Recent Posts
-
Nighttime is the Right Time (Episode 45)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS
Back in our controversial “Praisegate” episode, Rabbi Pesach Wolicki asserted that the night – a symbol for times of suffering – is the wrong time to praise the Lord. But in this episode, he makes a 180 degree turn, and notes that the Psalmist calls out to G-d at ALL times, day and night. What’s the difference between calling out and praising? How do many translators miss the point when translating Psalms 116:2? And what does this teach us about the nature of our own prayers? Learn the answers – and get a description of Jerusalem Day in Jerusalem – on the latest Cup of Salvation podcast.
-
Loving the Lord for a Reason (Episode 44)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS
Bible translators will have a field day with this episode of the Cup of Salvation! The beginning of Psalm 116:1 is normally translated as “I love the Lord”… which would be great except that the words “The Lord” are not in the text. In fact, this is the ONLY instance in all of Scripture where the verb “love” is written without depicting the object of this love. What is the Psalmist trying to say, and why would he say something so simple in such an enigmatic manner? Join Rabbi Pesach Wolicki and David Nekrutman as they uncover what the author Psalm 116 actually loves. It will really shock you.
-
Is Cup of Salvation Based on a False Assumption?! (Episode 43)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS
The entire basis of the Cup of Salvation Podcast is the assumption that Psalms 113-118 form a single thematic whole called “Hallel.” But doesn’t Psalm 116 prove the opposite, as its author lists his private, singular troubles, whereas the rest of Hallel discusses the nation of Israel as a whole? How do we know that these six chapters actually belong together, despite the obvious differences in theme, content, and even grammar? Join David and Pesach as they unpack the literary structure of all six Hallel psalms in order to set the stage for the intimate experience of God described in 116.
-
The Mission Statement for G-d’s Kingdom on Earth (Episode 42)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS
Biblical promises of exile and redemption, from G-d’s covenant with Abraham to Moses’ End Times prophecy in Deuteronomy 30, include Israel’s achieving great wealth. But why? Isn’t it enough to be free? Aren’t spiritual riches more important? In this concluding episode of Psalm 115, David Nekrutman and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki answer this question and shed Biblical light on the modern day prosperity of the State of Israel. Join them as they revisit the entire Psalm 115 and show how it serves as a mission statement for people who want to build G-d’s kingdom on this earth. And all that prosperity? Let’s put it this way: while it may be nice, it serves a higher purpose. After all, the psalm began, it’s “Not for us.”
-
PraiseGate: Did Rabbi Wolicki Limit Praising G-d? (Episode 41)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS
One of our most controversial podcasts was episode 6, when Rabbi Pesach Wolicki suggested, based on Psalms 113:3, that night is not the proper time to praise G-d. Many people found this troubling: shouldn’t we praise the Lord all the time? How can there be times when praising G-d is inappropriate? In this special Passover edition of the Cup of Salvation Podcast, Rabbi Wolicki and David Nekrutman delve deeper into the idea that certain times are designed for praise, while others are not. They also discuss the connection between this idea and the Passover Seder, and deal with the question of why, despite the fact that praise is a daytime activity, we still say the verses of Hallel on the first night of Passover.
-
Hallelujah. Yep, That’s A Hebrew Word, Too (Episode 40)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS
Listeners to the Cup of Salvation Podcast know that the hosts regularly demonstrate that the standard translations of the Bible often miss the nuances of the Hebrew; but Psalms 115:18 might offer the most egregious example yet. Let David Nekrutman and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki show you why translating the name of G-d used in this verse as, “The Lord” completely misses the mark and ignores the larger point of the Psalm. Along the way, you’ll learn the meaning of Divine kingship, and why we can assert that G-d will be the king in the future… but not yet.
