Enjoy educational seminars organized in a series of add-free videos (most are exclusive to pshir.com) Open each topic to see the full series.
Who are prophets? How was their role understood in the ancient Jewish and non-Jewish world? When it comes to the Bible, the words of the prophets can take some effort to unravel. Their saying should always be read in context. Though we know very little about some of their lives,...
One unique prayer is repeated multiple times daily in Jewish Prayer services besides the Shema (Deut 6:4-9). It's a prayer composed in Aramaic called Kaddish. In modern practice, it is never recited alone, and its ancient words seek to magnify and sanctify God's name corporately....
Are you familiar with Tisha B'Av? On the Jewish calendar, it's a day of fasting and introspection for many reasons. Throughout history, this day has been a day of calamity for Israel as a people at large and for various Jewish communities. In this 45-minute teaching,...
For some, reading Midrash is a beloved preoccupation, and others find it frustrating. Midrash can be beautiful and very inspiring, yet for those who lean toward more strict analytical thought, it seems to take way too many liberties in explaining biblical texts. This is exactly why Midrash needs to be...
Did you know that in antiquity, most people believed that gods were tied to specific lands and territories. Consequently, every country and land had its own local deities. Israel stood out sharply among the nations by worshipping a very different God. Thousands of years ago, Hebrews believed that their God...
These seminar videos touch on the foundations of "Distinction Theology" - a teaching that maintains the continuity of the relevance of Israel and Jews and recognizes the nations that embrace Israel's God in solidarity with Israel but distinct from Israel. The video sessions touch on the...
The book of Acts mentions the church, which is a translation of the Greek word "ecclesia." This Greek term is ancient, but the word "church" is actually not. Where does this new word come from? What does it mean? How did the early Christ-followers see and...
As an educator, I experiment with different types of teaching. Most often, in my videos, I present all sorts of academic, historical, biblical, and religious information in lecture format. Occasionally, I lead spiritual discussions, which are also educational, but they are meant to be a learning of a different sort....
In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses each of his sons. The words he speaks are beautiful but could be hard to understand. When he gets to Dan, he compares his son to a serpent. A strange blessing for a child. Thus, commentary on this imagery has brought forth some very curious...