Torah Pearls #22 – Vayakhel (Exodus 35:1-38:20)

In this episode of The Original Torah Pearls, Vayakhel (Exodus 35:1-38:20), we begin with asking what it means to "kindle a fire" on the Sabbath. Then we ask what it means for someone's heart to be stirred, and how the various traditions understand this, leading to a wonderful discussion on how and why we give to God. There is a fascinating discussion of the nature of Polygamy in the Torah, which leads to an exciting examination of the nature of Paleo-Hebrew.

I look forward to reading your comments!

https://audio.nehemiaswall.com/Torah_Pearls/Torah-Pearls-22-Exodus-10-Vayakhel.mp3 Download Torah Pearls Vayakhel Transcript Torah Pearls #22 - Vayakhel (Exodus 35:1-38:20)

You are listening to The Original Torah Pearls with Nehemia Gordon, Keith Johnson, and Jono Vandor. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

Jono: G'day to Tamara in Nebraska. And wherever you may be around the world, thank you for your company. It is time for Pearls from the Torah Portion with Keith Johnson and Nehemia Gordon. G'day, gentlemen.

Keith: Good day.

Nehemia: Good day! And this is a shout-out to Serena Sorenstein in Longwood, Florida.

Jono: Florida! There we go.

Keith: And I’m giving a shout-out to Andrew.

Jono: G'day, Andrew. Where is Andrew?

Keith: Andrew is my son.

Jono: Hey! And he’s a big fan, right?

Keith: Yes, he is. Absolutely. He’s awesome.

Nehemia: Hey, Andrew!

Jono: Hey, now, listen, now, before we do anything, I should tell you guys that we’ve had a complaint.

Nehemia: Okay.

Jono: Alright, I’m going to tell you what this is.

Keith: Yeah?

Nehemia: That means we’re doing something right.

Jono: No, no, this is from Linda and Phil. And I appreciate comments from our listeners and thank you, Linda and Phil, for your comment. They write, “We have been listening since the beginning, and it seems to us that the quality of the talk is degenerating into jokes and laughter too much. Please listen to your broadcast and hear yourselves. Quit it with all the jokes and laughing and get back to the Bible and the Torah portion, which is the real reason why we are listening.” I’m talking to you, Karaite, so stop being so funny.

Nehemia: There is a way to protect all of us from this issue of the jokes, and that’s if we need to be wrapped in a Torah scroll.

Jono: That’s a joke.

Nehemia: And then nothing can touch us, we're protected.

Jono: Oh, Keith? Keith quick. Damage control.

Keith: Yeah, you know, one of the things that is happening is that we’re actually learning and growing as we’re going, and it really is fun to be here. I mean, we’ve got three different time zones. We’ve got three different people from three different backgrounds trying to have commonality in the Word of God. And the truth is that sometimes, the only way that we can deal with some of the things we deal with is to laugh and to be together. And hopefully those people will understand we take seriously the Word of God, but we also are human and we’re trying to figure this out. And I actually appreciate the fact that as we go along with this, we can bring some of the human side of this into it. I mean, it certainly isn’t some dry opportunity. We’re trying to have some fun while we’re...and I think the Word of God is fun, to be honest with you.

Nehemia: Amen.

Keith: So, we’ll keep trying to do what we’re doing and make sure that people can hear what we’re hearing and get the revelation. But I don’t want to tell Nehemia, hey, Nehemia, go back to the way you were ten years ago where I couldn’t crack of smile out of him. I mean, I’d rather have...

Nehemia: Well, here’s the thing; if they’re not happy with my jokes, they’re entitl...