s rest that is puzzling. The Torah commands us to celebrate Shabbat every week to commemorate God’s creation of the world. But how do we actually celebrate it? We rest, just as God did on the seventh day. Apparently, we are really commemorating not the creation, but God’s rest that followed it. Somehow, it seems, this rest was even more important than the creation itself. How is that possible? In this course Rabbi Fohrman uncovers what true rest really means and just why it is so important. He explains why God needed to rest and how we are meant to incorporate this kind of rest into our Sabbaths and into our lives.
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 4 • 8 min
Does God Literally Dwell Among Us?
How does God, the infinite, exist in this world of finite? In this lecture series, we consider our perspective of God in this world based on the physical make-up of the Temple. Does God still dwell among us today?
Recorded Lecture • Part 1 of 3 • 5 min
Does God Feel Emotions?
We often talk about God's love for us, but does God really have emotions? In this week's parsha, Rabbi Fohrman explores an odd midrash about God's names and explains how incredible and inscrutable God's love is.
Animated Video • 12 min
Will God Always Forgive Me?
Is there ever a point of no return in my relationship with God? In Parshat Ki Tisa, Moses explores this exact question as he bargains with God on behalf of the nation after the Sin of the Golden Calf. How is it possible that this lawyering session could possibly change God's mind after such an atrocious sin? What could this mean for me and my relationship with God?
Animated Video • 13 min
How Can We Relate to a Vengeful God?
In Numbers, God seems so angry and cruel dooming Israel to die in the desert. But by carefully examining the book, Rabbi David reveals a more nuanced view of God's love and justice.
Animated Video • 18 min
Torah and the Challenges of Modernity
Why Does Man "Acquire" Woman?
Why do the Rabbis call marriage an “acquisition”? It seems so primitive and backwards. Does the Torah really think that married women are just the property of their husbands? But what if we’ve got it all wrong? What if “acquisition” isn’t about ownership at all? A closer look at Bereishit can help us understand the deeper relevance for us today.
Animated Video • 9 min
Shelo Asani Ishah: Why Thank God For Not Being A Woman?
Does it make you uncomfortable that every day, Jewish men thank God for not making them women? Watch this video to learn how the blessing may not mean what you think it does.
Animated Video • 11 min
Why Aren’t Dinosaurs Mentioned In The Torah?
How could the Torah leave out such a big part of history? Does it mean Torah and science are at odds? The answer lies in how we read the Torah.
Animated Video • 8 min
Do the Big Bang and Torah Conflict?
In this week’s parsha video, Rabbi Fohrman examines one of God’s names and reveals how the Rabbis suggest the Big Bang theory can coexist with belief in God as the Creator.
Animated Video • 12 min
How Can We Respond to the Charges of Biblical Criticism?
The Documentary Hypothesis claims that the Torah is a compilation of many manuscripts with several authors. In this Q&A from a lecture, Rabbi Fohrman explores how the Torah’s structure—its chiasms and intertextual parallels—demonstrates its singular authorship. For more on this, take a look at A Tale of Two Names: Elokim and YHVH, a dynamic audio lectures series with Rabbi Fohrman that delves into Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 and demonstrates how these two texts are proof of how the Torah is a unified book with one author - God.
Recorded Lecture • 32 min
Is Vegetarianism A Jewish Value?
Does vegetarianism have a source in the Torah? What would the Torah say about our current method of consuming meat? Beth explores these questions and more.
Animated Video • 17 min
Making Sense of Difficult Stories and Laws
Why Does the Torah Contain Laws That Seem to Promote Slavery?
Do these laws reflect outdated values? This video explores how the laws of female servitude may contain a message with lasting relevance.
Animated Video • 9 min
How Are We Supposed to Understand Akeidat Yitzchak/Child Sacrifice?
This lecture series tackles the Akeidah, a shocking narrative in which Abraham is ordered to sacrifice Isaac. But how are we supposed to make sense of this story that seems to pit obedience to God against our most basic sense of morality?
Deep Dive Course • Part 1 of 7 • 48 min
Who Would Want to Worship Avodah Zarah?
Tanakh is filled with warnings to not worship idols, but it seems like a temptation no one faces today. So are these laws just irrelevant?
