Are we affected by our society, by our associates and friends, or do we influence them? When are we subject to social pressure? When are we influnced and when are we influencers? Today we examine the question of social pressure through the lens of the Midrash, the Rambam, and Rabb Sacks z"l

Words are powerful. Words are creative. Mishlei contains many metaphors: Words can be like fruit, like daggers; and as we will discuss, language, conversation can also be a way of ridding oneself of worry.

Today we address the notion of privacy vs. discretion as Mishlei decries the gossip and revealer of information, and praises the discreet individual who knows how to keep a secret. What does this say to us in our social-media age?

We open the second segment of Mishlei which shifts the entire tempo and character of the book. Today we offer a short introduction.

Mishlei contains several sterotypes or archetypal characters. Our chapter offers three personality types and charts 3 varying ways to engage them.

In our chapter, "wisdom" speaks in the grammatical first person, telling us her autobiography - how she advises kings, and how she was present prior to the founding of the world.

Mishlei chapter 7 brings us back to the temptress. It issues a stern warning to avoid contact with this woman and to steer clear of her path. How are we to deal with distractions and addictive habits? How do we steer clear?

Today we speak about making our time count. Do we want to spend our days relaxing or working?

Mishlei returns time after time, to the imagery of an attractive, seductive woman who leads the "son" astray from his pursuit of wisdom.

Today we deal with 3 themes 1. 3 Generations. The speaker, possibly King Solomon, speaks of messages that he heard from his father that he is passing down to his son. This is a deeply touching image. 2. The Joy of Torah 3. The metaphor of the necklace and the wreath/crown - Mishlei repeatedly speaks of wisdom as jewellery. What does that intend to …

Today we discuss several features of Mishlei: 1. The engagement with a Judaism that is far wider than ritual moments and encompasses all avenues of life 2. That Mishlei incentivizes the path of Torah 3. We speak of a fascinating intertextual polemic about the "Tree of Life"

We address two themes: 1. The notion of parent and child; wisdom which comes through the family, through sage adavice rather than direct divine revelation 2. The presentation of choices and consequences; good paths and bad paths; straight and crooked.

Today we discuss 1:7 - "The beginning of wisdom is fear of God"

We start Mishlei today - Proverbs. What is this book about? Who wrote it? What is a "mashal" or a "proverb"? Today we introduce the sefer.

We made it! Mizmor 150!Awe, Dance, Breath!Today we speak about how our essence, our breath, reaches out to the Divine in an attempt to transcend our human limits.

This chapter has 2 stanzas. 1. The victory of the righteous, their joy and dance 2. A battle of justice against the forces of evil and regimes of violence Both are enacted by the "hassidim" - the ethical, pious and righteous.

We wake up every morning and celebrate the wonderful world we inhabit.

Chapter 147 is a weave of intersecting harmonious themes that blend to praise God.

We live in a world where celebrity, status and fame are highly prized. This mizmor challenges that impression and presents other values as central in God's perspective.

Chapter 145 a.k.a "Ashrei" is THE "Tehilla Le-David. It is the ultimate praise of God. But paradoxically, it doesn't give us earth-shattering depictions of God, but rather the image of a caring, nurturing deity.

This Mizmor celebrates a country in which wars have ceased, in which children grow up in calm and peace, and in which the economy is booming... "Happy the people who have it so; happy the people whose God is the LORD."

In this almost classic Mizmor, we draw upoon 3 themes: 1. The character of the "Servant of God" 2. The meaning of the word "nefesh" in Tanakh 3. The posture of prayer - hands extended.

Here David is on the run, hiding in a cave, and calling to God. we speak about the despair of isolation and loneliness, and the transformation - religious and social - the shift of mindset that such a situation might engender.

David expresses his concerns and worries that he might succumb to the methods and morals of his adversaries. Today we speak about the virtue of self-doubt.

