The (Second) Book of Samuel: chapter 3 Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapter 3 Episode 33: If You Be Mine Previously on the book of Shmuel (part Bet) we saw Avner emerge as a major character, being both a king maker and a king’s nephew slayer. The skill involved in his murder of Asa’el is not trifling and surprisingly redounds against him. We also saw that when kings are absent, the troops may decide to act brashly, with an outcome that, it seems nobody really wanted. As we move...

The (Second) Book of Samuel: chapter 2 Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapter 2 Episode 32: Who Rules Who This week David becomes king yet again (this is his second inauguration). This time, his monarchy is over his tribe, Yehuda and is immediately tested as his troops come into conflict with those of his rival Ish-Boshet, the son of Shaul and the hereditary ruler of the Jewish people. What ensues is a battle that never should have happened as sparing gives way to warring....

Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapter 1 Episode 31: Lying and Dying This week we transitioned from the death of Shaul to its immediate aftermath. We encounter a bizarre account of shaul's last moments told from the perspective of an outsider, an Amalekite From a literary perspective the author wants us to recall the tragedy of the death of Eli and his sons from the beginning of Sefer shmuel. The context there is a failure of leadership which begets a national ruination. Such is...

Welcome to part 3 of our history of halacha in Bayit Sheni series entitled Away Apart, the Parting of the Ways Between Judaism and Christianity. So far we have set the background by outlining the various groups that were around in the first few centuries of the common era and what their beliefs were. We explained what sources we had for our knowledge at the time and then honed in on Jesus’s teaching, his perhaps revolutionary attitude towards Rome, as well as Paul and the spread of...

Welcome to part 2 of our series on the history of halacha entitled away, Apart, the Parting of the Ways Between Judaism and Christianity. This week we look at a few interesting statements from Chazal regarding Christianity including the only time that the Christian testament is quoted verbatim in the gemarah, by a Taanah no less! Then we explore whether or not a person or sects beliefs at at the end of Bayit Sheni could have put them beyond the pale. What we find is a Judaism which, while...

An exploration of the lesson of Tu b'Av as seen through 3 Hosheas --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/isaacson/support

Away, Apart: The parting of the ways between Christianity and Judaism - Episode 1 As a preface to this series I highly recommend watching Monty Python's The Life of Brian or this clip (warning: potty language!) In this mini-series we will seek to answer 1 question which drives our whole discussion; since Christianity sprouted from Judaism, how exactly did that work from a halachic perspective? To put it in extreme terms, was Sruly a good halachic Jew one day and then after he decides to...

The Book of Samuel: chapter 31 + Siyum Whither Malchut Welcome to our thirtieth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 30: Death of a Hero This chapter concludes the tragic and heroic life of king Shaul. We touch on some of the halachic concepts around suicide, euthanasia, and notice how many elements in this chapter are reflective of earlier events in this book. We conclude with several excursions, including on the...

The Book of Samuel: chapter 28 Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-nineth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 29: Witch Way Did He Go Shaul encounters the witch of En-Dor. We discuss whether this whole incident really happened as written and compare our chapter to the life of Chana and the events of chapter 25. All this and more. Thank you for joining us, I hope you enjoy this podcast and will consider sharing it with...

Away Apart: The Parting of the Ways Between Judaism and Christianity Preview of coming attractions In lieu of a new class this week I'd like to give you a sneak peek of what's in store. We will, iy"h, be completing Shmuel part Aleph shortly and my goal before we go on break and before we start part Bet is to take a brief detour to a very different, but to my mind fascinating topic, known to historians as the Parting of the Ways. This mini-series will look at a critical period in...

