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

00:03:28

Genesis 40: Yosef's Dreams Go Marching Two by Two

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/23

Throughout the Yosef story, dreams play a central role—not just as plot devices, but as spiritual milestones. There are three major dream episodes: first, Yosef’s own dreams shared with his family; second, the dreams of the chamberlain and the baker in prison; and third, Pharaoh’s dreams in the next chapter. At first glance, these episodes seem similar—each features two dreams—but what’s striking is how they reveal Yosef’s growth in interpreting divine messages.In the first episode, Yosef dreams of

00:04:52

Genesis 39: Joseph the Good Luck Charm

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/22

In Bereishit 30:30, Yaakov reminds Lavan of the transformation his household underwent during Yaakov’s stay: “For the little you had before I came has increased abundantly, and Hashem has blessed you since my foot entered your house.”Yaakov’s words introduce a theological motif: the presence of a tzaddik brings divine blessing to the household that hosts him. This motif reappears in the story of Yosef.In Bereishit 39:5, the Torah describes how Yosef’s presence transforms Potiphar’s household:וַיְהִי

00:02:57

Genesis 38: Judas Interruptus

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/21

Chapter 38 pumps the brakes on the Yosef story and instead gives Yehudah his turn in the spotlight. Yehudah’s only significant reference until this point was his suggestion in the last chapter to sell Yosef instead of kill him. Reuven, Levi, and Shimon have all appeared more often. Why does he get his own chapter now? Rashi quotes the midrash to explain that after the brothers saw how distraught Yaacov was, they blamed Yehudah for suggesting the sale and not telling them to return him. Yehudah left

00:06:13

Genesis 37: Who Sold Joseph?

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/20

Yaakov favors Yosef. Yosef has his two dreams that even rankle Yaakov. Yaakov sends Yosef to spy on his brothers and then… what happens?The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat depicts the most common explanation: the brothers plot to throw Yosef into a pit and leave him there to die (the musical even captures the Rashi about snakes in the pit). Instead, a group of Ishmaelites pass by and the brothers decide to sell Yosef to them for silver.The problem is the text

00:02:57

Genesis 36: Aloof Opinions

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/19

Following the death of Avraham in Bereishit Chapter 25, the Torah lists the descendants of Yishmael and the tribal leaders that came from him:בראשית כ״ה:יבוְאֵ֛לֶּה תֹּֽלְד֥וֹת יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָלְדָ֣ה הָגָ֔ר הַמִּצְרִ֖ית שִׁפְחַ֥ת שָׂרָֽה לְאַבְרָהָֽם׃These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.Similarly, following the death of Yitzchak in Bereishit Chapter 35, the Torah now lists the descendants of Esav and

00:05:11

Genesis 35: A Different, Difficult Legacy

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/17

Avraham blazed the trail, and Yitzchak, for the most part, followed suit. Yaakov, however, began his journey differently—marked by exile, struggle, and deception. But now, in Bereishit 35, Hashem calls him back to the sacred geography of his forefathers.בראשית ל״ה:א׳וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־יַעֲקֹב קוּם עֲלֵה בֵּית־אֵל וְשֵׁב שָׁם וַעֲשֵׂה שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לָאֵל הַנִּרְאֶה אֵלֶיךָ בְּבָרְחֲךָ מִפְּנֵי עֵשָׂו אָחִיךָ׃And G-d said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and remain there; and build an altar

00:04:01

Episode 34: Victim Blaming

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/16

“Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.”וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה בַת־לֵאָה אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב לִרְאוֹת בִּבְנוֹת הָאָרֶץ׃(Bereishit 34:1)Why does the Torah emphasize Dinah as Leah’s daughter before mentioning Yaacov? Why note that she “went out”? And why specify that it was “to see the daughters of the land”?Rashi explains that Dinah is called Leah’s daughter because she inherited Leah’s tendency to “go out”—just as Leah went out to meet

