I used to enjoy learning about the Kings of Israel at cheder but half a century later, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what happened during the reign of Jehosaphat. For middle-of-the-road shulgoers, much of the Bible will probably be untravelled territory, except for those parts that feature in the liturgy, like the Psalms, the haftarot and the Megillot. Many of us will know about Daniel in the lions’ den or the writing on King Balthazzar’s wall, but not actually have read the book in which those episodes appear.
But Rabbi Alex Israel can offer a way to become more familiar with our foundational texts. He has just completed a podcast series covering the whole of the Tanach, broadcasting episodes of 10 to 15 minutes in which he discusses a chapter a day, five days a week. It took three and a half years to go through it.
Rabbi Israel, who made aliyah from London 35 years ago, teaches in yeshivah and seminary and also abroad as a scholar in residence – he was at Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue for Shavuot this year. He is the author of two books on Kings.
The Tanakh Podcast was inspired by Rabbi Benny Lau’s 929 daily study programme – referring to the numbers of chapters in the Bible – which was launched in late 2014. More people may have heard of Daf Yomi, the seven- and-a-half year cycle of going through the Talmud a folio a day. But for many, Rabbi Lau’s initiative – to “bring the Bible back to the people” – is a more manageable challenge.
Rabbi Lau had gone to give a lecture in a secular school, Rabbi Israel explains, at the end of which one of the students handed him an edition of the Tanach from school, telling him, “‘This belongs to you, it is not mine’. Benny Lau was shocked to the core of his being that this student who was secular just felt no kinship with the Tanach.”
And so he came up with 929, enlisting Israelis from across the spectrum such as the avowedly secular novelist A.B.Yehoshua to contribute to the commentary in order to show that the Tanach was the heritage of all Israel.
“The reason he called it 929 because all of the elite army units are known by their numbers. He wanted it to sound like something very contemporary Israeli,” Rabbi Israel says.
His own involvement came because some students at one of the institutions where he teaches took up 929. He had previously recorded some audio talks of the first 25 chapters of the Torah for the Syrian Jewish community in New York, and the 929 students began listening them. When they got to chapter 26, they pleaded with him for more.
“I thought I’d love them to continue their learning, what can I do for them. It happened to be the summer holiday, I was off teaching.” And so he embarked on the podcast, beginning with the Book of Joshua. As he had taught a lot of the material, he figured it would not entail too much preparation.
But as he reached the major prophets, the prep became more demanding. “Sometimes I would put five hours of work into those 10 to 15 minutes episodes,” he says. “There was one episode… where I was travelling and I actually recorded it at an airport. I went behind a screen and went on my phone and recorded it.”
One of his teachers warned him that some of the Psalms could prove tricky. “There are about 40 chapters in Tehilim where David says ‘I’m in trouble, they’re chasing me, God help me, O thank you’. He said you are going to be ok for the first six of them and then for the next 34 you are not going to know what to write.
“I was dreading Iyov [Job] and Mishlei [Proverbs] because I’ve never really learned them in depth. Iyov is all about suffering and especially after October 7 it was a little too close to home.”
But what spurred him on was a growing audience, from 100 a day, 200, 300, until by the end he was attracting a following of 1,000.
As he reflected in a Facebook post after concluding the series, the Tanach represents a “fascinating odyssey through a dazzling variety of historical, spiritual, theological and emotional landscapes”. From the personal meditations of the Psalms to the eschatological visions of the Prophets.
While yeshivot may have traditionally focused on Talmud, it was the advent of Zionism, he says, that renewed attention on the Tanach – it was on the curriculum at his own yeshivah, Har Etzion. “It is not incidental with the revival of Israel as a nation state we return to Tanach, because Tanach was written in that milieu and therefore it relates to that whole large stage.”
Judaism is no longer simply concentrated in the home, but has returned to the public square.
Even though he may have finished the set, his work is not done. He is republishing the podcasts, upgrading the sound. And he is also looking for funding to convert some of the material into books as a complementary resource.
He is a “big believer” in a daily study routine, the small steps that over time can build up a knowledge base, which he illustrates with “a lovely story” told to him some 30 years ago. A couple had a daughter and at the kiddush to celebrate the birth, the rabbi came over to the father and said, “‘If you learn a mishnah a day, when your daughter is batmitzvah you will finish the entire Mishnah.’ He thought this was a great idea so he started learning a mishnah a day. When she was about six, she said, ‘Daddy, what is that book you read in the armchair every day after dinner?’ He said, ‘It’s the Mishnah. I began the week you were born.’
“And she said, ‘Can I learn with you?’ And by the time it came to her batmitzvah she caught up and they made a siyyum [celebration] on the whole of the Mishnah.”
Rabbi Israel took it so much to heart that he adopted it himself, beginning when his son was born. His son is now 30 and Rabbi Israel, whon now learns a chapter of Mishnah day, is soon to make his “barmitzvah” siyyum, his completion of the Mishnah for the 13th time.
The Tanakh Podcast is available from podcasts.apple.com and other streaming platforms
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