Ep. 42 - Walk Before Me and Be Perfect

About this episode

Rabbi Epstein and Tom discuss the significance of Hashem's command to Avram and its implications for spirituality and perfection.

Avram is 99 years old when Hashem appears to him with a new name for Himself, El Shaddai, and an interesting command: walk before Me and be perfect. Rabbi Epstein and Tom spend this episode unpacking what that actually asks of a person, and why Rashi reads "walk before Me" as something more demanding than walking with G-d, and what separates Avram's path from Noach's. The verse goes on to talk about circumcision, and Rabbi Epstein relates the Talmud's exchange between Rabbi Akiva and a Roman about whether a perfect Creator would make an imperfect creation. Finally, we learn about the three spiritual safeguards of the land of Israel hidden inside the second blessing of Birkas Hamazon, and why the Crusaders lost Jerusalem to a people who shared at least one thing with Avraham's descendants.

People in this episode

Host: Rabbi Bentzi Epstein

Guest: Tom

Topics covered

• Avram
• spirituality
• circumcision
• Birkas Hamazon
• Rashi's interpretation
• Rabbi Akiva
• Crusaders

Keywords

• Avram
• El Shaddai
• Rashi
• circumcision
• spiritual safeguards
• Birkas Hamazon
• Rabbi Akiva
• Crusaders
• Jerusalem
• Talmud

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hashem, Talmud

Places: Israel, Jerusalem, Crusaders

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