A Shot of Torah: Make Your Children Proud

The Maggid of Melbourne: There is no Replacement for a Brother: In 5 minutes, Levi Cooper considers the recent unrest in Israel in light of the tragedy of Cain and Abel. - The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper - teacher of Hasidut, community rabbi, lawyer, IDF reservist, by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Levi Cooper on Shalom Zakhar: In this short podcast, Levi considers the custom of Shalom Zakhar - the gathering on Friday night after the birth of a baby boy, before his circumcision (brit milah). - The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Hakhel — Should we Bring Children to Shul?: Discussing the unique commandment of Hakhel, Levi Cooper ponders the challenge of bringing children to Shul. How do we balance the need to maintain synagogue atmosphere and our desire to give our children lasting experiences? - by The Maggid of Melbourne

7 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Waving in Turkey Part 6 — Kabbalistic Waving: In this next installment in the series, Levi shares a source from the legacy of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria about the waving practice. by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Unity and Individuality: How do we encourage unity, while recognizing individuality? Levi Cooper refracts this issue through the lens of Jacob's parting words to his children. by The Maggid of Melbourne

10 min listen

$The Maggid of Melbourne: Unity and Individuality: How do we encourage unity, while recognizing individuality? Levi Cooper refracts this issue through the lens of Jacob's parting words to his children.$

The Maggid of Melbourne: What’s the Point of Midrash?: Levi considers the goals of the genre of Midrash, by looking at the Sages' interpretations of the stones that Jacob put around his head. - The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper - teacher of Hasidut, by The Maggid of Melbourne

8 min listen

A Shot of Torah: Reading the Torah Part 1: In this podcast, Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper discusses why doesn't the person who is called to read the Torah - actually read? - A Shot of Torah with Levi Cooper is the continuation of The Maggid of Melbourne Speaks. by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Waving in Turkey Part 5 – A Short Detour From Waving: A visit to the Machane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, convinces Levi to rethink how he is pronouncing the name of an Aleppo rabbi. by The Maggid of Melbourne

3 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Have a Beer with Levi: Guinness announced that they are going vegan ... but until then is this famous Irish stout kosher? Does adding dried out fish bladders when making beer, mead, or wine make it not kosher? Levi Cooper discusses. - by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Names, Language and Clothing: Our sages have said that the Jewish People were redeemed in the merit of not changing their names, their language and their clothing. In this episode of the Maggid of Melbourne Speaks, Rabbi Levi Cooper asks if this is really true? by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Our Name and Beyond…: What is the significance of our name? Is it an empowering force, or does it limit our potential. Levi suggests that we strive to fulfill the potential of our names, with the hope that we go beyond that potential. - by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Waving in Turkey Part 7 – Waving in Manuscript: Levi goes to the microfilm collection in the National Library of Israel (... although he would like to go to Oxford!) to locate a seventeenth century source of the Turkish custom. by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: The Individual Nature of Spiritual Quests: In this short podcast, Levi explores how hasidic masters view the role of others - significant others, loved ones, people close to us - in our spiritual journeys. - The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Asking for Rain: This podcast recounts a fascinating fourteenth century case of the power of the people in shaping Jewish law. - The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper – teacher of Hasidut, community rabbi, lawyer, IDF reservist, by The Maggid of Melbourne

10 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Waving in Turkey Part 4 – Waving in Livorno: The excavation of the Turkish custom of waving before the Amida continues in this fourth part of the series. This time the journey takes us to Livorno, Italy. by The Maggid of Melbourne

8 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Waving in Turkey: Having just returned from Istanbul with a group of Pardes students, Levi reflects on a fascinating Turkish prayer custom. The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper – teacher of Hasidut, community rabbi, lawyer, by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: My Friend Comes Late to Services: The responsive Barkhu prayer is ubiquitous in the prayer service. In this podcast, we explore how it works, when it is said, its mystical valence, and what you might do if you come late and miss Barkhu. - by The Maggid of Melbourne

8 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Torah Scroll: Rabbis don't always get their way. If you purchase a Torah nowadays, chances are that almost each column will start with the Hebrew letter vav. But in the Middle Ages, rabbinic authorities thought this was entirely unnecessary. - by The Maggid of Melbourne

7 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Names, Language and Clothing Revisited: In this podcast, Levi revisits the notion that redemption is dependent on retaining names, language, and clothing. This picks up a theme discussed in a previous podcast, adding two new perspectives. - by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Waving in Turkey Part 3 – Izmir: In part three of this series about a captivating Istanbul custom, Levi shares more evidence of the practice... this time from Izmir, Turkey. The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper – teacher of Hasidut, community rabbi, by The Maggid of Melbourne

9 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Reacting to Loneliness: Levi Cooper considers loneliness and spiritual quests in light of Jacob's nighttime struggle with a mystery assailant. by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

A Shot of Torah: Reading the Torah Part 3: Under the Wedding Canopy: Shouldn't a groom recite a blessing before he gives the bride a ring? Why does the rabbi recite the blessing? - Click here for part 1 of Reading the Torah. Click here for part 2 of Reading the Torah: First Fruits - by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

The Maggid of Melbourne: Waving in Turkey Part 2 – How did the Ben Ish Hai Wave?: Following on from the last episode of The Maggid of Melbourne, Levi identifies further sources for the Turkish custom wave in prayer, offering an explanation for how a a practice recorded in Baghdad is to be found in Istanbul. by The Maggid of Melbourne

7 min listen

A Shot of Torah: Noach — What’s so bad about planting a vineyard?: In this episode of A Shot of Torah, Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper looks at Rashi's critique of Noach, refracting Rashi's words through the broader prism of spiritual growth. - Click here for more episodes in the series. by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

$A Shot of Torah: Noach — What’s so bad about planting a vineyard?: In this episode of A Shot of Torah, Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper looks at Rashi's critique of Noach, refracting Rashi's words through the broader prism of spiritual growth. - Click here for more episodes in the series.$

The Maggid of Melbourne: Opposing Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Part 1: The early hasidic movement was the subject of much debate. Levi recounts the tale of the opposition to his namesake, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev. - The Maggid of Melbourne is an ongoing series by Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper – teacher of Hasidut, by The Maggid of Melbourne

6 min listen

A Shot of Torah: Hope for the Next Generation: The youth movement Bnei Akiva has chosen ufaratzta (Genesis 28:14) as its educational theme for the year 2016-17. Levi shares how he studied various meanings of this word with youth leaders in Zur Hadassa. - by The Maggid of Melbourne

8 min listen

A Shot of Torah: Reading the Torah Part 4: Set Prayer: Wouldn't it be better if we all just poured our hearts out to the Almighty? Shouldn't each person express themselves in their own personal way rather than being boxed in by set texts? - Click here for part 1 of Reading the Torah. by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

A Shot of Torah: God Showing Favor (Psalms 123): Considering Martin Buber's notion of a leitwort, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Melbourne looks at Psalms 123 and recalls a teaching of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev. - Click here for more episodes in the series. - - - - - by The Maggid of Melbourne

9 min listen

A Shot of Torah – What’s Your Mouth For?: In this week's episode of A Shot of Torah, Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper discusses the question of why we use the same orifice for lofty pursuits and for the mundane act of eating? He shares a colorful tale told by the Ben Ish Hai that offers a perspective on ... by The Maggid of Melbourne

5 min listen

A Shot of Torah: Hanukah – Why do we Celebrate for 8 Days?: In this special edition of A Shot of Torah for Hanukah, Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper discusses the most famous question about Hanukah: Why do we celebrate for eight days rather than seven days? Since there was enough oil for one night, by The Maggid of Melbourne

7 min listen