Parshat Yitro - Highlight or Letdown?
February 4, 2021
Was the giving of the Ten Commandments a highlight of Jewish history- or a letdown? This episode explores both ideas.
Beshalach: The Beginning of the Road to Freedom
January 28, 2021
This week, I look at the crossing of the sea from both the Egyptian and Jewish perspective.
Photo by Robin Canfield on Unsplash
Economics & the Path of G-d
January 24, 2021
What is the purpose of an economy? Here's a Torah-based approach to that question.
Photo by Shalitha Dissanayaka on Unsplash
Bo: The Road to a Future
January 21, 2021
This Torah podcast focuses on Parshat Bo and the paradox of dedicating your future in order to realize it.
Photo by Bill Fairs on Unsplash
Va’eira: The G-d of Light and Darkness
January 11, 2021
In this podcast we explore the central question of Va'eira: How can the G-d of creation and holiness enslave the people and bring the plagues?
Special Episode: Roots of Riots
January 7, 2021
The riots are a symptom of a far more fundamental - but solvable - problem.
Shemot: Yaira’s Bat Mitzvah Speech
January 4, 2021
This week, I have my normal set of divrai Torah - but folded into it is my speech for my daughter's Bat Mitzvah.
Image: Fresco from Dura Europos synagogue
Vayechi: Dementia, Reality & Expectation
December 31, 2020
This week's episode focuses on the Torah reading of Vayechi - when Yaacov/Jacob gives his final blessings.
Photo by Ekaterina Shakharova
Vayigash - Dreams, Reality and Economics
December 22, 2020
In this format change, the Joseph Cox show explores the weekly Torah portion (other episodes will go back to current events). This week is all about dreams, reality and economics.
Riots, Protests and Racism in 2020
June 25, 2020
I tend to avoid minefield issues. However, people have asked me to comment on the situation in the US. Rather than engaging in ideological trench warfare (which tends to cost society bitterly while helping nobody actually win anything) I try to come at things from a different perspective.
In this podcast, I draw parallels from the Jewish exodus from Egyptian slavery and the African American exodus from southern slavery. My focus is less on the Exodus itself and more on G-d's attempts to raise an enslaved people up - and where those attempts succeeded and failed.
I'm no expert on African American culture. As I say in the podcast, I can't even claim some of my best friends are black. But perhaps this analysis still has something to offer. I look forward to your feedback!