The Book of Samuel: chapter 25 part 2 Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-eighth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 28: Avigail, Changes the course of Jewish History After a brief recap we continue our exploration of chapter 25 by peeling away the layers to arrive at the heart of the story. We explain the rationale for Naval, David and Avigail as well as pointing out the embedded references in the text to other stories...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-seventh in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 27: Avigail, Kingmaker Chapter 25 is pivotal in the course of the life of David. We try to read past the surface and detect both a Naval whose actions appear justified and a David who seems to be on the verge of turning into Shaul. Avigail's message to David is nuanced and layered, she delicately points out the error in David's ways by, for...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-sixth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 26: The Tables have Turned This is the first of 3 chapters where David’s enemies fall into his hands and he refrains from killing them. Chapter 24 finds David conflicted on how to deal with Shaul, whom he finds in a precarious position. David must both act in accordance with what he believes is the will of God, but also in a way that will spare...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-fifth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 25 The King in Waiting The information provided by the Urim v'Tummim is unusual. In this chapter we find multiple queries and uncertainties in just how people know what they know. If David is told by the urim v'tummim that Saul will come down, and therefore David flees and Saul doesn't end up coming down, what does that mean for the veracity of...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-fourth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 24 Wherever I May Roam In chapters 21 & 22 David goes on the lam. We follow the “refuge who would be king” to Nov and then the Plishti city of Gath wondering why David would choose this, the worst possible location for which to flee. Luckily the king of the Plishtim has a good sense of humor about the situation. However, when Doeg, here in...

Episode 23 Fomenting Rebellion? Welcome to our twenty-third in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Whither Malchut Chapter 20 brings collective amnesia as we pretend that Shaul didn’t just try to kill David. Instead David concocts an elaborate ruse to force his dear friend Yehonatan to see the truth of his father’s madness. We note parallels between the rosh chodesh meal of Shaul and the feast of Esther and offer an explanation for...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-second in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 22 The betrayals This chapter (19) begins to overtly express Shaul’s desire to kill David at the same time as those closest to Shaul including his daughter and mentor conspire to help Shaul’s enemy. We continue the motif of Shaul as Lavan and explain why Shaul didn’t simply have David killed at night in his bed. We note the parallel between our...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our twenty-first in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 21 - Shaul descent into the maelstrom In this shiur we offer an explanation for why Shaul doesn’t seem to recognize David when the two had met in the previous chapter. We also attempt to understand the repetitious nature of the chapter by positing a novel literary technique that forces the reader to experience events as though they were the...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our twentieth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 20 David vs. Goliath. In chapter 17 we experience collective amnesia as David’s anointment seems to have caused no effect on anyone. We offer an explanation for why Goliat hasn't appeared in any previous battles. We briefly site the fatuous exegesis of Malcom Gladwell wherein the Philistines send a decrepit acromegalic as their champion. We raise...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our Nineteenth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 19 In chapter 16 we encounter the beginning of the transition from the kingship of Shaul to that of David. Is Shmuel’s protest against going to select a successor for Shaul to be taken serious in light of the fact that just a few short verses beforehand he was telling Shaul the he would do exactly that? David’s anointment seems to be a strange...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our eighteen in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 18 We complete our study of chapter 15 with many open questions. Is Shaul able to successfully repent? Is Shmuel falling into the same trap as Eli in closing the door on returning Shaul to God’s good graces? We cite the brilliant textual clue from the mishbetzot Zahav to explain how the Amalek nation persists after the death of Agag. We offer several...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our seventeenth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 17 We creep into some morally murky waters with chapter 15. How do we understand the biblical mitzvah to wipe out Amalek completely when it would seem the Amalekites of Shaul’s time should not be blamed for the acts of their nation hundreds of years prior? Can Shaul not cite precedent of Yericho and Ai in dedicating the best spoils to Hashem and...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our sixteenth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 16 We seek to plumb the depths of the exceedingly rich chapter 14 including noting how Yonatan's approach to basically everything is the inverse of Shaul. This leads us to another example of our Twice Told Tale series wherein we compare chapter 14 to the story in the talmud of Dama ben Netina. Next we point out the historical curiosity of the...

Whither Malchut Welcome to our Fifthteenth in a continuing series on the book of Shmuel or Samuel and the founding of Jewish monarchy. Episode 15 While we found the roots of Shaul’s heroism in chapter 13 this week we encounter a confused king who seems to be winning in spite of himself. In chapter 14 we find many surprises including Shaul’s son Yonatan who seems bent on doing everything differently than his father. We note how much of the scene where Shaul curses anyone who eats with...