It's insightful | It's meaningful | It's weekly
It's insightful | It's meaningful | It's weekly
Into the Verse is dedicated to bringing you Torah that is timely and relevant to your life. Using the weekly parsha and the Jewish calendar as inspiration, this podcast is filled with rich and uplifting insights based on analysis of the Hebrew text itself. Take a listen and enjoy!
Hosts
Ari Levisohn
Scholar
Season 3 - Third Parsha Cycle
Latest Episodes
FEBRUARY 6, 2024
Season 2 | Episode 41
Mishpatim: The Legal Debate That Changed Jewish History
Parshat Mishpatim outlines the laws of indentured servants and maidservants, including servants going free in the seventh year, servants getting married while working, and a father making a deal for his daughter’s hand in marriage. This set of laws seems strikingly similar to an earlier story involving a worker and a father trying marrying off his daughters. Could these laws in Mishpatim actually be the Torah’s own commentary on the negotiations between Jacob and Laban back in Genesis?
JANUARY 30, 2024
Season 2 | Episode 40
Yitro: What Was Really Written on the Tablets?
In Parshat Yitro, we read about the revelation at Sinai and the giving of the 10 Commandments. The image of the 10 Commandments is one of the most familiar images from the Torah, but when you read the Sages’ description of the tablets, not only will you be shocked to hear that we may have been depicting the image wrong all along, but we may also be missing an important part of what the 10 Commandments are all about.
JANUARY 16, 2024
Season 2 | Episode 38
Bo: What Did the Egyptians Get Out of the Exodus?
Parshat Bo tells the story of the last three plagues. The 10th plague, the death of the firstborn, ultimately compels Pharaoh and the Egyptians to free the Israelites from slavery, but was that really the purpose of the plagues? Were they just meant to punish the Egyptians? Or were the Egyptians meant to get something else out of these destructive plagues?
JANUARY 2, 2024
Season 2 | Episode 37
Shemot: What Was Moses’ Real Mission?
In Parshat Shemot, we read the story of the burning bush, where Moses was charged with a mission. We are often taught that Moses’ job was to take the Israelites out of Egypt, but a close read of the text suggests that there is actually something else Moses also had to do.
DECEMBER 26, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 36
Vayechi: God's Hidden Hand
In Parshat Vayechi, Jacob remembers when the God of his ancestors, “El Shaddai,” appeared to him and promised a bright future for his descendants. But what about the times when his life didn’t seem to be going according to God’s plan?
DECEMBER 19, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 35
Vayigash: Was Joseph the Golden Calf?
In Parshat Vayigash, Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers, and they realize that the Egyptian official they had bowed down to was none other than their long lost brother. What did Jacob's sons think about their powerful brother now? Why does Joseph have to emphasize God's role in orchestrating the events of their lives?
DECEMBER 12, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 34
Parshat Miketz: A Phantom Blessing
In Parshat Miketz, Jacob sends his sons on a mission to get food from Egypt so they can survive a famine plaguing the entire Middle East. On the surface, it seems like a straightforward request, but a closer read reveals a deeper purpose in their mission.
DECEMBER 5, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 33
Parshat Vayeshev: What Was Jacob Thinking?
In Parshat Vayeshev, the Torah tells us that Joseph’s brothers were so angry at him that they couldn’t even speak a word to his face. Yet, the very next thing we’re told is that Jacob sends Joseph, unsupervised, to go check on his brothers. What was Jacob thinking? Why wasn’t he worried that the brothers might hurt Joseph?
NOVEMBER 28, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 32
Vayishlach: Were We Wrong About Esav?
When Esau came to meet Jacob with 400 men, it could only mean one thing: 20 years after Jacob stole Esau's blessings, Esau is finally seeking his revenge. But... what if we are misjudging Esau?
NOVEMBER 21, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 31
Parshat Vayetze: Was Jacob Punished?
Parshat Vayeitzei begins with Jacob on the run from Esau and follows Jacob's trials and tribulations throughout his time in Laban's house. At the end of the parsha, Jacob is back on the run and gets into a heated argument with Laban. What is Jacob's role in this cycle of conflicts?
NOVEMBER 14, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 30
Parshat Toldot: What is True Strength?
Parshat Toldot contains the only story in the Torah that is really only about Isaac: the often overlooked story of the wells. What does this brief story really teach us about Isaac’s character? The Sages associate Isaac with the attribute of strength, but how does the story of the wells show us Isaac's might?
NOVEMBER 7, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 29
Chayei Sarah: A Marriage of Truth and Kindness
The Midrash says that chesed and emet, Kindness and Truth, disagreed about whether God should create humankind. And the puzzling outcome of that argument was: “God took Truth and threw it to the earth.” But what does that actually mean? The answer may be in Parshat Chayei Sarah, where chesed and emet “meet up” for the very first time in a rather surprising place: the story of how Rebecca was chosen to be Isaac’s wife.
OCTOBER 31, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 28
Parshat Vayera: Lot's Fake Kindness
Parshat Vayera tells the story of visiting angels being graciously hosted, not once but twice! Abraham's hospitality is legendary, and Lot's welcoming the angels feels like a de ja vu...until things turn ugly.
OCTOBER 24, 2023
Season 2 | Episode 27
Lech Lecha: Responding to Life’s Challenges
When life throws us challenges and doesn’t go the way we hoped, how do we avoid falling into despair? In Parshat Lech Lecha, Abraham and Sarah struggle with infertility, and Abraham cries out to God, “I am childless!” What is the Torah’s message to Abraham on how to persevere through life’s trials and tribulations?
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Season 3 | Episode 1
Hamas in Parshat Noach: Rabbi Fohrman and Imu Discuss
Parshat Noach describes the extreme violence that led to God's decision to destroy the world with a flood.