PODCAST

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi

Josh Blechner

A short thought for each chapter/perek in Tanach for Tanach yomi/daily Bible study by Josh Blechner

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

00:04:02

Exodus 11: Almost Famous

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/23

וַיִּתֵּ֧ן הֹ אֶת־חֵ֥ן הָעָ֖ם בְּעֵינֵ֣י מִצְרָ֑יִם גַּ֣ם ׀ הָאִ֣ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֗ה גָּד֤וֹל מְאֹד֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בְּעֵינֵ֥י עַבְדֵֽי־פַרְעֹ֖ה וּבְעֵינֵ֥י הָעָֽם“God disposed Egyptians favorably for the people. Moreover, Moshe himself was much esteemed in the land of Egypt amongst Pharaoh’s servants and among the people.” (Verse 3). This verse is ambiguous. It can be read as “God disposed Egyptians favorably for the Israelite people. Moreover, Moshe himself was much esteemed in the land of Egypt

00:04:09

Exodus 10 Knowing me Knowing You

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/20

Chapter ten presents a shift in the messaging of the plagues. In the introduction to the plagues, ה׳ explains to Moshe:וְיָדְעוּ מִצְרַיִם כִּי אֲנִי ה׳ בִּנְטֹתִי אֶת־יָדִי עַל־מִצְרַיִם וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִתּוֹכָם (שמות ז:ה)“The Egyptians shall know that I am ה׳ when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from their midst” (7:5).In the very first plague, Moshe tells Pharaoh:כֹּה אָמַר ה׳ בְּזֹאת תֵּדַע כִּי אֲנִי ה׳ הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי מַכֶּה בַּמַּטֶּה אֲשֶׁר

00:06:26

Exodus 9: Plagues of Our Lives

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/19

As the plagues continue in chapter 9, here are three further ideas as to why God chose these plagues. 1. Middah k’neged middah for Egypt’s oppression of Israel. Blood: Pharaoh decreed that male infants be drowned in the Nile. The river that became an instrument of death now turns to blood, a source of death for Egypt. Frogs: Egyptians forced Israelites to capture amphibians for food or rituals. The plague overwhelms them with frogs, which later rot—symbolizing the corruption of their actions. Lice:

00:04:51

Exodus 8: Natural Born Plagues

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/18

There are many interpretations as to why God picked these specific twelve plagues. One possible interpretation is that God wanted to show His mastery over nature. In this interpretation, the plagues are not supernatural phenomena, but simply natural events gone awry.The initial plague of blood is created by a small imbalance in the Nile: Most likely the introduction of an overgrowth of oxygen consuming algae that spreads creating a blood red coloration of the water (Blood). Next, the frogs that live

00:05:14

Episode 7: Defying Gravity

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/17

Moshe is finally ready to return to Pharaoh, but God throws another wrench in Moshe’s plans. God tells Moshe that despite all of Moshe’s best efforts, Pharaoh will not listen. Instead, God will harden Pharaoh’s heart.“Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said” (7:13).How could God take away someone’s free will? Free will is an essential tenet of Judaism. There are many different explanations given about this question. One is that God does not take away

00:03:54

Exodus 6: Let Me Reintroduce Myself

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/16

Six chapters in, God seems to start fresh:“And God spoke to Moshe and said to him, I am God. I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov as El Shakkai, but by my name God (YKVK) they did not know me” (verse 2).וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֧ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֛ק וְאֶל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֤י יְהוָה֙ לֹ֣א נוֹדַ֔עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃ (שמות ו:ב–ג) God reintroduces the mission—enumerating five synonyms of saving and explaining the goal to bring

00:03:36

Exodus 5: A Three Day Tour

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/13

God pressed Moshe to go to Egypt to demand that Pharaoh release the Israelites. Yet, instead of asking for complete freedom immediately, God instructed Moshe to begin with a modest request—a three-day journey into the wilderness to worship:“They will listen to you; then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has manifested Himself to us. Therefore, let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord

00:03:37

Exodus 4: First Blood

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/12

After Moshe finally relents to God’s request to travel to Egypt and confront Pharaoh, the Torah introduces a mysterious and startling episode that seems almost disconnected from the narrative:“At a night encampment on the way, God encountered him and sought to kill him.” (Exodus 4:24): וַיְהִי בַדֶּרֶךְ בַּמָּלוֹן וַיִּפְגְּשֵׁהוּ ה׳ וַיְבַקֵּשׁ הֲמִיתוֹ“So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched his legs with it, saying, ‘You are truly a bridegroom of blood to me!’”

00:02:54

Exodus 3: I Will Be What I Will Be

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/11

Chapter three begins the dialogue between Moshe and God about returning to Egypt to save the Israelites. One day while grazing sheep, Moshe notices a bush burning yet the bush is not consumed. The lowly bush symbolizes the Israelites’ lowly state. The Egyptian attempt to burn them out is unsuccessful because God protects them.Despite this miraculous metaphor, Moshe is skeptical. If he returns to Egypt to take the Israelites out, they will not believe him. He asks God what name of God he should tell

00:02:59

Exodus 1: A New King for a New Book?