00:04:23

Genesis 33: Vampire Diaries

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/16

“Esav ran togreet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and theywept”:וַיָּרָץ עֵשָׂו לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיְחַבְּקֵהוּ וַיִּפֹּל עַל־צַוָּארָו וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ וַיִּבְכּוּ׃(Bereishit 33:4)In the text,the word וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ (vayishakeihu – “he kissed him”) has dots overeach letter. The Midrash explains that the Torah is conveying a hiddenmeaning. When Esav fell on Yaacov’s neck to kiss him, he really wanted to biteYaacov’s neck, but the neck became hard as marble (or Esav’s teeth

00:04:24

Genesis 32: Lavan Everything Behind

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/13

After his treaty with Yaacov, Lavan receives a postscript at the beginning of chapter 32:וַיַּשְׁכֵּם לָבָן בַּבֹּקֶר וַיְנַשֵּׁק לְבָנָיו וְלִבְנוֹתָיו וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיָּשָׁב לָבָן לִמְקֹמוֹ׃“Early in the morning, Laban kissed his sons and daughters and bade them good-by; then Laban left on his journey homeward.” (Bereishit 32:1)Why does the Torah give Lavan this final passage? The story could have ended with the truce, and Yaacov going on his way. Perhaps the Torah is giving Lavan

00:04:30

Genesis 31: Daughters of Mine

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/12

Now he heard the things that Lavan’s sons were saying:וַיִּשְׁמַע אֶת־דִּבְרֵי בְנֵי־לָבָן לֵאמֹר לָקַח יַעֲקֹב אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ וּמֵאֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ עָשָׂה אֵת כָּל־הַכָּבוֹד הַזֶּה׃“Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from that which was our father’s he has built up all this wealth.” (Genesis 31:1)Yaacov also saw that Lavan’s manner toward him was not as it had been in the past:וַיַּרְא יַעֲקֹב אֶת פְּנֵי לָבָן וְהִנֵּה אֵינֶנּוּ עִמּוֹ כִּתְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם׃“And Jacob saw

00:04:29

Genesis 30: Lavan on the Edge

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/10

After 11 children are born, Yaacov approaches Lavan and asks to leave:וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָה רָחֵל אֶת־יוֹסֵף וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל־לָבָן שַׁלְּחֵנִי וְאֵלְכָה אֶל־מְקוֹמִי וּלְאַרְצִי׃“Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.’” (30:25)Lavan responds that he knows that God has blessed his house because Yaacov dwells there: אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ נִחַשְׁתִּי וַיְבָרֲכֵנִי ה בִּגְלָלֶךָ׃“‘If I have found favor in your eyes, I have learned by

00:03:22

Genesis 29: Back to Lavan Land

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/09

Yaacov returns to the town where his grandfather’s servant made a match for his parents. As discussed in chapter 24, the commentators zero in on how evil they see Lavan, but the text does not match this vitriol. Rivka, who lived with her brother, would have known about his evil ways. Yet, she tells her son to seek safety in her brother’s home. Yitzchak also wants Yaacov to seek out one of Lavan’s daughters as a wife.Verse 10 emphasizes the fact that Lavan and Rivka are related. The phrase “his

00:01:46

Genesis 28: Stairway to Heaven

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/09

The highlight of this chapter is Yaacov’s ladder. One interesting take on the story is attached. Jacob's Dream (El sueño de Jacob) is a 1639 oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish painter José de Ribera.What’s fascinating about this painting, as opposed to the many other depictions of the story, is that the ladder is barely visible. The viewer has the perspective of a third-party walking by Yaacov sleeping on a rock. Only the light shining on Yaacov gives us an idea that something is happening

00:02:59

Genesis 27: We Are Family?

