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Torah Cafe
Zalman Gordon
368 episodes
4 days ago
A discussion on a topic from the week's Parsha covering many important parts of Judaism that are not regularly addressed.
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Judaism
Religion & Spirituality
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All content for Torah Cafe is the property of Zalman Gordon and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
A discussion on a topic from the week's Parsha covering many important parts of Judaism that are not regularly addressed.
Show more...
Judaism
Religion & Spirituality
Episodes (20/368)
Torah Cafe
The Burning of the Talmud

In 1240, the Talmud was put on trial in Paris for blasphemy where it was convicted of being burned. On June 17, 1242, 24 wagon loads with more than 10,000 Jewish manuscripts were burned in Paris in the Place de Grève. 

Why was the Talmud burned? How did it survive? And what was the impact of Jews and Christians in Europe?

A fascinating Tisha B'av themed discussion about the burning of the Talmud 

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4 days ago
51 minutes 21 seconds

Torah Cafe
Why are there so many different versions of the prayers?

When praying in different synagogues, one would notice that there are considerable variations between the prayers and prayer books (siddurim) in different Jewish communities. The different variations for prayer are called Nuscha'ot

Why are there so many variations of the prayers? Where did these differences come from? How does someone choose which prayer variation they should follow?J

A fascinating class about the Nuschaot, variations in Jewish prayer.  

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1 week ago
1 hour 1 minute 10 seconds

Torah Cafe
Rising From the Ashes: The Struggle to Build the Second Temple

Just a few decades after the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, Emperor Cyrus of Persia gave the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The euphoria didn't last long, soon after they started building the Temple, permission was rescinded

A fascinating discussion about the starts and stops of the building of the Second Temple and the fulfillment of Jeramiah's cryptic prophecy.

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2 weeks ago
55 minutes 19 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Cantonists - The Czar's Jewish Soldiers

One of the most horrific episodes of jewish history began in 1827, when Czar Nicholas of Russia decreed that Jewish communities supply boys for his army. These boys would be taken at young ages and pressured to convert to Orthodox Christianity. They would have to remain in the army under horrific conditions for decades until they reached their early 40's. 

The Cantonist Decree (as it was called), not only tore apart families, it tore apart communities as each family looked for ways to save their children at the expense of others. 

Hear the tragic story of the Cantonists and how it continues to impact Jewish in the United States today. 

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3 weeks ago
38 minutes 1 second

Torah Cafe
The Jewish Underground in the Soviet Union

For more than 70 years, the Soviet Union outlawed most Jewish practice in the Soviet Union. Yet throughout that time, a vibrant Jewish Underground existed with synagogues, schools, yeshivas, kosher slaughter, Jewish circumcision, Torah classes and more.

The punishment for being caught committing any of the above 'transgressions' was hard labor in the Gulags of Siberia or death. Thousands of members of the Jewish underground were killed, thousands more spent years in the Gulags but the clandestine Jewish activities continued and grew.J

The fascinating untold story of the Jewish Underground in the Soviet Union.

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1 month ago
1 hour 12 minutes 12 seconds

Torah Cafe
Visiting the Ohel

The Ohel, the burial place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Queens NY is the most widely visited Jewish shrine in the United States. Since the Rebbe's passing in 1994, more than one million people visit the Ohel each year to pray and be inspired.

A fascinating discussion about the Ohel and why so many people visit the Ohel. 

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1 month ago
30 minutes 26 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Prophet Samuel

One of the most consequential early leaders of Israel was the prophet Samuel. He succeeded in uniting Israel under his leadership and ending the federal system of Judges. He appointed the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David. 

A fascinating discussion about the prophet Samuel.

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1 month ago
1 hour 18 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Non-Jew in the Kosher Kitchen

Jewish law has a number of rules limiting the involvement of non-Jews in the kosher kitchen, including limits on cooking, baking, milking and making wine. Each of these limits have exceptions and work-arounds allowing non-Jews to people involved in most Kosher food preparation. 

A fascinating discussion about the rules concerning non-Jews in a Kosher kitchen. 

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1 month ago
59 minutes 13 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Role of Jewish Custom

Jewish observance has evolved significantly over our long history and varies from community to community. While the commandments and laws have not changed over our history and are practically identical in every community, the variations are in Jewish customs which have evolved significantly over the generations.  

Where do Jewish customs come from? How do customs become part of Jewish practice? Can customs be wrong?A fascinating discussion about the role of Jewish customs.

