From Purim to Passover

Click the link below to listen to the fifth annual Anita Rossman Memorial Lecture, delivered last night in Santa Cruz, California.

From Purim to Passover: Lessons from Queen Esther on Courage, Sacrifice, and Redemption

Who Wears the Crown?

I am honored to recognize our dear friend Selwyn Gerber for hosting today's "lunch and learn" at Gerber & Co. in Century City. To listen to the recording, click on the link below:

Who Wears the Crown?

The real meaning of Teshuvah - and how Rosh Hashanah makes it possible.

Seven Times Seven? Yericho, Yovel & the Omer Count

A new shiur on the meaning of Sefiras HaOmer and the unique Kedusha of Shavuos. Click here to listen to the recording. 

A big thank you to Mrs. Shoshana Rivka Bloom of Link's TLC program for inviting me to speak.

Why Did He Take Us Out?

Firstly, a big Mazal Tov to the Perl, Bookbinder and Gordon families on the engagement of Rivkie Perl of Jerusalem to Shalom Bookbinder of Toronto! May the young couple be blessed with great Simcha & Shalom and all good things, עד בלי די!

A Yasher Koach to our dear friend Selwyn Gerber for hosting today's class and for bringing out an exceptional bottle of bourbon in celebration of Rivkie's engagement.

Click here to listen to the shiur, recorded live this afternoon at Gerber & Co.

Why Did He Take Us Out? The Answer is in the Haggadah

Here's a preview: The shiur presents a new understanding of the Haggadah's mysterious line: "יכול מראש חודש, you might think [the story of the Exodus should be told] on Rosh Chodesh... the Torah therefore states, בעבור זה, 'it was for this' - [tell the story] at a time when Matzah and Marror are before you."

In other words, one might have thought Hashem took us out of Egypt because He wanted to rest His Shechina in the Mishkan on Rosh Chodesh Nisan. The Torah therefore teaches us that He did not do it for Himself, He did it for us. Now click on the link and listen, and you will understand. 

Making It Real

Click on the link below to hear the pre-Rosh Hashana shiur delivered today at the offices of Gerber & Co. in Century City, CA. Once again we are indebted to our dear friend Mr. Selwyn Gerber for hosting.

זה היום תחילת מעשיך:  Making It Real

Shabbos Tisha B'Av

Click here to listen to a talk delivered last night in "The Shul on the Beach" in Venice, CA. A special thank you goes to Joni Ziff for organizing the program and to all the wonderful people who attended.

What happens when Tisha B'Av falls out on Shabbos? 

What do we need to do to bring an end to the Galus? 

Listen and find out how the answers to these two questions are related.

The Daily Relevance of the Decalogue

Click below to hear last night's shiur about the Aseres HaDibros. A big thank you to Mrs. Michal Aiseman for making it happen and to the Shoff family of Santa Monica for hosting.

The Daily Relevance of the Decalogue

Haman Saves the Day

Click the link below to hear the audio recording of today's shiur at Gerber & Co. Once again, we are indebted to Mr. Selwyn Gerber for hosting.

Haman Saves the Day

How Hashem used our enemies to bolster our faith and pave the way for redemption.

Sacred Space

Click below to listen to today's shiur on Parshas Terumah delivered at Gerber & Co. in Century City.

Special thanks to my father, Rabbi Noam Gordon, for his invaluable input. When I say invaluable, I mean invaluable. A big thank you also goes to our esteemed host Selwyn Gerber who came up with the title for the talk and challenged me to explore the contemporary relevance of the Mishkan. 

Creating Sacred Space: Then and Now

My Menorah: The Long History of Chanukah Personalization

A new shiur on Chanukah, recorded today at the offices of Gerber & Co.   
Kudos to Mr. Selwyn Gerber, host par excellence. 

Click here for the shiur.

Click here for the handout.

Ready for Rosh Hashanah?

Click on the title below for an audio recording of a shiur delivered today at the offices of Gerber & Co. in Century City.

"I Am For My Beloved and My Beloved Is For Me"

One thing I forgot to mention (for after you listen to the shiur):

ומל ה' את לבבכם ואל לבב זרעכם

The word Elul appears in this passuk! It turns out that ומל ה' את לבבכם carries the very same message of מדה כנגד מדה as the passuk of אני לדודי ודודי לי.

