Matan: One on One Parsha Podcast

In this moving conversation with Rabbanit Shani Taragin, we study this week's Haftorah from Yechezkel 37 which describes the grafting of two branches representing the Northern (Yosef) and Southern (Judah) Kingdoms of Israel. This vision, part of Yechezkel's prophecies of comfort, becomes a chilling window into our current moment in which we are still figuring out how to work together and develop the spiritual tenor of the State of Israel. This week’s episode is sponsored by Toby and David Curwin in memory of David’s father, Dr. Richard Curwin z”l, in honor of his upcoming yahrzeit. This year The Matan Podcast is exploring the weekly Haftorah.

This conversation with R. Alex Israel studies the optimistic visions of Second Temple restoration in the book of Zecharia, read as a special Channukah Haftorah. Does redemption come through physical might or the spirit of God? How can the spoken word change reality? These are some deeper questions we consider as we reflect on the way these Second Temple visions still relate to our world today. This week's episode is dedicated in loving memory of Helene Bers, Chaya Ayala bat Eliezer, by her Cantor grandchildren. This year The Matan Podcast is exploring the weekly Haftorah.

In this conversation with R. Joe Wolfson, we explore Amos' rebuke of the opulent and socially corrupt N. Kingdom of Israel from this week's Haftorah. A.Y. Heschel, political theorist Michael Walzer, and Louis Brandeis all help connect Amos' criticisms with the ways a society can erase people's humanity and how we might mend this. For more info on R. Joe's community visit the JLIC Tel Aviv website: https://tlv.oujlic.org/ This week's episode is dedicated in memory of Daniel Shalom ben Refael Yaakov, by his children, on his third yahrzeit. This year The Matan Podcast is exploring the weekly Haftorah.

This week's haftorah reading is the one-chapter book of Ovadia- a short prophecy of doom predicting the downfall of Esav's descendants at the end of the First Temple period. In this probing conversation with Rabbbanit Nechama Goldman Barash, we explore the gap between Yaakov and Esav's relationship in Breishit with the retrospective depiction of it in later prophetic and midrashic works. This year The Matan Podcast is exploring the weekly Haftorah reading.

The parsha's Haftorah is taken from the book of Hoshea, a fourteen-chapter work that opens the collection of 'Trei Asar.' Jewish philosophy professor Sam Lebens walks us through significant theological questions regarding the human experience of God as violent and loving, examining the text of the Haftorah and illuminating it through both Talmudic perspectives and modern theologians. This week's episode has been sponsored in memory of Selwyn Feinblum, Shabtai Gedalia ben Yosef Tzvi, whose shloshim was this past week. This year the Matan Podcast is exploring the weekly Haftorah.

This conversation with Rabbanit Dr. Adina Sternberg explores the Haftorah from the book of Malachi, a short prophetic work from the early Second Temple period. The returnees have become jaded with a reality they perceive as lacking divine presence and the prophet rebukes their lackluster worship and subtly encourages them that while the presence of God may not have arrived in the expected guise, He still loves them. Malachi's messages are relevant now as ever. This week’ episode has been sponsored in memory of R. Yitzchak Chaim Moshe ben Harav Binyamin Yaakov by his family. This year the Matan Podcast is exploring the weekly Haftorah.

In a captivating discussion, Dr. Nechama Price, a notable Torah scholar and Tanakh author from Yeshiva University, delves into King David's life and legacy as reflected in this week's haftorah. She explores how David's end compares to Avraham’s final moments, revealing key thematic and linguistic parallels. The conversation highlights David's complex decisions, the influence of characters like Yoav and Bathsheba, and the contrasting portrayals found in Divrei Hayamim. Ultimately, Nechama asserts that both David and Avraham serve as reminders of the human experience, with all its imperfections.

In this beautiful conversation with Matan faculty member Rachel Sharansky Danziger, we discuss Elisha's encounter with two women in the Haftorah taken from II Melachim 4. We discuss the subtle theology laced throughout the two episodes as well as the different ways each woman responds to her distress. Both the impoverished woman and the woman from Shunem have what to teach us about the universal nature of struggle and how we can learn to help ourselves, with and without divine miracles. This week's episode has been sponsored in memory of Rose Lubin who was killed defending Jerusalem two years ago from her family in Israel who miss her very much. This year the Matan Podcast is exploring the weekly Haftorah.

This week's Haftorah returns to the beginning section of the second half of Yeshayahu with beloved Tanakh teacher and pedagogue R. Menachem Leibtag. Why do we find ourselves in Yeshayahu again and what does it have to do with Avraham's journey to Canaan? What is unique about the word 'eved' in Tanakh? R. Liebtag's favorite Haftora pasuk is from Yirmiyahu 31:19, 'ha-ben yakir li Ephraim' which speaks about God's love for His child Ephraim (the people of Israel) and who He has mercy on. We were moved by this version of the hallmark melody, recorded by the family of Binyamin Schreiber z"l who died on the 23rd of Nissan, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hXZwrw6TZE&list=RD6hXZwrw6TZE&start_radio=1

In this probing conversation with Dr. Elana Stein Hain about this week's Haftorah from Yeshayahu 54, we move from discussing the opening image of Jerusalem's surprising fertility to a deeply candid conversation about Yeshayahu's zero-sum theology. What does the post-flood covenant reveal about God's stewarding of the world? How do these sections in Yeshayahu inform the way we process the challenges and salvations we are currently experiencing? Dr. Elana's beloved song from Yeshayahu 14:3: Shuvu El Hashem (sung by the women's bet midrash Migdal Oz): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHplOvvzxhQ&list=RDOHplOvvzxhQ&start_radio=1