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.

July 3, 2025

Talking Torah - 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

Talking Torah - For heaven's sake!

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 12, 2025

Talking Torah - No Loose Ends

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

Revelation in the Reruns

Parshat Bamidbar and meeting Ben Bag Bag's challenge to keep turning it over