This chapter resonates strongly with contemporary events. It is a wonderful example of how Psalms written millennia ago can resonate afresh in other times.

God knows everything about me. That can be such a crushing burden that at times a person wishes to run away from God. What insights and understandings help a person to find his way back?

Chapter 138 is filled with gratitude. We stop to think today about the power of appreciation

Jews never forgot Jerusalem, though they wandered the globe for 2000 years. What was the formula for their survival? This chapter gives us some key tools for the Jewish art of making Jerusalem our home no matter where we lived.

This is a Hallel, a chant, an opportunity to sing and shout to God. We will draw connections to the themes of the upcoming holiday, Sukkot: 1. The universal and the particulatr 2. Appreciation for the blessing of our daily bread.

This is a chapter of Hallel. What is the subject of God's praise?

"Bless God all you servants of God who stand at night in the house of God" There is no Temple service at night! Who are these servants who praise God at night in the Temple?

"How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together." We explain the dramatic story behind this Psalm, a story of sibling rivalry and reconciliation in five acts.

David promises that he will make a house, a Temple for God; God promises that he will make a royal house for David and his progeny. Today we discuss the relationship between king and Temple.

Do we rely on God because we expect everything to turn out okay; or do we rely in God because attachment to God is simply life itself?

This Psalm is one of the most commonly recited Psalms in times of trouble, sickness, or distress. It is also recited during the Ten Penitential Days between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur.

In every generation, "since my youth, the haters, the assailants have attacked me, but they will never prevail against me." This is a song about anti-Semitism and Jewish survival.

This Mizmor offers the Godfearing person individual and national blessings. We discuss the images of the vine and the olive tree, the family and the nation.

Today we study the chapter with an eye to the year we have experienced. Wishing everyone a Shanna Tova!

This Psalm sung on Shabbat and festive moments before Birkhat Hamazon. It starts with the joy of the return to Zion. But then it requests of God: "Return our captives! Have we returned or not? And if we are so joyous, why are we crying?

"Jerusalem has mountains surrounding it, and God surrounds His people now and forevermore" We examine this statement both topographically and historically. Has Jerusalem always been protected by God "now and forevermore"?

This is the song of what might have been, the chorus of Jewish survival, the symphony of thangsgiving to God forhaving our back throughout the millennia and not allowing our enemies to succeed in destroying the Jewish People, in thwarting the designs of anti-Semites and would be destroyers.

What can a slave expect from his master? In this podcast we relate chapter 123 to our Rosh Hashanna liturgy.

This beautiful and colourful chapter describes the excitement of a pilgrims journey to Jerusalem and the sights that they encounter. It ends with a three-fold prayer for peace.

"i lift up my eyes to the mountains.From where will my help come?" This is one of the most famous and popular mizmorim. In what context might it have been composed and recited?

This psalm opens one of the most famous sub-sections of Tehillim - the Songs of Ascent or Shirei Hamaalot. In this podcast we: 1. offer 4 explanations for the term "Shir Ha-Maalot" 2. Study Psalm 120 which speaks about hate speech, peace and war.

This - the longest pslam - is a paean to Torah, its study, its laws and the meaning it offers those who walk on the pure path of Torah. Its poetry is wrapped in an delightful eightfold alphabetical acrostic.

Have you noticed the ups and downs of Hallel; how it lurches from elation to the depths of anxious despair in a single line - and then back again? And why do we double certain lines in Hallel?

Our Mizmor invites the world to appreciate the Jewish people and to acclaim the everlasting truth of God's worldview.

Are vows important? Why is making a vow like buying on credit, and why are vows so central in this Mizmor? Our answer will take us to the colourful world of the Temple, where people would celebrate in the company of friends after a life-threatening situation.

This Mizmor is a struggle with those who mock Israel for worshipping a God they cannot see. In return, the Mizmor mocks and belittles the idolaters who serve man-made ineffective gods. In response for Israel's trust in the Divine, the poet promises that God will bless Israel.