Yoni Mozeson, at The Blogs

Nov 21, 2024, 10:45 PM

Who were the first two people to recognize the calamitous nature of Jewish disunity? The Midrash argues that it is Joseph and his younger brother Benjamin. (Yes, it’s not this week parsha, but the message is needed now). When the...

Oct 29, 2024, 6:59 PM

Noach: From altruism to alcoholism

In Parshat Noach the Midrash lists four things that Noach pioneered. He was the first to plant a vineyard and to get drunk. Noach was also the first one to curse someone and he introduced the world to the...

Apr 3, 2024, 6:33 PM

Esau offered to prevent the US from telling us how to fight, but Jacob declined

As usual, the Midrash provides a psychological backstory to episodes in the Torah – and the confrontation between Jacob and Esau is no exception. After wrestling with the guardian angel of Esau, Jacob faces the real Esau. By the...

Jan 31, 2024, 3:10 PM

The Midrash puts anti-semitism on trial

For the uninitiated, Midrash is part of the Jewish Oral Tradition dating back to the receiving of the Torah at Sinai. The Midrash provides the psychological backstory to the Bible. It quotes many of the same Rabbinic sages who...

Dec 19, 2023, 11:15 AM

Solace for October 7th from Rabban Yocḥanan ben Zakkai

I won’t lie. I am in search of comfort for our collective trauma. It’s true that living in Israel allows you the privilege of witnessing firsthand the tremendous outpouring of unity and support of every kind imaginable for our...

Nov 23, 2023, 9:19 PM

The Roman noblewoman who tried to play God. Midrash on Vayetzei

This is a famous story, found in both the Midrash and the Talmud. A Roman Noblewoman asked Rabbi Yosei bar Chalafta what God does now that the world has been created. She is told that God arranges marriages and...

Sep 28, 2023, 11:16 PM

Moshe’s bittersweet glimpse of Jewish history

Midrash Tanchuma relates a cryptic reference to an event that would seem to be filled with extraordinary emotion. Shortly before his death, God showed Moshe all of Jewish history. In fact, everything that was and will be. The Sifrei...

Sep 20, 2023, 11:59 AM

Embracing God’s far-reaching involvement in your life

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah (which is also the first of the 10 days of repentance) we read the extraordinary efforts of Chana to conceive. What first jumps out at you in the story is God’s overt...

Sep 15, 2023, 9:33 AM

The shofar as a winding road

Every time we blow shofar on Rosh Hashana we invoke the Akeida עֲקֵדָה (the binding of Yitzchak) to gain merit for the Jewish people. Avraham and Yitzchak overcame unimaginable obstacles to fulfill God’s directive even though God’s request seemed...

Sep 8, 2023, 12:11 AM

When Jews started to build the Third Temple

The backstory to this intriguing event presents itself as the survival manual for living in the diaspora. Ironically, the story as presented in our Parsha takes place in the land of Israel. Our forefather, Yitzchak, was forced to relocate...

About Me

(Almost 100 Midrash Video summaries can be found on my youtube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLynSVeS5_iNhHleKroA6r3br-bmaHQigk) After college and Semicha at Yeshiva University my first pulpit was Ogilvy where I wrote TV commercials for brands like American Express, Huggies and Duracell. My passion is Midrash Tanchuma. I am an Architect of Elegant Marketing Solutions at www.mindprintmarketing.com. We are living in (where else) the Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem.

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