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/06

Family Dynamics in Genesis 27 with Hebrew VersesChapter 27 presents more questions than it answers. Why does Yitzchak prefer Esav but Rivka Yaakov? Why does Rivka trick Yitzchak instead of talking to him? Why can’t Yaakov take back the blessing? Etc. One thing that comes across clearly in this chapter is that family dynamic plays an outsized role. Characters are referred to by their familial position very often. The word father appears 19 times (in verses 10, 12, 14, 18, 19, 22, 27, 30, 31(x3),

00:03:26

Genesis 26: Encountering Abimelech

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/05

Abimelech and Abraham (Genesis 20–21)Abimelech’s first encounter with Abraham is marked by tension and confrontation. Abraham, fearing for his life, tells Abimelech that Sarah is his sister. Abimelech takes Sarah into his household, unaware of her marriage to Abraham. God intervenes in a dream, warning Abimelech that he is in danger for taking another man’s wife. Abimelech responds with alarm and indignation, confronting Abraham for misleading him.Despite the rocky start, Abimelech shows integrity

00:04:00

Genesis 25: Poor Choices

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/03

“And Esav disdained the birthright.”וַיִּבֶז עֵשָׂו אֶת־הַבְּכֹרָה׃(Bereishit 25:34)The word "וַיִּבֶז" (vayivez)—“he disdained”—is rare in Tanach. It appears only one other time, in Megillat Esther:“But he disdained to lay hands on Mordechai alone…”וַיִּבֶז בְּעֵינָיו לִשְׁלֹחַ יָד בְּמָרְדֳּכַי לְבַדּוֹ…(Esther 3:6)In Esther, Haman’s disdain for Mordechai leads to genocidal hatred. The parallel raises a powerful question:Why did Esav detest the birthright as much as Haman detested

00:04:25

Genesis 24: Intro to Lavan: Not So Black and White

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/10/01

Embedded in this long and repetitive chapter is our first introduction to Lavan, Rivka’s brother. While Lavan plays a much more central role in the Yaakov narrative (Bereishit 29–31), he is almost universally vilified by commentators and would likely make a “top five worst people in Torah” list for anyone who learned these stories in school.But the text itself is ambiguous.“Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Lavan. Lavan ran out to the man at the spring, when he saw the nose-ring and the bands

00:03:47

Genesis 23: They Might be Giants: Chevron (Not...

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/09/30

“Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—Chevron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah.”וַתָּ֤מָת שָׂרָה֙ בְּקִרְיַ֣ת אַרְבַּ֔ע הִ֖וא חֶבְר֑וֹן בְּאֶ֖רֶץ כְּנָֽעַן וַיָּבֹ֥א אַבְרָהָ֛ם לִסְפֹּ֥ד לְשָׂרָ֖ה וְלִבְכֹּתָֽהּ׃(Bereishit 23:1)Why does Chevron have two names?Rashi gives two explanations:Kiryat-arba refers to the four (arba) giants who lived there.It refers to the four couples who would eventually be buried there:Adam and ChavaAvraham and SarahYitzchak and RivkaYaakov and

00:04:06

Genesis 22: Here I Am Once Again

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/09/29

Chapter 22 opens with Hashem’s emotional command:וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הָאֱלֹקִים: קַח נָא אֶת־בִּנְךָ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ אֲשֶׁר אָהַבְתָּ אֶת־יִצְחָק וְלֶךְ־לְךָ אֶל־אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה וְהַעֲלֵהוּ שָׁם לְעֹלָה עַל אַחַד הֶהָרִים אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ׃"Take your son, your favored one, whom you love, Isaac, and go to (lech lecha) the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you." (Bereishit 22:2)The phrase "Lech Lecha" immediately

00:04:01

Genesis 21: No Laughing Matter

YINR 929: Tanach Yomi ·

2025/09/28

In chapter 17, ה׳ tells Abraham he will have a son:וַיִּפֹּ֥ל אַבְרָהָ֖ם עַל־פָּנָ֑יו וַיִּצְחָ֗ק וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ בְּלִבּ֔וֹ הַלְּבֶ֥ן מֵאָ֖ה שָׁנָ֣ה יִוָּלֵ֑ד וְאִם־שָׂרָ֥ה הֲבַת־תִּשְׁעִ֖ים שָׁנָ֥ה תֵּלֵֽד׃“Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed (וַיִּצְחָק – vayitzchak), as he said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?’” (Genesis 17:17)ה׳ dismisses Abraham’s laughter and instructs him to name the child Isaac/Yitzchak:וַיֹּ֣אמֶר

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