Talking Torah– Rich Moche’s blog on the Weekly Portion
Thousands of years after it was written, the Torah continues to inspire. It provides a weekly treasure hunt for its continuing gifts: surprisingly relevant life lessons conveyed through a strange marking in the Torah scroll, a small letter, a typo preserved on purpose; a whole chapter devoted to burning incense; a story about two sisters fighting over flowers. It poses complex questions laying around in plain sight, such as “What kind of omnipotent and omniscient God creates a world only to promptly decide to destroy it with the flood?”
As one of my teachers is fond of saying: “Studying Torah is not about there and then; it’s about here and now.” In that spirit, Talking Torah seeks to find spiritual relevance and resilience in this holy text.
August 10, 2025
In parshat Eikev we see how far we can go into the parsha before stopping to sniff something interesting.
August 3, 2025
Parshat Va’etchanan - The source of our greatest prayer.
Talking Torah - Save this for Later
July 31, 2025
Parshat Devarim and the remembrance of things past
July 3, 2025
The Cow of the Clean Apology
Parshat Chukhat - An allegory of the Red Heifer
The ashes of the Red Heifer were mixed with water and used to purify those made ritually unclean by contact with a corpse. Anyone so contaminated could not enter the Tabernacle, so this holy water was essential for service in the Mishkan and later the Temple.
June 26, 2025
Parshat Korach and the benefit of the loyal opposition
Each language has its idioms, terms that taken literally make no sense. Consider for example: “For heaven’s sake!” In English, it’s a term of frustration. But in Hebrew, a dispute “for heaven’s sake” is a holy quest.
June 19, 2025
Talking Torah - Out of Many, What?
June 12, 2025
In Parshat Beha'alotcha, the strange episode of Eldad and Medad leads somewhere unexpected
Since my wife is a knitter, I have a passing understanding of the problem of loose ends. A knit garment is a magical union of fiber and formula, a tidy piece mathematical beauty. Loose ends offend and must be dealt with. There are multiple ways to do this. They can be subtly woven back in, as explained here (note how even a highly contrasting yarn can be barely noticeable):
June 5, 2025
Talking Torah - There's Waldo!
In Parshat Naso, the man who solved the collective action problem makes a cameo appearance
May 29, 2025
Parshat Bamidbar and meeting Ben Bag Bag's challenge to keep turning it over
May 22, 2025
Whose Land is this Land?
Parshat Behar-Bechukotai's discourse on ownership
https://rmoche.substack.com/p/talking-torah-whose-land-is-this
