One Pasuk Podcast — S4 E6: Parshas Vayera What does it mean when the Torah tells Lot not to look back — and why was the command given in the singular when his whole family was being rescued? In this week’s episode, the rabbis unpack a single pasuk from the dramatic destruction of Sodom and uncover layers you’ve probably never noticed: the shift from plural to singular, the recurring word himaleit (escape), and the striking contrast between Lot leaving Sodom and Bnei Yisrael watching Egypt’s destruction at the Red Sea. We explore what it means to make a clean break from your past — when to cut ties completely and when to process your journey in community. Plus: why looking back alone can destroy you, the ”escape velocity” of real change, and what the Avot can teach us about transforming our identities without losing ourselves. 🎧 Listen now — and ask yourself: when was the last time you looked back? #OnePasukPodcast #Vayera #Torah #Parsha #JewishLearning #TorahPodcast

Parshas Lech Lecha 5787 ספר בראשית פרק יג פסוק ח ויאמר אברם אל לוט אל נא תהי מריבה ביני ובינך ובין רעי ובין רעיך כי אנשים אחים אנחנו׃ Sefer Bereishit Chapter 13 Verse 8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, between my herders and yours, for we are, after all, kin.

Parshas Noach: Faith, Doubt, and the Space In Between Rashi famously calls Noach miktanei emunah — a man of small faith. But is that a criticism or a compliment? This week, the panel unpacks one of the richest Rashis in the Torah to explore what it really means to believe. From the Midrash to the Apter Rebbe, the conversation journeys through the complexity of faith as a lived experience — not a switch you flip, but a muscle you strengthen. Maamin ve’aino maamin — he believed and he didn’t. What if doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, but its companion? And what if even Noach, who walked with God, struggled just like the rest of us?

Rabbis Chaim Poupko, Akiva Block, and Daniel Goldberg return after Sukkos to dive into Parshas Bereishis and the very first blessing given to humanity: ”Pru u’revu u’milu es ha’aretz” — be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and master it. The discussion explores the Chizkuni’s striking suggestion that this command was given only after the sin in Gan Eden, the Ramban’s distinction between how animals and humans receive this blessing, and the profound idea that procreation is an act of partnering with God in creation. The rabbis also tackle the tension between the sanctity of human life and animal welfare, the dual nature of the pasuk as both blessing and commandment, and what it means to approach building a family with a sense of mission rather than mere instinct.

New Yom Kippur episode, recorded live! Rabbis Poupko, Block & Goldberg unpack the defining verse of the day (Leviticus 16:30) — exploring how God’s unconditional atonement should inspire us to actively purify ourselves, why the Jewish people are God’s ”little sister,” and why no matter how far you’ve strayed, you’re always invited back to the table. A timely, uplifting conversation for the holiest day of the year. 🍎🍯 #YomKippur #Torah #Podcast

The Englewood Rabbis explore the phrase ”zichron teruah” (remembrance of shofar sounding) which the sages connect to years like this one when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos and the shofar isn’t blown. They discuss how this phrase reframes the mitzvah of shofar as fundamentally internal — a wordless prayer and act of kavanah rather than just an external sound — and debate whether listening to the shofar should center on personal reflection or on affirming Hashem’s kingship as a community. Along the way, they trade candid reflections on their own creative process for writing sermons, drawing parallels between Torah insight and everyday inspiration. The episode closes by tying the theme of shofar back to communal unity, arguing that its deepest purpose is less about the sound itself and more about what it stirs within each listener.

Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5786 ספר דברים פרק ל פסוק כ לאהבה את יקוק אלהיך לשמע בקלו ולדבקה בו כי הוא חייך וארך ימיך לשבת על האדמה אשר נשבע יקוק לאבתיך לאברהם ליצחק וליעקב לתת להם׃ {פ} Sefer Devarim Chapter 30 Verse 20 by loving the ETERNAL your Hashem, by heeding Hashem’s commands, and by holding fast to [Hashem]. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that Hashem swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.

This week’s episode explores Parshat Ki Tavo’s bikkurim declaration, focusing on the phrase acknowledging that the land was a gift from God, and uses it to launch a discussion of generational wealth. Rabbi Poupko and Rebbetzin Shoshana examine research showing inherited wealth can breed entitlement, but paired with a sense of story, identity, and responsibility, it instead fosters values-driven, motivated heirs — mirroring the Torah’s own model of humility plus gratitude. They connect this to relationships and community, urging self-aware, compassionate reflection on one’s own blessings so as to support others with dignity rather than judgment.

Parshas Ki Teitzei 5786 ספר דברים פרק כד פסוק יט כי תקצר קצירך בשדך ושכחת עמר בשדה לא תשוב לקחתו לגר ליתום ולאלמנה יהיה למען יברכך יקוק אלהיך בכל מעשה ידיך׃ {ס} Sefer Devarim Chapter 24 Verse 19 When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow—in order that the ETERNAL your Hashem may bless you in all your undertakings.

Parshas Shoftim 5786 ספר דברים פרק כ פסוק ח ויספו השטרים לדבר אל העם ואמרו מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב ילך וישב לביתו ולא ימס את לבב אחיו כלבבו׃ Sefer Devarim Chapter 20 Verse 8 The officials shall go on addressing the troops and say, “Is there anyone afraid and disheartened? Let him go back to his home, lest the courage of his comrades flag like his.”