BONUS: Rabbi Leibtag Responds to My Vayishlach Article!

The bad news is that I don't have a sequel to Friday's article. The good news is that I got a response from a leading expert in the Gush Tanakh method!

This week's Torah content is sponsored by Feiga W., with the following dedication: "With deep gratitude to my parents, who taught me to seek out opportunities for growth—and to Rabbi Schneeweiss, whose shiurim are exactly that."

There’s no PDF for this post because the main feature is the audio.

BONUS: Rabbi Leibtag Responds to My Vayishlach Article!

This past Friday, I wrote an article entitled, Vayishlach: Beis Yaakov at Beis-El and Bnei Yisrael at Sinai (Part 1: Questions). In it, I raised four “traditional questions” and highlighted literary parallels that I thought might point to an underlying thematic connection or insight.

I didn’t attempt to answer these questions because I didn’t have answers. I also expressed doubt about whether my literary observations held any merit.

As it happens, one of my talmidim is currently studying at Yeshivat Har Etzion (a.k.a. Gush). Before Shabbos, I gave him a mission: “I’m relying on YOU to come up with answers—or find others who can shed some light!”

This morning, I was thrilled to hear back—not just with insights from someone at Gush, but Rabbi Menachem Leibtag himself, one of the founding fathers of the Gush Tanakh method! In response to my talmid’s inquiry, Rabbi Leibtag gave a 15-minute pre-shiur addressing the parallels I pointed out, with a special focus on methodology.

To illustrate my lack of familiarity with this methodology, I used a version of the “Is this a pigeon?” meme as the artwork for my article. In it, the bespectacled character asks, “Is this the Gush Tanakh method?” Rabbi Leibtag’s answer, in short, was: “No!”

Thankfully, he explained why the parallels I noted don’t align with the types of connections he considers meaningful. His explanation reassured me, confirming my suspicion that some “counterfeit” Gush-style analyses are circulating and warrant skepticism. Based on his comments about methodology, I believe Rabbi Leibtag would share my concerns.

I thoroughly enjoyed this shiur and found it insightful. I’m grateful to Rabbi Leibtag for addressing my question and for allowing my student to share the recording. While I was granted permission to share it, I’ve decided to keep it behind a paywall, as I wouldn’t feel comfortable releasing it publicly. Plus, it’s always nice to thank my subscribers with exclusive perks like this. Curious to hear what you think!

CLARIFICATION: Rabbi Leibtag’s response is the 15 minute audio above, which is only accessible to paid subscribers.

[The ability to comment is also reserved for paid subscribers, below this paywall line.]