Kol Ramah

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Huqqat [Numbers 19:1-22:1] contains some of the great passages in the Book of Numbers. It begins with the ritual of the red heifer, whose ashes are instrumental in the ritual response to corpse contamination. In the next scene Moses and Aaron respond to the people’s complaint about lack of water with a miracle that goes awry. While the waters are produce, Aaron and Moses are denied entrance into the Promised Land. By the end of the parashah, Aaron is dead, replaced as high priest by his oldest surviving son, Elazar. As this comes up every year at camp, we have talked about this many times in the past, but neither tire of it nor cease to find something new to say. Let us know how you think we did in the comments below or at parshatalk@gmail.com. As we have entered the 10th month of the war in Gaza, we continue to be mindful of the hostage and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Isr

Fun times with bunk B9.

Tune in to this amazing concert that celebrates America.

Jacki Honig and Alex Friedman return to give us their points of view on Parshat Korach.

Parsha talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmonofsky. Parashat Korach [Numbers 16-18] follows a similar pattern to Sh’lach L’kha last week. There are two chapters devoted to the main topic, in this case, the rebellions of Korach and others, followed by a chapter with a miscellany of laws. Parashat Tzitzit [Numbers 15:37–41], the paragraph about the ritual fringes which is the biblical source for the wearing of the tallit, the ritual shawl worn primarily during morning prayer services and became the third paragraph of the Sh’ma, the credal statement of rabbinic Judaism, is an appropriate conclusion to the story of the spies as well as an introduction to the rebellions of this week. We devoted most of our conversation this week to a discussion of the nature of the rebellion and how we might make sense of it today, with a little time left to chapter 18, which discusses, among other things, the proper perquisites of the priests and Levites. We hope you enjoy it! We are ever mindful of t

Dean, Leah, Abby, Sydney, and Lilly Rae of Tzeirim interview our Video Specialist, Lola.

Amy Erlanger and Jamie Cosky get a visit from a very enthusiastic Tzrif. Kol Ramah love you, A2!

The kids of Shorashim make a candy tier list with Amy Erlanger and Jamie Cosky

Jacki Honig and Alex Friedman put the "Chug" back in "Chugmash" with this new series. In this episode, they educate each other on their thoughts about this week's parsha, Shelach Lecha.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Sh’lakh, sometimes referred to as Sh’lakh L’kha [Numbers 13-15], is taken up mostly with the story of the Spies [Numbers 13-14], whose account to Moses and the people led to the adults of the generation of the Exodus dying in the wilderness. The only two adults who left Egypt and entered the land of Canaan are Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who saw the land for themselves and were prepared to conquer it. Even Moses and Aaron, both of whom survive into the fortieth year of wandering, die just short of entrance into the land. Each time one reads the story one finds it perplexing. What exactly did the spies do wrong? Was it really such a catastrophic sin? worse even than the Golden Calf? We spent our entire time discussing this enigmatic story, and still felt as if we had barely penetrated its surface. We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israe

Noah Sundel, Lia Davies, Mira Golomb, and Yael Katz talk with Amy Erlanger and Jamie Cosky about Taylor Swift, which leads to Amy realizing that she's getting old (just joking).

Amy Erlanger interviews people as the campers arrive.

The first Kol Ramah show of the Kayitz. Amy Erlanger and Jamie Cosky sit down with the kids of Gan and Chaverim.