Animated Video Series • 22 min
Why Would Giving Birth Make a Mother Impure?
Is there anything more pure than the birth of a new baby? Well, the Torah seems to think so. Because apparently, giving birth makes a mother ritually impure. Confused? Join Ami as he untangles this strange set of laws.
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 2 • 17 min
How Can We Make Sense of the Laws of Impurity?
In Parshat Tazria, we are introduced to the concepts of Tumah and Tahara. Some translate them as cleanliness and uncleanliness, some say ritual purity and impurity, but we never seem to get a clear and relevant understanding of what they actually are. Join us in Part I of this quest as we begin to tackle both what Tumah and Tahara are, and how these new definitions can truly impact our lives today.
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 2 • 11 min
Should We Be Attributing Reasons to Mitzvot?
Can we know what God wants from us, or should our only motivation be that God says so? In this episode of Meaningful Judaism, we explore the complexities of understanding the purpose behind mitzvot and why that quest for meaning is essential.
Podcast • 39 min
Why Does God Want us to Perform Animal Sacrifices?
Using sacrifices as a way to connect with God seems alien. How are we supposed to connect with the myriad of details associated with animal sacrifice in the modern day? Join Rabbi Fohrman as he explores this fundamental question by reexamining the three categories of sacrifice, and discover how the ancient tradition creates a modern framework for how to connect with God.
Animated Video • 13 min
Are Kohanim and Levites More Important Than the Rest of the Nation?
In this video, Imu and Daniel explore how the census in Bamidbar reveals the Levites' unique role in transmitting the nation's core values.
Animated Video • 14 min
Erasing Amalek...Today?
Is the Torah’s command a call for genocide? Ami Silver explores unexpected connections to Yibum, revealing how this mitzvah remains relevant today.
Animated Video • 15 min
How Should We Understand the Disturbing Curses in Deuteronomy?
The curses in Parshat Ki Tavo seem so sadistic and cruel. What are we meant to learn from these troubling verses?
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 2 • 15 min
God and the Jewish Journey
If God Mandated Our Slavery, Why Praise Him for Our Freedom?
The seder is full of songs praising God for taking us out of Egypt – but He decreed to Abraham that we’d be slaves in Egypt centuries beforehand in the Brit Ben Habetarim. So did He save us or put us into slavery in the first place?
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 5 • 8 min
Why Did God Choose Israel as His Chosen People?
If God wanted to free us from slavery, why not just take us out? Why the plagues, the blood on the doorposts, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart—why all the extra steps? Rabbi Fohrman uncovers how these puzzling details reveal something much deeper: what it truly means to be God’s ‘firstborn.’
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 8 • 8 min
What Are the Origins of Antisemitism?
In this lecture series, Rabbi Fohrman delves into the origins of antisemitism, suggesting that it may trace back to the story of Jacob and Esau.
Deep Dive Course • Part 1 of 11 • 1 hour, 23 min
When Evil Seems Unanswerable: Pesach’s Wisdom After the Holocaust
Rabbi Fohrman reveals how the often-overlooked 'shotrim' of Egypt provide a framework for understanding divine justice after the Holocaust. A powerful Passover exploration of how God responds when no punishment seems adequate.
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 5 • 20 min
How Do We Relate to Passover Post October 7th?
In this timely course, Rabbi Fohrman considers how God's response to ancient trauma speaks directly to our present moment after October 7th.
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 7 • 14 min
The Role of Oral Law
Why Does Judaism Need The Written Law And Oral Law?
Is there a reason Judaism has two sets of laws? Isn't that confusing? Join Rabbi Fohrman in this deep dive, with your guide, Imu Shalev.
Animated Video • 14 min
Why Did the Rabbis Come up With the Holiday of Hanukkah?
If we stop and think about it, is the miracle of the oil such a big deal that it's worth creating a whole new holiday?
Animated Video • 33 min
What Links the Biblical and Rabbinic Shavuot Together?
The Torah’s description of an agricultural celebration seems totally disconnected from the rabbinic tradition of the Sinai revelation. In this video, Rabbi Fohrman demonstrates how both aspects are fundamentally intertwined to create one holiday.
Animated Video Series • Part 1 of 6 • 6 min