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2 months ago
52 minutes 5 seconds

Torah Cafe
Decoding the Torah

In Judaism, we believe that the Torah was written cryptically in code form. To derive commandments and laws from the Torah we need to decipher that code. What is the code that is used to decipher the Torah? How is it employed? Has the Torah's code been fully deciphered in the past 3,000 years our people have studied it?

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2 months ago
51 minutes 50 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Merkava - G-d's Chariot

One of the most esoteric parts of Tanach (the Hebrew Scriptures) is the description of the Merkava or G-d's chariot described twice in detail in the book of Ezekiel. Kabbalists have written extensively, explaining the meaning and significance of each detail described in the Merkava.

A fascinating discussion about the Merkava and its meaning. 

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2 months ago
1 hour 1 minute 14 seconds

Torah Cafe
Rav Saadia Gaon

Rav Saadia Gaon, was one of the most famous Geonim who led the great schools in Babylon during the geonic period (500-1000 CE). Rav Saadia, was known for his many works that he wrote on Jewish law and on Jewish beliefs. He also fought the Kaarites, a group that broke away from traditional Judaism.

A fascinating discussion about Rav Saadia Gaon, his life story, teachings and his impact on Judaism today. 

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2 months ago
49 minutes 3 seconds

Torah Cafe
Who Were the Pharisees and Sadducees?

The Pharisees and the Sadducees were two groups that fought for religious and political dominance of the Jewish people during the Second Temple period (350 BCE - 70 CE).  Who were they? What did they believe? How did they impact Judaism as we know it today?

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2 months ago
1 hour 3 minutes 2 seconds

Torah Cafe
Crossbreeding & Mixing Animals

Mules are perhaps the best known animal crossbreeds. They have been used extensively throughout history as work animals and are still used today. However, the Torah prohibits us from cross breeding animals or even making different animal species work together. 

A fascinating discussion about crossbreeding and mixing animals according to Jewish law. 

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3 months ago
38 minutes 57 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Jews of Holland

The Jewish community in Holland began after the country became a republic in 1581. It was the first country to offer freedom to Jews and many Jews flocked there especially Spanish and Portuguese conversos. For much of the 17th and 18th centuries, Amsterdam's Jewish community was the largest and most prominent in Europe. That came to a sudden end with the Holocaust that decimated Dutch Jewry. Yet, Jews and Judaism continue to thrive in Holland today. 

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3 months ago
47 minutes 47 seconds

Torah Cafe
Rabbi Akiva

Perhaps the greatest Jewish scholar of all time was Rabbi Akiva. The Talmud tells us the Moses was in awe of the brilliance of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Akiva, who lived in the 2nd Century CE is also perhaps the most fascinating Jewish leader. A simple illiterate shepherd, he married, Rachel the daughter of the wealthiest man in Israel. At forty he went to school for the first time but quickly became Israel's greatest scholar. His life is full of twists and turns until it end under Roman torture. 

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3 months ago
53 minutes 26 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Sefirot & 49 Steps to Personal Development

The sefirot are 10 tools that G-d used to create our world according to Jewish mystical teachings of Kabbalah, We each have 10 sefirot in our soul as well.

We count the 49 days between the first day of Passover and the festival of Shavuot, known as the counting of the Omer. During these days, we can develop our own character by focusing each week on one of the seven emotional Sefirot.

A discussion about the Sefirot and our self-development during the Omer period.  

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3 months ago
46 minutes 40 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Mystical Meaning of the Seder Plate

The Seder has many unique parts to it. Many of the Seder's various parts have deep mystical significance. The Seder plate sits on the seder table in front of the person leasing the Seder. Each item on the Seder plate has a unique role at the Seder in addition to having deep mystical significance.

A fascinating discussion about the Seder plate and its powerful mystical significance.

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4 months ago
41 minutes 56 seconds

Torah Cafe
Is Veganism a Jewish Value?

For many, killing animals for human consumption is wrong. For others, vegetarianism or veganism are misplaced virtue that overlooks the gulf between the value of human life and animal life.

Judaism historically allowed for meat consumption and even required slaughter for sacrificial purposes. Is there room for vegetarianism in Jewish thought. Would Jewish traditions consider vegetarianism a value?

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4 months ago
57 minutes 39 seconds

Torah Cafe
The Kollel - The School for Advanced Jewish studies

Over the past century, Jewish schools and communities began opening Kollels, schools for advanced jewish studies. Today there are hundreds of Kollels around the world where tens of thousands of students study daily. 

Why did the Kollels begin? What is unique about a Kollel? Why have Kollels been opened in so many communities around the world?

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4 months ago
42 minutes 56 seconds

Torah Cafe
A discussion on a topic from the week's Parsha covering many important parts of Judaism that are not regularly addressed.