Amy Erlanger, of Radio Kol Ramah, waits with her fellow tzevet members in anticipation for the campers to arrive. She also interviews some kids she hasn't seen in years.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Maomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Special Guest Rabbi Eliezer Diamond sitting in for Rabbi Kalmanofsky who is travelling to Israel. Parashat B’ha’alot’kha [Numbers 8-11] is particularly rich, featuring, among other items: the menorah [8:1-4] and the trumpets [10:1-10]; the Second Passover [9:1-14], for those who were unable to observe the First Passover; the bracketed verses [10:35-36],which have become part of the Torah service in synagogue worship; various complaints of the people [chapter 11], and the complaints of Aaron and Miriam about Moses [12]. We focused on the bracketed verses, and chapter 12, in particular the prayer offered by Moses in v. 13. We were fortunate to have with us this week Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, the Rabbi Judah Nadich Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at The Jewish Theological Seminary, who filled in for Rabbi Kalmanofsky, who is in Israel this week. It was a real treat for Eliot and me, who were students of Rabbi Diamond at the Seminary, a

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Among the features in Parashat Naso [Numbers 4:21-89] are the passage about the wife suspected of adultery, the nazir [an individual who wishes to take upon himself additional restrictions, the priestly blessing, and the gifts the tribal chieftains bring for the mishkan. This series of gifts, which differ only in the name of the tribal chief, comprise the longest chapter of the Torah. Since Tuesday night begins the observance of Shavuot, which for the rabbis is the season of the giving of Torah, most of our conversation was about Revelation and Torah, though we did manage to quote and discuss the last verse of the parashah. As Eliot mentioned at the end, you are invited to send us metaphors that you find particularly meaningful. We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and grateful for the rescue of four of them by the IDF this past week, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat B’midbar [Numbers 1:1-4:20] is the first parashah in the Book of Numbers, which deals in episodic form with the 40-year wilderness wanderings. As Jacob Milgrom notes in his JPS Commentary to Numbers, the book’s treatment of this time frame is uneven. The first section [1:1-10:11] takes place over 19 days in the second month of the second year, while the third and final section [21:10-36:15] occurs “within five months of the fortieth year”, leaving the middle section to take place sometime during the intervening 38 years. As befits a book which we call in English Numbers, we spent most of our conversation talking about numbers and how we might make sense of them. We hope you enjoy it! We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shab

Parashat B’chukotai is the tenth and last parashah of Sefer Va-yiqra [Book of Leviticus]. Its main section is the תוכחה [tokhekhah, “rebuke”; Baruch Levine labels it “The Execration” (26:14-45)]. Preceded by the blessings (26:3-13) that will come to Israel, both the people and the land provided the people observe the mitzvot [commandments], the far larger part is devoted to the details of the punishments which will ensue should the people not observe the commandments. It can be difficult in 2024, given the nature of the text itself as well as all that is going on in the world and the Jewish world today, to make sense of this passage, and it is to this task that we devote most of our conversation. We also discuss chapter 27, which Baruch Levine entitles “Funding the Sanctuary”. It is customary when we finish a Book of the Torah to conclude the reading in the synagogue with the words חזק חזק ונתחזק, chazak chazak v-nitchazek, let us be strong, let us be strong, let us be strengthened. May it be so for the

Parashat B’har [Leviticus 25:1–26:2], at 57 verses, is one of the shortest in the Torah. In his JPS Torah Commentary, Baruch Levine entitles it “Principles of Land Tenure”. The first section deals with the sabbatical year and jubilee year, and the second section deals with laws regarding people in straitened circumstances. We more or less followed this order as well in our conversation. We hope you enjoy it! We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Emor [Leviticus 21-24] is sometimes the penultimate parashah in Leviticus, except in years such as this one, 5784, which is a leap year. As a consequence, there are no double paashiyot. While Leviticus can be read in as few as 7 weeks, this year, with each parashah a separate week, it will take ten weeks. The parashah is best known for chapter 23, which in additional to the weekly reading, is also read on the 2nd day of Passover and the first two days of Sukkot, because of the festival calendar. There are also laws governing the priesthood, some of the perquisities for being a priest, some restrictions on marriage, and disqualifications from service for certain blemishes. The last aliyah, coinciding with chapter 24, includes the curious case of the m’kallel, the blasphemer, one of those rare cases that occur in the Torah where Moses must seek additional guidance from God to determine how to proceed. Since we recorded on