If you haven’t yet discovered Rabbi David Fohrman’s Aleph-Beta Academy, you’re in for a treat today. Rabbi Fohrman’s innovative videos offer brilliant takes on Tanach and our holidays that may just change your life.
Come hear Rabbi Fohrman’s Torah in person this January 15 at Torah in the City; register today!
10. Understanding Rachel’s World – THIS WEEK’S PARSHA
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/josephs-name-chiasm-meaning
In this week’s parsha, Rabbi Fohrman unravels a fascinating chiasm in the heart of the book of Genesis – there is a perfect mirror between when Jacob runs away from his brother to when he reunites with his brother. How do all of these pieces line up, and what does the Torah mean to teach us by it?
9. Accepting Our Children
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/a-guide-to-parenting
In this week’s parsha video, Rabbi Fohrman delves deeper into the Priestly Blessing and its relevant lessons, challenging us to see the path of parental love laid out in the Torah.
8. What Does It Mean to Be Chosen?
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/meaning-of-being-gods-chosen-people
In this video, the first of the course, Rabbi Fohrman asks a few fundamental questions about the holiday of Passover that lay the foundation for the rest of the course.
7. Are Our Dreams Prophecy, Nonsense, Or Neither?
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/what-do-dreams-mean
How are we supposed to understand dreams? Are they prophetic, nonsense, or somewhere in between? In this series, we will be exploring these questions, though the lens of both Joseph’s dreams and early chapters of Genesis.
6. What Does It Mean to Be Created in the Image of G-d?
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/created-in-gods-image-meaning
The mishkan and Shabbat are juxtaposed in this week’s parsha, which leads our Sages to connect the two in the labor we desist from on Shabbat. But what is the thematic, conceptual connection between the mishkan and Shabbat? In this exciting and daring video, Rabbi Fohrman draws from the creation story and the first Shabbat, and challenges us to be more God-like in our actions.
5. The Parent Trap:
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/shiluach-hakan-parent-trap
What is the law of Shiluach Hakan, The Mother Bird? How does it make sense for us to have a commandment to send away a mother bird in order to take her eggs? It seems like an odd commandment. Rabbi Fohrman examines the perspectives of both Maimonides and Nahmonides on this law and then comes up with a brilliant analysis that synergizes the two beautifully.
4. The Book of the Maccabees, Uncovered
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/hanukkah-book-of-maccabees
When was the last time you studied the Book of the Maccabees? Rabbi Fohrman introduces the Book of the Maccabees as a primary text that can be useful for understanding the events surrounding Chanukah. He explores how this text can be understood in different ways depending on the translation used, showing a possible connection to the narrative of the enslavement in Egypt.
3. How to Get Closer to G-d
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/how-to-get-closer-to-god
This video course, created for the High Holidays, takes a deep dive into Chana’s prayer in the book of Samuel and explores the concepts of holiness, closeness with God, and the real possibility of prayer.
2. Rachel’s Reward:
https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/power-of-rachels-tears
Rabbi Fohrman uses Rachel as a model to introduce the concept of effective mourning. Rabbi Fohrman draws our attention to the verses in Jeremiah which explain that Rachel’s actions merited rewards; but what do we really know about Rachel that merits rewarding?
1. The Secret Structure of the Ten Commandments:
https://www.alephbeta.org/course/view/hidden-structure-of-ten-commandments