Another amazing point that dovetails perfectly with the shiur: As a man of 99 years of age, Avraham was frightened to perform circumcision on himself. Hashem thus came and placed His Hand on Avraham's hand and they did it together (Medrash Rabba 49:2). And this took place on Yom Kippur! (Pirkei D'Rebbe Eliezer 29).

For past years' recordings, click on the "Rosh Hashanah" label below.

Happy Belated Purim!

Here is a link to a shiur delivered at Gerber & Co. before Purim. It's about priests and kings and their clothes - and how Purim takes God's monarchy to a whole new level. (Please excuse my raspy voice; I had a cold.)

My only addendum is a better example for the final point in the shiur. The Gemora (Megillah 12b-13a) reports something unsurprising: the Jews of Shushan were critical of Mordechai's refusal to bow to Haman. This incited Haman's hated and led to the decree to annihilate the Jews. It is understandable that the people blamed Mordechai, but in retrospect, Mordechai's failure to bow led not to the destruction of the Jews but to the hanging of Haman. So much for human judgement.

This is why we drink until we can't tell the different between right and wrong. On Purim we realize that we never can.

On the Cultivation of Humility

New shiur on the early life of Moshe, recorded this week at the offices of Gerber & Co. 

To listen now or download for later, just click here.

Ask Not? The Elephant in the Haggada

Chodesh Tov!

 

The first shiur of Beth Jacob's annual "Passover U" program was delivered today at the offices of Gerber & Co.

 

To listen to (or download) a recording of today's shiur, click here. For recordings of previous years' shiurim, click on the "Passover" label below.

 

Special thanks to our dear friend Selwyn Gerber for sponsoring and hosting. Yashar Koach!

The Relevant Menorah

Here's a Chanukah present for your listening pleasure. Recorded before a live audience in the Gordon home last week.

The Relevant Menorah: Why Chanukah Just Keeps Getting Better

For more articles and audio on Chanukah, click the "Chanukah" label below.

Rosh Hashanah U!

Click the link to hear (or download) a new Shiur entitled "Elul: Preparing Ourselves for the Book of Life."  A special thank you to Beth Jacob Congregation for including the shiur in their Rosh Hashanah U program and to Selwyn Gerber of Gerber & Co. for hosting.

The title is vague, so here's a more detailed description: 

A surprising tradition about the sin of the forbidden fruit leads us to a new interpretation of the blessing on bread, a new and practical approach to Teshuvah, and a new take on Man's mandate in the New World outside the Garden.   

May we be blessed with more and more newness for the New Year!

For more on Elul and Rosh Hashanah, click on the labels below. 

God Wants... You? A Retelling of the Exodus Story

Click the link below for a recording of today's Pre-Pesach shiur at Gerber & Co.
In this shiur we pose a basic theological question: What motivated God to redeem the Jews? The answer may surprise you. In the process, we reevaluate the place of the individual vis-à-vis the community, finding interesting clues expressed both in the Mishkan and at the Seder. To summarize our conclusions on this front:
"Ask not what you can do for your community; ask rather, what is your community doing for you!"

The Mishkan, the Golden Calf & the Exodus:

Searching for a New Abraham

Shoshanas Yaakov

We all sing it, but what does it really mean? Click here for a line-by-line analysis of the everyone's favorite Purim song: Shoshanas Yaakov. Recorded live at Gerber & Co.

Aside from the standard tune for Shoshanas Yaakov, a lively and comedic operatic version was composed in 1920 by Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Elazar Taub, the Modzitzer Rebbe. You can hear it here, recorded in the sweetest of voices by Ben Tzion Shenker. 

For more audio and essays on Purim, click on the Purim label below. 

Chanukah Afterthoughts

Click here for a live audio recording of:

Chanukah 2012: What's the Takeaway?

This class, originally titled, "Why Chanukah Is Not Thanksgiving" was delivered at the offices of Gerber & Co.

On the Education of Yitzchok

Click here for a new audio shiur on parshas Toldos.

The shiur is about our most mysterious Av and it is an attempt to learn something relevant from the little we know of his life. In the process, we learn about Yitzchok and Yitzchok learns about God.

Once again, a special thanks to Selwyn Gerber of Gerber & Co. for hosting.