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/09

The book of Exodus begins with the transition from a story about a single family to a story about a nation. After Yosef saved the Egyptians from starvation at the end of Genesis and became a right-hand man of Pharaoh, the fortunes of the Israelites changed dramatically.“A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8)Hebrew: וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ־חָדָשׁ עַל־מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַע אֶת־יוֹסֵף.Rashi brings a debate in the Talmud between Rav and Shmuel. One held that this was a brand-new

00:03:16

Genesis 50: Wrapping Up

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/06

“Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. It required forty days, for such is the full period of embalming. The Egyptians bewailed him seventy days”Hebrew: וַיְצַו יוֹסֵף אֶת־עֲבָדָיו אֶת־הָרֹפְאִים לַחֲנֹט אֶת־אָבִיו וַיַּחַנְטוּ הָרֹפְאִים אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ וַיִּמְלְאוּ־לוֹ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם כִּי־כֵן יִמְלְאוּ יְמֵי הַחֲנֻטִים וַיִּבְכּוּ אֹתוֹ מִצְרַיִם שִׁבְעִים יוֹם׃(Genesis 50:2–3).Why did the Egyptians mourn Yaacov for seventy

00:05:17

Genesis 49: Mixed Metaphors

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/05

Until this point in the Torah, blessings have followed a relatively uniform pattern—typically invoking themes of fertility, prosperity, and triumph. The forefathers offered blessings that emphasized continuity, divine favor, and national destiny. However, in Genesis 49, Jacob’s blessings to his twelve sons break this mold dramatically. Each son receives a distinct and deeply personal message, often more like a poetic reflection or prophecy than a conventional blessing. These utterances vary in

00:05:14

Genesis 48: Hamalach HaGoel

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/04

e “הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל” encapsulates a profound theological and emotional moment in the life of Jacob, as he blesses his grandsons. This blessing, invoking the angel who redeemed him, becomes a foundational text for bedtime rituals and spiritual reflection.The Talmud in Berakhot 4b explores the relationship between the recitation of the Shema, both in the morning and at night, emphasizing the importance of juxtaposing redemption with

00:02:16

Genesis 47: Pick 5

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/03

From the moment that Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he had been carefully preparing for the moment they would meet with Pharaoh. Despite Yosef’s apparent close relationship with the monarch, he still realized that he must be delicate when making requests on behalf of his family. This is yet another connection with the Purim story: Esther also had to be cautious in how she approached her husband, the king, to plead for her people’s lives. In Genesis 47, Yosef employs a curious and

00:02:52

Genesis 46: Neck and Neck

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/11/02

When Yosef finally reunites with his father, the Torah describes a deeply emotional moment:“Joseph ordered his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel; he presented himself to him and, embracing him around the neck, he wept on his neck a good while.”וַיֶּאְסֹר יוֹסֵף מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ וַיַּעַל לִקְרַאת יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִיו גֹּשְׁנָה וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו וַיִּפֹּל עַל־צַוָּארָיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עַל־צַוָּארָיו עוֹד (בראשית מ״ו:כ״ט)This phrase—“fell on his neck and cried”—appears only three times in all of

00:02:44

Genesis 45: How Now Yosef's Cows

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/30

After the brothers return to tell Yaakov that Yosef is alive, Yaakov is skeptical. His doubt is only lifted when he sees the agalot—the wagons—that Yosef had sent. The Torah says:“But when they recounted all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the agalot that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.”וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֵלָיו אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יוֹסֵף אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶם וַיַּרְא אֶת הָעֲגָלוֹת אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח יוֹסֵף לָשֵׂאת אֹתוֹ וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב

00:02:06

Genesis 44 Curses!

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/29

In Bereishit chapter 31, Lavan chases after Yaakov and accuses him of stealing his idols. Yaakov responds with a bold declaration:“With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live.”עִם־אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּמְצָ֤א אֶת־אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ לֹ֣א יִֽחְיֶ֔ה (בראשית ל״א:ל״ב)Unbeknownst to Yaakov, Rachel had taken the idols. Tragically, this curse seems to have consequences: Rachel dies young, during childbirth. The Torah subtly links Yaakov’s words to her fate.A similar moment unfolds in Bereishit chapter 44, when Yosef

00:02:46

El Shakkai Returns

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/28

The famine is growing stronger, and food is running out. Yaakov—now referred to as Yisrael—asks his sons to return to Egypt for provisions. They remind him that they cannot go back without bringing Binyamin. Yaakov, recognizing the urgency, finally agrees and sends Binyamin with them. In doing so, he invokes a rare and powerful name of Hashem:Genesis 43:14**וְאֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֗י יִתֵּ֨ן לָכֶ֤ם רַחֲמִים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הָאִ֔ישׁ וְשִׁלַּ֥ח לָכֶ֛ם אֶת־אֲחִיכֶ֥ם אַחֵ֖ר וְאֶת־בִּנְיָמִ֑ין וַאֲנִ֕י כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר

00:02:31

Genesis 42: Lock Him Up!

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/27

The brothers make their way to Egypt and do not recognize Yosef. Yosef, however, recognizes them and decides to toy with them. When the brothers reveal that Binyamin is back with Yaakov, Yosef uses this as a hook. He tells them that in order to prove they are not spies, they must bring Binyamin back. Yosef then takes Shimon captive as collateral.Why does he take Shimon?Rashbam recalls the story of Dina and Shechem. Yosef took Shimon to separate him from his brother Levi. The last time Shimon and

00:03:24

Genesis 41: Deja Pharoah

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/26

Pharaoh dreams of seven fat sheaves of wheat and seven thin ones, and seven fat cows and seven thin ones. After awakening with agitation over the dreams, and finding that none of his servants can interpret them, Yosef is summoned. In verse 25, Yosef tells Pharaoh:וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יוֹסֵף֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה חֲל֥וֹם פַּרְעֹ֖ה אֶחָ֣ד ה֑וּא אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֧ר הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים עֹשֶׂ֖ה הִגִּ֥יד לְפַרְעֹֽה׃"And Joseph said to Pharaoh, 'Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same: God has told Pharaoh what He is about to

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