
Reading The Torah on Its Own Terms
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A Book Like No Other is a chance to learn alongside Aleph Beta Founder and Lead Scholar, Rabbi David Fohrman, a master close reader of Torah, as he embarks on his most far-reaching and in-depth explorations. Each season is a stand-alone journey into a different Torah text. Our only goal: reading the Torah carefully, on its own terms, and following wherever that leads. Together, we'll unwrap remarkable patterns and surprising connections that lie just beneath the Torah's surface, revealing the beauty and insight that truly make the Torah a book like no other.
Hosts

Rabbi David Fohrman
Founder and Lead Scholar

Immanuel Shalev
CEO

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Latest Episodes
March 13, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 7
Epilogue: What the Tree of Life Teaches Us About Returning from Exile
The exile from Eden might have been the first time humanity experienced being estranged from God’s word and presence, but it certainly wasn’t the last. How do we cope with feeling distant from God? What is a roadmap for a return to the closeness of Eden? Join Rabbi Fohrman and Imu in this bonus epilogue episode as they explore Parshat HaTeshuva, the Torah’s emotional roadmap for how any of us can come back.
March 6, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 6
How to Grow a Garden
In the sixth and final episode of this series, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu grapple with some of the big picture questions that emerge from their theory of the Tree and its connection to Torah – and consider what the Tree may ultimately be teaching us about how to connect to God’s words.
February 27, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 5
The Second Half of the Story
In this episode, Rabbi Fohrman reveals where we find the second half of the return of the Tree and, in the process, offers a powerful message about the impact of our actions in this world.
February 20, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 4
Beyond the Garden Walls
Last episode, Rabbi Fohrman promised that the Tree of Life isn’t left behind in Eden, never to be seen again once we’re exiled from the Garden. The tree actually returns! In this episode, we find out where and when – and begin to see how the tree’s return impacts the larger narrative of the entire Torah.
February 12, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 3
BONUS Epilogue to Episode 3
Who wouldn’t want to eat from the Tree of Life and live eternally? Join Rabbi Fohrman and host, Imu Shalev, in this bonus episode as they explore the deep and meaningful implications of Rabbi Fohrman’s theory and consider what the tree — and Torah — might offer that's even better than eternal life.
February 12, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 3
Confronting the Theory Killer
Last episode, Rabbi Fohrman introduced a provocative new theory that re-envisioned the Garden of Eden, and began resolving all the puzzles raised in Episode One. But this theory has a fatal flaw – it seems to flatly contradict one verse, Genesis 3:22. Can Rabbi Fohrman reconcile the evidence or are we back to square one?
February 6, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 2
The Paradigm Shift
Last episode left us scratching our heads over those two strange trees in the Garden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. In this episode, Rabbi Fohrman begins answering our questions on the beginning of the Torah through the help of a clue found all the way at the Torah’s very end – and in the process, develops a single, paradigm shifting theory that re-envisions the very layout of the Garden itself.
January 30, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 1
The Elephant in the… Garden
We all know the story of the Garden of Eden. Adam, Eve, forbidden fruit, snake. But what if there’s another layer to this story lying beneath all the obvious drama? In the first episode of this six part series, Rabbi Fohrman takes a close look at the Garden of Eden story, pointing out some glaring – but easily glossed over – anomalies in the text, and inspiring us to reconsider what we thought we knew about Eden’s most basic features.
January 24, 2023
Season 1 | Episode 0
A Book Like No Other: Trailer
Join Rabbi Fohrman for an epic journey into reading the Torah on its own terms.

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