AI Summary
5 min readRabbi Allen Schwartz, who has led Congregation Ohab Zedek on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for 38 years and taught at Yeshiva University and Stern College, has written a five-volume set called Parashah Sheleimah. The books are designed to give any Jew—whether a rabbi or a layperson—a ready-made, five-minute divrei Torah for any Shabbos or life-cycle event. Schwartz explains that Shabbos itself is a journey through history, from creation to the world to come, and his book mirrors that structure. Each parashah contains ten distinct divrei Torah, each tailored to a different occasion: Friday night, Shabbos morning, a mussar moment, a bris, a bar mitzvah, a wedding, and more. The tenth vort in each parashah is a deep dive into a single rare word from the Torah portion, using archaeology, linguistics, and comparative Semitics to uncover its meaning.
The Pim Stone: A Case Study in Word Study
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:02) **Introduction and Book Overview** - Host Naki Weinstein introduces Rabbi Allen Schwartz, rabbi of 38 years at Congregation Ohab Zedek on the Upper West Side and author of the five-volume *Parashah Sheleimah* series.
- 2 (03:53) **Structure of the Book: Ten Divrei Torah** - The ten categories are designed for different occasions, making the parashah a unifying force for Jews worldwide.
- 3 (05:11) **Dvar Torah #10: Word Analysis - The Example of "Pishnaim"** - A scholarly deep-dive into a rare word from the parashah, demonstrating the book's academic rigor.
- 4 (13:03) **Dvar Torah #9: Historical Connections** - This category explores gematrias, coincidences, and historical timelines, often linking the parashah to Jewish history.
- 5 (14:25) **Dvar Torah #8: Marriage Vort** - A ready-made dvar Torah for weddings, designed to be crisp, fast, and easily digestible.
- 6 (14:57) **Extensive Footnotes and Acknowledgments** - Rabbi Schwartz credits his son and son-in-law for verifying every source across thousands of references.
- 7 (15:49) **Dvar Torah #7: Bar Mitzvah Vort** - A category for bar mitzvah speeches, useful for anyone asked to speak—not just rabbis.
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Show Notes
#501
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