Rav Binny Freedman – Jewish Life Mitzvot

Rav Binny asks the question. “How do I make a relationship with learning Torah?”, and answers it through a lively and interactive analysis of the quintessential Jewish moment of receiving the Torah – the Mt. Sinai experience.

How can prayer make me a better person? How is being respectful to my fellow human being essential preparation for prayer? Rav Binny looks at the prayer on healing from the Amidah as a stepping-off point to show us how prayer can transform us and our lives.

How much are we influenced by what we eat? Rav Binny exposes us to both literal and mystical meanings of kashrut, the historical diet of mankind, Adam in the Garden, Noah after the Flood, Israel in Egypt, and the experience at Mt. Sinai. Bon Appetit!

Rav Binny explores the symbolic and actual meanings of the mezuzah, including analyzing the parchment, its relationship to the Pesach sacrifice, and the merit of leaving Egypt. What is the real power of having a mezuzah on the door of the Jewish home?

Two verses from the written Torah, ‘Remember the Shabbat day and sanctify it’ and ‘Six days you shall work’, are explored from the vantage point of the labor we don’t do on Shabbat. Rav Binny helps us to see that what we refrain from is of vital importance to our experience of Shabbat and to our relationship with G-d.

Although Moses received the Tem Commandments, there seems to be two different versions. One version speaks about the importance of Shabbat because G-d created the Earth and Heavens, while the other version stresses a Jew’s relationship to family, servants, animals, and strangers. How do we understand and resolve this seeming disparity?

Rav Binny teaches us about the beauty of Kabbalat Shabbat (Receiving the Shabbat), specifically focusing on Psalm 95. He explains the history of the service and helps us to have the experience that through making Shabbat, Shabbat makes us.

Through the story of Moses gathering the Jewish people during the building the Mishkan to speak about Shabbat, Rav Binny gives us a perception of the importance of always remembering the true meaning of Shabbat.